Page 165 of My Merry Mistake
An older man walks in from outside through a side door, carrying an armload of firewood. I assume he’s Finn’s dad. He stomps his boots and takes off his coat, and the little girls run to meet him.
“Pop, did you find the reindeer?”
Finn’s hand finds mine, and I glance over at him. He smiles. “I can’t believe you’re actually here.” He says this so quietly only I hear him, and while someday he might tease me for this impulsive decision, today is not that day.
“Who’s this?” Finn’s dad walks in and smiles at me.
“Boots!” Melinda pats him—hard—on the chest. “Off.”
He winces. “I’m getting to it.”
“You’re tracking snow in. Get to it faster.”
He shakes his head and steps on the back of one boot to pull it off with his feet, unsuccessfully.
“Dad, this is Raya,” Finn says.
His dad stops and his eyebrows shoot up. “No kidding.”
“No kidding,” Finn says, beaming.
“Good to meet you, Miss Hart.” He tips his cowboy hat, then walks back to the door and fights to get his boots off.
The oven beeps. “Casserole’s done!” Melinda calls out—loudly. She looks at Finn. “Buttons and bows are done too.”
There’s commotion from the other room, loud, like a washing machine getting thrown down a flight of stairs, as Finn’s brothers climb over one another to make their way into an area with a huge dining table.
“Hope you’re hungry,” Melinda says, nodding at the boys. “You can see we don’t do anything small around here.”
I laugh. “I’m starving, but could I wash up first?”
Melinda looks at Finn, who nods. “Yep. I got you.”
I got you.Simple words that mean so much.
I follow him back through the entryway and into a long hallway that leads to several other rooms. I slow my pace,stopping to look at a little cluster of framed family photos, zeroing in on one of their whole family on the ice at what appears to be an important high school hockey game. I point to it.
“The night Hunter scored the winning goal and Silverwood won the state title.” Hunter’s smile is huge, and the entire family looks so happy. Finn is also in uniform and has his arm wrapped around his brother, the rest of the family surrounding them. I can practically hear the laughter and the shouts of joy.
“I read one of the letters,” Finn says, eyes firmly focused on the picture.
I turn and look at him. “You did?”
He nods, but still avoids my eyes. “I mean, it sucked, but I did it.”
“Finn. That’s huge.”
“Yeah,” he says, then turns to face me. “It is. I have so much to tell you, but right now I just want to stare at you for a minute because I still can’t believe you’re here.”
I smile. “I honestly can’t either.”
“Without a plan and everything. Gosh, look at you,” he fake-gushes. “Our little Raya is growing up,” he jokes.
I laugh at him, and he takes my face in his hands and kisses me so sweetly it makes my head spin. When he pulls back and looks at me, there’s longing in his eyes. “You’re sure about this.”
“Positive,” I say.
A smile crawls across his lips, and he kisses me again. “I have a theory that kissing you is never gonna get old, but I’m looking forward to proving it.”
