Skin (McCullough Mountain 2) (6 page)

She frowned. “You’re twenty-eight. It isn’t
like you have to lock your life in by thirty. If you don’t like
what you’re doing, do something else.”

“But they depend on me. My dad’s getting
older and so are my uncles. I don’t hate being a logger. It’s good
money and eventually the company will be mostly mine on paper. I
just begrud
ge
never really being given a
choice. It’s like my life was chosen the same day they chose my
name.”

“Is your twin, Luke, a logger too?”

His mouth opened and he hesitated. “Yeah,
but Luke’s different.”

“Why?”

“Because he’ll come to a point where he can
either pretend to be someone he’s not or leave Center County.”

“I don’t understand.”

His lips pursed. “Luke’s a private guy and
Center County isn’t the most accepting community. I just…know there
will come a time when he decides to leave and I can’t blame
him.”

His cryptic words weren’t making much sense,
but she didn’t want to press him to reveal more than he was
comfortable with. “If you didn’t work with your family, what would
you do?”

His broad shoulder lifted and dropped.
“Don’t know. Never really had the option, so I never really gave it
much thought. I like my job, don’t get me wrong. I’m just saying
that my life isn’t a bowl of peaches. Most days I’m bored out of my
mind and want to just take off and never look back.”

“So why don’t you?”

“Because my mom would lose it and my dad
needs me. I’m just not that guy. I’m Finn McCullough, always there
to haul the load no one else wants to carry.”

She smiled. “There’s nothing wrong with
being dependable.”

“No. There’s not. It just gets old
sometimes.” He sighed and stretched.

The default screen appeared on the
television, sending the movie into sleep mode. She watched the logo
bounce slowly from corner to corner as Finnegan rested his head on
the back of her couch. Perhaps their heart-to-heart was over.

“When are you going to run once you start
work?”

Her lips pursed. She’d been wondering the
same thing. “I guess at night.”

“What about when it starts getting dark
earlier?”

“There will always be an excuse at the
ready. I’m trying not to use them.”

“We have a field on our property. It’s a
flat track and no one goes there unless there’s a scheduled game.
If you wanted to, you could run there. There are lights.”

She blinked at him. “Why are you
offering?”

“Because I know it’s important to you and I
know once daylight savings starts it’s going to be hard for you to
keep up with it. Night’s a whole different thing here than what it
looks like in the city. You can’t see past your nose on some
nights. And there are animals you need to watch out for.”

Warmth spread in her chest. It was precisely
that moment that she realized Finnegan McCullough was, in fact, her
friend. “Thank you.”

Mallory frowned over the black dress pants
and blouse on her bed. Her wardrobe needed to be toned down for
nights around town. She had no middle clothes. In her closet hung
an assortment of outfits perfect for work and her drawers were
packed with loungewear. There was no in-between.

She looked at her watch. Finn said he’d meet
her at O’Malley’s at eight and she was running out of time. She
opened her closet and inspected the hanging garments once again, as
if something perfect would magically appear.

Her gaze snagged on the big plastic bin of
items she had yet to unpack. There were skinny clothes in there
from years past, items she loved and didn’t have the heart to let
go of.

She moved a few boxes and dragged the tub
out of the closet. The top popped off with a sealed snap and she
tossed it to the floor. Her hands sifted through a hodgepodge of
shirts and jeans that were likely out of date, but she loved them
all the same. When she landed on an old pair of perfectly worn-in
jeans, she smiled.

She loved those jeans. It was ridiculous for
a piece of denim to hold so much nostalgia. Her heart steeled
itself for the emotional disparaging that usually followed when
trying on clothes.

Slipping out of her sweats, she stood and
slid the jeans over her legs. She fell back on the bed and hiked
them over her hips, sucking in to do the buttons. She stilled, her
mind hollow without a thought as the zipper glided up without a
hitch.

Frowning and blinking, she tucked her chin
against her chest and tried to see over her boobs. That wasn’t
right. She rolled off the bed and went to the mirror. They fit.
Holy shit, they fit!

