Levi had realized one more thing while sitting under his sisters’ blazing eyes. He’d made yet another unilateral decision very recently. He’d given away something that actually belonged to all three of them. Might as well get it all out in the open.
“There’s something else I need to tell you...”
Grace threw her hands up.
“Last night—or rather, early this morning—I found Dorothy’s necklace. The blue diamond.”
Molly gasped. “Where’d you find it?”
He told them the whole story, then waited while they absorbed the information. Molly was mostly excited about the historical discovery. Grace soon became excited about the financial windfall.
“Hold up,” Levi said, bracing for more anger. “Before you get too excited I have to tell you... I gave the necklace to Mia before she left. I realize now I should’ve talked it over with you—unfortunately that thought came a little late.”
His sisters were shooting daggers at him.
“I know I acted in haste. But it was a family heirloom for her, and she’s had precious little from her family. The necklace rightfully belongs to her—I still believe that—and I didn’t feel right about keeping it.”
Grace crossed her arms.
Molly scowled.
“I’m sorry,” Levi said. “If I were you I’d probably be angry too. I know we could really use the money right now, and maybe I should’ve thought with my head and not my heart, but—”
“We’re not mad that you gave her the necklace,” Molly said.
“We’re mad that you bypassed our input—again,” Grace said.
Levi gaped at the two of them. Okay, he definitely hadn’t given his sisters enough credit. He hadn’t even thought about getting their input on the necklace before he handed it over to Mia.
“I might have a problem,” he said.
“Might?” Molly asked.
“Fine. All right. I have a problem. I’m sorry I left you out of the process—again. I’ll do better. I promise.”
Molly and Grace looked at each other for a long moment, some of the wind leaving their sails.
“I forgive you,” Molly said. “You were right to give the necklace to Mia. It was her grandmother’s, after all. If it were my heirloom, it would mean an awful lot to me.”
Grace shrugged. “Yeah, I get it. Not that the money wouldn’t have been nice.”
He shook his head in wonder. “Thanks, guys. That’s generous of you.”
Levi sank back in his chair, the load of guilt making him feel lighter even while the task in front of them weighed heavily on his mind.
“Now that all that’s cleared up,” he said, “we’ve got a real mess upstairs.”
“And now that we know what we’re up against,” Molly said, “we need a plan. I suggest we call in the forces and get it done quickly.”
“The whole town came together to help us get this place off the ground,” Grace said.
“She’s right,” Molly said. “We’ve got a caring community who’ll want to help us. We have to let them.”
Grace nailed Levi with a look. “And you have to let us lead our own lives.”
“She’s right,” Molly said. “Advice is welcome, mandates are not. Even Dad didn’t order us around, Levi, and he wouldn’t expect you to either. You have to trust us to make good decisions and let us fail when we don’t—just like good parents do. Anything else is overreaching.”
Levi weighed her words. It was hard to let go of this. Maybe he really was a control freak. But he knew Molly was right. He couldn’t imagine their fatherdemandingGrace go to college. Or withholding his blessing from Adam. Both their parents had guided him and given advice, less and less often as he’d gotten older.
