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“Yeah,” Maisie mumbled. “Knowing her, she probably requires a toilet.”

Finn chuckled, and she stared up at him for a minute. His shoulders were still raised high, and the tense look across his features was still palpable, but at least he was talking to her again.

A low growling sounded at her feet, and Maisie looked to see Trifle no longer sniffing as her eyes homed in on Finn.

“I’m probably not helpin’ the situation by comin’ out here,” Finn said, taking a step back as his features fell again. “I just popped out to let you know I received word that the clean-up’s finished. They’re sendin’ cars through, so we have to board again.”

“Gotcha,” Maisie responded. She looked down at the dog. “You hear that, Trifle? That means you go now or forever hold your peace.”

Trifle kept her focus on Finn.

She smiled. “Yeah, she’s not gonna…”

Her words trailed off as she looked up at Finn walking away without a word.

Her smile faded away, but her impulsiveness called out to him. “Hey, Finn?”

He looked over his shoulder in silence.

“Are you okay today?”

“’Course. Always am.”

His smile was tight, his response stinted, but she nodded all the same and watched him return to the bus in silence. As she stared after him, she caught Mrs. Waterstone watching her through the window again, those crow-like eyes condemning, though Maisie had no idea why.

On any other day, in any other minute, Maisie would have smiled and not allowed Mrs. Waterstone’s mood to sully hers further. But in that moment, she couldn’t deal.

She stared back at Mrs. Waterstone with a challenge in her eyes until the woman looked away herself. Only then did Maisie turn away from her to peer down at Trifle instead.

“Okay, you’ve had your chance,” she said quietly. “Let’s go. Just don’t pee on Renee or you’ll be sorry.”

She tugged at the dog’s leash, and Trifle made it two steps before stopping and finally—finally—going. Not a minute later, Maisie was stepping back onto the bus with a happy dog, though she was greeted at once by Dünser’s baby still crying.

She walked past Finn, who was chatting on the phone—no doubt to whoever had told him about the traffic clearing up—and glanced at the back of the bus where Mr. Dünser was standing up and bouncing his baby back and forth to no avail.

Instead of staring at the small family and possibly having them think she was judging them, Maisie focused on smiling at Renee and delivered the dog back into the woman’s welcoming arms.

“Thank you so much, Maisie,” Renee said with a grateful smile. “Oh, you’re soaked, poor dear.”

Maisie shook off her sleeves covered in rainwater, smiling to herself at the knowledge that Renee was speaking about Trifle’s wetness and not Maisie’s. Still, Maisie was glad she could be of service.

Now if only she could do the same for the Dünsers.

As she walked back to her seat in the middle of the bus, Maisie stole another glance at the little girl. Those feelings of longing for a family of her own knocked again at the door of her heart, but she refused to answer them, unable to face them alone.

Instead, she did her best to settle in her seat and get ready for the next leg of their journey. However, when Mrs. Waterstone’s voice rang out loudly again, she paused.

“This is why you leave dogs and kids at home. Totally disrespectful.”

Maisie’s stomach tightened. Renee was happily smiling at Trifle, apparently blissfully unaware of Mrs. Waterstone’s words, but Finn’s eyes were on Mrs. Waterstone in the rearview mirror, focused and hard. And when Maisie looked back at Mrs. Dünser, the young mom’s pale face turning red as she’d clearly heard Mrs. Waterstone’s complaints, Maisie’s heart broke.

She didn’t know why the Dünsers had brought their baby with them on their vacation. Maybe they didn’t have anyone to watch her. Maybe leaving their baby for so long caused them anxiety. Or maybe, just maybe, the couple simply wanted to share an experience with their new young family.

Whatever the reason, they had as much of a right as anyone—the Waterstones included—to be on board that bus right now, and Maisie was going to make sure they knew it.

As Mrs. Waterstone continued shaking her head and the mother attempted to strap the crying child back into her car seat, Maisie reached for the snack bag in her car organizer, then stood from her seat and walked calmly down the aisle, knowing full well she was going against Finn’s advisement to stay seated.

His eyes were on her—she could feel them—but after his distance this morning, she didn’t care if she broke the rules anymore. She had to do something for Mrs. Dünser.