Page 40 of Capture The Moment

“There’s nothing more to say, Harper. I get it. We shouldn’t have kissed, and it won’t happen again. My hearing is perfectly fine, after all.”

She hated his tone of voice, hated that all the positive energy that had been flowing between them before had turned into this. And if she were being honest, she wasn’t just feeling guilty, she felt embarrassed too. Embarrassed at the way she’d thrown herself at him like a desperate woman clinging to the first man who had been receptive to her. Although that wasn’t completely true either. What about Will? He’d shown interest too, but she hadn’t responded to him in the same way. Only Finn.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“Don’t be. I’m not.”

Ignoring the last comment, she said, “I’ll be out of your hair in the morning.”

“I’m leaving at six, so you won’t even see me.”

“Ok.”

“Goodnight,” he said.

“Goodnight,” she replied, but he’d already gone down the hall to his bedroom, and she didn’t think he’d heard.

The next morning, she packed her belongings with a heavy heart. She’d slept fitfully the night before, as expected, and she’d awakened before Finn had left. She’d stayed in bed, listening to the sounds of him taking a shower, feeding the dogs, and then leaving, the rumble of his truck fading into the distance. She didn’t crawl out of bed until she was positive he was gone, and then she hurriedly got ready. The sooner she left his house, the better. She wouldn’t be able to put what had happened behind her if she stayed there.

After making the bed and straightening the bathroom, she went into the living room and saw that Finn had placed all Daisy’s belongings by the front door. Instead of viewing it as a nice gesture, it made her think that he’d been anxious for her to leave too. And who could blame him? She’d come on to him and then pushed him away, all in the span of twenty minutes. She wouldn’t blame him if he never spoke to her again.

While a fissure had formed in their relationship, Daisy and Hunter had become the best of friends. When it was time to leave, Daisy sat on the living room floor and didn’t budge while Hunter whimpered from his crate.

“C’mon, Daisy. Time to go home.”

Daisy blinked her eyes a few times but stayed put, forcing Harper to pick her up and carry her out the door. Harper took one last look around before closing the door behind her. I wonder if this is the last time I’ll be here?

When she arrived at home a short time later, a white work van was already in her driveway, and an attractive, gray-haired man with glasses stepped out to greet her.

“Brad O’Brien. Pleased to meet you,” he said, sticking out his hand.

Harper shifted Daisy to her left arm and shook it. “O’Brien? Are you related to Finn?”

Brad laughed. “You guessed it. I’m his uncle.”

So that was how Finn had been able to get Brad to come out on a Sunday morning. “Well, thank you so much for fitting me in. I’ve been without heat all weekend.” Minus the heat I cooked up with your nephew!

“I heard that Finn let you bunk at his place. Nice of him.”

“Yes. He’s very…nice,” she replied, flustered. For some reason, she didn’t want Brad thinking that there was anything going on between her and Finn. Just her constant companion, Guilt, rearing its ugly head again.

Brad followed her inside and went to work on the furnace right away. A little over an hour later, Harper heard it kick on, and placing her hand over a vent, she sighed with relief. She was huddled on the couch under a blanket with Daisy when Brad tromped upstairs from the basement.

“All set. Just needed a new circuit board like Finn said. Give me a call if you have any more problems.” He handed her a business card and started to walk away.

“Wait. I need to pay you,” she said, following him toward the door.

Brad waved his hand dismissively. “Finn already took care of it. Have a nice day.”

Harper was still standing there, mouth agape, as he went out the door.

Great! Now she felt even guiltier than before. Why had Finn paid for her? It was her furnace, and she should have been the one to take care of it. But she couldn’t really be mad at him. She would just have to pay him back, that was all. She went into her home office to write a check, but realized she had no idea how much to write it for. I’m going to have to call him. Or I could take the easy way out and text him instead. But wait a minute. Am I thirteen or thirty-three?

Hoping that he would be too busy to answer, she dialed his number. As she waited for the voicemail, she thought about what to say, but then, unexpectedly, he answered.

“Finn here.”

She heard other voices in the background and decided that was why he’d answered so formally. Well, formally for him.