had felt shaken then, and that uneasiness still remained after they’d dropped Mason off at the sitter’s. Only minutes into their drive to Boulder, Maisie couldn’t stand being inside her own damn head with her runaway thoughts. “What do you think Hayes has found?” she asked.
Behind the driver’s seat, Clara said, “Hopefully the prick that burned our trailer.”
“I hope so,” Amelia agreed, fingering the end of her French braid. “I don’t know about all of you, but I’m beyond ready to put all this behind us and move on.”
Maisie raised a hand. “I second that.”
Amelia glanced back between the seats and smiled, not even saying anything about Maisie’s bare feet.
How things had changed. Maisie remembered a time when Clara would’ve swooshed her feet off and Amelia would’ve have snapped that they stunk, even if they hadn’t. They were kinder to one another now. Everything was so different. Not only because of Laurel’s death, which ultimately had brought her closer to her sisters, but the brewery had changed them too. She realized, for the first time ever in her life, it felt like she belonged right there in the car with them. And Maisie couldn’t help but wonder if that’s exactly what Pops had planned all along. That his final wishes had nothing to do with the brewery itself but about bringing Maisie into Clara and Amelia’s tight circle.
“Any word from the insurance adjuster?” Amelia asked, dragging Maisie from her thoughts.
Clara turned down the country song on the radio. “I talked to them this morning. He said it’d be weeks before we see any money, but I got the feeling that weeks actually means months.”
“Great,” Maisie grumbled, watching a hawk soaring over the hay field through her window. “I never understood why any of this takes so long. We’ve been paying the insurance company for years to ensure we’ve got money there if we need it. Why all the friggin’ paperwork? Just cut the damn check.”
“You won’t hear me arguing,” Clara said. “It’s ridiculous.”
Amelia agreed with a quick nod, looking ready to speak, when the GPS indicated a right turn ahead. Clara made the turn, and then Amelia looked between the seats again, a big fat grin on her face. “Now that Mason’s out of the car, want to talk about what happened with Hayes and Seth last night?”
Maisie stared down at her throbbing finger in her lap. “Nothing happened with either of them.”
“It didn’t look like nothing to me,” Amelia said, voice light. “I saw Hayes’s face when he walked up and saw you dancing with Seth. He didn’t look happy.”
Maisie sighed, rested her head back against the headrest and looked at her sister. “Believe me when I tell you that Hayes is not jealous over Seth. I told him why Seth and I broke up, and well…he didn’t like how Seth bailed. That’s the reason for the tension last night.”
“He’s not the only one,” Clara cut in. “But I’ve got agree with Amelia, he definitely wasn’t glaring at Seth because Seth’s a shitty guy.”
Maisie glanced at Clara in the rearview mirror. “You saw him too?”
She nodded, and her eyes squinted a little. “Listen, I wasn’t going to say anything, but I’m your older sister and keep thinking that maybe I should.”
“Am I going to hate what you’re about to say?” Maisie asked with caution.
Clara laughed softly. “No.”
“Then proceed.”
Clara’s amused eyes came to Maisie’s again in the rearview mirror before they softened. She pulled the car over, kicking up dust on the gravel side. On the quiet country road, Clara unhooked her seat beat. “I hope you know you don’t owe anything to Hayes or Laurel.”
A frown tugged on Maisie’s mouth. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Clara turned fully in her seat. “I mean, just be happy, Maisie. You’ve been through so much. Far more than most people. And we saw you pick yourself up from your pain and start living again.”
Amelia agreed with a soft, “You were so strong. We’re so proud.”
“Don’t make me cry,” Maisie said, pointing at Amelia.
“Won’t. Promise.” Amelia laughed, raising her hands in surrender.
Clara continued as if she’d never been interrupted, “I just want you to really think about why your heart reaches for Hayes. Is it because he’s giving you all the happiness in the world? Or is it because you and Hayes have been through hell and back and now you feel obligated to be there for him?”
Maisie nearly answered, but then stopped herself. She did feel like she needed to be there