Page 143 of Road Trip
“Therese? You still there?”
“Yeah. I’m just thinking since we’re heiresses now, maybe we can afford to go ahead and throw outeverythingin Mama’s spice cabinet. What the hell—it’s only money, right?”
“There is a catch,” Maeve said. “And it’s a big one. One or both of us has to live here, in Tarrymore, in the gardener’s cottage, to take care of Sinead.”
“That’s crazy,” Therese said slowly.
“Esme had it written into the will,” Maeve said. “It’s nonnegotiable. So, what do you think?”
“You really want to know what I think?”
“Of course. This affects both of us.”
“Okay. I think you should be the one to stay and live there. And not just because of Liam, but maybe partially because of that. Maeve, except for college, you’ve lived in Savannah your whole life. You took care of Mama, you followed all the rules…”
“Okay.”
“Hello? Did you just agree with me? What is even happening here?”
Maeve wasn’t sure she could put into words what she was feeling. But she owed it to Therese to try.
“Moving here, changing everything about my life, is insane. Trying to figure out a relationship with a man I’ve known for less thantwo weeks is terrifying. But I just left the graveyard where all the Connors are buried. I stumbled across it by accident. I sat there and I thought about the courage it must have taken for Kathleen to get on that boat and make a new life for herself, to make something out of nothing. I thought about all the gutsy, ballsy women in our family who’ve picked up the pieces and kept going. And I decided it’s finally time, past time, for me to gamble on myself.”
“Then you’ll do it? You’ll stay?”
“There’s a lot to figure out. Like, where am I gonna live? I’m staying in the owner’s suite at the inn tonight, but that’s just for the short term. The money piece of it is something we’ll have to figure out, but Billy said we’ll be able to draw money from the estate, although he doesn’t know exactly how much there is. God knows what it’ll cost to fix up that money pit.”
“Well, you know I’ll be coming over to help out with all that stuff,” Therese said. “I can’t wait to see the rest of the cottage. Talk about the ultimate fixer-upper! And after we sell our portrait, there should be money to pay for repairs.”
“Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves,” Maeve reminded her. “You’re gonna need money too, to fix up Mama’s house, assuming we get the mortgage mess straightened out.”
She’d been walking so fast and was so absorbed in her conversation with her sister, she looked up to realize she was back in the parking lot at the Willow Tree. She’d need to go inside and get some water for Sinead before heading over to the inn.
“You’re being so calm and rational about this,” Therese said. “Aren’t you crazy excited? We’re heiresses! You’re going to live in a castle. With the world’s cutest little dog. And I almost forgot—I was just telling Scotty I think I’m ready to settle down and paint the house and have a cookout and get a dog. And now we actually have a dog!”
“To be more precise, the dog has us. The ‘castle’ and the inn technically are in a trust for her. And as Mac pointed out, there’s a lot of paperwork yet to come. The biggie is my passport. I think I’m only allowed to stay in Ireland for ninety days, because I’m a US citizen. I’ll have to talk to the folks at the embassy. Hopefully Monday.”
“About that passport,” Therese said slowly. “There’s something I need to tell you. But first you have to promise not to be mad at me.”
“Therese? What did you do?”
“Promise you won’t scream?”
“No. I won’t promise that.”
“Okay, forget it. Bye. Talk soon.”
“Jeanne Therese Dunagin. What. Did. You. Do?”
“It was for your own good. And look how great it worked out. You should thank me.”
“Tell me.”
“I had the inn’s night manager put it in the hotel safe. Whoops—gotta go now. Frannie is coming over to show me how to make Mama’s pot roast. Byeeee!”
CHAPTER 62
The owner’s suite at the Tarrymore Inn wasn’t what Maeve would call luxurious, but the furnishings were a bit more up-to-date than in the room she’d shared with Therese. It featured a sitting area with two armchairs and a coffee table that faced a small fireplace, a kitchenette with a dwarf-sized refrigerator, the smallest microwave she’d ever seen, and an electric kettle. The best feature, as far as she was concerned, was the king-sized bed.