Her hands gathered up her shirt as she
twisted in front of her reflection, admiring her hips and hating
the bulges that haunted her since adolescence. If she could hide
those nasty parts she could wear the jeans.

She returned to her closet and tugged down a
loose fitting, swoopy shirt that had a swatch of lase sewn in over
the chest. The purple top slid over her skin and she returned to
the mirror. She actually looked pretty good. Her fingers tugged the
top over her hips and she nodded.

The shoes she intended to wear wouldn’t go
and there was a vain part of her that could only go so casual. She
dug in her closet and produced a pair of peek-a-boo toed black
pumps. Wedging her feet into the heels she stood and smiled. This
was an improvement indeed.

As she drove to the bar, the radio gods
seemed to be celebrating with her. Nothing but great songs played
as she consistently reminded herself she was in her skinny
jeans.

As she parked, she looked for Finn’s truck.
When she didn’t see it, she hesitated.
You can go in without
him.

She lamented her lack of wingman only a
minute or two before her bolstered, skinny jeans pride insisted she
make a move. Locking her car, she grabbed her purse and headed into
the bar.

The atmosphere was familiar and
unfortunately a reminder of how she’d invisibly slinked out the
last time she was there.
You can do this.

When she spotted Kelly at the bar, she
smiled and made her way in that direction.

“Hey, Philly! Long time no see, m’lady.”

“Hi, Kelly.” She settled onto one of the
many vacant stools and checked her watch. It was ten after eight.
Finn should be here any minute.

“What are you drinking tonight?”

She ordered a glass of wine, thinking the
narrow stem would add a level of sophistication to her look.
You’re insane.

Kelly produced a glass of merlot and went to
help another patron. Mallory turned and surveyed the bar. Sitting
at the bar on the tall stools felt a little like she was on
display.

She recalled how Finn had eventually
migrated over to one of the booths the last time they’d been there.
O’Malley’s was somewhat empty at the moment so she had her pick of
the litter. Her gaze settled on the table in the back corner and
she plucked up her glass and headed that way.

After sliding into the booth, she placed her
glass on the table and settled in for some people watching. The
door continuously opened as new people arrived. Each time the bell
rang she held her breath waiting for her friend, but suffered a
bite of disappointment when a stranger appeared.

The bell rang and in walked a face she
recognized. Mallory slumped a little lower, ducking into the
shadows and watched as Erin made her way to the bar. Kelly’s
welcome of his brother’s girlfriend was indifferent. He handed her
a beer and quickly moved on.

Erin wore tight jeans and a fitted, pink
flannel with cute tucks over her thin arms. Her shoes were nothing
more than flip-flops and her hair was straight and pale gold.
Somehow Mallory knew she was one of those girls who didn’t have to
bother with straighteners and blow dryers. She was very pretty in a
low maintenance way Mallory envied.

She frowned as Erin sidled up to a man in a
green T and rugged Levis. Mallory’s frown turned to a protective
scowl as Finn’s girlfriend nudged the other man with her hip. The
man drew her close, draping his arm over her hip and whispered
something in her ear.

The bell above the door rung and Erin
immediately put space between her and the man. Her eyes darted to
the entrance and she relaxed when a man Mallory didn’t recognize
walked in.

Erin whispered to the man. He glanced at the
door and whispered something back. Erin smiled and batted her gold
lashes, then sauntered away to the bar. Mallory glanced at Kelly
who was preoccupied at the bar. Her gaze returned to Finn’s
girlfriend who sat alone at the table in the front, her fingers
rapidly moving over her phone. Was she texting Finn?

The door opened again and a group of guys
came in followed by one young girl with striking red hair. Mallory
ducked a little more into the shadows. If Erin was pretty this girl
was breathtaking.

The guys all seemed to surround the redhead
with a protective air and Mallory wondered what made a girl so
lucky. The redhead laughed and slid onto a stool at the bar,
resting her arms over the edge of the counter as she shouted for
Kelly.

Finn’s brother turned and smiled as a rowdy
cheer broke out from the group surrounding the redhead. They were
all obviously very close. Drinks were served and the group sidled
around the bar like puppies in a barn, each person crowding over
the other and reaching for whatever they needed.

