Page 116 of A Love Like Candle Light

“I’m sorry. I am sorry,” I keep whispering. God, I want to laugh and to cry, but all I can do is smile and force myself to breathe. “I should’ve told you the last time I was here, but I chickened out and—”

“Don’t worry.” She lets go of me and waves her hand through the air, then wipes her wet cheeks. “Francine, I’m taking a break.”

“You do that, dear. Let me know if you won’t make it back in after all. I’m sure you all have a lot to catch up with.”

“I think we do.” She smiles and then, for the first time, turns to Kylie. “Oh, I’m sorry, I’m Maya.”

“Kylie. Lovely to meet you, Maya.”

The two of them shake hands a little awkwardly.

“Come with me. I live right upstairs.”

Kylie slides her hand back into mine as we follow Maya up a flight of stairs, so steep I wouldn’t be surprised if my muscles are sore tomorrow, and into a small apartment. It’s only one room, but it has everything you need. A bed in the corner, hidden behind two bookshelves, a little kitchen with a small table to eat at, a couch, and one single door that I assume leads to the bathroom.

“Take a seat.” Maya motions to the couch. “Do you want a coffee? I’m sorry, my place is a mess. I didn’t think you’d be coming back today and—” She stops herself, stares out the window, and takes a deep breath. “Sorry. I’m rambling.”

“Don’t worry about it. Trust me, I’m as nervous as you are,” I mumble, taking a seat and play with Kylie’s fingers.

“I have so many questions.” Maya grabs one of the chairs from the kitchen and brings it over to the couch and takes a seat opposite us.

“So do I.” I rub my palm over my face. “I don’t even know where to start. How did you know about me?”

“My parents told me,” she explains, running her palm over her face. “I always knew I was adopted, but we never knew it wasn’t legit. Until a few days ago, when Frank reached out to them. They called me like an hour after you left the store.”

She clears her throat, fingers playing with the hem of her shirt. “I thought Francine was overreacting when she mentioned how similar we looked the second you walked out of the door. But then my parents told me how a cop investigated their adoption agency and that I have a whole-ass family out there. Suddenly it all made sense.”

She wrings her hands. Kylie offers her a pillow. She takes it with a smile and hugs it to her chest.

“I’m sorry, Maya. That must be hard,” Kylie says gently and from the corner of my eyes I see her worried frown.

“It’s… surprising.” Maya shakes her head. “I was always an only child so I’m not sure what to think about it.”

“So your adoptive parents, they’re nice?”

“They’re honestly the best.” Her face lights up. “Angie and Stefan. I’ll have to introduce you to them some time.”

“How are they dealing with all of this?” I make a vague hand gesture. This must come out of nowhere for them.

“They’re in shock.” A sad smile tugs at her lips. “They’re devastated, feeling guilty they took someone’s little girl away. And even more guilty because they wouldn’t change it for the world. Which kind of brings me to my question.” She hugs the pillow tighter. “What happened?”

“It’s a long story.” I squeeze Kylie’s hand. “The short version is… our mother, she got caught embezzling money and bribing politicians. She went to jail for a few years, so our dad raised us by himself. And he struggled.” I clear my throat and squeeze Kylie’s hand. “He did something dumb. And now he’s also in jail.”

Her eyes widen and her hand flies to her mouth. “Did he kill anyone?”

“No, no.” I quickly shake my head. “In a moment of desperation, he robbed a bank. Obviously, not very successfully. But since he fired a warning shot into the ground, it became quite a hefty sentence. He was our only guardian, so we were sent to a foster home, until our aunt could come to collect us, only you-” I shrug. “Disappeared, I guess?”

“Oh no.” She clutches her shirt right above her heart. “So where are they now? Your—our father, he’s still in jail?”

“Yes. He’s got around three more years left of his sentence.”

“Oh wow.” She crosses her arms in front of her chest and leans back. “And our…

“Mother?” I take the word out of her mouth and shake my head. “She filed for divorce the second she got out. I haven’t heard from her since.”

“Okay.” She nods slowly. I can almost see all the thoughts running through her head. “And you? I want to know everything. Tell me about your life.”

“Well, I’m Erik.” I chuckle. Her eyes widen once she realizes I never even got to introduce myself. “And I’m your little brother by two years. I’m an officer with the RCMP and live in the town our aunt raised me in. Our dad also grew up there. It’s called Wayward Hollow.”