Against the Tide (39 page)

“The little person is fine,” I say quietly, but with the biggest grin.

Harley clears his throat. “Erm, what did I miss?”

“Oh, uh. I’m going to be a daddy,” I announce, sitting in the chair to the right of Harley’s bed and pulling Meg in to my lap. I gaze in to her twinkling eyes like some stupid love drunk fool.

“What? How long was I out for?”

“I know, it’s all a bit unexpected but we couldn’t be happier, right, Megs?” I ask and she nods, returning my goofy grin.

“Well, congratulations. I would shake your hand but …” He waggles his fingers on the hand that’s plastered up past his elbow. “We should celebrate, but that might have to wait a few days.” Harley smiles, seeming genuinely pleased for us. I appreciate the fact that I don’t have to explain every detail to Kyle or Harley. It would take far too long and it’s not even necessary with them.

“You’ll be waiting more than a few days, I think,” Lori tells Harley, fixing him with a big sister stare. “And even then, I’ll be here to keep an eye on you.”

“I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure of being introduced.” Kyle steps forward interrupting that conversation, holding out his hand to Lori.

“No. We haven’t.” Lori places her hand in his warily and he raises it to his lips, kissing the back of it gently. Harley shoots me a look, and if he could roll his eyes, he would be doing so right now. She pulls her hand out of Kyle’s grasp when he lingers a little too long with his lips, and sits back in her chair, flicking her long blonde hair over her shoulder before folding her arms with a perplexed look on her face.

“Can I get you a coffee?” he asks, clearly a little rattled that he’s got to work a little harder to capture her interest.

“No thanks. Just had one,” she says bluntly, totally unaffected by him and his charm. That’s a first. Harley chokes out a snigger and Meg presses her lips together to keep from laughing.

“Oooookay,” Kyle answers, his eyes darting between us all, slightly embarrassed that we witnessed him getting a knock back. There’s a first time for everything. “How are you feeling, mate?” he asks Harley.

“Been better.”

“Yeah, you look like shit,” Kyle answers, clearly not feeling the need to filter what comes out of his mouth when it comes to us, but forgetting that Loretta doesn’t know how to take him. She scowls in his direction and he almost shrinks in to himself. “Right, well, I only stopped in to see how you’re doing. I’m gonna go. If you want anything, call …or, whatever, yeah?”

“I’m gonna get Meg home, too. It’s been a long day,” I say. “I’ll come back tomorrow, mate, and catch up on everything, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Here’s a key.” I twist a key off my chain and toss it across the bed to Loretta. “You know where Mum’s place is. Come and go as you please. Meg and I will be there tonight, but you’re still welcome.”

“Thanks, Finn. I’ll stay here tonight, though.”

“Lori, you need to rest properly,” Harley tells her. “Please just go with Finn and Meg.”

“No. It’s fine. I’m fine here. I’ll message you, Finn, okay?”

“Sure.” She exchanges a smile with me and Megan, but scowls at Kyle with a blatant dislike.

He looks at me and shrugs, heading toward the door. If he had a tail, it would be tucked right up between his legs.

I tap Meg on the thigh. “Up you get.” We stand and I place my hand carefully on Harley’s shoulder. “I’m really sorry this happened, man.”

“Not your fault, Finn,” he implores, pinning me with his one good eye.

I offer him a smile by way of thanks. I could never thank him enough for being such a loyal friend. For all the times he had my back and saved my sorry arse. Over the last few months, both he and Kyle have made me realise how lucky I am to have them as mates. They’re as good as brothers.

“Come on,” I say, taking Meg’s hand in mine. “Let’s go home.”

Six Months later

It’s Friday night. Date night. Actually, every night is date night with Finn. Who would have thought there was such a romantic, attentive man underneath that quiet, brooding exterior? There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t question what I did to get so lucky to have him. It was never going to be an easy ride for us though. We started off with a life altering jolt and I doubt it will ever be any different. But we have each other, which makes all the tough times so much more bearable, and having him by my side makes anything seem possible. Of course we have our little peanut to consider in everything too. Having something so precious to consider has brought us even closer together.

Damien was sentenced last month to eleven years imprisonment. The corrupt police officer had kept all of the evidence he had supposedly disposed of, and although admitting he had taken it landed him hefty jail time, he was granted a slightly more lenient sentence for cooperating and telling the truth about everything. The case was long and stressful, and I had to testify along with several others. There were many times I cried myself to sleep after a day in the court, but I always had Finn’s arms around me and he would whisper to me over and over that it would be okay. I’m so glad that I had my head in the sand for all those years regarding his dealings. I could have found myself in a lot of trouble had I known about any of it. Finn finally found some peace knowing that he had some justice for Lizzie’s death. It wasn’t nearly a long enough sentence for the cost of a life and it didn’t bring her back or change anything, but life was moving forward.

