into it, and sat down at the table. Not gobbling it down like a hungry hound dog took a lot of self-control, but she managed to use her manners—like Miss Janie had taught her when she had come to live at the Jackson house. She’d been scared out of her mind that day, maybe even a little more than today, but by damn Teresa wouldn’t ever know it.
“Who adopted you?” Miss Janie asked. “I wanted to meet them, but things weren’t done that way back then.”
“The Green family were wonderful parents,” Noah answered very quickly.
“Yes, they were.” Kayla played along even though it was a big, fat lie. Her mother and stepfather had abandoned her when she was fourteen years old.
“I’m so glad you had a good family, but now you are back with me where you belonged all this time. I thought you and Mary Jane were identical twins, but I can see now that I was wrong.” Miss Janie stared at Kayla like she was a celebrity.
Holy hell! Teresa would never be mistaken for Kayla’s sister, much less her twin. Kayla had gotten her kinky hair from her black father and the freckles across her nose and her green eyes from her white mother. Teresa was part Mexican, with good hair and flawless skin without a single freckle.
“Maybe after I eat, I could have a long, hot bath and wash my hair,” Kayla said, trying to buy some time to figure out what she’d walked into. On one side, Miss Janie was as warm as sunshine. On the other, the chill from Teresa frosted her to the bone. There had never been any love lost between them, and like when she’d come to live there, Kayla had the feeling she was trespassing on Teresa’s territory.
“Of course, darlin’.” Miss Janie yawned. “This is your home now. We’re all three finally together. I’m going to take a little nap now, and we’ll talk more when I wake up.” She stood up and kissed Kayla on the forehead as she shuffled off toward her bedroom. “I never thought I’d see my babies again. I’m so glad to get a second chance to show you that I’ve always loved you.”
The minute Kayla heard the bedroom door close, she locked eyes with Noah. “Babies? What’s going on?”
Noah explained about Miss Janie giving birth to twin girls out of wedlock when she was sixteen, and now that her mind was scrambled, she thought Kayla and Teresa were those two babies. “The doctor says she’ll most likely be gone by Christmas, so if you could stay until then and let her die in peace, thinkin’ that she finally reconnected with her babies, it would be great.”
“I ain’t got nowhere else to be, so I might as well stick around until the end.” Kayla carried her empty bowl to the sink, rinsed it, and put it into the dishwasher.
“Thanks,” Noah said. “I’ve got work to do in my office, so like Miss Janie said, make yourself at home.”
“Why don’t you call her Aunt Janie?” Kayla asked. “I always wondered about that when you came here to visit that time.”
“I have no idea why,” he answered. “Everyone else, including my dad, called her Miss Janie instead of Aunt Janie, so I did, too.”
Sam finished off his soup and went for another bowlful. “Y’all girls realize she’s very serious about you calling her Mama, don’t you? And I can feel the chill between the two of you. You’ve got to at least pretend to get along to make her happy. You owe her that.”
“For a place to stay until Christmas, I’ll try,” Kayla told him, and then locked eyes with her foster sister. “How about you? Stayin’ until the end?”
“Yes, I am,” Teresa answered. “I’m not so sure we’re that good at pretending, Sam.”
“Then learn.” Sam shook his finger at both of them. “Miss Janie deserves to die in peace.”
Chapter Six
Evidently, she was supposed to act like she was at home rather than a guest, so Kayla dumped her dirty clothing out onto the floor. She sorted it by color and fabric, like Miss Janie had taught her when she was fourteen. To do laundry without plugging money into the machine to start it seemed strange. Kayla hadn’t had that privilege since she ran away with Denver. What she couldn’t wash out in the kitchen sink by hand had to be taken to a Laundromat.
She put several pairs of underwear, half a dozen T-shirts, and a couple of