Epilogue

EPILOGUE

“Oh my God, I forgot to ask. Does Molly like pizza?” Iris asked anxiously. She’d started reading Molly’s column, and much to Maisie’s amusement, she now acted like Molly was a celebrity.

“Iris,” she said as she slung an arm around her shoulders. “If my sister didn’t like pizza, I would disown her myself.”

“She means it too,” said Jack, touching her hip. They stood like that for a moment, the three of them linked together next to the dining room table, the dogs at their feet, sniffing hopefully at the scent of fresh pizza in the air, and Maisie felt a swell of emotion. Her house was becoming a home again. And now her sisters were coming to visit, finally, to spend New Year’s with them. Although Maisie would have preferred to see her nephew too, Mary had decided—after a long bout of hemming and hawing—to come alone.

All these months without a visit, and apparently all Maisie had needed to do was find a boyfriend…a real boyfriend, as Mary referred to him…to convince them to come. Of course, she suspected Molly also intended to needle them all for details of the epic Christmas Eve engagement party that had ended up getting Prescott Buchanan and Vic- tor -ia arrested…along with half a dozen other employees from Buchanan Luxury. Although Prescott and Victoria had both been granted bail, the evidence that had been collected against them, thanks to Lee, was fairly damning.

Didn’t matter why they were here. If she was permissive of pandering and the occasional white lie to secure a dog’s adoption to a good home, she was even more so of her sisters’ behavior.

A knock landed on the door—the pattern one she and Molly had perfected in childhood and taught to River—and Iris flinched as if she expected Taylor Swift might walk through the door.

The dogs dashed toward the door, Chaco still wearing the jingle bell collar Dottie had gotten her for Christmas, much to Jack’s annoyance. He’d told Maisie they should “lose” it on a walk, but she’d insisted they wait for at least a full week to ensure believability.

“Go,” Jack urged her, smiling and giving her a little push toward the door. “You’ve been waiting all day.”

She had. She would have gone to the airport to pick them up if Mary hadn’t insisted on renting a car. Inside, Maisie was dancing in place like Ein, but rather than dash for the door, she tugged Jack with her and snagged a wide-eyed Iris too, bringing them both with her. Because they’d spent a lifetime being left out of things, and she never, ever wanted them to feel that way with her. Because they couldn’t meet her mother and father, but Mary had their mother’s practical outlook, bluntness, and complete inability to read sarcasm, and Molly had their father’s slightly wild streak, and they all had the O’Shea laugh.

She released Jack and Iris to open the door, and Molly flew into her arms in a tackle hug that almost sent them both flying to the floor. Both of them burst out laughing, and Mary gave them a long-suffering smile. “You shouldn’t encourage her.”

Then Molly pulled her into the hug too, and Mary hugged them back in a way that said her bluster was just that. Ein and Chaco pawed at them as if they wished to be let in on the fun, and Molly squealed and picked up Chaco. “Finally, we meet in person!”

Which reminded Maisie.

She pulled away and reached for Jack and Iris, who stood to one side of the door, looking a little shell-shocked. Understandable. The O’Shea girls could be like a tornado when they were all together. She and Molly were the only ones who could pull Mary out of her ordered universe.

“Molly and Mary, meet Jack and his sister Iris.” She could see them taking her sisters in, Molly with her long, wavy strawberry blond hair and hazel eyes, Mary with her short brown hair, which only showed hints of red in the sun.

“The famous Iris!” Molly cried, pulling her into a hug while Mary greeted Jack in a more sedate manner. Iris looked a bit startled but very pleased.

“Did you miss the New Year’s Eve Countdown to be here?” she asked. From what Maisie had gathered, the gist of it was that Molly was supposed to go on several blind dates on New Year’s Eve, with men chosen by her fellow blogger. Her goal was to guess which of them had been selected to be her date at midnight. Apparently they’d intended to vlog it.

Molly waved it off. “Yeah, but I get to meet you and your hunky brother instead.” She winked at Jack. “I call it even.”

“Shameless,” Maisie said, giving her a little shove. She shut the door and turned to face them, her heart full.

“Maisie, the house…” Mary said, her head swiveling around to take in the living room.

“I told you I’d made a few changes,” she said. “It’s a work in progress.”

She felt a prickle of defensiveness—did Mary disapprove?—but then she saw the tears in her sister’s eyes.

Molly grinned at her. “This has to be a record. It only took you two minutes to make Mary cry.”

That earned her a swat from their big sister.

“It’s just…I’m so proud of you,” Mary said.

“I’m proud of me too,” she said.

Jack put an arm around her, and she leaned into him, suddenly feeling all of the emotions of having everyone here on the last day of the year, of feeling the new year unfurl before them. Of sensing possibilities rather than fearing the changes the future might bring.

Molly clapped. “I smell pizza, but before we eat or even bring in our bags, I think it’s time for us to show Iris our surprise.”

“What?” Iris said, flinching. She’d been leaning against the banister, and she almost fell. Flushing a little, she stood up straighter. “Why would you do something nice for me? You don’t even know me.”

