She’d always assumed she’d be a Reynolds until she got married. If that ever happened.
“What about Kiara?”
“She’ll have to use the name she has on her birth certificate.”
In what they’d viewed as a minor miracle at the time, Sandra had handed over what she’d said were their birth certificates shortly before she’d passed away. Now they knew that Angela’s, at least, had been faked.
Sandra hadn’t revealed that information, even though, shortly before her death, she’d encouraged them to leave the homestead as soon as they could. Unfortunately, it had taken them longer than they’d hoped, but they’d made it off the homestead, eventually. And now they’d made it out of Briar Hollow.
Not that Sandra would be happy they’d ended up with Duncan. But even though there were still times—lots of them—when she felt overwhelmed, Angela was glad they were on the estate.
And only part of that had to do with reconnecting with her birth family.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Jude pulled the UTV to a stop in front of the rec building and got out. He pulled open the door and stepped into the building, already eager to see Angela. Or rather, to see how she was progressing.
He’d turned over most of the self-defense training to Dawn, but he couldn’t seem to stay away. At the time, it had seemed like the right thing to do. Considering the feelings he had for her, keeping a bit more distance between them seemed like a good thing.
Unfortunately, he had needed to do it for the sake of his job too. There were projects that he’d needed to review and sign off on. He wasn’t just in charge of security for the estate. Duncan had him overseeing all areas of security for his companies and real estate.
Jude wasn’t a pro in every aspect of security—like the tech side of things—but he understood enough to be able to advise Duncan. The biggest thing was that Duncan trusted him. And Jude trusted the people he’d hired, who had the expertise he lacked.
Trust was a huge part of his life. His trust in God and the belief that He had a purpose for him. His trust in Duncan when he’d said he’d always have a home at the estate. And Duncan’s trust in Jude that he would keep his family safe.
Trust.
His steps faltered as he considered the word in light of his true motivation for going to the rec center: his desire to see Angela.
It was his job to keep watch over her, but he knew he’d still be there even if it wasn’t.
As he stepped into the large gym, his gaze swept the room. He noticed that Annie was there, but he wasn’t looking for her.
When he saw Angela, his gaze stayed locked on her. She and Dawn were currently on the mats while Kiara and Annie sat off to the side.
Jude leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms as he observed Angela’s moves.
She had definitely gained more confidence since their first day of training, though she still needed more power behind her moves. He was proud of her, though. She was working hard at it, and that was all he asked.
She happened to glance his way, and the moment her eyes landed on him, a beautiful smile enveloped her face. His heart slammed in his chest at that look. Never before had someone looked at him with such unfettered joy, just because they’d seen him.
The thing was, he felt the same way. Just laying eyes on her made him happy. The difference was that he had learned to control his outward expression.
But even so, a smile tugged up the corners of his mouth.
“Hey, boss!”
Dawn’s greeting reminded him that they weren’t alone. His smile slid away as he gave her his attention.
“Just checking to see how it’s going.”
Dawn’s smile took on a knowing edge as she nodded. “It’s going very well. Angela and Kiara have both picked up the moves quickly.”
“Do they need practice dropping a bigger target?”
“That wasn’t the plan for today,” Dawn said. “But since you’re here, we might as well take advantage of you.”
“I’ll go get changed.”
