Miss Ida approached from the living room, her steps slow. She was a vibrant woman, but her body was beginning to fail her. Arthritis had settled into her joints, especially her legs and hips, making it difficult for her to walk.
“Are you okay, my dear?” she asked as she approached the bag Angela had set on the counter. “Darlene called to say she saw that man harassing you again.”
“Yeah, Craig stopped me, but I’m fine.” That was basically the truth, especially since she was safely in the security of her own home.
“I still think you should talk to the sheriff about him.”
Angela could only imagine the hell that would rain down on her and Kiara if she called the cops on Jim and Craig. That wasn’t something she wanted to chance.
“For now, they’re mainly just a nuisance,” Angela said as she helped Ida unload the groceries into the fridge.
“How’s that new project coming along?” Ida asked.
“I’m stuck,” Angela confessed. “I’ve had to rip out stitches several times. I’m ready to give up.”
“Why don’t you come up after dinner and let me have a look at it?” Ida suggested. “I’m sure we can figure it out.”
“I’ll do that,” Angela said. Ida was a master knitter, and when she’d discovered that Angela also knitted, thanks to Sandra’s tutelage, she’d invited her to the knitting group she was a part of. The women were mostly from the church where Ida, and now Angela, attended.
“Thank you for doing the shopping for me,” Ida said. “I sure appreciate the help.”
“You’re welcome.” Angela approached Ida and brushed a kiss on her soft wrinkled cheek, getting a whiff of the light lilac scent the older woman favored. “I’ll see you later.”
Leaving Ida, Angela carried her bags down the steps that led to the door into their suite. After she let herself in, Angela went to the small kitchen and unpacked the groceries.
She was switching over their laundry when she heard the door open, and slam shut.
“Angie!”
Poking her head out of the laundry room, she frowned at Kiara. “What? Why are you yelling?”
“I saw something today.” Kiara dropped her bag and coat on the floor by the door and hurried to Angela with a piece of paper in her hand.
“What did you see?” Angela asked as she shoved the damp laundry in her hands into the dryer.
“This.” Kiara held out the paper. “You have to look at this.”
Angela turned the dryer on before taking the paper. She looked down at it to see a picture printed on it. A large picture. Of… her?
“What is this?” Angela asked. “Are you practicing with graphics programs at the library?”
Kiara shook her head. “No. I printed this from the internet. It was slow at work today, so I was looking through my go-to celebrity gossip site. One of them had pictures from a gala that was held in California, and one of my favorite basketball players attended. She was his date.”
“What?” Angela looked at the paper again. “But… that looks like me.”
“It does, doesn’t it?” Kiara came to stand next to her and looked down at the paper with her. “She could be your twin.”
“Only with nicer clothes, jewelry, and hair.”
“Yeah.” Kiara laughed, but it didn’t last long. “Seriously, though. She looksjustlike you.”
Angela peered more closely at the picture. The woman’s hair was up, but from what she could see, it was a similar shadeof light brown to Angela’s. The woman looked to be the same height as her as well.
Was it possible?
She knew nothing about her birth family. Only what Jim and Sandra had told her, which had been that her birth parents hadn’t been good to her, and they’d taken her to give her a better life.
“Do you really think it’s possible that I have a twin sister, Kiki?”
