Page 63 of The Moment He Couldn’t Walk Away

“Nina said that, too, but that’s how my mind works.”

“You’d make a good cop,” Dan said.

“Absolutely not,” Finch argued.

Dan snorted. “If he’s got people looking for her, they’ll find those name-change records eventually, even in a country as big as this. We need to keep an eye on who arrives in town, and on Nina too.”

“I will,” Finch said before he thought better of it.

“Good.” Unlike other members of this town, he said nothing further about Finch putting his hand up to watch her. “Now, let’s go look at your future.”

“I didn’t say I wanted to buy it, just look at it.”

Dan tapped his nose, then got out of his pickup and climbed into his cruiser. Shaking his head, Finch followed him down the driveway.

The home was a single-story farmhouse, painted yellow. Not a soft buttercup yellow. No, this was bright and loud. His mother would love it. There was a large barn to the left, its sliding door open. Dan parked his cruiser, and Finch pulled in next to him.

A young boy sprinted out of the barn toward them. “Hey, Dan. How come you’re here?” His hat had flaps like Blue’s, and he wore gloves and a coat.

“I knew you and Leah were here,” Dan said, bending to hug the boy.

Hudson was Dan’s partner’s nephew, and when his mom passed away, his aunt stepped in to raise him.

“This is Finch,” Dan said, with a hand on Hudson’s shoulder. “He’s a friend.”

Finch acknowledged the boy. “Hi.”

“Hi. We’re inside feeding the Burns’s chickens.”

“You go and help your aunt, bud, and I’m going to show Finch the farmhouse,” Dan said. “I’ll be back soon.”

The boy ran back inside the barn.

“He’s going to love having a baby,” Dan said as they headed toward the farmhouse.

“Leah’s pregnant?”

“Yeah, two months along.”

“Congratulations, man. That’s awesome.”

Dan’s smile was wide. “It really is.”

Finch had always wanted kids and a partner to grow old with. He’d thought about the woman he’d eventually marry—someone who could handle being a military wife. But everything was different now. Before he even considered a future with someone and a family, he’d need to get his head on straight and work out what he was going to do with the rest of his life.

“It needs some work, but it’s not in bad condition,” Dan said as they walked up to the bright red front door. “Not sure what they were thinking with the color scheme, and as you can imagine, the locals weren’t too happy, but as it wasn’t visible from the road, they let it lie.”

“It takes all sorts,” Finch said, following Dan inside.

“At least you’d be a quiet neighbor, but I can’t vouch for us,” Dan said.

“Just looking, at this stage.”

Finch stepped into a large living area. The size surprised him, as these houses often tended to have smaller rooms. But clearly some walls had been removed. The color scheme inside wasn’t any better than the outside, with a purple feature wall, but it had good bones. He could see that right off.

Three bedrooms and a bathroom, plus the kitchen that needed modernizing. While he was viewing the house, he felt something stirring inside him. The low hum of excitement had him taking it all in with an eye toward ownership. A place to call home and something to anchor him. Before, he had the army, and now he had nothing. Could this give him a purpose?

“I’ve always liked this place,” Dan said, his tone conversational. “Plenty of light, and it’s back from the road, so no nosey people looking at you. The land’s good and could be grazed or worked.”