“The thing is, I don’t think we should give up completely. Not yet, anyway. I’m willing to give it a bit longer, if you’re in agreement.”
Chase didn’t think it would do much good. “Are you sure?”
“I’d like us to give it one last try.”
“Okay,” he said, unable to disguise his reluctance, although he wasn’t convinced.
Chapter Seven
Maisy was tired after a long day on her feet. For the last two years, since her father’s untimely death, she’d worked with her uncle, Fred, at Gallagher Jewels. Recently, with her mother and Grams’s encouragement, she’d signed up for online classes, working toward the credits she would need to pursue her nursing degree. She squeezed them in between working at the store. The business had been in the family for three generations. Until his heart attack, her father and uncle shared responsibility. Her uncle was a talented jewelry designer and her father worked the front of the store, selling his brother’s creations. Her uncle’s given name was Fergus, which he hated, and he had adopted the name Fred.
Maisy did her best to step into her father’s shoes, but it wasn’t a good fit. Her father had been a natural salesman, whereas she struggled to finalize a sale; she simply didn’t have his knack. Her uncle helped as best he could, but his talent was in design, notsales. Profits had dropped substantially, and Maisy had to wonder how much longer the store could continue at this rate. Maisy prayed that by working together she and her uncle would be able to turn things around. It was a matter that weighed heavily on her mind.
After helping with dinner, Maisy sat at the kitchen table with ten-year-old Patrick as he struggled with his math homework. Her mother was substituting for a high school English class and returned home with a bad headache. Maisy did the dishes so her mother could head upstairs to bed. After an entire day battling teenagers, her mother would need to recuperate if she was to finish out the week’s assignment. Working as a substitute, especially with high school kids, was a challenge in every way. She’d returned home pale and exhausted.
Sean sauntered into the kitchen and sat down at the table, where Maisy sat with her younger brother.
“Everything okay?” he asked, looking at Maisy as if to gauge her mood.
She never had been one to hide her worries.
“Great,” Patrick answered for her. “I finished my homework. Can I go toss baseballs with Billy?” He slammed his math book closed and scooted back the chair.
“Okay. You know the rules. Home before dark.”
“Got it.” Patrick grabbed the mitt that had once been Sean’s and raced out the door as if he expected Maisy to call him back.
Sean waited until the front door slammed before he claimed Patrick’s chair and spoke. “You didn’t answer the question.”
Unsure how much she should add to her brother’s worries, Maisy shrugged. “The store isn’t doing great; sales are down this quarter.”
Sean leaned back as if to distance himself from this unpleasant news.
“I’m not nearly as good at sales as Dad was,” she continued. “I feel like I’m letting the family down.”
“Don’t blame yourself,” Sean insisted. “I know how hard it was for you to keep up with your classes and to work the shop.”
“Everything happens for a purpose. I’ll eventually get my degree.” Dropping out of school in order to help the family had been one of the most painful decisions of Maisy’s life.
Sean didn’t say anything for the longest moment, as if there was something more he wanted to say.
“So, what’s up with you?” It wasn’t like her brother to seek her out. He mostly stayed to himself and carried his weight of responsibility for the family without complaint or resentment. He’d changed a great deal since their father’s death. Gone were the days when he blew his paycheck on a poker game or a weekend of hopping from bar to bar with his friends. He took his obligations to the family seriously.
“I’m good,” he said quickly. Too fast to be believable.
“Everything okay with the job?” Working as an apprentice electrician, layoffs could be expected.
“So far, yeah.”
Maisy intuitively knew it wasn’t. “Something’s on your mind. Spill,” she insisted, gesturing to let him know she wasn’t going to let this conversation slide.
He shrugged. “I might have mentioned I’m working with another apprentice. A girl.”
Maisy had long suspected Sean had feelings for this female electrician and said as much to her grandmother.
“What’s her name?”
Sean sighed as if he wasn’t convinced that confiding in his sister was a good idea. She found his lengthy hesitation almost comical.
