Chapter 46

Tess pulled Stevie's ute into the garage at Drovers Run. She felt good, but unsettled. She needed to process how she was feeling. She needed to talk about it. She decided she needed her sister.

She pulled out her phone and texted Jodi.

"Hey. U up?" She texted.

"Yeah. Katie had a nightmare. She's okay now though. What's up?" replied Jodi.

"Glass of wine on the terrace?" sent Tess.

"Sure. Cya in a few."

Jodi climbed out of bed, put a light bathrobe on, and headed downstairs. She stopped in the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of wine and two glasses, and headed outside to the terrace, curious about what Tess wanted to talk about.

Tess was already sitting in one of the chairs. Jodi poured two glasses of wine and handed one to her sister.

"I went on a date with Finn O'Hara today," confessed Tess.

"Wow. That's not what I was expecting you to say," admitted Jodi.

"It's not what I was expecting to do today."

"So how was the date?" asked Jodi, getting excited about the new development in her sister's life.

"It was much better than yesterday's dinner. I actually really enjoyed it. It's been a very long time since I had dinner with a man that I was interested in getting to know romantically," said Tess.

"But you're interested in getting to know Finn romantically?" questioned Jodi, excited at hearing those words come out of Tess's mouth.

"I think I am. It's all very odd to me. It was nice and easy to be with Finn tonight, but I'm still unsure about all of it." said Tess.

"Okay. Did you kiss him?" asked Jodi with a smirk.

"He gave me a very nice hug and a brief, gentle, good night kiss on the lips. No tongues were involved," said Tess, as she blushed.

"Did you like the kiss? Did you want him to do more? Did you want his tongue to be involved?" asked Jodi, pushing for details.

"I liked the kiss and the embrace. It felt good being in his arms, but I'm glad he didn't do any more. I'm not ready to move fast. I need to move slowly, if I do this at all. It was a perfect good night kiss for a first date," Tess was smiling.

"Did he ask for a second date? How did it end?"

"He said he would like to see me again and asked if I was okay with that. I said I was. He said he would ring me tomorrow to schedule another date."

"So it sounds like things went well. Why do you feel unsure? " asked Jodi.

"Well, obviously, it's been like almost twenty years since I had a real first date. It's something new and different. Also, I'm not sure I want to get into a serious relationship. I like my life as it is now, and I'm worried about it changing too much. There is also the fear of getting hurt again, obviously. You know how things were after I came back from Argentina, I don't want to go through that again. I thought Nick was my soul mate and I was devastated when I found him with someone else and our marriage ended. What if I fall in love with Finn and he rips my heart out and cheats on me too?" Tess wondered aloud.

"Then I'll be here to get you through it. We all will. But I have a question for you. What if Finn is a wonderful guy and could make you really happy and you don't give him a chance because you're scared?" questioned Jodi.

"Then I guess I'd be worse off. He did something very unexpected though and I'm not really sure what I think about it yet."

"What's that?" asked Jodi.

"Well, I got a flat tire on my way to town in Stevie's ute and Finn happened to drive by and he stopped to help me change it. That's when we got talking. I apologized to him for having to sit there while Claire and Xander aired all of my dirty laundry and for the personal questions they asked him. His response was sweet. but unexpected. He told me he was sorry that my secrets were exposed without my permission. He told me he wanted to learn all about me, but on my terms, when I was ready to share, and that he was sorry for the pain that Nick had obviously caused me." said Tess.

"I think that's sweet and genuine," Jodi said.

"But then he revealed something really personal about his past, completely unprovoked."

"Really? What did he say?

"He told me that his wife was struck by a car and killed. She was pregnant. It happened eight years ago, and that if it hadn't happened, he would have a child about Katie's age. That was why he moved away from Wyoming," revealed Tess.

"Wow. That's really heavy, and so sad," said Jodi. "Poor Finn."

"He said it was only fair that, since he knew most of my baggage, I should know something about his baggage. This was right before he asked me to get coffee with him."

"I think he recognized that you were probably feeling vulnerable about him knowing about Nick and stuff and was trying to make himself vulnerable, too, so you would feel more comfortable. I actually think it's kind of romantic," said Jodi.

"It shocked me. That must have been a terrible time for him." said Tess. "Finding out you're going to be a parent, but then losing your partner and your baby in one horrible moment. How do you come back from that?"

"I imagine it was, but I think it was his way of saying 'Look, we're not twenty-one. We've both been through some shit in our lives. We both have scars and pain we carry, but it doesn't mean we can't move forward together.' I think it's a great outlook." said Jodi.

"Jodi, that was beautifully said. It's probably true, but I'm not sure if, or when, I should tell Claire. I know she wanted us to get together, but it's very early and I don't want her to be scheduling a wedding or anything. I'm not sure I ever want to marry again. I'm not sure I ever want to live with a man again. I think I'd like to spend some more time with Finn, and I explained that to him, and I think he is okay with going slow and keeping it somewhat casual, but I don't know if Claire could handle that. I also don't like the idea of sneaking around or lying to her about where I am or who I'm with," admitted Tess.

"I think it's okay to keep your relationship private for now. Why don't you go on a couple more dates and then reevaluate? You might both decide that there isn't a future there and then you'll have just saved Claire some disappointment. You also might find that you like spending time with him, and want him to be around the family more, and then you'll want to tell her. She is growing into a wonderful young woman and she only wants what all of us want, for you to be happy, Tess," said Jodi.

"Thanks Jodi. I needed a sister talk tonight."

"Any time, sis. I'm glad you went on the date tonight. I'm proud of you for giving it a try," said Jodi as she put her arm around Tess and gave her a squeeze.

"I love you Jodi. Thanks for helping me process this. I'm so lucky you're my sister. I'm not ready for people to know about this date thing yet. Obviously you can tell Matt but, otherwise, please don't mention it," requested Tess.

"Of course I won't tell anyone but Matt. I love you, too. Are you feeling better now?" inquired Jodi.

"I am. I just needed to talk through it. I think I'm ready for bed now. Good night Sis," said Tess.

"Good night Tess."