Page 85 of Getting Lucky

“So don’t mess things up,” she said with a grin. “Speaking of Iris, she gave me a note for you.” She got up and grabbed it out of her bag, then handed it over.

He read it, his eyes dark and full of emotion. When he was done, he silently handed it over to Maisie.

Jack–

I wasn’t sure I wanted you to date Maisie at first, but that’s only because I worried you weren’t serious about her. You’ve never looked at any other woman the way you look at her though, and don’t even get me started about the way you went off like a knight on a quest to get those Christmas lights. Maisie deserves the best. And you’re the best. I just don’t want to lose her. You’ve convinced me you’re serious though, so you better make a move fast. Because people like her are rare.

I know you’re worried about finally having a life of your own. Don’t be. I’m almost eighteen, Jack, and I don’t want you to be left with nothing when I go to college. I’m sorry I was a brat about it in the beginning, but I’m glad you came here to join the brewery. You did the right thing. And Georgie and Adalia aren’t nearly as bad as I thought they were. Okay, fine, I’ll admit it. They’ve grown on me.

This is where I should tell you that I got accepted to Northwestern, early acceptance. I know you’re probably freaking out about the scholarships I probably wouldn’t qualify for. But let’s go back to the adult thing. I’m old enough to solve some of my own problems. I know you probably won’t approve, but I got in touch with my father. He agreed to pay for my tuition, all of it, as long as I sign a nondisclosure agreement the moment I turn eighteen. Easy, since the last thing I want anyone to do is associate my name with his. I know you turned down Prescott’s offer to send you away to school, so you probably won’t be happy about this. You’ll think I’m doing him a favor, but I wasn’t going to claim him anyway. Let him think he won. That’s not to say you should do the same thing. Your situation is different, and your deadbeat dad is making life miserable for your other siblings too. You want to fight him? Fight him. No one is as strong as you.

I love you, Jack. But I don’t need you to be my father anymore. I’d like you to be my brother instead.

—Iris

Sothatwas the good news Iris had received.

Maisie glanced up at Jack. His eyes looked glassy, like he was holding back tears. “Are you okay?”

“She’s right. About everything. It’s hard for me to see her as anything other than a kid. I’ve always thought things would be so much easier when she could take care of herself, but part of me feels a little lost when I think about her going away to school. Like I don’t know who I am anymore without that role.”

Which was the story of her life, really.

“But you came here anyway. You came to Asheville to stake a claim on your future. I know how hard that must have been, especially when you thought you’d have to leave her behind.” She reached out and smoothed his hair. “After my parents died, I felt like the whole world turned against me. Mary was in her second year of law school, and she was going to leave Virginia so she could come home and take care of Molly and me. Maybe I should have let her, but she was engaged to Glenn already, and it would have totally disrupted her life. I was just partway through a liberal arts degree, and I lived on the other side of town. It had to be me. Iwantedit to be me. Mary was always the responsible one, but I wanted to show her she didn’t need to take it all on her shoulders. But getting Molly through high school, helping her with her college applications, it helped me get through the worst time in my life. I put my grief aside so I could get her through hers.”

Suddenly self-conscious—was she talking too much?—she looked into his eyes, but his gaze was locked on her, his attention riveted. “I was only going to take a semester off, but then it became two and three, and then I got the idea for the shelter. By the time Molly left for school, I was fixed on getting the shelter up and running. So I had something else to focus on. I was worried that all the closeness we’d built would leak away, that we wouldn’t need each other anymore. But Jack, that part doesn’t change. Molly might live across the country, but we’ll always have a special relationship because of that time when it was just the two of us against the world. That kind of bond doesn’t go away. It’s for life.”

“You’re right.” He touched her cheek, his hand impossibly warm. “When did you stop putting it off?”

“Puttingwhatoff?”

“Your grieving.”

The words pierced through her, a ray of light that both hurt and brightened. It made her see what had been happening these last months in a way she previously hadn’t. The emotions she’d been experiencing were part of a process that had stalled out years ago.

“I guess part of it is happening now,” she admitted.

Clearing out the house. Letting go. Choosing to be happy.

His fingers trailed down to her chin and cupped it. “I’m glad you can be as strong for yourself as you were for your sisters.”

“So am I,” she whispered. “And I’m proud of Iris for being strong too.”

He looked down at the note, and his mouth ticked up into a small smile. “So am I. So damn proud. She’s smart, and it was her decision to make.”

“And what decision areyougoing to make?” she asked, tilting her head and studying him.

“About Prescott?”

“Yeah, because I’m pretty sure Dottie has some real dirt to dish. And I know exactly where they’re meeting and when.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Jack had never been a fan of sneaking around and secrets, likely because they formed the scaffolding of Genevieve’s life. “I’m not hiding behind some bush to eavesdrop on Prescott Buchanan. That would imply I give a shit about what he has to say, and I don’t.”

“Maybe so,” Maisie argued, “but I could tell Dottie has a reason for wanting you there. She may be a little eccentric, but there’s always some method to her madness.” When he didn’t answer, she added, “I think you have this picture in your head of us ducking beneath bushes like someone’s nosy neighbor. There’s actually a bar behind the greenery. Besides, I owe you a drink.”

“We’re supposed to be on the brewery tour you planned, which technically qualifies as you giving me a drink.”

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