Molly raised her hands up, palms out. “You underestimate how much our sister tells us. Plus, I only helped in an advisory capacity.”

Iris swiveled to look at Maisie, who couldn’t hold back a grin. She glanced up at Jack, and he gave her a little squeeze with one of those famous arms of his. “What’d you do now, Red?”

She could almost feel Molly and Mary exchanging a look. They’d never heard anyone but their dad call her that. Yeah, they knew she had it bad.

“Guess you’ll all have to come upstairs and see.”

She led the way, Jack behind her—she suspected he’d followed her so he could stare at her butt the whole way up—and then Iris and Molly and Mary. Chaco and Ein, who refused to be left out of the fun, came next.

When she reached the doorway of the spare bedroom, she felt a little prickle of nerves. What if Jack and Iris took her gesture the wrong way? Molly had egged her on, of course, but Mary had suggested it would be wise to consult Jack before moving forward. But there’d been too few good surprises in Maisie’s life, and she’d wanted to pull one off for Iris.

Jack shot her a questioning look, and she moved closer to him, wanting to feel him at her side.

“Go on in, Iris.”

“Why do I feel like I’m being set up?” Iris asked with no small amount of suspicion, glancing from face to face.

“Maybe because Molly is literally taking a video,” Maisie said, giving her sister a look.

Molly kept at it. “She’ll thank me later.”

“Go ahead, Iris,” Jack said. Something about his tone, soft yet strong, fatherly yet brotherly, was heartrending. Because Iris might think she only needed a brother in Jack, but that wasn’t totally true.

Iris cracked the door open and walked in, leaving it gaping behind her.

She returned a moment later, her face unreadable in the way she and Jack always looked when they were overloaded with emotion.

Maisie found herself holding her breath. Was this good emotion or bad emotion?

Then Iris threw her arms around Maisie and hugged her, holding on tight.

When she pulled away, Maisie said, “I know Jack’s been spending a lot of time here, and I wanted you to have your own space in the house. Because you belong here just like he does. You can decorate it however you want, but I figured you might prefer updated furniture.”

“I love it. Jack, you’ve got to see this,” Iris said. She glanced around at them all again, then cracked the door wider. “All of you, come in.”

Maisie had spent yesterday afternoon moving the new furniture in, with help from River and Finn. She’d chosen the pieces based on Molly’s advice, although Mary had been adamant about what was needed. Jack and Iris had been held up by Dottie, who was almost frighteningly good at keeping people busy.

“You did this?” Jack asked in wonder. “When?”

“Yesterday afternoon.”

He shook his head slightly. “I should have been suspicious when Dottie said we were the only people who could help her organize her crystal collection.”

“You were suspicious,” Iris corrected him. “But it was Dottie, so we had to.”

“And don’t you forget it,” Molly said. “Only a fool would cross that woman.”

“Oh, I know,” Iris said. “She basically got Beau’s son arrested.”

A gleam entered Molly’s eyes, and Maisie gave her a warning look.

“Hey,” Jack said, drawing her attention back to him. “Why don’t we go out and bring your sisters’ bags in from the car?”

Mary looked slightly pained by the suggestion, but she handed over the keys. “Thank you. That would be great.”

She obviously knew Jack wanted a moment alone with Maisie and was taking one for the team. Maisie’s heart started beating painfully. Would he be upset about the room for Iris?

Giving Molly a final warning glance, Maisie told Mary, “You keep an eye on her,” and followed him out of the room and down the stairs.

He waited until they were outside and then turned to face her, his expression as stoic as his sister’s had been moments before. Then he tugged her to him and kissed her, his hand burrowing into her hair to bring her closer.

When he pulled away, he just looked at her for a moment, his eyes warm now. Deep wells of warmth like a cup of dark coffee on a cold winter’s day.

“I can’t believe you did this for her. It’s not even New Year’s yet, and you already made her year.”

“It’s only fair,” she said, reaching up to cup his cheek, loving the feel of his stubble. “Both of you have already made mine. You even found a home for three dogs last week.”

One of them had been Ruby. She’d been sad to let her go, especially since she had such a powerful bond with Jack, but one of the members of Blue’s Bad Luck Club had adopted her. Blue had confided that Ruby was now treated like the spoiled only child she was, and Jack had been invited to visit any time he liked.

Sometimes things didn’t work out the way you planned. And sometimes it was much, much better that way.

“You know, this worked out pretty well for a one-night stand,” she said, grinning at him.

“Who said anything about it being a one-night stand?” he asked with mock innocence. Then the humor slipped out of his expression. “I never wanted it to be one.”

“Kiss her again already!” Molly shouted out of the open doorway. “The pizza’s getting cold.”

So he did, and they got the suitcases and walked back into the warmth of the full house, hand in hand, and Maisie felt full to bursting with happiness and love and hope. The future wasn’t frightening anymore…it was glorious.

***

Ready for more Christmas mayhem?Angela has a standalone Christmas romcom called The Thief Who Saved Christmas ! Check it out HERE or by reading on for the first chapter.

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