“You ready, sweetheart?” Finn asks from the bedroom doorway. He leans casually on the frame, freshly showered and dressed in smart jeans and a white t-shirt.

“Nearly.” I slip some earrings in and spray some perfume on my wrists and neck. “There, done.” He walks towards me slowly, holding out his hand for me to take.

“Gorgeous. You look gorgeous,” he muses, bending to place a gentle kiss on each cheek.

“I look like a whale,” I pout. “Maternity clothes are not sexy.”

“Hey, you
are
sexy. You look fucking amazing.” He rubs my belly. “When this little peanut arrives, I think I’ll get you knocked up again.”

I almost choke on the air that I breathe in. “Um, let’s just get this one here safely first, yeah?”

“What? I like you barefoot and pregnant. Plus, your tits look−”

“Finn!”

“Okay,” he chuckles, taking my hand. “Let’s go. And you do have great tits, Megs.”

“You’re insatiable.”

“Only when it comes to you.” He stops and looks at me with a sexual intensity I’m very familiar with. “Only ever you, Meg.” He wraps his fingers gently around the back of my neck, pulling me closer.

“We could have date night right here, Finn,” I suggest against his lips. These pregnancy hormones are running rampant, as if we weren’t already highly sexed enough.

He kisses me quick, then pulls away. “Nope. We have somewhere to be.”

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see, soon enough.” He tugs on my hand with a smile.

“Smokey’s!”

“You’re the one with the meat cravings.” He smiles and winks at me. I’ve been having meat cravings for about four weeks now. Any meat, doesn’t matter, but I can’t get enough.

“You’re the best.” I throw my arms around his shoulders and stand right up on my tiptoes to kiss him hard on the lips.

“Meg.” He frowns and his expression turns serious.

“What’s wrong? What’s the matter?”

“I just want to make sure you know that I love you. I know it hasn’t been easy for us, but I have you and our little peanut, and I wouldn’t ever wish for that to be different. I’d choose you in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred different worlds.”

“Finn,” I say quietly, swallowing down the urge to cry at the honesty in his voice. He’s not usually a man of so many words.

“That’s all, Meg. I just wanted you to know that.” He shrugs, kissing my cheek and taking my hand to walk in to the restaurant before I can answer him back.

We are shown to our table and it’s fairly busy, but not packed out.

“Sir, would you like to order drinks or wait until the rest of your party arrives?” the waiter asks.

“Oh, it’s just us,” I correct him, only just now noticing that the table is actually set for four.

“Just water for the table, please, we’ll wait to order.” Finn smiles kindly at the waiter and I tug on his sleeve.

“Why are we waiting? That delicious meat smell is making my stomach growl.” Finn doesn’t answer but covers my hand with his and tilts his head up, gesturing toward the door. “Oh my god.” The words fall from my lips in a whisper. I stand slowly and make my way around the table just as my mum’s gaze lands on me. She puts her hand out to the side and taps my dad on the arm. He turns and follows her line of sight. His chin wobbles, and he smiles, the kind of smile that when I was a kid, would make me feel like everything is going to be okay. My mum drops any composure she might have had and rushes to me with her arms spread wide. We fall in to each other, sobbing, laughing, and rushing to get as many words out as we can to make up for all the years we lost. My dad wraps his arms around both of us, joining in the reunion and the tears. Plenty of tears.

“We missed you so much, baby girl,” he tells me in a choked whisper. “So much.”

I feel Finn place his hand gently at the small of my back, and my dad breaks away.

“It’s good to finally meet you, son,” my dad says to him, wiping away a tear from his cheek with the back of his hand.

“You too.” Finn holds out his hand but dad pulls him in for a man hug.

In that moment I realise I have everything I could ever want. Even though life might take an unusual path, if you have faith and follow your heart, it always works out for the best. I do believe in fate and destiny, but I also believe that we are only fated to do the things we’d choose anyway. Everything I have now, I’d choose again in a heartbeat.

Mum had been in and out of hospital a number of times, and it was heart breaking to watch her deteriorate before my eyes. She took her last breath just three months after Lizzie died. Megan and I were with her and although it was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through, I knew it finally gave her some peace, and it meant she didn’t have to live with such excruciating pain any more, both physically and emotionally. I never thought anyone could go through as much as we had as a family in the last twelve months. Every day was surreal and I never want to live that kind of pain again. I don’t know if I believe in fate, but then how would that explain the way Megan came in to my life. Luck maybe. Whatever it is, I’m grateful. She’s my rock, she’s everything that keeps me good, and reminds me that although life is fucking hard at times, there’s light at the end of the tunnel.