Mallory drew back as she saw Erin roll her
eyes and shove her phone in her purse. She didn’t look happy. The
girl stood and strolled over to the group of newcomers, a fake
smile taking the place of her frown just before she made her
presence known.

The group turned and Mallory gasped. Every
single one of them was beautiful. The redhead glanced at Erin then
rolled her eyes, turning back to the bar as if she had better
things to do. The men all smiled politely.

Mallory recognized some of them. The blond
man she’d never seen before, but the rest of them seemed familiar.
Her shoulders tightened when her gaze landed on the man she saw at
the market with Finn’s twin.

The bell rang and the door opened. Finnegan
and his twin walked in. It was odd that she suddenly had no problem
telling them apart. It wasn’t the difference in their tattoos or
clothes. It was the glint in their eyes and the set of their
shoulders. They were identical, but very different in subtle
ways.

Finn had a kindness to his gaze that was
absent in his twin’s eyes. His twin looked like a man burdened by
secrets. He lacked the ease Finn displayed, as if he wasn’t
comfortable in his own skin.

She watched from the shadows as they joined
the others at the bar. The redhead, when she spotted them, lit up
with a stunning smile, nothing like the uninterested way she
greeted Erin.

They were each handed a beer and Finn draped
his arm over Erin’s shoulders. His date scowled at him and he
seemed to tease her. She shouldered off his touch and he visibly
sighed. Was this what his life would be like if he married her?

Mallory searched the bar and saw the guy
Erin had first talked to before Finn’s friends arrived. He was
watching the group as closely as Mallory had been.

“Hey.”

She turned and found Finn standing beside
her table. “Hey.”

He slid into the booth and she glanced
nervously back at his group of friends. Erin was leering at them.
She cleared her throat and sipped her wine. “Are they your
siblings?”

“Yup. Colin and Sammy are coming later. They
have to get Tallulah to bed first.”

“Tallulah?”

“My niece. Little devil. I think she’s God’s
way of smiting Colin for giving up his priesthood.”

She choked. “Colin was a
priest
?”

Finn chuckled. “Almost. He was in seminary
for almost ten years. Then he met Sammy.”

“Wow, he must really love her to give up
something so meaningful.”

He smiled softly and she recognized the envy
in his distant gaze. “Sammy’s something special. She makes Colin a
better man than any white collar ever could.”

“Were your parents upset?”

He sniggered. “No, but Braydon was. She was
his girlfriend first.”

“Braydon, your brother?”

He tipped his beer, pointing the neck to the
blond at the bar. “Yup. He’s over it, though.”

Her eye’s returned to Erin. She didn’t look
pleased that her boyfriend was talking to her. “Maybe you should go
back over there with your friends.”

He frowned. “They know where I am. If they
want me they can come over here.” He eased back, making himself
comfortable and stretching out in the booth.

The redhead picked up her beer and flitted
over to them, a young guy with blond hair on her trail. “Who’s
this?”

Finn shifted his legs, making room and she
slid in beside him. “Sheilagh, this is Philly, a.k.a. Mallory
Fenton. Mallory, this is my sister, Sheilagh, and my cousin,
Patrick.”

“Hi.”

Sheilagh nodded, smiled kindly, and then
turned to Finn. “What’s up Erin’s ass?”

He rolled his eyes. “I was late and she had
to sit alone for twenty minutes.”

Sheilagh snorted. “Oh, the horror.”

Mallory wanted to point out Erin was only
alone for about five minutes in reality, but it wasn’t her place.
Patrick straddled a chair at the end of the table and they talked
about people Mallory didn’t know.

After about twenty minutes of casual
chit-chat, Finn’s sister finished her beer and stood. “Are we ready
to kick this off? I want one picture of Braydon hugging the toilet
before he goes.”

“You’re evil,” Finn commented, sliding out
of the booth behind her.

“You love it.”

The three of them stood and Mallory had to
bite back her panic that they were leaving her.

Finn turned. “You coming, Philly?”