Only Mine (Fool's Gold #4)(76)

“When I gave birth to the girls, I had some complications.” Denise shook her head. “I was pretty sick. I don’t remember very much. My husband, Ralph, didn’t want to leave me alone in the hospital. But he had three little boys at home and a business to run. Not to mention triplet infants and it was Christmas. It was a stressful time. When I finally came home, I was weak. It took me a couple of months to recover. The women in town took care of us. Someone was in the house every single day for the first six months. I don’t think I changed a diaper until the girls were at least three months old.”

“Impressive.”

“I want you to know that we take care of our own. If you choose to stay here, then you would become one of us, and we would take care of you, too.”

“I don’t need a lot of taking care of.”

“I’m sure that’s true. I’m just letting you know how it would be. But from what my daughter tells me, you’re not thinking about staying.”

He glanced at her, wondering what was coming next. As he wasn’t sure what Denise thought of him, he couldn’t guess her preference. Did she want him to stick around? Or would she prefer he left sooner rather than later?

“I’m not looking to add more responsibility to my life,” he admitted. She might not like the truth, but he wasn’t going to lie to make her happy. “Dakota is great, though. I like her a lot.”

“But not enough to stay.” Denise wasn’t asking a question. “You don’t have to worry. If you wanted to stay, that would be great. But if you don’t, she’ll be fine.”

She was giving him permission to walk away. There wouldn’t be any guilt or games. In a way, it was the perfect situation. So why didn’t he feel better about it?

They had reached his motel room. Finn felt funny about inviting her in but wasn’t comfortable standing in front of the door. Denise solved the problem by handing him back his second bag.

“I hope you find what you’re looking for,” she told him.

“What makes you think I’m looking for anything?”

“Because you don’t seem very happy.” She tempered her observation with a gentle smile.

With that, she turned and left. Finn watched her go, then let himself into his small room and shut the door. He put away the groceries, filling the tiny refrigerator. Then he paced restlessly in the room.

He wanted to go after Denise and tell her that she was wrong. Of course he was happy. He’d spent the past eight years raising his brothers, and his job was finally done. He could go home, knowing they would be okay in the world. Why the hell wouldn’t he be happy?

He flung himself on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Who was he kidding? He wasn’t happy. He hadn’t been for a long time. He wanted to blame his brothers but knew it was more than that. It was him.

A next step seemed logical, he thought. If only he knew what it was.

His cell phone rang, saving him from the pain of introspection.

“It’s Geoff,” a familiar voice said when he answered. “You’ll want to watch the show tonight. I think it will make you happy.”

“Not if Sasha plays with fire again,” he grumbled.

“It’s better than fire,” Geoff promised him. “Make sure you watch.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

ALTHOUGH DAKOTA HAD SEEN most of the episodes of True Love or Fool’s Gold with Finn, tonight was different. While he was comfortably sprawled on the sofa, with Hannah on his chest, Dakota found herself restless and uneasy. No doubt it was the secret she was keeping. Being pregnant had a way of changing a woman’s perspective. She was thrilled about the thought of having a baby. Two months ago she’d thought she might never have a family, and now she had a beautiful baby girl and another child on the way. What was that old phrase? An embarrassment of riches?

But there was always another side to any situation. In this case, it was telling Finn that he was the father of her child. Something she knew he didn’t want.

“Have I mentioned Geoff isn’t one of my favorite people?” Finn asked. “He specifically told me to watch tonight’s episode and so far it hasn’t been very interesting. Or maybe that’s just me.” He glanced at her. “Am I the wrong demographic?”

It took Dakota a second to realize what he was talking about. “I’ve heard the ratings aren’t very good. Karen, one of the production assistants, told me that Geoff was really sweating the numbers. I think it’s the show’s premise. I’m a big fan of reality television, but this concept doesn’t make sense to me. We all want to see people falling in love, but this feels fake.”

He raised his eyebrows. “I don’t want to watch people falling in love.”

She smiled. “Okay, okay. It’s a girl thing. A while ago on Biggest Loser two of the contestants fell in love. It was just the best. My sisters and I couldn’t stop calling each other about it.”

“But you don’t know them. Why does it matter if they get involved?”

“It just does. It’s fun to watch people fall in love. Which should make the show more interesting. I guess that’s the problem. No one is falling in love.”

She glanced back at the screen and saw Sasha and Lani. “Here they are,” she said.

Finn turned his attention to the television. Dakota found herself watching him rather than the show. He was a good man. Kind and responsible. He was also pretty fabulous in bed, but that shouldn’t matter. She smiled. Even though it sort of did.