Total pages in book: 166
Estimated words: 157273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 157273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
“She’s extraordinary.” Allie’s smile shook. “And if you let her dance, you’ll never have to worry about paying for any of it. We’ll help take care of her if you let us.” Caroline’s smile slipped, and Allie walked in front of me to take her hand. “Juniper isn’t going anywhere, I promise. I’ll fix this.” She let her go and retreated.
“Allie?” I reached for her hand but she drew it back. “Don’t you want to see Juniper?”
“I do, but it’s more important that she sees Caroline. I have to go. I think I know how to fix this.” She clutched her phone and flowers, and backed away. “Trust me to fix this, Hudson.”
I had no idea what the fuck I was agreeing to, but the plea in her eyes had me nodding.
“Thank you.” She turned and ran.
Chapter Thirty-One
Allie
ReaganHuang: Told you Alessandra wasn’t a liar. Pretty sure a new cast sheet will be posted soon.
I had to fix this. If Hudson and I had put Juniper into any uncertainty or danger, then I had to fix it. I needed the only person who’d known Lina better than I had—Anne.
After changing into my street clothes, I bagged my costume and set the peonies in a sinkful of water in my dressing room. Then I went looking for Anne and found her offstage at the edge of the curtain.
She took one look at me, handed the mic off to an assistant, and came my way, offering a polite smile to everyone she passed along the way. “What’s wrong?”
I pulled her down the hall and into a storage closet, then flicked the light switch and shut the door.
“Well, this is rather cloak-and-dagger, don’t you think?” She eyed the myriad of cleaning supplies and tucked one loose curl of her updo behind her ear.
The door flew open. “I thought I saw you. What are you two doing in a cleaning closet?” Kenna asked, lifting her brows. “Mom, they’re over here.”
Shit.
“Just . . .” There was no time to think this through. I shook my head and went with Hudson’s tried-and-true method of impetuousness. “Get in here.” Anne and I moved to the back while Eloise and Kenna squished themselves in and shut the door.
“And to think”—Eloise scanned our surroundings and folded her arms over her custom Prada dress—“out of everywhere in this tiny town, this is where you want to celebrate a most decisive victory?”
“We’ll get to that,” I promised. “Look, Lina made Caroline secretly promise two things in order to adopt Juniper,” I blurted, immediately getting everyone’s full attention. “That she’d never do ballet and wouldn’t search for her biological family—”
“No way.” Anne shook her head.
Eloise blinked and tilted her head, and Kenna followed suit. Like mother, like daughter.
“She did,” I assured Anne. “Naturally that last part legally expires once Juniper is eighteen, but she got it in writing—”
Anne balked. “Not do ballet? Lina would never. Everything we did this summer was because Lina would never keep her daughter from dancing.”
“I think she would.” My voice dropped to a whisper as apprehension skittered straight down my spine. If I was right, things had the potential to go incredibly bad. “Think about it. Juniper looks just like us—”
“She would have no way of knowing that,” Anne argued.
“Stop running me over and listen,” I snapped.
“Valid point,” Kenna noted.
Anne blinked. “Okay, then. Please continue.”
“Mom’s genes are strong. All four of us look similar enough to garner notice. If Lina had even suspected Juniper would be the same, and didn’t want anyone to know she existed, she’d have to make sure no one in the community ran across a little girl who looked and danced just like a Rousseau, hence the rule.” I folded my arms and hoped I didn’t sound like I’d completely lost my mind.
“Oh, that cat left the bag the second she stepped onstage. You can definitely tell she’s a Rousseau,” Eloise said. “Especially in a room full of people who have known two generations of you over the last five decades and happen to be at the Classic started by your family. Tongues will be wagging tonight at every company reception.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.” My throat threatened to close.
“For hypothetical reasons, I’ll go along with this.” Anne nodded. “Closed adoptions are disappointingly common, but fine, let’s say Lina was adamant she never be found. Why?”
“Do you think Lina was embarrassed?” Kenna asked.
“Lina was impossible to embarrass.” I shook my head, and my stomach hollowed. “I thought of three potential reasons she’d impose that rule about Juniper dancing. First, she knew we’d get involved if we knew about Juniper . . . which we did.”
“Guilty.” Anne winced.
“Second, to protect the adoption. We knew Everett wasn’t her father the second we saw the certificate, but . . . Can Juniper’s biological father really contest the adoption? That’s Caroline’s fear right now.”