Page 23 of Time to Stirrup Love
“Sure, well why don’t you come in and I’ll make some coffee and we can talk about this favor.”
“That would be good.”
Margaid opened the door and Finn followed her in, ducking to get under the doorframe. He stood there for a few minutes in the porch area of the cottage. He kicked off his big rubber boots.
“Make yourself at home and I’ll put the coffee pot on.” She headed to the kitchen, turned on the little coffee maker and put her groceries away, making sure she hid the little horse away in her bedroom.
Once she came back, she poured two cups of coffee and this time, she served Finn, who was perched on the edge of the floral couch. It looked like he was ready to bolt at any second.
“So, this favor,” she said, trying to dispel with any awkward tension as she handed him a mug of coffee and then curled up in the matching floral arm chair across from the couch. “What’s up?”
“It’s Phineas.”
It took her a moment to jog her memory. “The young swamp monster?”
Finn nodded. “Gill man. He’s kind of like an adopted son of mine. I took him under my wing when his parents died.”
“Yes, I remember you telling me that.”
Parentless, something she and Phineas had in common.
“He tries to make ends meet with various jobs. I hire him at the height of my busy season, which is still a month away,but I was wondering if your agency had any kind of ability to hire him out. He’d be good at diving down and getting samples etcetera. I also think he has the aptitude for science and I want to encourage him to broaden his horizons beyond the odd jobs he does now.”
“I have some room to hire him for occasional work. It’s sweet you care for him so much.”
Finn dipped his head and took a sip of coffee. “Well, I sort of see his perspective. He was orphaned so young.”
“Do you mind me asking what happened?”
“No, he won’t mind you knowing either. He likes you. It was before the Great Revelation, obviously. Not all monsters were accepted. Phineas’ parents were caught in an unfortunate incident outside of Harmony Glen. They’d come here with Phineas to escape persecution, but when they left to finish the move, their previous town…well, they died in an accident. And I use the term accident loosely.”
“That’s horrible.” How could the world be so cruel? Then again, monsters had remained in hiding for so long, but she understood why. As far as she was concerned, it was a better world now they were out there.
“My dad took him in, but Phineas wanted to live on the land and in the house his parents built outright. So, my parents checked in on him. His dad was a peat moss farmer, so Phineas does that. Sells a lot of it to the botanical gardens, to Dazy, who is the gardener there, and to people around town. In the winter, he doesn’t farm that because of the snow, so he does all these extra jobs so he has an income. The thing is, he’s smart. If given the chance, he could go to school and maybe be a doctor or something like that.”
Phineas was lucky he had so many people in this town who cared about him. She had just graduated when her mother died. There was no extended family left. It had just been her at thefuneral. Just her interring her mother’s ashes next to her late grandma.
She was envious of Phineas.
“You really do care about him, don’t you?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Finn asked.
“You didn’t seem like the most friendly guy when I first met you.”
He sighed and spun the half empty mug of coffee around in his hand. “Trust is hard for me.”
“I understand that,” she said quietly. “Truly I do.”
She’d been hurt numerous times, watched her mother struggle with abandonment and hurt. A lot of people turned their backs on her and her mom. And Margaid had faced backstabbing and competition in her line of work. It’s why she guarded her heart so closely. Trust had to be earned and it wasn’t easy to give. It was also hard to be trusted because she moved around so much.
No one got to know her.
“Do you?” he asked.
“Of course, my field is very male dominated. Not many men like a woman who gets a promotion over them. I’ve had a few relationships end because of that. I have to fight for everything. Something my mother taught me growing up. You have to learn to rely on yourself.”
Finn nodded. “Right.”
