Page 134 of Rags to Royals

I wait a couple of beats. “Did you know Brian very well?”

She lifts her shoulders. “Kind of. We spent holidays here sometimes. But I know most of the things about him from her stories.” Her smile gets a little sad. “She doesn’t really have stories about my grandpa. Which tells you a lot right?”

I nod. “Right.”

“What about your grandpa?” she asks, pushing away from the sink and crossing to the counter. She grabs the pot and takes it to the stove where she starts the butter heating.

“What do you want to know?”

“Well, he’s a king. Literally runs a country. He probablydoesa lot of stuff. But he also talks a lot. Which do you think is more important?”

I carry the jar of minced garlic over to her, and she adds it to the butter, stirring them together. I turn back to the counter and start chopping the onion. “That’s a good question,” I finally say. “I guess there’s a lot of both with my grandfather. Thedoingdirectly impacts people’s lives. But I know people also look to him to explain things, to reassure them, to inspire them. I guess at different times, they’re both important. If the words are sincere. And I think you’re right that words and actions need to match up.”

I bring the onions to her. “I can tell you about my brother, the one who’s going to be king. He talked a lot about how he didn’t believe in a monarchy and thought we should be a representative government, but then he also did something about it. He abdicated and left home. I went with him. And not so much because of his words, but because of the action. Because I figured if he believed in it that much, it must really matter.”

Mariah dumps the onions into the sizzling butter and garlic.

“There is a time for words though,” she says. “Even though with Leah, I know I shouldn’t, sometimes I just want to yell. I just want to sayI’m right.You don’t know everything.”

We add the chicken to the pot as well and she continues to stir.

“I agree,” I say. “My sister is a good example of that. Shedoesa lot. She shows up, rescues animals, actually puts her hands into work. She’ll go without sleep, she’ll drive hundreds of miles, she’ll do whatever it takes. So those actions matter. And if she tries to talk to the people who are illegally smuggling animals or abusing them, it doesn’t make a lot of difference. People like that don’t care.

“But there are times when shehas tospeak out. To law enforcement, to people she needs to donate to her cause, to potential volunteers when she needs extra hands, and definitely to lawmakers. She’s had to appear in front of state and federal government committees to try to get laws in place or strengthened. She’d really love to take them all with her on the rescues so they can see it up close and personal, but she has to rely on her words with them.”

We’re both quiet as the meat continues to brown. Mariah adds the cream and then the cheese. Finally, we add the pasta and cover it to let the pasta cook.

She takes a breath. “Yeah, I guess with Leah I just need to figure out what to do and what to say. And when.”

“Mariah.” I wait till she looks up at me. “Sometimes, with some people, it’s notyouwho has to do the doing or the saying. Sometimes you need other people to do it for you. And that’s okay. I promise you, there will be a time when Leah will know that you were right. About all of it, all along.”

I have to give this to her. Mariah is an amazing person. And she’s lying because Scarlett and I put her in this position. That’s not fair. We have to make this right for her.

I’ve never felt this protective of anyone other than probably Saoirse. But it’s different even with her. She has always hada lotof people looking out for her. There have always been endlessresources to take care of her. I’ve never really worried that much about her.

Mariah has had two fierce women looking out for her, but she deserves to have more. She deserves to have an entire team at her back. An entire community surrounding her.

“What’s going to happen if they find out who you really are?” she asks.

“We’ll deal with it. We’ll face it,” I tell her. “We’ll tell the truth, say we’re sorry for lying, but we had good reasons. And,” I add. “It won’t change the truth. Youareright. Your mom is the woman I love, the woman I’ve searched for. And I did propose to her.”

Mariah sighs. “God, I can’t wait to see Leah’s face when she has to call me Princess Mariah.” She laughs. “I know I shouldn’t care about that but…that will be really fun.”

I smile, but don’t say anything to that as she removes the pot from the heat, pours the mixture into a casserole dish, tops it with more cheese and then slides it under the broiler.

But thetruthis, I can’t wait for that either and I think a tiara is going to look really great on this girl’s head.

Chapter 29

Cian

“Mr. Brady!”

I’m on my way to the parking lot after school on Wednesday when I hear Amanda Brown call my name. Well…my name for this week anyway.

I’ve come to hate it. I like the kids in my classes. I like feeling that I’m actually teaching them something. And hearing them thank ‘Mr. Brady’ rubs me wrong.

It makes even more sense to me now why Scarlett wanted me and everyone in Autre calling her byhername.

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