Page 86 of Any Luck at All

When Georgie got to the Asheville Regional Airport, she waited outside the security exit, nervous about seeing her baby sister. While she’d talked to Adalia twice during the day, both calls had been short, and they hadn’t talked about anything of substance. The unspoken understanding was that they’d do all their sharing once they saw each other. Besides, there’d been plenty for Adalia to do as she packed and squared things away to stay in Asheville for the indefinite future.

A group of people began trickling out of the doors, and then Georgie saw her. Adalia’s short blond hair was a mess, and she had red puffy eyes underscored with dark circles. She carted a rolling carry-on suitcase behind her, and something about her gaze searching for Georgie in the crowd made her look like a lost child. As soon as Adalia saw her, she took off running, barely stopping before she threw her arms around Georgie and began crying.

Georgie stumbled backward a few feet, absorbing her impact, then held on tight, her worry for her sister growing exponentially by the second.

“I’m so sorry,” Adalia cried into her shoulder.

“Hey,” Georgie said as she pulled back and smoothed the hair off Adalia’s cheek. “We’re gonna fix this, okay?”

Adalia looked up at her with hazel eyes so wide with hope Georgie couldn’t help but wonder what it was she’d done.

They collected her two large suitcases and wrestled them into the back of Georgie’s Lexus—which had been delivered a few days prior—then headed back to Beau’s house.

Five minutes of silence ticked away before Georgie asked the obligatoryHow was your flight?question, and Adalia announced she’d sat next to someone with terrible B.O. Finally, her sister asked, “Aren’t you going to grill me about what happened?”

Georgie started to answer, then stopped, darting a quick glance at Adalia before returning her attention to the road. “You’ll tell me when you’re ready.”

They got home, and each of them rolled one of the suitcases to the house. Georgie had learned her lesson after the disaster with Josie. Thank God, River had saved so much of her stuff. A smile came to her lips.

“Who is he?” Adalia asked with narrowed eyes.

Georgie’s heart nearly leaped out of her chest, but she managed to hide it, she thought.

“What are you talking about?” she asked as she unlocked the front door.

“Okay, I’ll let it go for now,” Adalia said as she followed her in. “But expect an interrogation later. Just like I’m waiting for mine.”

Georgie stopped and turned to her sister. “There will be no interrogation from me later. I meant it, Addy. You tell me whenyou’reready. I’m just glad you’re here.”

They carted the bags upstairs, and Georgie showed her the bedroom she’d picked out for her, a room whose windows looked out onto the backyard. River had turned on a lamp on the bedside table, giving it an inviting look.

“It reminded me of a tree house. I remembered how you always wanted one when we were kids,” Georgie said, now feeling foolish—then horrified when Adalia’s eyes filled with tears. “We can exchange rooms, if you like. Or you can have one of the other two.”

Adalia shook her head. “No. I love it.”

Relief rushed through Georgie’s body and she sagged against a dresser. At least she’d gotten this one thing right. “Okay. Good.”

Adalia set her suitcase down at the end of the bed and stared out the window. “Why aren’t you yelling at me? Or telling me what a screwup I am?”

“Because you arenota screwup,” Georgie said insistently. “You made a mistake. We’ll fix it.”

“Dad would be furious.And Lee…” She released a sob and sat on the bed, still looking out the windows. “He knew what was happening, but he would never understand this.”

Georgie bit back the urge to ask why Adalia hadn’t come to her before, but she must have had her reasons and Georgie’s hurt feelings had no place here. Besides, River was right—when it had mattered, Adalia had come to her. “Well, I’m glad you noticed I’m not like Dad or Lee,” she said with a small laugh. “We may all be in business, but I handle things very differently than they do.”

Adalia turned back to face her with bloodshot eyes. “I know. I realized that when the three of us had breakfast. You were so passionate about the brewery. Dad and Lee might be good at what they do, but they’re never passionate about it. But you…” She cringed and her gaze lowered to the vintage white chenille bedspread, her fingertips rubbing absentmindedly over the bumps. “I figured you were like Dad, all cold and businessy. I guess I was wrong.”

Georgie couldn’t suppress her laugh. “Businessy?”

Adalia looked up with a grin. “You know. Like you have a stick up your ass.”

Georgie nodded, still laughing. “Okay.” She sat on the bed next to her sister. “You usually see me when I’m with Dad and/or Lee, and I guess I’m different when I’m with them. I act like I think they want me to act. That’s not the real me. It’s maybe who they want me to be.”

As she said the words, she knew they were true. How had she never realized that before?

Adalia reached over and took her sister’s hand. “That’s sad, Georgie.”

“I know,” she whispered.

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