He smiled indulgently, feeling a tug on his heartstrings. He still couldn’t quite believe he had a sister. Or that she could be so fun, so smart, so pretty.
“If you get hungry again, I’ve put out a few snacks.” Susan’s version of snacks was a smorgasbord of guacamole and chips, spinach dip with French bread, a platter of shrimp, and bowls of nuts on the coffee table. She’d spent years feeding five hungry teenage boys, after all. “Now come in, make yourselves at home.” The massive fireplace and brickwork filled one wall, and a blaze was pumping warmth into the room accompanied by the pleasant crackle of the fire.
Theresa sat on one end of the sectional sofa, and Susan took a place next to her. Tony relaxed into the couch on Susan’s right. Bob had pulled chairs to the other side of the coffee table, but before Evan could take one of the seats, Bob sat with Kelsey beside him. That left a corner of the couch for Evan, with Paige next to him. Which, truthfully, was right where he wanted her to be.
“I want to hear all about raising twins,” Susan said to Theresa. “I’ve always marveled at parents who manage such a feat.” The way she said it, you wouldn’t have thought she’d raised six kids herself.
Theresa smiled fondly at Kelsey and Tony. “They were easy babies. Great kids.”
Paige shifted next to him, and between them, where no one could see, she squeezed his fingers. Even as wound up as he was over her, the gesture relaxed him.
“People were always so kind,” Theresa continued, speaking more easily with Susan than she did with anyone but the twins. “Especially the man who gave me a job the first day I was in Modesto. I used the last of the money I had for one night at a cheap motel. There was a coffee shop across the street, and I went in to ask for work. The waitress said they weren’t hiring. But there was a man eating at the counter. He said he needed a receptionist if I was interested. And even when I told him I was pregnant, he didn’t retract the offer.”
“You’d finally found a safe haven,” Susan said in a gentle voice.
“It was a miracle,” Theresa agreed.
Susan wasn’t looking at Evan, nor had she been speaking directly to him, but her message was clear nonetheless. In the world of his childhood, kids were left alone for hours. They suffered abuse—physical, verbal, and more. But Susan and Bob’s house hadn’t just been a haven for Evan—it had been equally as miraculous as Modesto had been for Theresa.
Yes, she’d made a terrible choice between him and the twins, but if she’d come home for him first, would any of them have made it out? Or would they all have ended up rotting in that squalid neighborhood, buried by his father’s fists?
* * *
Paige was impressed by Theresa’s story. She’d beaten the odds, and the twins had grown into extraordinary people.
If only she hadn’t left Evan behind.“I’ve worked for Hugh Cramer’s company ever since,” Theresa was saying.
“He sounds like an amazing man,” Susan said.
Beside Paige, Evan sat still as a stone. His expression was just as unreadable. Paige wondered if the thought of Theresa immediately getting a job in Modesto with an understanding boss bothered Evan. Because if she was settled, if she could easily have come back for him, why hadn’t she?
“Hugh and his wife were wonderful,” Theresa said softly. “They’re both gone, and we all miss them so much.”
“They were like our grandparents,” Kelsey said with fondness brimming over. Tony agreed with just a smile.
“After the twins were born,” Theresa went on, “they knew I was juggling the job and child care, so she would often babysit, and he let me bring the kids in with me. I also needed to keep borrowing money from them.” She glanced at Tony and Kelsey, who smiled encouragingly. “But I paid it all back.” She took a deep breath, one that didn’t seem to do much to center her before she said, “I don’t know how I can ever pay you both back for what you did for Evan.” Her voice was watery, tears obviously close.
Paige felt Evan stiffen beside her. Aching for him, she gave the only thing she could with everyone around them—a gentle brush of his shoulder with hers.
Susan patted Theresa’s leg. “My dear, we’re the ones who have to thank you. It was a privilege to have him.” She looked at Evan with deep emotion shining in her eyes. “We love him with all our hearts.”
“We love all our boys,” Bob said in agreement.
“Look at all those games on the shelf,” Kelsey said, clearly afraid that they were about to degenerate into a tear-fest. “You must have a lot of grandchildren.”
Evan tensed once more, and worry flickered on Susan’s face as she glanced at him. Paige knew they were thinking about the same thing. Whitney and her pregnancy lies. All the grandchildren Susan didn’t have.
Fortunately, Bob jumped in to save them all. “We have one wonderful grandchild from our foster son Matt. Noah is nearly six. We adore him. But Susan and I love to play games in the evening.”
“When you’re not bingeing on Sons of Anarchy,” Paige teased, hoping to lighten the mood. “You even got me addicted to it.”
“When you’re done, you’ve got to try The Walking Dead,” Susan said like an overexcited teenager.
Evan groaned like any son would when embarrassed by a parent, and everyone laughed. Everyone but Theresa, who was carefully watching the interaction between Susan and Evan. Not with jealousy, but with regret.