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As she approached, the mother looked at her with a wary eye, rushing to speak. “I’m sorry,” she said, her accent thick. “We are trying to help her, but…”

She trailed off as Maisie shook her head with a smile she hoped revealed patience and kindness. “Oh, no. That’s not why I came back here.” She sat down on the empty seat in front of them and leaned into the aisle so she was on the same level as them.

She raised her voice just a touch to be heard above the baby’s crying. “I just wanted to let you know that you guys are totally fine. Babies cry. And you’re doing the best that you can, so don’t worry about the rest of us.”

Mrs. Dünser’s eyes widened in surprise. “Thank you,” she whispered quietly as her husband took over buckling their daughter. “Thank you for saying something. She just doesn’t like to sit in her seat when the car is not moving.”

“Who does?” Maisie joked.

Mrs. Dünser smiled, looking slightly less harried. “She’s also hungry but won’t eat any of the snacks we brought.”

Maisie smiled, grateful she’d followed her instincts. She pulled out her large bag filled with wrapped snacks, treats, and chocolates. “It might be a longshot, but will any of these work?”

Mrs. Dünser instantly protested, but her husband leaned forward, speaking in German and motioning to the bag.

Maisie looked between them.

“We can’t take your food,” Mrs. Dünser continued in English.

“Oh, please,” Maisie said. “I have so much, you’ll be saving me from a sugar crash if you take some.”

“Greta does love chocolate,” Mr. Dünser said quietly to his wife, his accent much thicker than hers.

After another moment of hesitation, Mrs. Dünser finally nodded, and within a few moments, Greta was accepting a piece of chocolate with hiccups as she began to settle down.

Maisie lingered for a moment, admiring Greta and conversing with the couple about Austria and the weeks she’d spent there this summer before Finn’s voice interrupted them.

“Alright, ladies and gents, it looks like we’re movin’. Please take your seats if you haven’t already.”

Maisie knew he was speaking to her, though she was grateful he’d given her time to stay back for as long as she had.

“Thank you,” Mrs. Dünser said as Maisie stood. She spoke to Greta in German next, and the little girl smiled shyly up at Maisie.

Maisie waved down at her. “Any time you need any chocolate, you know who to come to,” she said to the little girl, though she knew full-well Greta was too young to understand.

Still, when Greta smiled again, chocolate caked at the edge of her lips and blue eyes shining brightly and dried of all tears, Maisie’s heart cracked another inch.

She nodded her goodbye to the family, forcing her smile to remain as she headed back to her seat, but she paused in the middle of the aisle as Mrs. Waterstone spoke again.

“Finally,” she said loudly. “I didn’t pay to hear a baby screaming all day long.”

Maisie very rarely got angry. It just wasn’t in her nature. But, just like her dad, her frustrations only ever became apparent when in defense of another.

That being the case, she couldn’t help herself as she stared down at Mrs. Waterstone, and with as false of a smile as she could muster, said, “Would you like some chocolate, too, Mrs. Waterstone? I find it really does help with foul moods.”

The look Mrs. Waterstone delivered her could have frozen the sun.

Maisie, fortunately, had the brightness of two suns within her for being able to help two families today, so she smiled all the brighter and sauntered back to her seat.

One day, she knew she’d regret speaking out. But today, she was more than happy to have finally shut that woman’s mouth—at least for a minute.

With a quiet sigh, she threw her blanket over her lap and leaned against her pillow, focusing on settling the burgeoning feelings she still suppressed.

Before she could do anything, however, she looked forward and found Finn watching her. If she wasn’t questioning everything that had happened between them up until that point, she could have sworn his eyes were smiling, as if he was proud of her standing up for others.

But with a shake of her head, she looked away, realizing it didn’t matter. She wasn’t going to dwell on the emotions she was pushing down any longer, nor was she going to worry a second more about Finn and his hot-and-cold behavior.

She had another rainy day in Northern Ireland to enjoy, and enjoy it, she would.