Page 49 of The Moment He Couldn’t Walk Away

She turned to look at him, head still resting. “You can’t.”

Why was he pushing this? Finch 2.0, which Cill was calling this version of the man, was different. He didn’t seem to like people overmuch, and definitely avoided talking to them, so why did he care about what Sheriff Dans had told him?

“I’m not forcing you to tell me, Nina, but it might help if you talk to someone.”

“No offense, Finch, and I’m grateful for the ride home and for you watching over me while I puked, but you’re not really the confiding type. I have friends for that.”

Clearly not offended she didn’t think of him as a friend, he said, “Have you talked to them?”

“No. This—I only just found out.”

“So you’re telling me there is something going on?”

She watched him sip his coffee then. No pressure. Not crowding her. Just patience she hadn’t asked for and didn’t quite know what to do with.

“I’m just not ready to talk about this with anyone, Finch.”

“I won’t share what you tell me, Nina. Hell, I don’t even talk to people if I can help it, most days.”

That pulled a small laugh out of her. She looked down at her mug.

“Come on, I’m good for it. I promise. If you don’t tell me, I’ll have to go back to the sheriff and hound him.”

Nina knew he could be trusted to keep what she said to himself, but did she want him to know?

“Just tell me and get it over with.”

Maybe talking about it all again would help her make sense of everything? Only a handful of people knew, but Dan had told her to talk to her friends. Finch wasn’t really that but still…

“I’m going to tell my friends, but until I do, you can’t tell anyone, Finch.”

“Okay.”

“I wasn’t born Nina Winters.”

She felt him go still beside her.

“Who were you?”

“I don’t⁠—”

“Just tell me, Nina. I won’t share what you say with anyone I promise.”

“I was Christina Falcon. My father was a criminal, but Mom didn’t know that when she married him. When I was three years old, he was put in prison for drug smuggling.” She paused, taking a sip of her tea to ease the tightness in her throat. “When he was imprisoned, Mom left and changed our names. She ended up here. The day she died, Nancy handed me a letter Mom had given her, which explained everything.”

“Christ, that had to be a tough read.”

And then some. “She told me to go to Sheriff Dans, as he knew the full story. He was the one who told me my father got out of prison two months ago.” She swallowed. “He then handed me a box Mom had asked him to hold on to until she had passed. Dan, Nancy, and Hank also know all this.”

“Holy fuck, Nina. This all has to mess with your head.”

It did. More than she’d let herself admit. She nodded. “The box was full of money.”

“And you used that to buy Circle Left?”

“Yes. I talked to Sheriff Dans about it, and he said I should use it for whatever I wanted, as it came from Mom. So, I told Nancy and Hank I wanted to buy Circle Left.” She glanced around the room—her haven.

She heard him whistle softly.