Angela looked at Kiara, who gave an encouraging nod.
"We lived on a homestead outside a small town in Kentucky," Angela began. "It was… simple. Sandra homeschooled us throughout our school years. Kiara is three years older than me." She smiled at her sister. "She's always looked out for me."
"That's what big sisters do," Kiara said, bumping Angela's shoulder affectionately.
“How did you come to be part of the family, Kiara?” Duncan asked.
“They got me when I was eight,” she said. “Jim said my parents couldn’t afford to raise me, so they offered to take me in. I’m not sure that I was legally adopted, to be honest. But I don’t think I was kidnapped. What little I remember of my biological family makes me think they were happy to see me go. ”
“Perhaps we can help you get more information about your family if you’re interested in it,” Duncan offered.
Kiara shook her head. “Since I do remember my life before I ended up at Jim and Sandra’s, I know it’s nothing I want to revisit.”
“So, life with them was better?”
Kiara and Angela exchanged another look. Angela didn’t really want to get into all the nitty-gritty details. “In some ways.”
The cryptic answer had Duncan looking at Jude again, but they didn’t press for more details. She hadn’t told Jude everything about their time at the homestead, but Angela figured that time would come. She was just glad it wasn’t right then.
When the silence got heavy again, Elizabeth filled it once more. “Why don’t we show you to your rooms? Maybe you’d like to have some time to yourselves.”
Relief filled Angela. “That would be nice. Thank you.”
Everyone stood when they did, and Angela wanted to go to Jude. To speak to him and see how he felt the reunification was going.
But he remained standing directly behind Duncan, hands in his pockets. It was a stark reminder that Jude’s loyalties were, first and foremost, to Duncan.
When their gazes met briefly, Jude’s expression softened with a slight smile, and Angela took strength from that. As she left the room with Kiara, Annie, and Elizabeth, Angela hoped that she’d be able to talk to him again soon.
Leaving the men behind, they walked up a sweeping staircase to a long hallway lined with beautiful paintings on the wall.
“Here we go,” Elizabeth said as they approached a couple of doors that stood open opposite each other. “You each have a room, but we’ll let you decide which one you want.”
Angela had never not shared a room with Kiara. She wasn’t sure that she was ready to do it for the first time in a totally new place.
“Your things have been brought up here already,” Elizabeth said as she stepped into one of the rooms. “But if there’s anything you need, please let me know.”
“Thank you,” Angela said. “We appreciate everything you’ve done for us.”
The smile Elizabeth gave her was gentle. “We’re just so glad to have you home. And to have you here as well, Kiara.”
Annie remained silent as she stood beside Elizabeth. Angela wondered about their biological mom. Jill. So far, she hadn’t spoken with her, and Jude hadn’t had a lot to say about her either.
“We’ll leave you to rest,” Elizabeth said. “I’ve put a card with our cell phone numbers on each desk. Feel free to call us if you need anything.”
After Elizabeth and Annie had left, closing the door behind them, Angela felt an overwhelming desire to cry.
Kiara wrapped her arms around her, and Angela hung onto her desperately.
“It's okay," Kiara whispered, stroking Angela's hair. "I know it's overwhelming."
"I don't know if I can do this," Angela said, her voice muffled against Kiara's shoulder. "Everything feels so… foreign. Like I'm pretending to be someone I'm not."
"You're not pretending. You're just discovering another part of who you are." Kiara pulled back to look at her. "And you don't have to figure it all out today."
Angela wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Annie seems… distant. I thought maybe we'd have some kind of instant connection, but it feels like she doesn't want me here."
"Maybe she's as overwhelmed as you are," Kiara suggested. "Think about it—she's had her whole life turned upside down too. She probably doesn't know how to act any more than you do."
