True to Me - Kay Bratt Page 0,97

just hope I don’t screw anything up.”

“You won’t. But do you think your brother can handle the responsibilities you’re giving him? Could it be too much too soon?”

She hesitated. Quinn’s brother was a tender subject. She felt responsible for Jonah. For his troubles. She’d also found out that he was the lone survivor of an IED attack that had killed everyone else on his truck in Iraq. The trauma he carried had to be more than one man could bear. It had gnawed at her every day since she’d met him, especially after Jules had told her more of his story.

“I don’t know. But I want to give him a chance. There’s a small studio apartment off to itself on the property that’ll give him the privacy he wants. He says he knows how to do maintenance, and as long as he doesn’t have to deal with a lot of people, he can do it. The only rule I set was that he has to stay clean. But so far I don’t think that’s going to be a problem. He wants to prove to Noah that he can do something right.”

“So, you ready to go?”

“I think so,” Quinn said.

They were riding together. Quinn needed him by her side as she took care of this last thing before starting her new life.

“Let me tell Maria we’ll meet them there.” He went inside for a minute; then they walked out to the Jeep.

“This is a fine ride you got here,” he said, buckling up. “Nice bumper sticker too.”

“Thanks. It’s been a long time coming.” She pulled out of the driveway and took a left. Quinn had never put stickers on her car before. Ethan wouldn’t allow it, saying it was tacky. The first day she got her Jeep, she bought one that said “Live Pono” and slapped that baby on. She loved the sentiment that meant to do the right thing, and she planned to do just that from now on.

She’d already gotten a huge start too. Things were moving unbelievably fast, but, surprisingly, Quinn was doing okay with it. She’d found a small condo to rent until the hotel was livable, but eventually she’d move into a suite of rooms designed just for her. As for her belongings in Savannah, she didn’t want them, except Ethan did say he’d send the rest of her photo albums and mementos.

Ethan was shocked when she told him all she wanted was her part of the equity in the condo and the money from selling her car. She instructed him to donate everything in her closet. She wouldn’t be needing business clothes or high heels anymore. Here, she was embracing the casual, bohemian look, something she’d always admired but had been too afraid to experiment with in the corporate lifestyle she’d lived.

Today she wore a long tie-dyed skirt and a matching headband, her hair loose and free. Her feet were comfortable in sandals, her toes painted a bright pink that she never would’ve worn before coming to Maui. No more white-tipped fingers or toes for her—from now on it was going to be every color of the rainbow on her body. Unless she wanted to do something different.

Then she would.

They approached an intersection, and Quinn stopped for the red light. They didn’t talk much. Liam didn’t need to give her directions. She’d already broken her Jeep in by driving to every beach in Maui. She wanted to see them all before making a decision, but her heart brought her right back to the one where Carmen had found her, where she’d met Noah and Jules again.

Ten minutes later they arrived. There were already a lot of people there, more than Quinn imagined would come. Aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents stood together, unified in what was to come.

She and Liam got out, and he pulled the vase from the back seat, handing it to her. Quinn clutched it. She was feeling more somber by the moment, but she did want to introduce Liam to her sisters. They’d already spotted the Jeep and were walking over to meet her, both carrying colorful leis.

“You don’t have to tell me who they are,” Liam said. “You three could be triplets.”

“Except I’m a lot older,” Quinn replied. “But I know, I don’t look like it.”

He laughed.

“You made it!” the first sister said, throwing her arms around Quinn.

“I’m here, but, honestly, I’m feeling kind of shaky. I just hope this goes well,” Quinn admitted. “Liam, this is Kira, and this one”—she