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Sixteen
It was going to be a chaotic day. Carly walked cautiously over the debris of what remained of the wall between the living and dining rooms. The palindrome tee she’d picked out this morning perfectly summed up what she expected:WoW. The future of the house looked exciting, but she was less sure about what life with her family held.
Isabelle moved out of the way as Carly went to the fridge for a bottle of water. “Where’s the baby?”
“Sleeping, though I wasn’t sure he’d drop off with all the racket. I turned on the sound machine and shut the door to keep out the noise and dust.” Carly glanced around. “Where is everyone?”
“Emily stepped on a nail, and Amelia freaked out. They rushed to an urgent care.” Isabelle lifted her blonde hair off her neck. “You have a crazy family.”
Carly started to tell her it was her family, too, but the teenager went to the toaster and popped in some bread. She was beginning to think the girl was the most even-tempered of all her sisters. Too bad they hadn’t had more time with her.
“Hear anything from Dad?” she asked Isabelle. Her stomach rumbled at the scent of browning bread. She needed toget some breakfast, but cooking in the chaos didn’t sound like fun.
“He got to Rome okay. That’s all I know.” Her voice quivered, and she reached for the butter when the toast popped.
What did Carly say to comfort her? They’d all been faced with his inattention their whole lives. It probably wasn’t anything new to Isabelle either. “You’re really good with babies.”
“I like them.” When she turned to face Carly with the plate of toast in hand, her blue eyes held no trace of tears. “One good thing about being here is that school starts three hours later for me. I have most of the morning before I have to hop on the computer. Is there anything I can do to help you?”
The loud clatter of a board falling made Carly wince. “Sounds like the house is falling down.”
“At least you’ll have air-conditioning when it’s over. I don’t know how you live here without it.”
“You’ve never heard of the history of Beaufort and how the houses were built. Let’s take a carriage ride around town after Noah wakes and before it gets hot.”
Isabelle eyed her. “Why are you being so nice to me?”
“Why wouldn’t I be nice? You’re my sister.”
“You never came to see me.”
Carly didn’t want to blame Isabelle’s parents, so she thought through the minefield of what to say. “It’s a long flight, and everyone is always busy. I’m glad you’re here now, though.” Isabelle’s smile was almost too slight to see, but Carly caught it. Maybe this situation would end up being a blessing from God. “I could use your help boxing up the items in the kitchen and moving them upstairs. The destruction will move in here in a couple of days.”
Heavy boots walked through the debris in the living room, and she turned to see Ryan step into view. A leather tool belt wrapped around his waist, and the heavy tools tugged it lower on his hips. The red bandanna around his head made him look like a pirate—and entirely too handsome, though Carly believed she was immune to his immense charm now. Isabelle was a different story, and the stars in her eyes twinkled when she stared at Ryan.
“Your crew is making good progress already,” Carly said, handing him a cold bottle of water.
“Thanks.” He uncapped it and took a swig. “The demo goes fast. I wish I could say the same for the remodel. You’ll have to live with dust and noise for months.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Did you have to remind me?”
He grinned. “I’m trying to head off complaints about how long it’s taking. You’ll have your hands full keeping your sisters happy.”
He’d always seen the dynamics of her relationship with her sisters. “I’ll do my best.”
“I found something in the wall I thought might be interesting.” He yanked a paper out of his back pocket and handed it to her. “Looks to me like a Padgett family tree.”
“The house has been in Gram’s family since it was first built, and she moved in here with Grandpa when they were first married.” Carly unfolded the paper and spread it out on the kitchen table to have a look. “Gram is going to love seeing this.”
She started at the top and traced the family tree down to Gram and to Dad, then her and her sisters. No surprises there. She stared at a small star next to Gram’s name. It was the onlyname with that emblem on it. What did it mean? She examined the rest of the paper for a hint of what the star might mean. Nothing.
“There’s stuff on the back too,” Ryan said. “Just some writing, I think.” He turned toward the living room when one of the workers called for him.
She turned it over to find spidery writing sprawling across the back. And a handwritten star at the top of the text. It took a second of reading for it all to soak in. Next to the star was a name—Elizabeth Durham. It listed her as a sister to Gram with the same birthdate. This must be the legend explaining the star on the front.
Gram’s twin.
Carly couldn’t believe it was all laid out. Was this the surname of Gram’s twin after adoption? It appeared to be since the surname was different from the name Balandin they’d seen on the paperwork in the chest. Durham was a common enough name, so it might still be hard to track down, but it was a great start.
