Mia came down the stairs, the beach bag on her shoulder, looking like a patriotic angel straight from heaven in her red, white, and blue. After stopping to chat a moment she said good-bye, waggling her fingers at Levi before she slipped out.
Grace tramped down the stairs next, dressed in a pair of white shorts and a blue T-shirt, her blond hair in a high ponytail. As she and Molly talked about their evening plans, Levi’s eyes caught on a large white envelope in the stack of yesterday’s mail.
“Grace...” A grin tugged his lips as he held it up triumphantly. “Look what came in the mail.”
“What is it?”
“It’s from UNC at Charlotte.” He was so excited for her. “And it’s thick, so that means it’s good news. You got in, Grace.”
“Well...” She shifted. “We don’t know that yet.”
“Open it and find out,” Molly said.
Grace took the envelope and slid a finger under the flap. She seemed to be working in slow motion. Finally she slid out the sheaf of papers and began reading.
A moment later she looked up. “I got in.”
Molly whooped.
“Yes.” Levi held his fist out to Grace.
She met his fist bump with all the enthusiasm of an inmate headed to death row. He studied her face. Her frown lines, her unsmiling mouth, her slumped shoulders.
Dread coiled in Levi’s gut. “What’s wrong? Isn’t this what you wanted?”
“Are you hoping for one of the other schools?” Molly asked. “Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll get in both. Their acceptance rates are higher than UNC.”
Grace looked between her siblings, a heavy sigh finally escaping. “That’s not it. I haven’t been entirely up front with you guys. It’s just that... I don’t want to go to college.”
Levi blinked. This couldn’t be happening. Sure, she’d dragged her feet on the applications, but she was just a kid. Teenagers were known to procrastinate.
“Grace...” he said intently. “You have to go to college.”
Her eyes sharpened on him, and her chin thrust forward. “No, Levi. Actually, I don’t. Not everyone has to go to college, you know.”
“Everyone gets a degree these days, Grace!”
“That’s right, and they come home and get hired as baristas because all the good jobs are taken.”
“She’s got a point,” Molly said.
Levi shot Molly a dark look. “You’re not helping. Grace, this is ridiculous. What are you going to do with your life? You said you wanted to study business.”
“Because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. But now I have a plan.” Her gaze went between the two of them, finally stopping on Levi. “I want to open an outfitters business, and I already know everything I need to know.”
“Grace, we’re already struggling to run one business!”
“This would be my venture, not yours.”
“Fifty percent of businesses fail in the first five years.” A statistic that kept him up at night. “Even if that’s what you choose to do eventually, a degree will give you credibility, and you need a backup plan just in case—”
“No, I don’t. I can start small and run it right out of the inn. I don’t want to be saddled with college loans like all my friends.”
“We’ll be able to pay them off when we sell this place.”
“Or I can put the money into my business instead.”
Levi palmed his neck. A headache throbbed at the back of his skull. “If you don’t want to go far from home, you can go to the Asheville campus. You can still come home every weekend. You could even live here if you wanted to.”
