Page 50 of Making Home with You (The Rockport Beach #3)

Sarah

I take in a deep breath before I open the door to Erin and Ryan’s house because I’m about to walk in and tell Ryan I’m quitting my job. But that isn’t what’s causing me the most anxiety. I’m also about to drop the bomb on him that I’m moving in with Finn.

He’s going to tell me it’s too soon, and if we’re being honest here, it is too soon. We’ve only been officially together for a few months; three months if we’re being exact.

I’ve never felt this way about anyone; that whole heart-fluttering, stomach flip-flopping, want to be near him always thing.

It’s what people look for, search for all their lives and I found it in Finn. There’s no reason to question how I feel about him. It’s the response from Ryan and his overprotective ass that I worry about.

Finn asked if I wanted him to come with me, but I don’t need to give Ryan a reason to hate Finn all over again.

Erin’s at work and when I walk in Ryan is unloading the dishwasher, some music playing quietly.

“Hey, Ry,” I call, even though my line of sight from the front door to the kitchen is pretty good.

“Sarah,” he says, setting a glass down on the counter, “Shit, you’re a sight for sore eyes.”

I just saw him the other day when everything went down with Andrew, but I haven’t had a chance to catch up with him since dealing with Carla.

He pulls me into a hug and I squeeze him hard, knowing there could’ve been a chance that I wouldn’t be standing here right now.

“Can we agree that you’re done luring crazy people into situations where you put your damn life at risk?”

“Absolutely,” I sigh, sagging against him.

“That’s actually why I’m here.” I pull back and walk into the kitchen, sitting down at the table.

“I’m quitting my job.” I pause waiting for Ryan to say something, to remind me how long it took me to get this job.

I wait for him to remember how long I spent living with him in Boston and how this situation could possibly mirror that.

But he says nothing and I continue. “I’m going to try and start my own marketing company. I guess not so much a company because it will just be me. But I’ve picked up a few clients through Kelsey and I’m hoping some more will come from word of mouth.”

I’m talking so fast, just trying to get everything out before Ryan lays into me, but he’s just sitting across from me, waiting.

“I’m going to work at the bar and try to pick up new clients…”

“Why are you telling me all this?” Ryan cuts in, a confused look on his face.

“Because I live here?” I say, questioningly, shrugging my shoulders.

“You do?” Ryan laughs. “You haven’t been here in weeks. Hell, I think it’s been months by now.”

“And I’m moving in with Finn.” It comes out in a rush and Ryan laughs harder.

“Were you afraid to tell me?”

I nod meekly and he’s laughing again, but this time, it’s a deep belly laugh and I’m starting to get pissed at him.

“Stop laughing at me!”

“I’m laughing because you can corner a gun-toting rapist in a stairwell and kick his ass, but you can’t tell me about the adult decisions you’ve made?”

It’s not funny, Ryan!” I say, kicking him under the table.

“You’re Finn’s problem now. I should send him a text thanking him for taking you off my hands.”

“Oh my god, Ryan! I haven’t been that bad!”

“I know, Sarah. I’m just giving you shit. To be honest, I wasn’t really keen on you going back to work there anyway and I’m surprised Finn was.”

At times Ryan’s overprotectiveness can be stifling, but there are times that I’m glad I have him. I know he means well.

“Finn wasn’t. It was his idea that I quit and start my own business. He doesn’t seem to be as concerned about the money as I am.”

“Because he knows you’re talented. We all do.”

“Thanks, Ry.”

I head back to Finn’s house and despite it only being noon, his SUV is in the driveway and after everything we’ve been through, I panic.

There should be no good reason why he’s home.

I blow through the front door and Finn is sitting at the kitchen table, a newspaper and his laptop in front of him.

“Why are you home?” I ask, the fear in my voice cutting though creating a shakiness to my tone.

He turns around smiling at me and I begin to settle down. He wouldn’t be responding to me like this if there were problems.

“Look,” he says, moving the chair out of the way, exposing the newspaper and the story he has up on the screen of his laptop. “You did this.”

