Page 34 of Falling for Her

Finley’s car is parked at the curb when I pull into the driveway. They’re in the backyard, and Asa is kicking a ball to her.

“Dad!” Asa screams, running toward me. I barely have the truck door closed before he’s lunging at me. I smile as I grab him in my arms.

“Hey, buddy.” I kiss his head.

“You got home early.” He wiggles out of my hold and bounces on his feet. “Can we go into the tree house tonight?”

“You bet,” I confirm, walking into the backyard as he runs ahead of me.

“Finley, Finley!” He’s practically bouncing toward her. “We’re going in the tree house tonight”—her mouth opens wide—“and it’s boys only.” She’s wearing a new pair of shorts that she wasn’t wearing this morning and a black tank top.

“Wow,” she deadpans, “I’m your best friend when you want something, but I’m easily pushed away when the big man gets home.” She puts her hand on her chest. “I’m hurt.” She sniffles, but Asa just laughs at her. She bursts out laughing. “Bazinga.”

“I knew you were joking.” He rolls his eyes. “Dad! Dad!” He turns back to me. “Should I tell her the slogan of the tree house?”

“There’s a slogan?” She looks from him to me. “I’m invested now.” She folds her arms over her chest, and my eyes spot the white bandage right away.

“It’s Boys rule, girls drool.” Asa laughs out loud when he sees her reaction.

“What happened to your hand?” I ask, a little too loudly. The two of them stop laughing.

“Nothing. I think I’ll call it a day now that you’re home.” She starts to walk toward her place.

“Finley.” Her name comes out harsher than I intended. But at least she stops in her tracks. She turns and stands almost in front of me. Her feet are bare, and I see her toenails are painted a light pink.

“It’s really nothing, I’m fine. And the best news of all is that Asa is fine, not a scratch. I was the only one who ended up with a couple of stitches.”

“A couple of stitches?” My heart speeds up. “A couple of stitches.” I try to control the way my tone sounds, but I don’t think anything could calm me down. “What happened?” Asa is looking down at his feet, avoiding my eyes.

“I’m going to count to three,” I start.

“Lincoln, I’m fine. Everything is fine.”

“That isn’t what I asked,” I say, looking into her eyes.

“Okay, well, I took Asa fishing today.” The minute she says the words, my body locks tight. I know this is why my son is avoiding looking at me. “Well, Asa caught a fish, and I didn’t want him touching the hook because it was sharp, but then . . .” She holds up her bandaged hand. “I called Collins, and she came and took us to the emergency room, and, well . . . They had to cut the hook in half and then pull it out. I got three stitches.”

“You took him fishing?” It’s a loaded question.

“Yeah,” she answers, her voice unsure whether it’s the right answer or not.

“Where?”

“Um, some creek.”

“Some creek? You went fishing at some creek that you know nothing about. You don’t know anything about the current or the fact that you need a license to fish.”

“I mean, do you really?”

“Yes,” I bark out. Asa even jumps at my tone. “Whose idea was it?” I can tell right away that she knows she’s been played because her eyes widen for a split second before she turns back to me.

“It was mine,” she lies to me for Asa. “He and Wyatt were talking about it yesterday, and I’ve never gone fishing, so I thought, why not do it today?”

I walk over to Asa and put my hand on his shoulder. He looks up at me. “Whose idea was it to go fishing?” I ask him. He shares a look with Finley.

“It was mine,” he answers quietly.

“What did I say about going fishing with anyone but me?”