Teresa shook her head. “I refuse to be like that, and I give you permission to yell at me if I ever am.”
“You’ve got the same permission,” Kayla said. “When Denver told me that I was pretty and he loved me, I was willing to do anything he asked because somebody finally loved me. Will has wonderful parents and comes from a really good background. I can see this developing into something really good, but after he thinks about what I told him about being afraid to be a mother, he may not ever want to see me again.”
“If he likes you, then he’ll help you get past your demons,” Teresa told her, but she wondered if she was talking to her foster sister or to herself. “Now it’s your turn. Noah is so far above me, smart-wise, background-wise, and every other way in the books, that I wonder if we got into something very serious”—she paused—“if he would ever be ashamed to introduce me to his lawyer friends.”
A few long sighs pierced the silence, but nothing else, not even the sound of a cricket or a bird, could be heard. Then Kayla said, “The same right back at you. I can’t imagine him ever being ashamed of you, but if it happens, kick him to the curb. We’ve come too far to let anyone make us feel ugly and unappreciated just as we are.”
“Take me as I am or shut the door,” Teresa said.
“Something like that,” Kayla told her.
“We are tough,” Teresa declared. “If these guys don’t like what we have to say, the world won’t end. The sun will come up in the east the next morning and go down in the west that night.”
“Amen,” Kayla said.
“And on that note, let’s lock this beautiful place up and go home.” Teresa got up and headed inside. “I’ll turn out the lights and bring out our purses. You can go on and get the car started.” Who would have thought that she and Kayla would ever be close enough to share their deepest fears? She only wished that they could have trusted each other enough when they were teenagers and had talked to each other back then. Maybe if they’d been friends, neither of them would have made so many mistakes in their lives.
Cooking was what Kayla did when she was nervous, and she sure enough had a case of jitters that Saturday morning. Will had sent her a text message and asked her to go to supper and take in a movie with him when he got off work. By Saturday evening she’d made six dozen peanut butter cookies, as many chocolate chip cookies, and four loaves of banana-nut bread. She had also made a pan of hot yeast rolls to go with the potato soup for dinner, since they were all tired of leftover casseroles.
Still the day seemed to drag by—probably because she wanted to talk to Will some more about this thing lying heavy on her heart.
“You’re sure a bag of nerves today,” Teresa told her as they cleaned up the kitchen after dinner. “Are you that nervous about going to supper with Will tonight? You don’t have to talk to him about motherhood, you know. Matter of fact, that might scare him off.”
“I’ve worried about this all night and all day. I have to get it off my chest.” Kayla washed the last bowl. “He’s so kind and sweet. He doesn’t deserve to be led on, so I’m telling him tonight. I got to admit, though, I’m afraid of what I’ll see in his eyes when I tell him.”
Teresa threw an arm around Kayla’s shoulders and hugged her. “You’ll feel better once you get it off your chest.”
Kayla laid her head on Teresa’s shoulder. “My mother didn’t want me, but she kept me anyway, and I might be just like her. Is that what I say?”
“Miss Janie was our real mother, and she not only wanted us but loved us,” Teresa said. “Want me to wait up for you? I can always put in the time looking at pots and pans on Noah’s computer. I’ve got two sets picked out for us to consider already.”
Kayla took a step back. “Knowing you’ll be here to talk to when I get home would make me feel better.” She finally smiled for the first time that day.
Teresa laid a hand on Kayla’s shoulder. “That’s what sisters do. I’m glad we