On the cover of the newspaper is a picture of Andrew, but that isn’t the biggest thing. Every article contains an interview or words of all the women who have been hurt by him. They’ve come out of the woodwork with their stories.

All of them sharing their stories of harassment, assault and rape that have occurred years ago, but some that are recent. The articles even allude to more women who are bound by legal documents barring them from speaking about what happened publicly. Women like Eliza Anderson.

I didn’t expect this response. I just wanted the workplace of Bolton and Fisher to be safer. I wanted other people to know it’s okay to speak up, and clearly by these articles, I’ve created that.

“I’m so proud of you,” Finn says, sweeping me into his arms. “This is all because of what you did. Once he was arrested these people felt the need to tell their story.”

I’m overwhelmed by the response, but I’m also thrilled that I was able to make this impression. Leaving my job looks like the best decision I’ve made, because what I hoped to accomplish at that company has been done. There’s no reason to stay.

“This is crazy,” I say, as Finn leans down and kisses me. “I had no idea I would have made this big of an impact.”

“You always have a big impact, Sarah.”

We sit together scrolling though the articles online and it really is appalling how long this has been going on for. The earliest accuser is from Andrew’s college days, and I’m not shocked that he started out assaulting girls he went on dates with.

In one of the articles a woman claims Andrew’s father paid her off, all of it done under the table so she never reported it to the campus police. Her allegations dying along with her student loans. Like I said, he preys on the weak, and he knew this woman needed the money.

When we’ve found out everything we can about Andrew, Finn and I spend the rest of the day getting my things from Erin and Ryan’s house.

“Shouldn’t you be at work?” I ask when I’ve lugged the last box into our house, realizing I’m the only one who is currently jobless.

“I decided to take the day off. I went in this morning, but I felt like I needed a mental health day. And I wanted to get your ass moved in here as soon as possible.”

“What, you worried I was going to change my mind?”

Finn chuckles and pinches my side as he walks by me to hang a few things in the closet. “No. I’m your sugar daddy right now.”

“I knew I shouldn’t have quit my job.”

We continue joking around as we unpack my things, but I have way more than I think and it’s taking far longer than I thought.

Finn suggests we take a break and I couldn’t agree more because I’m starving.

But as I watch him lift a box out of the doorway, every muscle in his body flexing, I’m distracted.

“Are you checking me out, Sarah Summers?” Finn teases. “I thought all the magic was supposed to die when we moved in together.”

“Nah, I think that’s after we get married,” I joke back, giving him a wink.

He meets me in the middle of the room and walks me backward until my legs hit the bed. “Then we’re never getting married,” he murmurs in my ear as his hands slide under my shirt.

He cups my breast, his fingers sliding over my nipple and I moan out loud. But just as things are getting good, Finn’s phone begins to vibrate in his pocket.

“Back to being the chief,” I say, as he backs away from me and reaches into his pocket.

“Finn O’Loughlin.”

I step out of the room, letting him have his space. This is something I’m going to have to get used to. This town might be small, but he’s still their chief and the first point of contact.

He spends about ten minutes on the phone, and when he emerges from the bedroom, he looks like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah. That was Detective Greenwood. He was calling to tell me that he was able to locate Carla’s sister and she’s now with Carla.”

“That’s great news. I wondered if she had anyone.”

After Finn got that call from Carla’s ex-husband I wondered if she had any family who could help her. I imagine having a family member with mental illness is hard, but I look at Ryan and my sisters and I know we’d be there for each other regardless.

“I want her to get the help she needs,” Finn says. “I never wanted anything horrible to happen to her. Sending her to jail won’t be any help to her. I’m hoping Greenwood can push for a mental health facility.”

I smile at him. I watch his concern for Carla take over and it makes me love him even more. I’m so lucky to have him in my life.

“I love you, Finn O’Loughlin,” I say, pressing up on my toes to kiss him.

“What was that for?”

“Because you are the kindest man I have ever known.”