Page 58 of Molly's Mr. Wrong
“I have my shop. The metalwork.” He shrugged one shoulder. “Maybe Buddy could get a little brother or sister.”
“Have to be mighty damned little, considering Bud’s size.” But Mike didn’t seem displeased by the suggestion.
“He needs to settle in one place or the other,” Finn said. “Cats are territorial. He’ll be happier if he has one home.”
“Are you sure about this?” Mike asked gruffly, stroking the kitten with the tips of his fingers.
“I’ll still have visitation rights. And if you need me to take him because...you know...then Buddy has a place he knows. But we’ll go into this assuming that is not going to happen.”
Mike gave a silent nod and Finn leaned back against the cushions again. It wasn’t like he was losing Buddy, but he was going to miss the little guy while he was in the shop. And regardless of what he’d just told Mike, he didn’t think another kitten was in his immediate future.
* * *
MOLLYPUSHEDDOWNhard on her briefcase, trying to contain the overload of papers she planned to take home that evening to grade while Georgina was out with Chase. She might honestly have to think about accepting papers over email and marking with track changes...at some point in the distant future. She still liked paper. She’d just gotten the case locked when someone knocked on her door, then pushed it open before she could answer.
Finn. Tall, dark, truant.
Molly straightened and pushed her glasses a little higher on her nose, telling her heart to slow down. Just the guy you’ve been having hot, impossible dreams about. “You missed class yesterday.”
“Mike needed me.”
She put both hands on the handle of her briefcase. “You’re supposed to let me know when those things happen.”
“Yeah.” He hooked his thumbs in his front pockets. “I didn’t think about it at the time.”
“Did...something happen to Mike?” she asked, alarmed by his grim expression.
“Elaine.” Molly frowned as she tilted her head and he added, “Cancer,” making her heart slam against her ribs.
“I’m so sorry.”
“It’s scaring the hell out of Mike and I didn’t want to leave him. Elaine came over and we discussed her prognosis and I did my best to calm Mike down. He...uh...my grandmother died of cancer.”
“I see.” Molly glanced down at the floor, her gaze running smack into Finn’s boots. She looked up again. “I’m truly sorry about this. Your work will be excused, of course, and I’ll give you the assignment.” She started to open her briefcase, but Finn stepped forward, shaking his head.
“Do you really think you should?”
Molly shook back the hair that had fallen over her shoulder. “I don’t understand.”
“I guess my question is...is my being in this class a waste of time for both of us? Honestly, do you think I can achieve my goal?”
Molly’s chin sank to her chest. “You’ve already paid for the course and you’re halfway through. Why not finish?”
“Because I’m really wondering if I’m actually the one doing the work. It seems as if my hand is being held every step of the way.”
She took a couple of steps toward him, stopping at the edge of her desk. It was the closest she’d been to him since they’d kissed in McElroy’s parking lot. Her body mentioned this to her in a couple of different ways, both of which she ignored. “Have you learned anything?”
Finn considered for a moment. “I...guess I can identify some of my issues, even if I need help fixing them.”
Molly made an open-palmed gesture. “So you’re leaving better than you came in.”
“Yeah, am I wasting our time?”
He wanted a definitive answer, so she gave him one. “No.”
“You’re sure.”
This Finn was so very different from the Finn of her teen years. Of course everyone had insecurities, but back then she’d never once considered the possibility that amazing Finn Culver would struggle at things she did easily. Yet she had no difficulty in believing the opposite—she had trouble with things Finn did not. Socializing, for one. Basketball, for another. But being bad at social activities and intramural sports wasn’t going to affect her chosen career. Difficulty with English could hurt Finn’s.
