Catching her left hand, he lifted it to look at her hurt knuckles and noticed that she’d been doing a bit of damage to her cuticles, too. “When did you find out?”
She pulled her hand away. “I’ve known for about three weeks.”
“Then it was time you let loose and really vented. Maybe now you’ll give your poor hands a break.”
They walked in silence for a few minutes and rounded the cabin before she spoke again. “I just told Mark that I’m staying for the whole summer.”
He studied the thick fringe of her eyelashes as she watched the ground ahead of them, since she wouldn’t look up. “And? How’d that go?”
“He’s not happy about it.”
Finn felt kind of bad since he was the one who’d suggested they all stay longer. “Can he force you to come back?”
“I doubt it. We’re not divorced, so there’s no legal agreement between us—you know, as far as custody and visitation. And I’ve told him he can come see Lucy whenever he wants. He’ll hate spending his vacation days traipsing across the country because I won’t come home, but...”
“What would he rather be doing?” Finn asked.
“Hunting or fishing with his friends.”
They were almost at the front door when she grabbed his arm, pulled him to a stop and gave him an earnest look. “Am I being unreasonable? Should I go back to Florida, so he doesn’t have to spend the time or money to come here?”
“It sounds like he has the money and time to visit, if it’s important enough to him. What about you? Do you feel better here? Happier?”
“I do. I’ve never had any siblings—or parents, for that matter, so having a chance to get to know my sisters means a lot to me.”
“Then I think you have every right to stay,” he said, and was rewarded with the first genuine smile he’d seen on her face today.
They climbed the steps to the porch, but as she reached for the door handle, Reagan came charging out.
“There you are!” she said as soon as she saw Lorelei. “I was just coming to see if everything was okay.”
“It’s fine,” Lorelei said.
Reagan shot him a tentative look. Obviously, she could tell Lorelei had been crying. Although Lorelei was careful to keep Reagan from seeing her hands, there was nothing she could do to hide the puffiness of her eyes.
Finn suspected Lorelei would not want to be questioned, however, so he was glad Reagan chose not to mention it. “I see you’re out causing trouble already,” she said to him.
“That’s what I do,” he said with a lazy smile.
“Any word on Davis? Do you know when he’ll be able to come up and join us?”
Finn tried to keep his manner casual, but the fact that his brother’s temperature hadn’t dropped back to normal was a real concern. If infection set in, the doctor might have to remove more of Davis’s arm, and he knew how his brother would react to that. “He’ll be here in a few days,” he said as though it would all be fine, which was what he wanted to believe.
“I can’t wait to meet him,” Reagan said.
Finn was about to suggest they go sledding but decided he might not have a better opportunity to prep Lorelei and Reagan for when they finally met Davis. “Just so you know, I haven’t mentioned you to him. I don’t want him to think I’m suggesting that meeting three beautiful women will make a big difference to what he’s going through. He’ll get angry if he interprets it that way, which means he’ll wall himself off, won’t give you a chance. But friends and a good dose of laughter make every struggle easier, right?”
“I’m just learning that myself,” Reagan said.
“I want to be smart in how we approach him. I think we should act as though I’m bringing you around for no particular reason except that we’re already friends. Otherwise, if he feels you’re trying to help him, he’ll close himself off from you, like I said, just as he has with other well-meaning people.”
“He doesn’t want to be pitied,” Lorelei supplied.
“Exactly.”
“Got it. We’ll treat him the same way we treat you and Nolan.” Reagan turned to Lorelei. “So...did you tell Mark that you’re staying for the summer?”
Lorelei nodded.
“I’m guessing he didn’t take it well.”
“You’d be guessing right,” she said with some chagrin.
Motioning for Finn to follow them, Reagan drew her sister into the house. “Oh, well. Forget Mark. Forget my job, too. We’re going to have fun.”
“Speaking of fun, I think we should start by going sledding,” Finn said. “Not many people can say they’ve been sledding in California at the end of May.”
14
serenity
A FULL DAY had passed since they’d dragged out their pictures and other memorabilia and yet they hadn’t even attempted to get back to their discussion on how they might be related. As Serenity sat in the living room with her computer in front of her, she couldn’t help counting the hours. She was anxious to find answers, but she kept telling herself there wasn’t any huge hurry. Not if they had all summer. The most important thing was that they take some time for themselves—to become happier, healthier people. She was glad she could provide a place for her sisters to spend a few months, especially because they seemed to appreciate it.
Even if nothing momentous happened, at least they were getting a break from their normal lives. They’d had a blast sledding with Finn. Serenity had never laughed so hard in her life as when he decided to tackle a much steeper hill than the one they were doing because it had a lot more snow, then hit a dip at the bottom and went flying off his sled. He was willing to take more risks than they were, so his antics had kept them entertained. Fortunately, he wasn’t hurt.
They’d decided to stop for Mexican food on the way home, and she’d seen him step off to the side to accept a call on his cell while they were waiting for a table. He hadn’t been smiling then, but when she asked if he’d received an update on Davis, he glided over her question by saying nothing had really changed.
After dinner, they’d returned home, showered and Finn had come over to watch a movie. He’d seemed quieter than earlier in the day, which concerned her.
“What are you doing?”
Since the house was dark and everyone had gone to bed, Serenity was startled by the sound of Reagan’s voice. She turned to see her holding a reusable water bottle and assumed she was going to the kitchen to fill it.