“Isn’t it weird that Julian is bringing a stranger here?” Annie asked. “You don’t usually let someone we don’t know come here to the estate.”
“This was a request from Julian,” Duncan said. “And I had Jude do a background check on Elijah. He seems like a genuine guy.”
“I’ve actually met his mother,” Elizabeth said. “We’ve served on a charity board together in the past. She was a lovely woman.”
“Though his father has made significant money through his… church, Elijah’s mother has her own wealth,” Duncan said. “I get the feeling that her husband wouldn’t be where he is today without her. Thankfully, it appears Elijah is closer to his mother than his father.”
“His father is definitely… questionable in his beliefs,” Annie said. “So hopefully Elijah holds different ones.”
“I don’t know anything about him,” Angie said.
“I’ll tell you about him later,” Annie offered. “It’s a bit of a crazy situation with delusions, power, and, I believe, brainwashing.”
Kiara’s brows rose at that, wondering how much Julian knew about Elijah’s father. Not that she was going to hold who his father was against Elijah. She knew better than most that who a person was didn’t always reflect who their parents were.
“Kiara, you should be able to move into your house within the next month,” Duncan said, shifting the conversation in the way he usually did when he wanted to change the subject. “You and Julian need to discuss how you want to work out your living arrangements.”
“Our living arrangements?” Kiara asked.
“Well, your house was designed with two master suites because Angie was initially going to live there with you. Now that she’s going to be moving in with Jude, there would be room for Julian.”
Kiara had always assumed that Julian would split his time between New York and the estate, and that when he was at the estate, he’d stay in the main house.
Would he even want to stay with her?
She had actually tried not to think too much about the fact that when she moved into the house, she would be living alone for the first time in her life. It wasn’t something she was eager to experience.
“I’ll talk to him,” Kiara said. “And we’ll figure it out.”
“Good. I know he’ll still have to travel for work, but I’d rather this be his home base than New York. At least in these early days of his being sober.”
Kiara nodded. She understood what Duncan meant, but at the same time, Julian was the one who would have to face the temptation of alcohol. Eventually, he’d have to do it alone, when no one else would be around to see him make the choice to indulge or stay sober.
“I hope the baby will keep him coming back,” Elizabeth said. “A boy needs his father around, as well as his mother.”
“Have you decided on a name yet?” Duncan asked.
Kiara shook her head. “Not yet. We have a few options, but we haven’t settled on anything yet. Julian’s initial suggestions were Tom and Jerry. Or maybe Fred or Barney.”
Elizabeth laughed, while Duncan frowned at her. “I’m afraid I don’t like any of those names.”
“Not to worry,” Kiara said with a grin. “I don’t either. We’ve moved on.”
“They are cartoon characters, darling,” Elizabeth said as she rested her hand on Duncan’s arm. “He was joking, I believe.”
“He was,” Kiara agreed.
“Oh. Well, I’m quite relieved to hear that,” Duncan said. “I realize I don’t have a say, but I might have argued a bit about those suggestions.”
The conversation veered into name choices as Elizabeth told them why they’d chosen Benjamin, and Duncan shared what he remembered of the decisions he’d made with Jill for the twins and Julian.
Kiara had no idea where her name had come from. She assumed that some thought had gone into it since her middle name was Noelle, and she was born in December.
Looking down at her bump, Kiara ran a hand over it, wondering how her mom had felt when she’d been pregnant with her. Had she been excited? Had her dad looked forward to feeling her move in her mom’s belly?
Given how they’d treated her, and how easily they’d given her up to Jim and Sandra, she doubted that they had cared about her in or out of the womb.
“Kiara?”
