“I think she’s sleepy. All that sun.” He handed Audiemar a bottle of breast milk.
“I’ll take care of her.” Holding her close, Audiemar kissed the top of her head and carried her into the family room across the hall.
It was off limits to everyone else, so he was sure they wouldn’t be disturbed. He needed some time to sit with his own thoughts. Iara did make things better. Lately her little face and the way she was discovering things was the highlight of his life. She was so pure and innocent. He’d inherited her by default through Coast, and he couldn’t be more grateful.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
NOT THIS TIME
Coast couldn’t help herself. She went to the car to grab some of her camera gear from the back. Capturing moments like today was her specialty, and she wanted to build a slew of memories to pass down through the Blackmoor family now that she was part of it. With her camera bag slung over her shoulder, she strolled toward the front entrance of the house, where she found Inari on the bottom step of the porch as Ayla pulled one of the main doors open and stepped out.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Coast asked, leaning down in front of her girl.
“She just overheard something… disturbing.” Ayla descended the steps slowly and lowered herself beside her sister.
She wrapped her arms across her shoulders and pulled Inari in for a hug.
“Is there something I can do? What happened?” Coast adjusted the bag on her shoulder.
“We just need a minute,” Ayla assured her.
“Okay. I’ll be inside if you need anything. I got brass knuckles, a taser, and nunchucks in the trunk,” Coast informed them.
“Girl,” Inari choked on a laugh as Coast started up the steps.
“I’m just saying. You can never be too prepared,” Coast kidded on her way inside.
“She’s just as crazy as that husband of hers,” Ayla acknowledged.
“If that ain’t the damn truth,” Inari co-signed, dropping her head between her legs and taking a breath.
“You want to talk about it?” Ayla stroked her back and rested her chin against her shoulder.
“What do we even say to that?” Inari brought her knees together in her skirt and rested her hands and chin on top.
The sun was beginning to set in the distance, leaving shades of yellow, orange, and pink across the sky.
“Well, you know Audiemar isn’t to blame, right?”
“I know. He just had the information. Not like he was responsible,” Inari reasoned.
“Nothing ever felt right, you know? About how they died, why they died.” Inari turned to her sister.
“Now we know.” Ayla settled beside her, staring out at the many cars lining the driveway, even going downhill toward the gates.
Some of the other kids had a football and volleyball game going over in the field beside the house, and you could hear the music, chatter, and laughter coming from the pool too.
“What does it really change, though?” Inari questioned, shaking her head. “It doesn’t bring them back.”
“Nope.” Ayla popped the p at the end of the word and shook her head. “So, you know what I’ve learned through all this?”
“What’s that?” Inari sniffled and wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.
“We just have to keep going. Keep living. Keep learning and loving,” she added, then shrugged. “It’s what they would have wanted for us.”
Inari let those words sink in while looking into her sister’s eyes. This was the first time she’d seen a glimpse of that optimistic girl she was before Mira took her. She was glad to see her reemerge.
“You’re right.” Inari nodded.
