The Sisters by Rosalind Noonan

Author:Rosalind Noonan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2018-09-10T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 28

On the short drive from the mall to the house, Glory tried to absorb it all—her first daughter, all grown-up now. Sixteen. And so beautiful, with Winston’s high, strong cheekbones and Glory’s blue eyes. It broke Glory’s heart to learn that Ruby had been searching for her. She didn’t deserve that kind of loyalty, especially after what she had done, leaving her two girls behind. She still winced when she thought of that day, that she had kept walking and not looked back. A million times over she tried to tell herself that she’d been run-down and grieving, her head not quite right, and a million times over she winced in guilt and shame.

The sight of Ruby at the mall today had sparked joy and fear, hope and anxiety. The wonder of seeing her firstborn had been wrapped in a determined sense that destiny was paving a way for them. Ruby had been brought back into her path for a purpose. Her oldest daughter was destined to help her youngest. Glory was beyond feeling guilty or mercenary for asking for help, especially after she learned that Ruby was a girl who took her responsibilities seriously. This was meant to be.

But she couldn’t rush things. Glory planned to give it time: a few meetings to let their relationship solidify before Glory revealed that Ruby had another sister. And then Ruby would probably need more time to adjust after that before committing to helping them escape. Glory could tell that her Ruby was still steady and slow, not the impetuous type. If Glory pushed too hard, the thread of their tenuous connection might snap.

All the time they’d been talking, Glory had been afraid that Leo would come along and figure things out. These days he didn’t make the trip to the mall very often, but if he got an inkling of this he might prohibit her from ever going to the mall again. That was the way he and Natalie ruled when someone was caught connecting with the outside world.

“When there’s a tumor,” Natalie always said, “you need to cut it out.”

Leo and Sienna hadn’t made it to the mall today. That was good news for Glory, who’d been able to speak with Ruby undetected, but she would have to be careful for future meetings. Maybe they would meet inside a women’s clothing store or the ladies’ room—a place where Leo wouldn’t feel comfortable. But even in those places, there was the threat of being discovered by the sisters.

As they pulled into the garage, Glory had to snap back to reality when Natalie demanded help getting out of the van. “Glory, you can take one side and Kimani will take the other. I don’t know what I did to myself, but both my legs feel numb.”

Climbing out of the van, Glory wondered if the paralysis was real or just an attention-getting device. That was the mystery of Natalie’s injury; some days Natalie got in and out of the van and moved in and out of the wheelchair on her own.

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