CHAPTER THIRTEEN #2
Julian nodded. "I’m not sure why Duncan wanted such a large house with so many bedrooms. This is the closest we’ve been to filling them all, and even then, there’s still two or three that are empty."
He showed Elijah the main living areas—the formal living room with a wall of windows overlooking the mountains, the dining room with its massive table that could seat twenty, and the less formal family room where they gathered sometimes.
"And this is my dad's office," Julian said, gesturing to the closed double doors. “And his and Elizabeth’s suite is further down there.”
He led him toward the kitchen, planning to take him to the rec center, but he heard voices in the mudroom.
Julian felt his pulse quicken as he led Elijah toward the voices. He hesitated for a moment, suddenly uncertain if he was ready to see Kiara face to face again after weeks of letters and just that one brief meeting at the treatment center.
"Everything okay?" Elijah asked quietly from beside him.
Julian nodded, took a breath, and stepped into the mudroom. Angela was there with Annie, both of them hanging garment bags on hooks along the wall. However, there was no sign of Kiara. The disappointment that washed through him was unexpected and unsettling.
"Julian!" Angela spotted him first, her face lighting up with a smile. She crossed the room and hugged him tightly. "I'm so glad you made it."
"Wouldn't miss your big day," he said, returning her embrace.
“Welcome home, brother,” Annie said, then surprised Julian by giving him a hug. “I’m glad you’re home. You look so much better.”
"Thanks," he said, feeling oddly touched by her comment.
The treatment center had been good for him physically—healthy food, regular sleep, exercise. But it was more than that. Something inside him felt different, freer but also more grounded.
"And you must be Elijah." Angela extended her hand to his friend. "I'm Angela, one of Julian's sisters."
"It's nice to meet you," Elijah said, shaking her hand. "Thank you for welcoming me into your home."
Annie also greeted the man and introduced herself.
"Where's Kiara?" Julian asked, trying to keep his tone casual. “Elizabeth said she was with you.”
"She went right upstairs," Angela said. "She wasn’t feeling so good. The nausea and exhaustion come and go. This pregnancy has put her through the ringer, especially when we've been running around all day. But she'll probably be down for dinner."
Julian nodded, still not sure how he felt about seeing her again.
For the duration of his time in the treatment center, he’d shared things with her in letters that he might not have if they’d been speaking face to face.
It had been easy to just imagine she was a friend because there had been no romantic interactions in their letters.
They hadn’t even closed their letters with Love.
Being there in person was going to be different. Everyone there knew they were married, but they weren’t living as if they were. It was going to be awkward, and Julian didn’t do well with awkwardness when it involved him.
He didn’t want people asking him if they were going to try to make a go of it. And he didn’t want to have to constantly watch his interactions with Kiara, so people didn’t get the wrong idea. He counted Kiara as one of his friends now, and he wanted to keep their interactions a reflection of that.
While in treatment, he hadn’t thought a lot about the fact that he was married. His focus had been on getting through the withdrawal and then learning how to live with what he’d done as a child. But now he was back, and there was no avoiding that one of the people at the estate was his wife.
“Well, I’m going to give Elijah a tour,” Julian said. “We’ll be back in a bit.”
Leaving the girls to their wedding prep, Julian led the way out of the house. Over the next half hour, he showed Elijah the security building and then the rec center.
“Do you play basketball?” Elijah asked as they stood on the basketball court in the rec center.
“Not really. Benji is the one who uses it the most, and also Annie’s boyfriend when he’s here.” When Elijah jumped and pretended to shoot an invisible ball at the hoop, Julian said, “Do you play?”
“It was that or football,” Elijah said. “But my mom put her foot down and said no football. My dad tried to fight her on it, but she stood firm.”
“I wasn’t into team sports much. I played tennis and did some track, but I wasn’t very good at either of them.”
“Maybe I can shoot some hoops with Benji,” Elijah said.
“I’m sure he’d enjoy that.”
After they left the rec center, they continued walking on the road that circled around by Jude and Annie’s homes.
“What’s going up here?” Elijah asked as they approached the building site.
“This is Angela and Kiara’s house.”
“Is Kiara going to stay here alone?” Elijah asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Would Jude move in with Angela here? Or would Angela move in with Jude?”
Julian thought of the large log cabin style home that Jude lived in and figured there was little chance they’d choose to share space with Kiara.
“I’m not sure,” he said. “But I assume they’ve figured something out.”
Julian knew a bit about the layout of the house that was being built, since he’d been around for some of the discussions about it.
Kiara and Angela had decided on two separate wings, each with a master suite connected by a common kitchen. It made sense at the time, but somehow, Julian doubted that they would have decided on that design had they known that Angela would never live there.
“It looks like it’s almost done,” Elijah said.
“Yeah, it does. I think Duncan was hoping to have it finished before the baby arrived.”
Julian was a bit curious about what it was like inside, so he headed in that direction with Elijah trailing behind him.
