“Oh, yeah, right.” Staring out the window, she watched Mom hand the camera to Aunt Dede before joining Dad and the boys for a picture. Seeing the four of them together without her made Uncle Geoff’s comment hit home.
Clark and Clay were the perfect combination of Mom and Dad. Nobody ever questioned where Clark got his chin or where Clay’s dark eyebrows came from. Claudia, on the other hand, looked nothing like her parents or her brothers or anyone else in her family for that matter.
“Did I say something wrong?” Uncle Geoff asked. “You look upset.”
“No, it’s fine.” She forced a smile, knowing he hadn’t purposely meant to hurt her feelings.
Still, up until this moment, her adoption had never been a big deal. Now, she felt like an outsider . . . like she didn’t belong with her family.
The back door opened, and everyone piled into the house, chatting animatedly. Clay ran over to hug Claudia with his cold hands.
“My favorite sister,” he cooed. “Give me some love.”
“No,” Claudia said as Clark snuck around behind her and dumped a snowball down her shirt.
She screamed, knowing she was overreacting but unable to help herself.
Everyone laughed as Dad said, “Our poor Claudia. She’s never been a fan of the snow, has she?”
“No,” Claudia said, blinking back hot tears. “I’m not like you guys.”
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Mom asked.
Claudia shook her head, despising how distraught she felt. “Nothing. I’m just not in the mood for all this.”
“For my cold hands?” Clark asked, coming closer.
“For my really cold hands,” Clay said, joining his brother.
“Guys,” Dad said, “back off.”
For once, the boys listened.
Claudia could feel her parents studying her with concern. “I’m sorry, but I need to go upstairs and get some studying done.” Grabbing her tea, she left the kitchen before she could say anything else she might regret.
“What’s her problem?” Clark asked.
Clay responded by saying something Claudia couldn’t hear. It must’ve been hilarious, however, because her entire family cracked up.
Her stomach twisting, she escaped into her bedroom. Maybe meeting Bianca and her biological relatives wasn’t such a bad idea after all. Maybe meeting people she was genetically related to would fill the empty space in her heart she’d come to accept as normal. Maybe she’d actually fit in with these people.
Then again, maybe it’d be a complete disaster.
Chapter 22
Bianca
It took a little while to get used to not having the wall in my apartment. Overall, I liked the change and had no regrets.
Still, I felt awfully exposed at the openness whenever I stood in my kitchen. Although, I supposed openness was the point of taking the wall down in the first place.
When Joy came over on Monday for Bible study, she asked what I thought about the painted cabinets.
“I love them,” I told her. “I never would’ve had your dad paint the cabinets if you hadn’t suggested it, but I’m so pleased with how they turned out. You definitely have an eye for design, my dear.”
“Thanks,” she said, smiling.
*
Over the next few days, Daniel worked hard to complete my remodel. Just like we’d discussed, he raised the counter to hide the kitchen mess. He also installed my new appliances and worked on reframing the opening. A project at work prevented him from finishing the remodel on Saturday, but I didn’t mind.
The following Tuesday, I went over to Daniel and Joy’s place for dinner. Daniel met me at the door and kissed me on the cheek. “Welcome to Casa Serrano.”
“Gracias.”
He winced. “Whoa, we need to work on that accent. It’s worse than Joy’s.”
I laughed. “Do you speak Spanish, Daniel?”
He nodded. “My grandmother was from Honduras. She lived with us growing up and didn’t speak English, so Enzo and I had to speak to her in Spanish.”
“Enzo?”
“My brother.” Daniel suddenly looked uncomfortable. He’d told me about his little sister who lived in Spain, and I knew his mother had passed away before Joy was born, but he’d never mentioned a brother. For that matter, he’d said very little about his father—just that he moved around a lot and that they seldom talked.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you had a brother. Is he older or younger than you?”
A muscle in Daniel’s jaw clenched. “He’s my twin.”
“You have a twin?” I stared at him, shocked. Wasn’t revealing you were a twin one of those things you mentioned when dating someone?
“It’s a long story,” Daniel said.
“Well, you’ll have to tell me about it sometime.” Although I pretended everything was fine, I was bothered he hadn’t told me about his brother.
I guess I thought we were closer than that. After all, he knew practically everything about me and my family. Why hadn’t he told me about his twin?
In the kitchen, I found Joy spreading garlic butter on a loaf of French bread. “Everything smells wonderful. What are we having?”
“Fettuccini Alfredo.”
“Yum. That’s one of my favorites. What can I do to help?”
“Nothing.” Daniel opened the refrigerator. “Make yourself at home, and dinner will be ready in a minute. Would you like a glass of wine?”
“Yes, just a little one.”
He poured me a small glass of pinot noir and one for himself. “Cheers,” he said, clinking glasses with me.
“Cheers.” I took a sip of my wine. “That’s wonderful. It’s very smooth and tastes like cherries.”
He handed me the bottle so I could read the label. “It’s from one of the vineyards here on the island.”
“I know the family that owns this vineyard. I went to high school with their son. They’re really nice people.”
