Page 87 of Steadfast

The stairs were still down on the tarmac, and Harper was standing on the platform just outside the open door to the cabin. After three days in the same outfit, it didn’t matter what designer was on the label. Her clothes were disheveled and wrinkled, and her hair was pulled up in a tight ponytail that made the edges of her face look even more taut. She was barking orders at the staff with a deep scowl etched into her expression.

For the first time ever, Maeve found herself thankful for her sister’s finicky, demanding temperament as it had delayed their departure to the runway.

She parked and pushed her heavy door open. Oakleigh followed closely behind as she stepped across the gray cement tarmac towards the plane.

Harper took a second glance as she finally noticed Maeve clanking her way up the metal stairs. Her previous scowl curled into a look of disgust. “And just what do you think you’re doing?”

Maeve gestured to Oakleigh to stay put at the bottom of the staircase, at least for the time being.

“You know, Maeve, I thought we had some sort of understanding,” Harper shouted over the deafening hum of the engines. “You stay away from me, and I leave you to yourpitifullittlefarm.”

“I’m not here for us, Harper. This is about Paisley and Oakleigh.” She glanced back down at Oakleigh, who waited patiently with one foot on the bottom step. “Let them talk, Harp.”

“I told you not to call me that,” Harper hissed, her gaze growing even colder. “Paisley’s made her choice.”

“Encourage her to be better,” Maeve pleaded as she attempted to rationalize with her sister, hoping that some form of maternal instinct was buried beneath her hardened exterior.

Harper’s face distorted into a sneer of sorts, compliments of her most recent cosmetic fillers. “Better than who?” She folded her arms and raised her chin. “I know you’re not saying better thanme. Because I stayed, Maeve. I stuck around and put in the work. Remember? Surely you remember. Honestly, how could you forget.” Her words dripped with contempt as she looked at Maeve as though she was the most pathetic thing she had ever laid eyes on.

“Okay,” Maeve dropped her tone, attempting to sidestep Harper’s trap for winding her up. “But Oakleigh and Paisley don’t have to be likeus. Let Oakleigh apologize and make things right.”

“I’d be proud for Paisley to be like me,” Harper exclaimed, jamming a finger at herself. “You’re teaching Oakleigh to be weak and a quitter just likeyou.”

Maeve hadn’t intended the conversation to make the sudden pivot, but it seemed to be spiraling out of her control.

“Would you like to talk about us, Harper? Wecan—”

“What is there to talk about?” Harper was yelling now, and not just to be heard over the roar of the plane’s turbines. Her jaw clenched as she gritted her teeth. “You left me! You left me in that house, Maeve.”

It was clear now that their argument wasn’t about Oakleigh and Paisley at all. Suddenly, it was as though they were teenagers again sitting together in the hallway of their dysfunctional family home.

“I’m sorry, Harper,” Maeve responded as she reached out to grasp her sister’s shoulder.

Harper’s eyebrows pinched together as a pained expression flitted across her face. She swiped Maeve’s hand away. “Don’t you touch me, don’tyouever touch me. I’m not a victim.” She jabbed her finger again hard into her chest. “I put up with all of it. I did as I was told, and I deserve this.” She threw her hand out to encompass the luxury of the plane. “I deserve all of this.”

Maeve felt a tremor return to her voice, “I know I didn’t do everything right.” She crossed her arms closely to her chest as she steeled her nerves and met Harper’s icy gaze. “I’m willing to sit down with you, and we can talk about it.”

Harper threw her head back and laughed callously. “And then what?”

“And maybe we’ll understand each other a little better.” Maeve shrugged. “We both deserve some closure. Wouldn’t it be nice to finally have some peace?”

The coldness in Harper’s expression was the answer to her request.

Maeve tried one last time, shifting back to the pressing matter at hand. “If we can’t figure it out, at least let Oakleigh talk to Paisley, just one last time? Maybe they won’t need decades like us. Maybe they can work it out.”

“I know exactly what you’re doing, Maeve,” she spat. “You can have your little ranch andOakleigh,but you can’t take Paisley too.” Harper’s lip curled into a mean smirk. “You’re not welcome here, and neither is Oakleigh. She’s your problem now.” With those final words, Harper disappeared into the cabin.

Maeve glanced back at Oakleigh, who had thankfully only caught pieces of the conversation over the loud whine of the engines. She met Oakleigh’s searching eyes and gently shook her head. Oakleigh nodded, letting her know she fully understood that Maeve’s wishful thinking had been just that.

Slamming the truck door behind her, Maeve propped her elbow on the window and exhaled, running her fingers across her brow. The long staircase folded into the jet as it prepared for takeoff, and the pilot steered the plane to the runway. A moment later, the wheels lifted off the ground, and they disappeared into the distant sky.

“Well, that’s about what I expected,” Oakleigh remarked, interrupting the heavy silence between them. “She didn’t shove you down the stairs, though, so that was a pleasant surprise.”

“I had to try,” Maeve whispered. “I just had to.”She felt tired, so very tired. It was more than just physicalexhaustion. Harper had caused buried wounds to rise to the surface, and she felt weary.

She made a sharp U-turn, and they made their way back through the airport gate. She gave a polite wave to Bill, who didn’t bother to wave back.

“She’s a lost cause, Maeve,” Oakleigh finally said, gazing out the window at the trees and mountains that whizzed past.

---