I Remember You

Chapter 12

Finn paced his room, deliberating if he should make the call. It had been a while since he had reached out to his old teammates. He believed in leaving the past in the past where it belonged, but now he had that little slip of a girl getting under his skin and upsetting his well-ordered life, and he was not pleased.

The question was, would the phone call help?

He had been doing all he could to put some distance between himself and Lily, and she had been right; he was doing his best to avoid her, more than he did anyone else. The moment she walked into her audition and choked on a piece of candy, he felt curious to know more, and it had been a long time since he had wanted to know much about anything.

He picked up the phone and scrolled through the contacts, secretly hoping his name would have been accidentally erased, but no, there it was, right where it should be. The question he had to ask himself was what he wanted from the phone call.

He wanted a reason to stay away. He needed a reason to stay away.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed call and listened to it ring, once, twice and then it was answered.

"I was wondering how long it would take you to call." It was obvious his number was still on his friend's phone. "How have you been?"

"I'm doing alright," Finn said, still pacing. It wasn't easy reaching out, remembering the past.

"How's your mom and sister?" He remembered everything, he always did, but so did Finn and that was the reason this was so hard.

"They're fine."

"Mike?" Finn smiled at the thought of his nephew; he was one of the people who gave him purpose and kept him going. They needed each other.

"He's fine," Finn said.

"And acting, how's that treating you, we watch the show and enjoy it."

"It's a job and pays the bills like it's meant to." Finn knew he wasn't being overly friendly, so he attempted to reach out with a question of his own.

"How's married life treating you?"

"It's nice. I highly recommend it."

There was a heavy silence.

"Ask your question, Baxter." He could hear the smile in his friend's voice.

"Is she yours?" he asked quickly, like ripping off a bandaid.

"I'm guessing you mean Lily?"

"Yes, I finally got around to looking at her bio, and she's from the same town you are and has the same name." Finn sat heavily on the bed.

"She's my niece. I wondered why it took you so long to call. I thought for sure you would have pieced it together much more quickly. You're getting soft in your old age."

"No, not really. I'm only trying to keep my distance." He stood and started to pace again. "Have you told her that you know me?" he asked with a sudden realization that that could be the reason she was trying to be so friendly. He almost hoped it was the reason because then it would be easier to blow her off when she tried

"No, why?" Lee asked, and Finn could hear the curiosity in his voice.

"She's trying to make friends, and I can't figure out why." It sounded lame even to his own ears, but Lee didn't laugh as he expected.

"You've fallen pretty far down your rabbit hole of loneliness, haven't you?" His concern was evident in his voice. "Lily is special, and I won't discuss her with you any more than I will discuss you with her, but I will warn you. If she's determined to make friends, you might as well just accept it and give in gracefully."

"And if she wants to be more than friends?" It was harsh and unnecessary, and it was Finn lashing out in fear and anger because Lee was pointing out his weakness, and he knew that, but he couldn't stop it.

"That's none of my business, she's an adult, but I will say be careful. She's young and sweet." Lee advised.

"Your comment directly refutes itself," Finn growled.

Lee laughed. "It does, doesn't it? But that's Lily." There was a long pause. "I'm guessing that you're calling me looking for a reason to avoid the situation."

"You're my commanding officer," Finn supplied.

"No, I was your commanding officer; those days are long past for both of us. I'm not going to order you to stay away from Lily. If you want to do that, you're going to have to do it all by yourself, brother."

"What's your fear, your leg? Does she know?" Lee asked, getting to the heart of the matter, going for the jugular like he always did.

"Yes, she saw it, but that's only the tip of a very deep iceberg."

"I get that. I think all of your brothers would. Just out of curiosity, though, what did she say when she found out?"

"She told me I was frustrating and then got distracted by some horses."

Lee laughed out loud, and Finn couldn't help but smile in response.

"Sounds like her. I trust you'll figure it out on your own, but watch your back. My money is on Lily."

"You've been no help!" Finn grumbled.

"Nope, but it was nice to hear your voice, brother. We'll be down soon, and we'll get together while I'm there," Lee insisted.

"I'll think about it," Finn said, fighting another smile.

"I think it's about time to let go of the past and walk into the present," Lee stressed the word walk.

"Sure, Mercer," Finn said before ending the call.

That had been completely pointless, and he was no better off than he had been before the call.

*******

Lily was standing looking down at the boat, which was a good two feet away from the dock. That small distance seemed like a huge chasm for Lily, who wasn't used to boats. Boarding the boat on the way to the island had been a breeze, there had been a platform that had covered the gap from the dock to the boat.

"Come on, Lily," Mason teased, holding out his hand. "You can do it!"

Jo and Tom were watching her closely, and Cindy was calling words of encouragement.

"No, I can't," she insisted. She was so focused on the gap that she was unaware of Mason looking behind her.

"A little help?" he asked. Lily barely had time to turn around and see who he was talking to before Finn swept her up in his arms and stepped into the boat in one smooth move. How he kept his balance, she had no clue.

He sat her down and shot her a look full of such anger that she physically took a step back. Did he think she was doing it on purpose?

"Good, now that's all settled we can get going," Mason said, turning to Otto and motioning for him to get going. Finn automatically released the lines and pushed off, setting them on their way.

Lily watched as he did it all with grace, then headed toward the back of the boat. She somehow understood that he wanted to be alone, so she fought the instinct to follow him.

It was proving to be an instinct that was proving harder and harder to fight.