Angela nodded, though she wasn't entirely convinced. She glanced toward the window, where she could see the forest stretching out toward distant mountains. Somewhere out there, Jude was going about his business, probably already moving on to whatever security matters needed his attention.
The thought made her chest tighten and her heart ache.
"What is it?" Kiara asked, following her gaze.
"Nothing," Angela said quickly, then sighed. "It's just… Jude. I got used to having him around. He made everything feel less scary."
Kiara raised an eyebrow. "You like him. Don't try to deny it. I saw how you looked at him downstairs."
"It doesn't matter," Angela said quietly. "He works for Duncan. His loyalty is to this family."
"You're part of this family now."
"Am I?” Angela wasn’t so sure.
Kiara placed her hands on Angela's shoulders, giving her a gentle shake. "Of course you are. You heard Duncan downstairs—he never stopped looking for you. That doesn't sound like someone who's going to turn his back on you now."
Angela moved to the window, pressing her palm against the cool glass. The view was breathtaking—snow-covered mountains in the distance, tall pines swaying in the afternoon breeze, and the kind of natural beauty she'd only seen in magazines. But it felt like looking at someone else's life.
"I keep waiting for someone to tell me there's been a mistake," she admitted. "That I don't actually belong here."
"The DNA test doesn't lie, Angie."
"The DNA test proves I'm related to them. It doesn't prove I fit in." Angela turned back to face Kiara. "Do you see this place? The way they dress, the way they talk? I'm a baker who has nothing to her name but the very basics. What am I supposed to contribute to all of this?"
Angela sank down onto the loveseat by the window.
"I feel like I'm caught between two worlds," she admitted. "Part of me wants to embrace all of this, to finally have a realfamily. But the other part keeps waiting for something to go wrong. For them to decide I don't belong here after all."
Kiara joined her on the loveseat. "That's the farm talking. Jim and Sandra made us believe we had to earn our place, that love was conditional. But look around, Angie. This isn't the same thing."
Angela hoped that Kiara was right. If only she could talk to Jude. To get his thoughts on what he thought her place in this new world might be and how she’d done so far.
Getting up, she went to the desk and picked up the card that Elizabeth had left there. She skimmed over the names and numbers written in precise handwriting. Everyone was listed there but Jude.
She had Jude’s number because he’d given it to her in Briar Hollow. However, the list seemed to make it clear that the family members were the people Angela should contact for help. Not Jude.
Straightening, Angela took a deep breath. Was she strong enough to do this? To try to fit into this world that was so very different from what she’d known? From what she was comfortable with?
“So, are we sharing a room still?” Kiara asked as she joined her at the desk.
Angela glanced over at her. “What do you want?”
She felt like she’d already made too many demands of Kiara in leaving their life in Kentucky.
“Let’s give staying in separate rooms a try,” Kiara said. “And if it doesn’t work, then we’ll bunk up.”
Angela nodded, though her stomach sank at Kiara’s suggestion. It would be weird, for sure, but if it was what Kiara wanted, she’d do it.
“Let’s go look at the other bedroom,” Kiara suggested. “Then we can decide which one we each want.”
Angela trailed Kiara out of that bedroom, across the hall and into the one opposite it.
This room was a mirror image of the other in terms of the positioning of the furniture. However, it was decorated in shades of blues instead of sage green and cream.
The bed was just as large, the furnishings just as elegant, and the view equally stunning.
"They're both beautiful," Kiara said, running her hand along the carved wooden headboard. "I can't believe this is real."
