AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her curiosity, though piqued, would remain unsatisfied for now. Maybe if she had the opportunity to get to know him better, she could ask him about it. However, that definitely wasn’t her focus at the moment.
Misha didn’t want to be rude, but once they’d eaten their dessert, she knew they needed to excuse themselves. Her mom was fading, and Ciara was getting cranky, even though she’d done remarkably well, all things considered.
“Please feel free to help yourself to anything in the kitchen,” Charli said when Misha indicated that they needed to call it a day.
“And if you’d like to join us for church,” Cathy added. “It starts at eleven. I’m sure one of the girls could give you a ride.”
“Yep. We’ve got plenty of space,” Janessa said. “We usually leave around ten-thirty.”
“We’ll see what sort of night we have with Ciara.” Misha hadn’t been sure what they’d do about finding a church in Serenity. This was an opportunity to check one out, so if her mom felt up to going, they would.
“There’s also a nursery for Ciara,” Charli said. “Skylar, our youngest sister, often works in there.”
Misha was glad to hear that, knowing that Ciara wouldn’t sit quietly for a whole service. After thanking them for the meal, her mom took Ciara upstairs while Misha prepped her bottle. It would take a little time to get accustomed to doing stuff like that in someone else’s kitchen. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be long until they had a place of their own.
“If you need anything, just knock on my door,” Janessa said. “Or send me a text.”
“Thanks. I feel like we’re saying that a lot today.” Misha smiled. “I just hope you know that we appreciate all you’ve done to welcome us.”
“We’re very excited to have you here, and not just because we need your help in the clinic.”
“I hope you still feel that way after Ciara has a crying fit.”
“Oh, we’ve survived countless temper tantrums by Layla. I think we’ll be fine.”
It was a little consolation to think that the other child in the house wasn’t immune to emotional meltdowns. After saying goodnight to everyone, Misha went upstairs to join her mom and Ciara.
She’d only been upstairs for a couple of minutes when there was a light knock on the door. Opening it, she found Janessa and Jay standing there.
“Sorry to bother you,” Janessa said. “But we forgot to give you the playpen for Ciara.”
Janessa gestured to Jay, who lifted the item he carried. “Do you want it in this room?”
Misha nodded and stepped back so Jay could come into the room and set it down.
“Also, Charli had this from when Layla was a baby, and thought you might like to use it.”
When Janessa picked up a stationery bouncer, Misha nodded in relief. Ciara’s was coming on the moving truck, so she wouldn’t have it until they moved into their own place. Since it was helpful to be able to corral her at times, Misha was very grateful that Charli was willing to loan it to them.
“Do you know how to set this playpen up?” Janessa asked. “I’d volunteer Jay to do it, but I’m not sure he knows either.”
Jay chuckled. “This is true.”
Ciara squealed then, waving her hands at them. Janessa grinned and approached Misha’s mom. “Can I hold her? Or will she cry?”
“Sure. She’s pretty good with people she doesn’t know.”
Ciara went to Janessa easily and didn’t fuss at all, clearly happy for someone new to hold her. Jay had dropped to hisknees next to the playpen, obviously determined to prove his sister wrong.
Misha wanted to offer her help since she’d set one up a few times, but instead, she just let Jay work at it. She knew it wasn’t too difficult, so he’d be able to figure it out quickly enough.
“When Doctor Martin suggested the job here to Misha, she asked him if they let Black people into Northern Idaho,” her mom said, making Misha groan. “I’m glad to see that they do, in fact.”
Janessa laughed and nodded. “Yep. Though not many choose to come. We ended up here because my mom asked the Halversons to adopt us before she passed away.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear about your mom.”
“It’s okay,” Janessa assured Misha’s mom. “She did us a big favor by arranging that for us. The Halversons have been wonderful and have never made us feel like we were anything but family to them. I was only seven—Jay was nine—when we ended up here.”
