“The stairs are inside the garage.” Knowing nothing about pregnant women, Hope asked, “Will stairs be a problem for you?”
“Not at all, but I can’t promise I won’t huff, and I’d dearly love to put up my feet.” She made a face. “My ankles swell.”
Something warm and familiar unfurled inside Hope. It was recognition of things she’d lost. An easy camaraderie with her one and only sister.
It was...love. Sibling love.
A new wash of emotion sent more tears trailing down her cheeks. God, how she’d missed her sis.
She hadn’t dwelled on it, not for a while now. What would have been the point? Bitterness was still there, but now it was more of a shadow than a sharp pain.
Trying to sort out the stew of conflicting emotions, Hope led the way into the garage and up to her small apartment.
Lang hadn’t been in here since the day he, Corbin and Ivey had helped her move. Tonight, she’d planned to invite him inside, but these were very different circumstances than she’d initially anticipated.
Though the sun hadn’t yet set, Hope flipped on a light to chase away the shadows and gazed around with pride.
It was a small space, but she’d made it her own in numerous ways. The furniture was for her comfort. The colors were to her liking. There were no personal photos, but she’d hung eclectic, affordable, textured art pieces that pleased her each time she gazed on them.
“How nice,” Charity said as she looked around. “This looks like you, Hope. I like it.”
The praise shouldn’t have mattered...and yet it did. “Make yourself at home. I’ll get us drinks.” Always in the past, she and her sister shared icy colas. She paused at the kitchen counter as a thought occurred to her. “Can you have cola?”
“No caffeine.” Sinking onto the sofa, Charity put her feet up on the poof footstool and sighed. “It isn’t good for the baby.”
“I have water or orange juice?”
“Water would be great. Thanks.”
Lang sat on the edge of a chair, elbows on his knees, his fingers forming a steeple. “You and Hope share a similar look.”
“More so before I got so big,” Charity said easily. She touched her hair. “I’ve always worn my hair shorter, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen Hope in makeup.”
“She doesn’t need it.”
Charity smiled. “No, she doesn’t. She’s always been naturally pretty.”
Before that could go on, Hope returned, handing a can of Coke to Lang and a bottle of water to Charity. “When are you due?”
“Three weeks, and I’m beyond ready. There are days when I feel like I might pop.” She took several long drinks of the water, then grimaced. “Mind if I use your bathroom? It was a long drive here.”
This was all so strange. She, Hope Mage, was entertaining her own sister as a visitor. “It’s there by the stairs,” Hope said, then watched as Charity hauled herself inelegantly from the seat.
Once she’d disappeared behind the door, Hope turned to Lang.
He slowly grinned. “Threw you for a loop, didn’t she?”
“Completely. I haven’t heard even a squeak from her since I left home so long ago. No calls, no cards. I assumed they’d all written me off.”
“Or maybe they’re just too proud to come after you. People do really shortsighted things, honey.”
“But for her to just show up here? Pregnant? I don’t know what to think.”
“Want my impression?”
Because her own thoughts were so muddled, she nodded.
“Coming to you face-to-face was a lot harder than a call, and a thousand times more sincere than a card. She made the trip because it mattered.” He brushed his knuckles along her jaw. “You matter. I think your sister realized it and she genuinely wants to make amends.”
Hope didn’t dare jump to conclusions. Not after so long. She glanced toward the bathroom door, ensuring it was still closed. “I suppose getting pregnant, knowing she’d soon be a mother, might have had some influence.”
“I know it did for Corbin.” He tugged Hope onto his lap, one arm around her back, the other draped over her thighs. “My brother was off doing his own thing, as far from settling down as a man could be. Now he’s changed literally everything in his life, all for Justin, and he did it without any qualms.”
Hope considered that. “I’m going to be an aunt.”
“A wonderful aunt,” he agreed warmly. “Your niece will be so lucky to have you in her life.”
From behind them, Charity said, “I agree.” Keeping a hand to the small of her back, she made her way to the couch again and settled gratefully onto the cushions. With no animus at all, she said, “I’m a selfish bitch, Hope, and I know it. But as soon as I found out I was pregnant, I desperately wanted to talk to you. I wanted to share everything with you. From the confirmation to the doctor to the ultrasound to my first stretch mark. God, it was so hard, not being able to call, to complain to you when I was sick, to tell you when I first heard the heartbeat.” Her eyes welled up again. “When she first moved...” Her bottom lip trembled. “I wanted my little sister so badly. Not being able to share everything with you really drove home how much I’ve missed you.”
Unsure what to say, Hope asked, “You’ve been well overall?”
“I puked my guts up for a month.” Charity made a face. “It was miserable, and you know Mom. She’s not exactly the nurturing type. But yes, the baby and I are fine. I was so excited when I found out I was having a girl. I kept thinking of all the things we did together.” She added to Lang, “Sisters are special.”
Lang lifted a brow at the irony of that statement, but he didn’t reply.
Hope felt obligated to fill in the silence. “You were far more adventurous than me.”
Charity laughed. “True.” Again including Lang, she explained, “I was all about boys, and Hope was happiest in a cozy chair with a book in her hands.”
“I can see that,” Lang said, and gave Hope a squeeze.
The humor slipped away under poignant memories. Eyes solemn, Charity smiled. “I always envied you that. How self-possessed you were. How you didn’t really need anyone.”
A rush of hurt got Hope back on her feet. “That’s not true.” She stared at the sister she’d once considered her best friend. “I needed my family.” The crack in her voice shamed her. Self-possessed? She, who had only just learned to enjoy a kiss? What a laugh.