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)
“I was there. I remember,” I finally forced out as I stood, putting down my water and walking around the coffee table to stand at his side.
“What changed?”
My gaze darted over the professional pictures, ninety percent of which were taken with us in costume, as though the only moments worth recording for public consumption occurred when we performed. “You know what changed.”
“Lina died.” He slipped his hands into his front pockets. “So you turned down all the offers you got that day and went with the Metropolitan Ballet Company, like your mother wanted.”
Was that a hint of disappointment I heard in his voice?
“I don’t exactly see you in Sitka,” I fired back. That had been our little joke of a dream. Him living in the middle of nowhere, rescue swimming, me in San Francisco, visiting when I could.
“Sean died too. Cancer. I chose to come back to help Caroline with Juniper. Did you choose, or was that all your mother, living out her dreams with whichever daughter fit the shoe at the moment?” He folded his arms across his chest.
“She’d just lost her firstborn. I chose to honor her wishes.” And that came out too defensive. We were still within our first five minutes. “Anyway, I saw Lina at Christmas, but she didn’t say anything, or look different. The next time we were together was that summer. She’d declined an offer to renew her contract in San Francisco and came home to train with us in June to prep for auditioning for MBC again. She was determined and focused, but she acted normal . . . happy, especially after August auditions. She got the invite to join the Company, and that was what? Two weeks before the Classic?” I shook my head. “I know the proof is in Juniper, but I can’t believe Lina would have a baby and not tell any of us. Not even Anne. They were close, way closer than I am with Eva. But unless I have another sibling I don’t know about, Juniper has to be Lina’s.”
“Is there a chance Anne knows and never told you?” He rocked back on his heels and glanced out the window, then muttered a curse.
“Sure, there’s always that chance,” I admitted. “But why would she keep it a secret this long after Lina died? None of it makes any sense.”
“You have to be kidding me.” Hudson strode toward the entry hall.
“What’s wrong?” I hurried after him, my socked feet skidding in the foyer.
He practically consumed the entrance as he threw open the door, but I ducked under his arm to see Juniper drop her scooter in front of the porch steps.
Something in my chest sparked, then flamed slowly, like a campfire started with damp kindling, as Juniper unbuckled her purple helmet and tossed it on the ground next to the abandoned scooter.
“You’re supposed to be at school,” Hudson lectured. “Mrs. Ashbury is going to lose it when she realizes you snuck off.”
Her button nose lifted when she raised her chin at Hudson, and the morning sun caught the copper in her narrowed eyes as she stared him down while climbing the steps. She was fearless and determined and looked more than a little indignant. The flame in my chest spread, and my skin prickled. It wasn’t déjà vu. They were all elements of Lina that I’d recognized as familiar without truly seeing.
Holy shit, I’d been blind. Juniper looked just like her.
“I sent her an email from Mom’s account last night saying you were taking me to an appointment this morning.” She reached the porch and glared at Hudson. “She has her hands full with the Gibbons twins, so we both know she isn’t mourning one less kid in the class.”
“You have your mom’s password?” Hudson lifted his brows at his niece.
Our niece. I stared at her wind-snarled brown hair, the lines of her cheeks and chin, noting the similarities to my sister.
“Juniper0514 isn’t exactly hard to crack,” she drawled.
I leaned back, my head brushing against Hudson’s arm. The contact steadied my feet, but nothing calmed the speed of my heart. Juniper wasn’t just a notification on an app, or a discussion to be had, a question to ponder. She was Lina’s very real daughter.
“You can’t excuse yourself from school and run amok!” Hudson’s tone sharpened. “It’s not safe!”
“Right.” Juniper folded her arms across her chest. “Because I was in sooooo much danger riding my scooter all six blocks from where Mom dropped me off at school. Mr. Lobos says hi, by the way. He was gardening in his front yard when I rode past. Super scary.”
Even the way she rolled her eyes was just like Lina. How had I missed it? I wobbled, and Hudson braced his arm around my waist before I could make an ass out of myself and fall.