Chapter Seven
Maisy was tired after a long day on her feet.
For the last two years, since her father’s untimely death, she’d worked with her uncle, Fred, at Gallagher Jewels.
Recently, with her mother and Grams’s encouragement, she’d signed up for online classes, working toward the credits she would need to pursue her nursing degree.
She squeezed them in between working at the store.
The business had been in the family for three generations.
Until his heart attack, her father and uncle shared responsibility.
Her uncle was a talented jewelry designer and her father worked the front of the store, selling his brother’s creations.
Her uncle’s given name was Fergus, which he hated, and he had adopted the name Fred.
Maisy did her best to step into her father’s shoes, but it wasn’t a good fit.
Her father had been a natural salesman, whereas she struggled to finalize a sale; she simply didn’t have his knack.
Her uncle helped as best he could, but his talent was in design, not sales.
Profits had dropped substantially, and Maisy had to wonder how much longer the store could continue at this rate.
Maisy prayed that by working together she and her uncle would be able to turn things around.
It was a matter that weighed heavily on her mind.
After helping with dinner, Maisy sat at the kitchen table with ten-year-old Patrick as he struggled with his math homework.
Her mother was substituting for a high school English class and returned home with a bad headache.
Maisy did the dishes so her mother could head upstairs to bed.
After an entire day battling teenagers, her mother would need to recuperate if she was to finish out the week’s assignment.
Working as a substitute, especially with high school kids, was a challenge in every way. She’d returned home pale and exhausted.
Sean sauntered into the kitchen and sat down at the table, where Maisy sat with her younger brother.
“Everything okay?” he asked, looking at Maisy as if to gauge her mood.
She never had been one to hide her worries.
“Great,” Patrick answered for her. “I finished my homework. Can I go toss baseballs with Billy?” He slammed his math book closed and scooted back the chair.
“Okay. You know the rules. Home before dark.”
“Got it.” Patrick grabbed the mitt that had once been Sean’s and raced out the door as if he expected Maisy to call him back.
Sean waited until the front door slammed before he claimed Patrick’s chair and spoke. “You didn’t answer the question.”
Unsure how much she should add to her brother’s worries, Maisy shrugged. “The store isn’t doing great; sales are down this quarter.”
Sean leaned back as if to distance himself from this unpleasant news.
“I’m not nearly as good at sales as Dad was,” she continued. “I feel like I’m letting the family down.”
“Don’t blame yourself,” Sean insisted. “I know how hard it was for you to keep up with your classes and to work the shop.”
“Everything happens for a purpose. I’ll eventually get my degree.” Dropping out of school in order to help the family had been one of the most painful decisions of Maisy’s life.
Sean didn’t say anything for the longest moment, as if there was something more he wanted to say.
“So, what’s up with you?” It wasn’t like her brother to seek her out.
He mostly stayed to himself and carried his weight of responsibility for the family without complaint or resentment.
He’d changed a great deal since their father’s death.
Gone were the days when he blew his paycheck on a poker game or a weekend of hopping from bar to bar with his friends.
He took his obligations to the family seriously.
“I’m good,” he said quickly. Too fast to be believable.
“Everything okay with the job?” Working as an apprentice electrician, layoffs could be expected.
“So far, yeah.”
Maisy intuitively knew it wasn’t. “Something’s on your mind. Spill,” she insisted, gesturing to let him know she wasn’t going to let this conversation slide.
He shrugged. “I might have mentioned I’m working with another apprentice. A girl.”
Maisy had long suspected Sean had feelings for this female electrician and said as much to her grandmother.
“What’s her name?”
Sean sighed as if he wasn’t convinced that confiding in his sister was a good idea. She found his lengthy hesitation almost comical.
“Come on, Sean, it isn’t like I’m going to hunt her down and tell her my brother has a thing for her.”
“Katherine,” he nearly growled, “but,” he added, his irritation gone as quickly as it flared, “she likes to be called Katie.”
“And you’re attracted to her.” This wasn’t a question.
He shrugged, which told her it was more than a casual attraction.
“So, what’s the problem?” Not that Maisy was any good at giving advice when it came to romance.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been out on a date.
Her social life revolved around meeting friends at the local pub once a month, if that.
Between working long hours at the store, helping at home, and driving her grandmother wherever she needed to go, Maisy didn’t have a lot of free time.
“I want to ask her out,” Sean blurted.
Maisy didn’t see the problem. “Then do it. What’s the holdup?”
Her brother looked away. “She might say it’s not a good idea, since we work together.”
He made it sound as if asking her out would destroy any chance he had with Katie.
“Sean Gallagher,” she said, shaking her head and laughing softly. “You won’t know unless you ask. My goodness, I’ve never known you to be shy around women.”
“I’m not,” he insisted. “Katie’s special, and I don’t want to screw this up. It could make us working together awkward.”
“Then make it casual. Suggest a beer after work. Don’t feel like you need to wine and dine her the first time out.”
“What if she doesn’t drink beer?”
Maisy rolled her eyes. “Now you’re inventing excuses. Grow a pair, brother. My guess is poor Katie is waiting for you to make a move.”
“Okay, I will.”
“Good. I bet she’ll jump at the chance.”
Sean rolled his eyes and started to leave when Maisy stopped him. “Before you go, we need to talk about Patrick.”
Sean sat back down. “Sure. What’s the problem?”
“This isn’t a problem,” she said. “It’s more of coming up with a way for Patrick to join a Little League team. He wants to play baseball in the worst way. It’s all he talks about.”
Sean’s shoulders sank, as if this concern wasn’t a new one. “I know. What I can’t figure out is how we’ll manage getting him back and forth from practices and the games. With all of us working different schedules, it feels like it’s impossible.”
“Mom…”
“Mom has to take jobs when the school calls, so it’s iffy if she’ll be around. Besides, she’s got enough on her shoulders,” Sean said, sounding defeated. “I don’t feel we can add anything else right now. If you can think of other options, let me know.”
Maisy nodded. “We had such a happy childhood, and I want that for Patrick, too,” she said, feeling at a loss and deeply disappointed for her little brother.
“I don’t know if that’s possible now, with Dad gone.”
Maisy was afraid her brother was right.