Daniel shot Joy a knowing glance, and she laughed.
“What?” Self-conscious, I smoothed down the black dress I was wearing.
Daniel stirred the Alfredo sauce. “Well, my daughter and I were just wondering if there was anyone on the island you didn’t go to high school with or isn’t a client?”
I laughed and took another sip of my wine. “You have a point. It’s a small island, and while many people go away for college and jobs, a lot of them come back.”
“That’s good to hear.” Daniel offered Joy a sad smile. I knew he could barely stand the thought of her going away for college in the fall.
Joy smiled back before turning her attention to me. “Do you want to come see our new garden?”
“I’d love to.” I followed her to the backyard, which was small but lush with evergreen bushes, roses, and a large oak tree. A stone path led to a wooden swing hanging from a pergola, surrounded by pots of winter flowers.
Joy gestured to the raised garden bed she’d just built with her father. “It mostly looks like dirt right now, but we’ve planted carrots, cilantro, parsley, turnips, and lettuce. Your mom said it’s important to keep the seeds wet while they’re germinating, so we’ve been watering several times a day.”
“My mom?”
Joy nodded. “We ran into her at the garden center. She helped us choose what to plant.”
“She loves to garden.”
“I can tell. And she knows so much. We were going to put the garden on the other side of the yard, but when she came over, she said it had to go here for the morning sun.”
“My mom came over to your house?”
“She did.”
“I didn’t know that.” It was strange to think of my mom coming to Joy and Daniel’s house without me. I had no doubt the next time I talked to her she’d tell me every detail of the encounter.
But why hadn’t Daniel mentioned it during our bike ride this morning? And why hadn’t he told me about his brother? Was his lack of communication something I needed
to worry about?
“Dinner’s ready,” Daniel called from the back door.
“Coming.” Joy headed inside.
As I followed, I glanced up to see Daniel waiting for me. Immediately, I was filled with a sense of peace that overpowered me.
Maybe Daniel wasn’t as forthcoming as I wanted him to be. One thing was for certain, nobody had ever made me feel so accepted as he did.
*
After dinner, Joy offered to do the dishes by herself. I started to protest, insisting it was only fair that I helped clean up, but Daniel took me by the hand and said we were going outside.
I was surprised he’d held my hand in front of Joy. We hadn’t talked to anyone about our new relationship or whatever this was between us.
“I’m going to tell her tonight,” Daniel said, once we were seated on the swing underneath the pergola in the backyard.
I shifted so I could see his face. “Tell who what?”
He grinned. “Tell Joy that I like you.”
“You like me?”
He brushed a strand of hair off my face and tucked it behind my ear. “Did you not know that?”
I gave a nonchalant shrug. “I had my suspicions.”
He laughed. “You overwhelm me, Bianca.”
“I overwhelm you? What’s that mean?”
“It means . . . I’m falling for you.”
My heart slammed into my chest and began pounding so hard I could barely breathe. “Daniel.”
“Is that okay?”
I nodded. “Yeah, that’s okay.”
“Good.” A sly grin tugged at one corner of his mouth. He gave the swing a push with his foot, and we sailed through the air.
When we slowed, I asked Daniel why he hadn’t told me about my mom coming over for the garden.
He shrugged. “I guess I forgot.”
“You forgot?”
“Yeah.” He frowned. “I’m sorry. Did I do something wrong?”
I sighed. “You didn’t tell me about your brother either. Your twin brother.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Why not?”
Shifting on the swing, he gazed out across the yard. “It’s complicated.”
“Complicated?”
He nodded. “Do you really want to hear about this?”
“I do.”
“Okay.” He took a deep breath. “Enzo and I haven’t spoken to each other since Christmas. That probably doesn’t sound like a long time to most people, but we’ve always been best friends and have talked or texted nearly every day.”
“So, what happened?”
“We had a huge fight.”
“What about?”
“Our dad.” Daniel fell silent. I could tell this was difficult for him, so I did my best not to push him, even though I was anxious for him to just blurt out the story like I would.
“My dad left our family when Enzo and I were in high school. He basically said he was tired of being a husband and father, and he just left.”
“Oh, Daniel.”
“It was rough, especially on our mother who was devastated. My sister was so mad she refused to invite him to her wedding, so Enzo and I walked Miriam down the aisle. I honestly didn’t think I’d ever see my dad again, and I didn’t care.
“After our mom died, he contacted us, but we didn’t want to speak to him. He’d been gone almost fifteen years by then, and Miriam was convinced he just wanted money. So Enzo told him to leave us alone. He did, but last December, he showed up at my work. He seemed so old and broken. I couldn’t just ignore him.”
“Of course not.” My heart broke for the whole situation. “What’d you end up doing?”
Daniel ran a hand over his jaw. “I took him to dinner, and he met Joy. I didn’t mean for that to happen, but she was out with friends, and we ran into them as we left the restaurant. She’d seen pictures of him, so she knew who he was right away.”
For the first time since he began speaking about his father, Daniel smiled. “You know how Joy is. Once she met him, she invited him to stay.”
