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Maisie shook her head. “Finn needs this job, you know. For more than just him. Why hurt him when your problem is clearly with me?”

A flicker of uncertainty flashed in her eyes, though she looked past Maisie toward the bus. “I suggest you board, Miss King, before I report you, too.”

“Report her for what?” Mr. Waterstone asked, apparently finding something more entertaining than whatever was on his phone.

But she didn’t care about the man, nor Mrs. Waterstone. She cared about Finn.

Disgust filled her then, a feeling she wasn’t used to. What made her heart ache, however, was that the disgust wasn’t just for Mrs. Waterstone. It was for herself. Mrs. Waterstone had a point. Maisie and Finn had chosen to pursue a relationship, knowing very well it was breaking the rules. And now, Finn had—what, been suspended, or lost his job entirely? What would become of him and his family? Of their home?

As her berating continued, Maisie withdrew from Mrs. Waterstone. “I hope you have a better trip now,” she said simply, then she climbed into the bus herself.

In a depressive state, she went about the motions of setting up her station, disappointment crushing her when she sat down and saw Thomas’s balding head instead of Finn’s flat cap and twinkling eyes in the mirror.

Unable to help herself any longer, she pulled out her phone and sent him a WhatsApp message, praying it wouldn’t make matters worse.

Maisie

Are you okay?

She waited a minute, but no response came. Her heart twisted. The bus pulled away from the curb. Thomas began speaking of the plan for today, Marble Arch Caves in Enniskillen. Maisie tried to listen, but the mood around the bus, her own mood, couldn’t be picked up.

A quarter of an hour later, her phone buzzed, and she hurriedly opened it to read Finn’s message.

Finn

I’m so sorry I couldn’t message until now. I’ve been told not to contact you at all, but you have a right to know. I’ve been suspended. Don’t know when or if I’ll be back. I’m hoping this just works itself out, but I’ll be honest, I’m not sure it will.

I know you’ll be blaming yourself now, but please don’t. This was because of me. I don’t regret a single second I spent with you.

Tell Pearl, Renee, and Joyce hello from me. And give Trifle a pat. I know she’ll accept it coming from you.

I’ll keep you updated. Until then, enjoy the rest of the trip as much as you can. I’d hate for this to ruin what you’ve waited to see for years. xx

Maisie stared at the final x’s on the screen, blinking away the tears pooling in her eyes.

He was still wanting her to have a good time. He was still thinking of her and the others on the bus, despite his world crashing down around him. But that was typical Finn, wasn’t it? Always thinking of others, always trying to make everyone laugh.

She lowered her phone and rested against the seat, lolling her head to the side to stare out the window as Belfast’s buildings faded into green fields. All the while, her thoughts refused to leave Finn.

If only she could help him. If only she could convince the company to listen to them and not Mrs. Waterstone.

The thought rooted in her heart, and she lifted her head from the seat as an idea formulated in her mind.

Maybe she could help after all.

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

Day Twelve

Over the next few days, Finn had never been more miserable. The week had dragged on longer than he’d even thought possible, what with no work to distract himself, and knowing that he couldn’t contact Maisie made matters even worse.

He’d followed Joshua’s suggestion and hadn’t messaged her for a week, other than on Monday when he’d explained what was going on. However, when Friday finally rolled around and Joshua called him back into the bus depot, Finn couldn’t help it any longer.

As he sat outside the office, he pulled out his phone and sent her a quick message.

Finn

Boss wants to speak with me today. They’ve finally made their decision. I’ll keep you updated. I hope this week was cracker. Can’t wait to see you tonight.