CHAPTER SIXTEEN #2
“Do you just walk over?” he asked. “Or do you call for a ride?”
“I’ve just been walking. They did say I could have a UTV, but I haven’t taken them up on the offer yet.”
“Maybe when we walk over for dinner, I’ll grab a UTV.”
“You know how to drive one?”
“Yep. I was driving a small one when I was around ten. You’ll be safe.”
Kiara laughed. “I’m not worried.”
“Good.” He glanced at his watch. “Should we head there now?”
“Sure.” She managed to get to her feet without looking too cumbersome, then they made their way through the house to the front door.
Julian kept pace with her as they walked, though she was sure he probably could have made the walk in half the time.
“Is Elijah coming back?” Kiara asked.
“At some point. He went to visit his mom’s family, and his mom and sister were going to join them.”
“How did your visit with your mom go?”
“About how I thought it would,” he said with a humorless laugh. “She was unimpressed with my having gone for help to get sober. She didn’t think my drinking was a problem.”
“Did you think you had a problem?” Kiara asked.
Julian was silent for a moment, then said, “I don’t think anyone with a drinking problem initially thinks they have one.
I was sure that I could handle it. I was still able to do my job.
It wasn’t until I didn’t have access to alcohol anymore that I realized it was a physical problem.
And once I was past the worst of the physical withdrawal, I realized it was also a mental problem. ”
“And your mom didn’t understand that?”
“No.”
“Did you tell her about what happened when you were a kid?”
“Not yet,” he said. “I know I need to, but I kind of felt like I was dropping a lot on her already.”
“Like the baby and us getting married?”
“Yes. She was angry and convinced that you were trapping me.”
Kiara wasn’t surprised to hear that. Jill didn’t have a very good impression of her to start with. Her ending up pregnant probably just reinforced what she already thought about Kiara.
There was a part of her that wondered if Julian had thought that as well. He’d never acted like he was suspicious of what had happened, even though he had no memory of the time they’d had together.
“She’ll come around eventually,” Julian said. “But I’m not going to let her around the baby if she doesn’t accept you as his mother.”
Kiara appreciated Julian's willingness to stand up for her, and she hoped that would be the case when it actually happened.
“I don’t want to come between you and your mother,” she said.
“If she chooses to have that attitude toward you, she’s the one coming between me and her.”
As they approached the security building, Julian said, “Let’s pop in there for a minute and let them know we need a UTV.”
It didn’t take long, and Anthony promised to have a UTV waiting for them at the house after dinner.
When they walked into the house a few minutes later, Kiara told him they’d been eating dinner in the breakfast room. Without Duncan and Elizabeth there, mealtimes had been a little more relaxed, which Kiara really appreciated.
Annie and Benji were already in the room and greeted Julian with smiles. Once they’d all taken their seats at the table, Annie said a prayer for the meal.
Conversation flowed differently than it had when she and Angie had first arrived. Julian was no longer sitting there, sullenly nursing a drink while everyone else had chatted. This time he was an active participant in the conversation.
“I hear congratulations are in order,” Julian said to Annie.
Annie beamed. “Yes! Cole and his team won the championship, and then I won when he asked me to marry him.”
“How soon are you getting married?” he asked.
“Well, so far, no one has had a long engagement, so we’re not going to buck the trend.”
Julian chuckled. “So next week?”
“More like three weeks now. Elizabeth has been organizing some of it from New York, and I’ve already had a meeting with the dress designer.”
“These quick weddings would not be possible for the average person, I don’t think,” Kiara said. “Unless they were eloping.”
Annie nodded. “That’s true. We’re very fortunate.”
“Do you think Duncan would have guessed at the beginning of the year that within seven months, all three of his adult children would be married?”
Annie laughed. “I have a feeling that would have been his definition of a nightmare, and yet, he’s survived.”
“I would have thought Angie and Jude would join us for dinner,” Benji said. “Since they just got back today.”
“I think they’re still in their honeymoon phase,” Kiara said. “And Angie enjoys cooking, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she wanted to cook a meal for Jude in their own home.”
“Do you enjoy cooking?” Benji asked.
“Probably not as much as Angie,” Kiara admitted. “But I can cook well enough. Once I get some groceries, I’ll probably do some cooking as well. I appreciate being able to come here for meals, but since there’s a lovely kitchen in the new house, I should probably use it.”
“I like to cook sometimes,” Annie said. “But I’m glad for the option of coming here when I don’t want to.”
“I’ll go wherever the food is,” Julian said with a laugh.
“Now that you’re not drinking most of your meals, you look a lot better,” Annie remarked. “Was the food at the treatment center good?”
“It was excellent,” Julian said. “Almost as good as Mrs. Stevens’ cooking.”
Though Kiara had no issues with Duncan and Elizabeth, she had to admit that she really appreciated the more relaxed atmosphere within the family with them gone. And seeing Julian relaxed and interacting in a positive way with his siblings also made her feel good.
Her life was intrinsically linked to his now, so the happier and healthier he was, the better it was for her, but most especially for their son.
Following the meal, Annie left to go back to her place, and Benji went to the rec center to shoot some hoops.
“I want to grab a few things from my room,” Julian said, then hesitated, lifting a hand to rub his chin. “Would you mind coming upstairs with me?”
“Uh, sure,” Kiara said, wondering why he’d need her help if he was just getting a few things.
She got to her feet, then walked with Julian out of the breakfast room. The stairs were getting more challenging as her pregnancy progressed, and she was sure there would come a time when she outright refused to climb them.
When they reached his room, Kiara looked around curiously. She’d never been inside it, but from what she could see, she hadn’t missed anything. The room was basically the same setup as the rooms she and Angie had used.
“Why don’t you sit over here?” Julian said, gesturing to the perfectly made bed.
Since he had a sitting area, just like she and Angie had in their rooms, Kiara wasn’t sure why he wanted her to sit on the bed. However, she didn’t question him, curious about what was to come.
She moved over to the bed and sat down, wiggling a bit to move back from the edge, since it was a little higher than the bed she was used to.
Julian came to stand in front of her, his expression serious. “I need to show you something. Just wait a minute.”
Kiara watched as he walked to what she assumed was the walk-in closet. He disappeared inside, leaving her to wait in uneasy anticipation.