He climbed the steps to the front door and checked to see if it was locked. The door swung open, and immediately he could hear the sounds of workers inside.
“Let’s have a look around,” Julian said. “I’m curious.”
“Hello,” a middle-aged man called out to them. As he got closer, he said, “Oh, hello, Mr. Burke.”
After introductions were made, the foreman gave them a tour of the house. As he walked through the rooms, Julian could see how the house would have been perfect for Angela and Kiara. He wondered if Kiara was disappointed that she wouldn’t be living with her sister.
“That’s a really nice place,” Elijah said as they left several minutes later.
“It is,” Julian agreed.
“Why don’t you have a place here?” Elijah asked. “It seems like all your siblings do.”
“I do have a plot of land that Duncan has set aside for me, but I’ve had no desire to put down roots here.”
“Do you think that will change now that you have a baby on the way?”
“I don’t know.” That was the most honest answer he had at the moment. “I’m pretty sure that Kiara won’t be interested in moving to New York. She’s too close to Angela to want to move that far away. So if I want to see my son, I’ll need to come here.”
They circled back to the main house, then went inside. It was nearing dinnertime, so they went back upstairs to their rooms.
“Does your family dress for dinner?” Elijah asked.
“Sort of. Duncan prefers no jeans or T-shirts. I usually wear slacks and a button-down.”
“Sounds good,” Elijah said. “My dad always insisted on a tie, which was pretty ridiculous.”
“Here at the estate, we only dress more formally at special dinners like Thanksgiving and Christmas.”
“And for the wedding on Saturday, I imagine.”
“Yes, we’ll be dressed up for that. Do you have a suit with you?”
“I certainly do,” Elijah said. “My mom insisted I pack one when I went to the treatment center. Maybe she assumed there would be a graduation program. I doubt she thought I’d need one to attend a wedding, however.”
“You’ll have to take a picture to show her.”
“You’re sure it’s okay for me to attend?”
“Yes. I checked with Duncan already.”
“Okay. Well, let me go get freshened up.”
“You’ve got twenty minutes,” Julian said as he opened the door to his room.
“Yes, sir.”
In his room, Julian went through the motions of preparing for dinner. At the treatment center, things had been a bit more relaxed, and he found that he had enjoyed that.
Buttoning his shirt, he felt like he was putting on a costume. For the longest time, he’d chosen to wear suits, even when he didn’t need to. It was like he hoped that people would see his professionalism and not look beyond it to his internal struggles.
He went to his bathroom to brush his hair, but he didn’t apply the product that he usually used to keep it in place. He’d gotten used to not styling his hair while in the treatment center. It was a small thing, but it made him feel more comfortable.
With five minutes until dinner, Julian left his room. Elijah’s door stood open, and he appeared as soon as Julian rapped on his door jamb.
As they approached the stairs, Julian spotted Kiara coming toward them with Angela. Julian’s steps slowed as he took in the sight of her.
Her curly hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she wore a loose-fitting floral top that skimmed over her bump. She looked tired, and her face a touch paler than he remembered, but her eyes—those warm hazel eyes—brightened when she saw him.
"Julian," she said, with a smile. "Welcome home."
Something unexpected shifted in his chest at her words. Home. Was this place home to him now? He wasn't sure, but hearing her say it felt right somehow.
"Thanks," he managed.
When he reached her, he hesitated, uncertain how to greet her. A handshake seemed too formal, a kiss too intimate. He settled for a brief, gentle hug, careful not to press too close to her growing belly.
“How are you feeling?" he asked, his voice softer than he'd intended.
“Better after a nap," she said. "I read somewhere that a lot of women feel great during the second trimester. I am not one of those women. I just hope I feel good for the wedding."
"This is Elijah," Julian said, stepping back to include his friend in the conversation.
"It's wonderful to meet you." Kiara's face lit up with genuine warmth as she extended her hand to Elijah. "Julian's told me about you in his letters."
Julian watched as Elijah shook her hand, noting how his friend's expression softened at her friendly demeanor.
"All good things, I hope," Elijah said with a smile.
"Very good things," Kiara assured him. "I'm glad you could come for the wedding."
Angela cleared her throat. "We should probably head down. You know how Duncan gets when we're late."
As they made their way down the stairs, Julian walked beside Kiara while Angela and Elijah chatted behind them. The delicious aroma of dinner drifted up from the kitchen, and Julian realized he was starving.
It had been a rare feeling when he’d been at the estate in the past. Alcohol had played a big role in his meals. He’d washed every dinner down with it, and his hangovers had often robbed him of his appetite for breakfast.
Glancing over at Kiara as they walked into the dining room, his gaze went to her belly. That little boy was the reason he needed to get his act together.
No more using alcohol to dull his feelings. His thoughts went to the alcohol that was still hidden in his closet, and he knew he needed to get rid of it. Soon.