“I can see her doing that.”
“Anyway, I didn’t tell Enzo because he was spending Christmas with his girlfriend’s family, and I didn’t want him to be upset over the holidays.”
I nodded. “I can understand that. I’d probably do the same thing.”
“Well, Enzo can be a little flaky. He prefers the word spontaneous, but it always causes problems. So, without calling or texting or anything, he just showed up out at the house Christmas Eve. He freaked out when he saw our dad. He told me that I was a traitor and that he couldn’t believe I’d stabbed him in the back like that.”
“Did you try talking to him and explaining what happened?”
“I tried, but at that point there was no reasoning with Enzo. He stormed out and left the island. My dad apologized for putting me in that position, but it didn’t change the fact that I’d kept something like that from my brother. And the thing is, I can see Enzo’s point. I understand why he felt betrayed.”
“Have you tried contacting your brother since then?”
“I’ve tried, but he won’t take my calls.”
I slipped my arm through Daniel’s and placed my head on his shoulder. Daniel gave the swing a shove, sending us into the air.
“What about going to see him in person?” I asked.
“I’ve thought about it. Miriam says I should, but she also understands why Enzo was so mad.”
“Well, I agree with your sister. I think you should try again with your brother. Maybe enough time has passed that he’d be willing to listen to you.”
“Maybe.” Daniel didn’t sound convinced.
“What about your dad?”
Daniel shrugged. “I don’t know. It wasn’t as though we had this Hallmark Christmas moment where things ended all magical like. He said some things, but . . .” Daniel shook his head. “I feel like I’ve unloaded too much on you. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. I’m glad you shared this with me. I’m sorry it happened, but I’m glad you told me.”
He squeezed my hand. “All this doesn’t make you rethink dating me?”
“No. I wish I could make it better, but it doesn’t make me rethink anything about you.”
“Good. And you have made it better. Just by listening to me, you’ve made it way better.”
Chapter 23
Daniel
After Bianca left, Daniel thought about what she’d said regarding Enzo. Maybe enough time had passed that his brother would be open to talking.
He really wanted to tell Enzo about the other thing. The thing he couldn’t bring himself to tell Joy. The thing he mostly ignored until it gnawed at his stomach like secrets did.
Wandering into the living room, he found his daughter sitting on the couch, reading one of her favorite books, The Magnolia Story. He’d bought the book for her last summer when they’d visited Magnolia Market at the Silos in Waco.
“Look,” Daniel began, taking the seat opposite her, “I want to talk to you about something.”
“Is it about Bianca?”
“Bianca?”
Joy put down the book and shifted on the couch. “Yeah. What’s going on with you guys?”
“Oh, well, I like her.”
“You like her?” Joy sounded skeptical.
He nodded. “Yeah. I like her. I like her a lot. Is that okay?”
“Oh, Dad.” She pushed out a long, disapproving breath.
“What?”
“It’s just . . . Bianca is a good friend of mine.”
“I know.”
“Well, have you thought about what’s going to happen when you break up?”
“When we break up?”
Nodding, she stared at him expectantly, waiting for his answer.
“Wow. Just go ahead and hammer that nail into the coffin containing my relationship, why don’t you.”
“Your relationship?”
“What’s wrong with the word rela
tionship?” he asked.
“Nothing. I’ve just never heard you say that word before.”
“Relationship? I say that word all the time.”
Her brow lifted. “Okay. What about your relationship with Uncle Enzo?”
His body stiffened. “What about it?”
“When are you going to fix things with him?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, I know it’s been bothering you. You haven’t been the same since Christmas, and you didn’t even tell Bianca about him.”
He nodded, conceding the point. Of course, he was upset about Enzo, but he really wanted to talk to Joy about the secret. Tell her, a voice inside him whispered. Just get it over with and tell her.
“Look, Joy. We need to talk about something else.”
“Okay, but if it’s about Bianca, then I already know.”
“What do you already know?”
“I know you’ve liked her for a long time, and I know you’ve been afraid to ask her out because of me. I appreciate that, but it’s okay now. Just please don’t hurt her.”
“I’m not going to hurt her.”
“Good.”
“I’m serious,” he said.
“I know.”
He hesitated, feeling the need to reassure Joy that everything was going to be fine with Bianca. “Just so you know, Bianca and I are going to take things slow.”
She laughed. “Slow? I saw you making out with her on the pergola swing.”
Despite not wanting to be the kind of guy who blushed, heat burned Daniel’s face. “Well, that’s as far as it’s going to go. I’m not going to sleep with her until—”
“Dad!” Joy’s eyes widened. Sex wasn’t something they discussed. Joy, thankfully, had Daniel’s sister for topics like that.
Still, in a culture of easy hookups and disposable one-night stands, he wanted his daughter to know God had a better plan. At the same time, violating that plan had given him Joy, so he didn’t want her to think he regretted her existence.
“Look, honey, I know it’s uncomfortable to hear your old man talk about this, but there’s a reason God wants us to preserve sex for marriage.”
Bianca's Joy: Rose Island Book 3 Page 14