Lovely Hues | Fillie AU

Chapter Eleven

Walking out of the telephone room, Finn immediately felt eyes on him. He looked over to see Sadie's gaze quickly readjusting from him to the paper in front of her that she held a pen against. He furrowed his eyebrows then straightened them so as not to look conspicuous.

"Sorry for the long call." he said.

"Oh, it's no problem." She replied, "Was it. . .productive?"

He released the air in his lungs loudly, shoving his hands in his jean pockets, "I uh, I'm not too sure to be honest."

"Well," she said with a crinkle in her forehead, "Being unsure leaves more doors open than a concrete yes or no. Maybe with time, you'll find it was more productive than you think."

Finn cocked his head. That was an oddly insightful statement that he wasn't expecting right then. Before he had the chance to respond though, Caleb walked through the front doors.

Finn looked to the new arrival who seemed surprised to see him. The farmer's dark eyes darted to Sadie, then back to Finn before walking up to him, extending his arm for a greeting.

"Finn." He said, "How are you today?"

"Could be worse." He answered, shaking his hand, "Could be better."

"The human condition." Caleb said, still sounding a bit taken by surprise. He looked nervous, like he'd been caught somewhere he wasn't supposed to be and a quick glance to Sadie showed a similar, if not exact same, sentiment on her face as well.

They all sort of silently appraised each other for a moment and Finn got the feeling that he should leave but didn't exactly know why. The energy in the room seemed so charged that it could explode at any second and he started to feel the urge to duck and cover yet silence was all that continued.

It seemed that whatever business Caleb came here for, it had nothing to do with him and everything to do with Sadie, whose cheeks were taking on a rosy shade and Finn was starting to have the sneaking suspicion that maybe these two were more than acquaintances. And maybe he should leave so they could have the privacy they were looking for.

"Well," Finn said, feeling more and more like a third wheel of a bicycle, "I should probably go back to my room."

Caleb stepped closer to Sadie's desk, his shoulders visibly relaxing, "Okay," He said, "Let me know when I can get a peek at those pictures from yesterday. I can't wait to see em'."

"They should be ready in a week or so," Finn said, "I'll bring them by as soon as they are."

"No rush." Caleb said with an easy going hand gesture, "I'm in no hurry, only excited to see the farm from a photographer's view."

Finn grinned, "Unfortunately, your flattery won't be able to speed up the process."

Caleb sniggered, "Had to try," he said, "But seriously, take your time. I know it takes a bit to do those things right."

He nodded in agreement then turned to leave but stopped short when Caleb said, "Oh, wait!" He turned back toward his friend who then said, "Charlie wanted me to mention that he might know of another gig for you."

Finn fought a grimace at the mention of Millie's husband but said, "I'm all ears."

"He said his sister's sister-in-law will be needing a photographer at her wedding sometime in the spring. I know you aren't planning on staying that long, but maybe on your way back to Canada you can stop by?"

Finn didn't know Charlie had a sister here. He assumed it was just him and his wife and their kids. Nevertheless, he nodded, "Yeah, I think that's doable. Just saw him actually, down by the repair shop."