Page 14 of The One With the Mountain Man

Digger scowled at me. I shrugged. While my suggestion meant less work for Digger, I thought it was a reasonable solution for Mack.

Scottie cupped Mack's face and lowered his voice. "I have your dinner ready."

"Let's eat." She beamed up at him.

"Where's my food?" Joanne asked as loud as one of my siblings.

"I'll send it out," Scottie growled over his shoulder as he backed Mack around the bar and through the swinging kitchen door.

"It's pretty wild, isn't it?" Travis muttered. "The man is head over heels. Completely whipped."

If whipped meant being unbelievably happy. "I think you're jealous, big man."

"Pffft.If I wanted a boring life. Which I do not."

"You think being with one person is boring?" Joanne punched him in the leg this time.

Travis shot out of his seat. "Stop it, sis. Mean it."

"When you stop being a pig, I'll stop treating you like one."

He shook his head and grabbed his beer. "I'm getting us a pool table.You," he pointed at his sister, "are not invited."

Luckily Scottie emerged with a plate. Joanne focused on her food and let the sibling fighting end. I could take their back-and-forths only for so long before they got to me too.

"Miss us?" Scottie asked.

"Just a little."

"They've been worse than usual. They're even getting onmynerves. Maybe you'll be the magic fix." Scottie tapped the bar with his knuckles before he returned to his dinner date.

If I couldn't fix my problems with my actual siblings, I highly doubted I'd be able to fix Travis and Joanne.

"Can I just point out that there is not one member of the Finn Fam here?" Digger waved his hand around the nicer part of the bar where we were seated.

"What's your point?"

He shrugged. "You can be here and survive. You just don't want to try."

Fuck, even Digger was putting pressure on me now? This trip just kept getting harder and harder. "Guarantee I'll hit a Finn between the bar and my truck."

But Digger shrugged. "You'd be surprised how little I see your family these days. They're busy with their families and jobs. Your parents don't get out as much. Town is pretty safe. And if you found a place like thatbarndominiumto call your own, it might even be bearable."

Why did he have to make it sound possible? "Tell you what. I'll pay attention. I'm not saying I'll never move back."

"Just really un-fucking likely."

I saw the disappointment in his eyes. In everyone’s. Even Karis, who usually understood, let it slip. Was I destined to be the town disappointment?

I tossed some cash on the bar. "It's been a long day and I need to settle into this place. See you tomorrow?"

He held out his fist.

I tapped it.

Weirdly enough I did not, in fact, run into any Finns on the way to my truck. Nor did I pass them on the road back. The drive up to the apartment was quiet. I didn't see a light when I turned away from the Golden Hour Lodge.

I was all alone, as far as I could tell. Which was a massive relief.

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