Before Bailey realized what was happening, she had arms around her. She was being bounced up and down by a girl several inches taller than her. She felt Linda’s hand land on her shoulder, and the bouncing stopped.
“Nicole,” Linda begged. “Please, give her a minute before you pounce on her.”
The arms released her, and Nicole drew back quickly. “I’m sorry. I’m just so glad you’re here, and I’m so happy to finally meet you.”
Bailey took a deep breath and gave her a hesitant smile. “Hello,” she said. “I’m happy to finally meet you, too.”
Nicole was the exact opposite of Bailey. Much taller, with light hair and bright blue eyes. Bailey had seen photos of Nicole, but they didn’t do her justice.
“I’m so sorry I haven’t been here the last few days. I had some business to take care of first.”
“That’s okay,” Bailey said. “You’re here now.” Bailey reached out to hug Nicole again, sincerely this time.
When they embraced, Nicole squeezed Bailey tight and held on for a long moment. It surprised Bailey how emotional the hug was for her, and even more surprising were the tears in Nicole’s eyes when she withdrew from the embrace. As happy and excited as she’d been a moment before, Nicole was now forlorn. Bailey had never seen anyone have such drastic mood swings in such a short period of time.
“What happened?” Bailey asked. “You were so excited a moment ago.”
Linda came close and wrapped an arm around both girls. “Don’t worry, Bailey. She’s not sad. Just thinking about all those years she spent wondering what her big sister would look like.”
“It’s so crazy,” Nicole said through her tears. “I always pictured you as a baby. But here you are, a grown woman.”
Linda tightened her grip and said, “I know, honey. It’s hard to think of all the time lost, but none of that matters now. We have a lot of life to share with each other.”
Nicole nodded, letting a couple stray tears drop from her eyes. Then, with a chuckle, she swiped at her tears and said, “I’m so glad you’re here. We were so worried. I’m so sorry.” Her face pinched, and more tears dripped from her eyes. “I’m so sorry about what William did to you.”
“Oh my goodness,” Linda said. “Sweetheart—”
“No,” Bailey said, wrapping her arms around Nicole again. “Don’t! Don’t do that. None of what he did is your fault.”
Nicole nodded into Bailey’s shoulder. “But it is. I’m the reason he knew who you were.”
“Nicole, I understand that, but I could never blame you. He was a monster, and neither of us should take the blame for what he did.”
“That’s absolutely right,” Linda said, wagging a finger between the two of them. “He’s the one who did this.”
When Nicole stopped sobbing, she gave Bailey one last squeeze and pulled away. The two of them looked around, and all the men in the room were staring at them with hesitant expressions.
Nicole started laughing. “Guys, it’s okay. Just because the girls are crying doesn’t mean you need to find something to fix.”
Bailey chuckled at that and smiled up at the rest of her family.
“How about breakfast?” Alex said.
Everyone laughed, and the smile on Nicole’s face made it very clear to Bailey that she hadn’t been the only one stressing over their meeting. When things had settled, they all sat down around the dining room table and enjoyed breakfast together. Bailey watched her sister talk in awe, and her heart was full. Of all the time she’d spent worried about her relationship with Dex and how it would affect her relationship with Nicole, she realized now that none of that mattered. Of the entire family, her brothers, father, and very loving stepmother, this one person, her sister—she couldn’t believe she had a sister—had more heart and life in her than all of the rest of the family put together.
This, Bailey thought, was where the family’s heart laid. This young woman was the spot around which this family revolved, and she could see why. Nicole had all of Linda’s kindness, warmth, and spirit, and all of their father’s intelligence and poise. As much as Bailey looked forward to having a sister, she never imagined liking her so much—or so quickly.
Since Alex cooked breakfast, Linda, Nicole, and Bailey agreed to clean up. As Bailey was clearing the table, she heard music coming from the living room. It was her mother’s favorite song. Ryan must have sat down at the piano to play. She closed her eyes and laid a hand on the bracelet he had given her. Was that a sign, or was he just so in tune with her that he knew what she was feeling?
She opened her eyes in time to see Linda lay down the stack of plates to listen. She sighed and said, “Wow, he does play well.” She stood still for a moment to listen. “What would it be like to have so much talent? Where did he learn to play, Bailey?”
Bailey frowned instinctively. She tried hard to hold a smile, but her face would not cooperate. “My mother was his music teacher until he went away to college.”
Just saying the words ‘my mother’ formed a lump in her throat. Why the hell was everything making her cry these days? When did she become so weepy?
“Oh, honey, you miss her, don’t you?” She placed a hand on Bailey’s back. “I’m sorry. I know it’s hard. I lost my mom when I was about your age. We were very close. It took me a long time to get over it.”
Bailey nodded half-heartedly. “Yeah, but there’s a lot more to it than that. I was coping okay with losing my mom, but now I’m dealing with all these unanswered questions and— I’m trying hard not to be angry with her.”
“Oh, Bailey, I can’t imagine what that’s like.” Linda sent her a sympathetic look. “Finding out she was keeping such a big secret from
