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“That’s too bad.” She pouted. “I really need more of these.”
“I’ll make you some.”
“That would be fantastic. Thank you.” Her eyes got large as she popped the last bite into her mouth. She patted my arm. “You’re too sweet to cave to a pregnant lady’s request. A stranger’s request no less.”
“Not that big a deal.” Unable to stop staring at her fingers, I curled my fingers into my palm to hide mine. “My pleasure.”
Any excuse to see her again. There was so much I wanted to discuss and tell her. It was as if Everest stood behind me faintly whispering in my ear:tick-tock.
I scanned the area. It was just me and my unknown big sister. I studied her face and her eyes, which bore a bit of resemblance to my father’s – our father’s. Which reminded me of the reason I started down this whole playing Landon path.
Inhaling sharply, I started. “It’s neat that you have twins.”
“My heart and soul those two are.” There was a hint of pride on her face.
“I have older twin brothers.”
“That’s cool. Are they a lot older?” She shifted in her seat and pressed on the left side of her belly. “I’m worried I bit a little too much off by getting pregnant so soon after Saffron and Ziggy’s births. The twins will be barely eighteen months old when this little one arrives.”
“My brothers are older, like five years older.”
She sighed. “You’re not the first to have mentioned a bit of an age gap. Your parents were so smart to have waited. I’m worried about having three under three, especially with them all in diapers.”
“Well, we’re only half-siblings, so the responsibility of raising them…” Yes, their biological mother had been a little more involved in their upbringing, but it was a commune after all. Everyone had a hand in raising them. The expressionit takes a village to raise a childcould’ve very well stemmed from our community. “My brothers and I share the same father, so I’m not sure if smart is the right word.”
“That would keep things interesting.”
I wanted to sayyou have no idea,but of all the people here, she actually would.
“Are you and your brothers close?”
Here I go. My heart skipped a beat. Would there be any familiarity?
“Everest and I are pretty close, but I keep a distance from Juniper.”
The names mumbled across her lips. Slowly. Methodically.
Did she remember her brothers? Or did the dots never connect for her? Would be hard to not make the connection since we were all named after types of trees.
Honestly though, I wasn’t even sure if Cedar, Juniper, and Everest were my only siblings. There could be more. It was a strong possibility; it was a free-love type of community after all.
My heart pounded louder than any crashing wave, my hands shook, and I quickly scanned the area. It was just her and I on this side of the bonfire, the others were gathered around the deck.
Just do it.Everest’s voice was loud and clear as if he was right there witnessing me screw this up.
Why had I been tasked with this again? Right. Dad was dying, and Cedar was allegedly our last hope.
With nothing to lose, not really, I inhaled, steadied myself and stared into Cedar’s wide eyes. “I just learned, like ten days ago, I had another half-sibling. A half-sister.”
Her hand covered her mouth, and her whole body tightened as her eyes widened. A faint gasp leaked out between her fingers as she slowly shook her head.
I didn’t break eye contact. “We only discovered that information because my father is really sick, and I’d been sent on a quest to find this estranged sister. Turns out it wasn’t much of a hunt as she lives in the same small town as me. My father needs a kidney in order to prolong his life, and this half-sister is our last blood hope.”
She faced me wide-eyed, her jaw dropping open as her hand fell to her tummy. A million emotions swam in her horrified expression. Her mouth finally snapped shut, and her swallow was audible. Her sharp inhalation drowned out the crackling fire.
“Who’s… your father?”
I uncurled my hand and set it on my lap, displaying the connection. “Franklin Stewart.”
