A chime sounded and Mo clicked over to a program he’d had running in the background. “Wait a minute.” He studied the screen.
Meredith leaned over his shoulder again. “What is it?”
“I’m not sure yet.”
“I don’t see anything.”
Mo ignored her and continued to analyze the report.
“What does this mean?” Meredith pointed to a red highlighted area on his screen. “Has someone done something bad?”
Mo tried to shoo her away, but she leaned closer. “I wish this made more sense to me.”
“You can’t read forensic accounting reports. I can’t read dental X-rays.”
“True. But the red is bad, right?”
“The red is bad,” Mo confirmed. “The tricky part will be figuring out who, what, when, where, and why.”
“So I should leave you to it?” Meredith moved away, but he grabbed her hand.
“Thanks for all your help the past few days.” He needed to say this as carefully as possible. He would never hurt his baby sister if he could help it. “You want a fairy tale ending for us, but I think you should prepare yourself that we’re more Romeo and Juliet than Anne and Gilbert.”
Meredith’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. “Not so long ago,you thought we might be destined to live out our lives like Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, but now look at us.”
Mo huffed. “In this version, Marilla gets her man and leaves Matthew all alone.”
A tear slipped down her cheek. “I don’t want to leave you all alone.”
Mo stood and pulled her into his arms. “Mer, please. Don’t cry. We’ve discussed this. I’m so happy for you. I love Gray. I love how he treats you. I love how you are with him. I want you to marry him and give me nieces and nephews. I want you to hurry up and build your house so we’ll all be close forever. You aren’t leaving me. You’ve given me a new brother. I’m not complaining.”
She snuffled and wiped away a few tears. “You were kind of complaining.”
“What do you want me to say? Am I lonely? Sometimes. Yes. But not always. And I wouldn’t ask you or Cal to return to how you were two years ago. Not for anything.”
“But...”
“But I do think that you and Cal have gotten all loved up and now you want that for me—”
“And Bronwyn.”
He nodded. “And Bronwyn. But me and Bronwyn? It isn’t going to happen.”
“It might.”
“It was always a long shot, Mer. From the first time I held her hand, the odds were against us. Right now, I’d be happy to be able to have a conversation with her. I want to apologize. I want to set the record straight on some things that are still out there between us. I think we both need it. But I can’t do anything until she moves first. And I’m not sure if you’ve picked up on this, but Bronwyn Elizabeth Elena Pierce is one of the most stubborn women in the universe.”
Meredith grabbed a tissue from the small box on his desk. “She’s worth the wait. I know she is.”
Mo couldn’t keep having this conversation. “Meredith, I promise that I’ve given all of this to God. I’ve asked him to fix it. I’m trying to let him lead and handle it. And I’m trying to be okay with whatever his answer is. If I can do that, then so can you. You need to let it go.”
“I can’t. I want her for my sister. I want you to be happy. I want to see the two of you together again, and I want to be able to say I told you so.” She swallowed. “But I can stop badgering you. That I can do. Or, at least, I can try. I might slip up.”
“That’s okay. Thank you.”
He squeezed her close for a second before releasing her and stepping back behind his desk.
“So, the red thing on the screen?” she said.
