CHAPTER TWELVE #2
“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?”
She looked up to find concerned gazes on her.
“Are you okay?” Angie asked, reaching out to cover Kiara’s hand where it rested on her belly.
“I’m fine,” she assured her. “Sometimes I just get lost in wondering what life might be like with this little one.”
Angie smiled. “Well, I can tell you one thing that’s in your son’s future, and that is love. Lots and lots of love.”
That made Kiara smile. “Yes. Lots of love.”
Kiara knew that she had Angie to thank for knowing what love was. Until she’d met Angie, there had been no love in her life. And if it hadn’t been for Angie, there wouldn’t have been any even after Kiara had been taken from her family by Jim and Sandra.
Once the meal was over, Kiara decided to take a walk. She needed some fresh air and some time to gather her thoughts about the days ahead. Though she was usually glad for Angie’s company on some of her walks, Kiara was glad that on that day, her sister had other things demanding her attention.
The day was warm, and the sun was shining brightly. They were officially well past the snowy days of winter and even the cool ones of early spring. She no longer needed to wear a jacket when she went for her walks.
As usual, she came to a stop near the house. It had an interesting design with two wings, joined by a combined living space with Angie’s dream kitchen. It would have been perfect for them.
She’d assumed that Angie’s suite would sit empty. But now, it sounded like Duncan wanted Julian to take over those rooms.
Did she want to share space with him like that?
She and Angie had been excited about once again having a place of their own. Of being able to cook meals together. Of being able to do their own chores.
If someone even a year ago had said that she’d look forward to doing her own laundry, cleaning the house, or cooking her own meals, she would have told them they were crazy.
But did she want to do those things in a space that Julian also occupied?
She’d been trying not to think of Julian as husband. He was father of her baby or Angie’s brother. Never her husband.
She certainly didn’t think of herself as his wife, and she really doubted that Julian viewed her as such. Their marriage was a means to an end, nothing more.
Tipping her head back, Kiara stared up at the clear blue expanse of sky. She rested her hands on her stomach as she drank in the beauty.
It was the same sky she’d looked up at in Briar Hollow, wondering about the world beyond the small town. Now she had experienced it, and it was more than she had ever imagined it would be.
“Mrs. Burke?”
Lowering her head, Kiara saw the foreman standing a few feet away from her. She gave him a smile as she greeted him.
“Would you like to come inside?” he asked. “We’ve gotten quite a bit more done since the last time you checked it out.”
“Sure.” Falling into step beside him, Kiara walked across the bare earth that she’d been assured would one day be covered with a beautiful landscape.
When she stepped into the house this time, she viewed it in a different light. Instead of imagining her and Angie living there, she tried to see herself living there with Julian. And one day, their son.
It still amazed her how quickly the work on the house had progressed. Duncan had certainly lit a fire under them, fueled, no doubt, by copious amounts of money.
For the first time, it was more than just bare bones. There were painted walls, the stone fireplace, and cabinets and counters had been installed in the kitchen. All things chosen by her and Angie. It was looking more and more like a home.
“We’ll be done with the painting and flooring by the end of the week. The decorators will be in after that.”
“You guys have worked so hard on this,” Kiara said. “It’s amazing.”
“Having our budget expanded made it possible to hire more workers and to work longer hours.”
“Well, thank you for all your hard work.”
After she’d finished speaking to the man, Kiara left and finished her walk. She had a couple of days to prepare for Julian’s arrival, and then it was the wedding.
Once the weekend was over, life would be different. Again. Only this time, she and Angie would be moving in different directions. Not completely apart, but definitely separate for the first time in their lives as sisters.
For a moment, her pregnancy hormones grabbed hold of her emotions, and tears sprang to her eyes.
She brushed them aside as they fell, but rather than try to stop her tears, she allowed them to flow as she walked.
Maybe she needed this time of sadness. Then, once it was over, she would put it behind her and focus forward, instead of continuing to grieve the loss of the way things had been for her and Angie for so long.
When her emotions were under control once again, Kiara returned to the house.
On Thursday, as they once again sat around the lunch table, Duncan announced that the plane was on its way to pick up Julian and Elijah. Kiara tried to ignore the flutter in her stomach at the news.
It had been a few weeks since she’d last seen Julian, and even though they’d continued to write letters, she didn’t feel like she was prepared for the reality of him being around more.
“Guess we’ll have a full table for dinner tonight,” Angie said.
“I wish Cole could make it,” Annie said with a sigh. “But since they have a game this weekend, he couldn’t get away.”
“Are you planning to go to any of the playoff games?” Duncan asked. “Since we already know they’re going to be playing.”
“Yes. I do hope to make it to a few of them. I’ll take Benji with me.” She narrowed her gaze at her dad. “And yes, I’ll pick the games that don’t interfere with school.”
“Thank you,” Duncan said. “I will be leaving next week for New York.”
“For just a visit?” Annie asked.
Duncan shook his head. “I need to stay there for an extended period of time. It’s been okay to work from here for the past few months, but there are some major meetings coming up that I need to attend in person.”
“I’m going with him,” Elizabeth said. “But if you need me here for anything, you just have to let me know.”
“Will Julian be returning to New York as well?” Angie asked, giving voice to the question that Kiara had but was uncertain about asking.
“He will have to join us for a week or two,” Duncan said. “And he might want to fly to Singapore to check on the projects there since he’s been out of touch for awhile. There are also other projects in Europe he needs to follow up on, so he might be traveling for a bit.”
Kiara listened as they discussed Julian’s schedule as if he didn’t have a wife or a baby on the way. It was a stark reminder—one she needed—that things really weren’t any different than they’d been before the wedding.
The vows she’d said and the piece of paper she’d signed were insignificant in the grand scheme of things. She couldn’t help but wonder if Julian had the same view of their marriage.
The letters they’d exchanged had drawn them closer as friends but hadn’t changed the parameters of their marriage.
She needed to remember that.