Homecoming (A Finn McCoy Paranormal Thriller #1)

  ***

  Thankfully, the storm had passed by the time McCoy left Lyle’s office. The sun was trying to peek out from behind the broken clouds as he opened Boo’s door and climbed into the cab. He put the key in the ignition and started to crank it, then reconsidered and sat back in the seat. Through the drying windshield, he could see Main Street. Now that the rain had stopped, people were back on the sidewalks as they busied themselves with the day’s errands.

  From where he sat, he could see Gravely’s Hardware. McCoy realized he hadn’t set foot in that store for over fifteen years, yet it was still there. And, by the looks of it, still doing a thriving business. Farther up the street was the Blue Moon Diner, where he’d once had the audacity to ask Audrey Marshall for a kiss. How old had he been? Fourteen, maybe? He tried to remember but couldn’t. Beside the diner was the old arcade, put out of business years ago by the release of home gaming systems.

  A wave of nostalgia passed over him, mixed with a good healthy dose of guilt. Why had it taken him so long to come back, to try to help? Sure, he’d returned on the rare occasion over the years, but it was never more than a quick foray in and out, and only when the matter was urgent. He had been more than willing to push Shallow Springs to the back of his mind, storing it there like a chest of unwanted junk.

  But maybe he was missing the important question: why did he want to help now? What had changed in the past year that made him want to take on ridding the town of the Fey as his personal quest? God knew he had been perfectly content to just avoid the fairies for years. There had to be a reason.

  He thought that maybe there were two reasons. The first was Amanda. She was a good, strong person. When he compared himself to her, he found himself lacking. That had never mattered to him before, simply because he hadn’t cared for anyone deeply enough to value what they thought of him. But that had changed. Amanda was the type of person who would have the courage to do the right thing. McCoy wanted to be like that, too.

  Secondly, he was getting older. He no longer held any illusions of immortality. And if death were to find him, he wanted to be doing something worthwhile.

  Something right.

  He twisted the key and started the truck. Though it might prove to be the end of him, he had decided that it was time to take the fight to the Fey.