about we wrangle some popcorn and see if we can convince Kylee to watch You’ve Got Mail or something equally obnoxious?”
Eva laughed, her voice hoarse. “That sounds really nice, actually.”
And they walked into the house hand in hand, nothing really resolved, questions still lingering, but something having changed nonetheless.
24
“That was fun, Mommy.” Lilly skipped through the front door and twirled. “When can we go again?”
Angela, Kylee, and Zach filed in after her. Kylee immediately fled upstairs without a word. She’d been sullen the entire drive home from the bowling alley near Queenstown, where they’d spent time with Simon and his kids. She’d been having a fun time at first, then suddenly turned white and retreated to the bathroom.
Zach pushed the glasses up the bridge of his nose. “You only got, like, ten points. In bowling, that’s pretty bad.”
“That doesn’t matter, bud.” Angela squeezed Lilly’s shoulder. “I’m so glad you had fun, sweetie. Of course we can go again.”
Sherry walked around the corner, drying her hands on a towel. “Did you all have a good time?”
Lilly charged Sherry and threw her arms around her middle. “Grandma! I got to bowl on the same team as Ella and we got a four-pound ball!”
“And how about you, Zach?”
“I creamed Benjamin.” Zach struck a pose. “Then I victory danced like this.” He wiggled his hips and whooped, pumping his fists in the air.
Angela rolled her eyes, laughing. “And then you were reprimanded for not being a good sport, weren’t you?”
Her son shrugged. “Benjamin didn’t care. He beat me once, so we’ll see who wins best two outta three next time.”
Next time. Angela ran her hands along the base of her neck, her teeth tugging on her bottom lip. How would her children feel when they had to leave New Zealand, likely never to see the Kings again?
How would she feel?
She refocused on Sherry, who watched her with inquisitive eyes. “What did you and Eva do while we were gone?”
“I visited with Fiona. I got back a bit ago.” A frown stretched across her face. “I think Eva stayed in her room all evening. I’m worried about her.”
Since Kylee had been training with them all week and Eva had retreated to her room most nights after the kids were in bed, Angela hadn’t had much opportunity to engage Eva in conversation alone again after their talk several days ago. Maybe she should check on her. “I’ll go see if she needs anything.”
“That’d be great, dear.” Sherry directed her attention to the two younger kids. “What do you say we raid the freezer for some ice cream before bed?”
A great chorus of cheers rose from Lilly and Zach, who took off running toward the kitchen.
Angela turned and padded up the stairs to the second floor. Eva’s room was at the end of the hallway next to Lilly’s. The air was a tad stuffier up here, but it was quieter and darker too. As she approached Eva’s door, Angela halted at the sound of muffled crying.
It was coming from Kylee’s room.
Angela raised her hand to knock on Kylee’s door, then paused. What would her daughter want? Back at the bowling alley, when Kylee hadn’t returned from the bathroom after half an hour, Angela had gone in search of her. The teen had finally emerged from the stall, her eyes red and puffy, and she wouldn’t say anything to Angela except, “I’m fine, Mom.”
Would an inquiry from Angela now be equally rebuffed?
She stepped away from Kylee’s room, determined not to intrude on her privacy, but the sobs wrenched her heart in two. She remembered being a child, a preteen, and a teenager crying into her pillow, alone, wishing her aunt would find her, hold her, tell her it was going to be okay.
But no one ever came.
Angela’s hand made a decision before her brain did. The knock seemed to resound in the hallway—or maybe that was Angela’s heartbeat. Please, don’t let me mess this up.
“Go away.”
Angela ignored the mumbled words and eased open the door, stepped inside, and closed it behind her. She walked to the bed, where Kylee sprawled on her stomach in the semidark, her face mashed against the purple pillowcase. The calm of the lavender-and-cream room—with its lacy bedspread and curtains, pictures of peonies adorning the walls, and the soft glow of a bedside lamp—did not seem to permeate Kylee’s gloom.
Easing herself down next to her daughter, Angela reached out a hand and stroked Kylee’s back in gentle circles. Was it her imagination, or did