AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Thanks, love.’
He kissed her on the forehead. ‘Just be honest and tell them, my love.’
She was so glad she had told him when she had done and he was right. There was no point in putting things off any longer. It was time to tell her sisters the truth.
Chapter Forty-Seven
Kirsty knew she wore a look of intense concentration on her face as she led her sisters to the bottom of the garden, away from the house. She had wondered about taking them for a walk along the beach but decided it was too risky. There was too much likelihood of bumping into someone they knew and losing the chance to have a proper chat. She spread a blanket out on the grass and motioned to them to sit down beside her.
‘This is a bit ominous,’ said Emma cautiously, lowering herself to the ground.
Amy sat gracefully with her legs crossed and back tall, fiddling with her plait which hung over her shoulder. ‘What’s the matter?’ she said, perhaps worried by the look on Kirsty’s face. ‘I hope this isn’t an intervention.’ She looked suspiciously at Kirsty and then at Emma who looked none the wiser as to why Kirsty had gathered them together at this moment. ‘Is it?’
Kirsty exhaled. ‘Look, there really is no way to break this to you gently and I don’t know if there ever will be a good time for what I’m about to say. Let me just say that you will be shocked.’
‘Just tell us,’ said Emma. ‘I have heard most things so I am probably quite shockproof.’
Kirsty looked at their faces, looking slightly nervous and waiting for her to talk. She just hoped they wouldn’t think of her differently or distance themselves from her once they found out.
‘Where should I even start . . .’ She took a gulp from her water bottle.
Emma smiled reassuringly. ‘Just start at the beginning.’
‘Okay,’ she said, taking a deep breath. ‘A few months ago, I was up in the attic looking for some photos. Dad was getting upset as he couldn’t find their wedding picture and Steve suggested I take a look in the loft in case it had been left there when they moved out of Meadowbank.’ Her cheeks flushed as she remembered. ‘There are a few bits and pieces up there.’
‘And . . . ?’ said Amy, trying not to be impatient.
Emma threw her a look.
‘And I discovered . . . I discovered that I am not actually your sister. I’m adopted.’
There was stunned silence as the girls stared at her in shock. Amy clapped a hand to her mouth and Emma looked at her, totally nonplussed. Kirsty knew it was important to give them a chance to process what she had just said so she didn’t speak for a moment.
Amy finally broke the silence. ‘Oh, Kirsty. But how? What do you mean? I don’t understand. How can you be adopted?’
Kirsty tried to smile kindly at her in a bid to lessen the tension, but instead grimaced. ‘I know, believe you me, I didn’t understand any of it either. I found out by complete accident . . .’ Her voice broke as she tried her best again at a wobbly smile.
Emma reached over to touch her hand. ‘Tell us everything. Just take your time.’
Kirsty told them about that afternoon when she discovered the documents in the box and her shock at seeing the baby photo and then finding the certificate of adoption.
Amy blinked and shook her head in dismay. ‘I don’t understand. Why did Mum and Dad never say anything? Why did they never tell you? Or us?’
Kirsty shrugged. ‘I thought about that for a long time, Amy.’ She looked up as she saw a couple of tourists who had clearly taken a wrong turn and were now heading down the lawn towards them. ‘Terrific,’ she said sarcastically. ‘Just what we need.’
Amy jumped to her feet. ‘They’ll probably be after coffee and might not understand that the closed sign means that we are actually not serving . . . leave it with me.’ She ran to meet them, pointed at the sign on the van and then down to the bay and shrugged apologetically. Then she walked back to the girls, shaking her head. ‘You were saying?’
Normally Kirsty would have been worried about turning away prospective customers but today she didn’t care at all. ‘Well, I thought about nothing else for ages . . .’
‘Did you tell Steve?’ asked Emma curiously.
‘No, not to begin with and then he found me crying and I had to tell him. But he has been sworn to secrecy. I’m sorry,’ she said sorrowfully. ‘I felt I owed it to you both to tell you first, but it was a struggle to carry alone and then with the wedding . . . well I thought it was better to wait until it was all out of the way.’
‘So, you didn’t say anything to Dad?’ said Amy.
‘No, I didn’t know where to start. He was so upset about Mum and now with his memory starting to affect him, I didn’t think it was the right thing to do. I thought I’d speak to you both first.’
‘I’m glad you’ve told us,’ said Emma with a sympathetic smile. ‘I just wish we’d known sooner, and could have shared the burden.’
