Page 70 of Julian

Once she was ready, she grabbed her phone and water bottle and left her room. She’d been in the house for two nights, and it was still hard for her to believe that it was hers. Finally, a forever home.

She might not be sharing it with Angie the way she’d thought she would, but it was still her home. It might take some time to get used to sharing a space with Julian, but thankfully, it was large enough that they shouldn’t be in each other’s way.

Having her own space to retreat to was the only reason she’d agreed to him living in the other suite in the house. Time would tell if it was a good decision.

She stepped out onto the porch, taking a deep breath of the fresh summer air. The sky was clear, and everything looked vibrant and green after the rain they’d had a couple of days earlier.

Excited to see Angie again, Kiara walked down the steps and along the interlocking stone sidewalk to the road. They were working on the landscape surrounding the house now, but it still looked a little rough.

She didn’t have a car yet, since she had no license, but Duncan had suggested she start learning to drive one of the UTVs so she didn’t have to walk everywhere. For the moment, however, she was fine with walking.

As she walked, she could hear the distant sound of the helicopter approaching. When she reached the helipad, she spotted a couple of members of the security team standing next to two UTVs.

They greeted her with nods and smiles, then they all turned their attention to the approaching helicopter. As it slowly lowered to the helipad, Kiara waved, even though she couldn’t clearly see anyone. She doubted that Angie was seated by the window, though, since she really didn’t enjoy flying.

The rotors slowed, and soon, the door opened. Appearing first was Angie, who waved to Kiara, then ran toward her.

As they wrapped their arms around each other, Kiara felt relief fill her to have Angie back. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too,” Angie murmured. As they separated, Angie gripped Kiara’s arms and looked closely at her. “How are you? How’s the baby?”

They’d kept in contact via text, but Kiara hadn’t pushed for long conversations. The texts had been more for just quick check-ins to assure each other they were okay.

“I’m fine. The baby’s fine. How are you?”

“I’m great,” she said with a beaming smile.

Kiara was glad to see her so happy. She deserved it.

“I’m glad you’re home,” Kiara said.

“Me too. We had a wonderful time. The island… the beaches… the water… it was all so beautiful, but I’m ready to get back to life here.”

Hooking her arm through Kiara’s, Angie turned to watch the men as they unloaded the bags from the helicopter. Kiara spotted Julian standing with Jude, the two of them talking.

“I hear Julian is taking my suite in the house,” Angie said. “Are you okay with that?”

“Yes. We talked about it and agreed to a one-month trial.”

Angie’s brow furrowed in concern. “Are you sure about this?”

“About as sure as I am about anything these days,” Kiara said with a laugh. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

“I am a bit worried,” Angie told her. “It seems like Julian has changed since he went to the treatment center, but only time will tell.”

Kiara understood where Angie was coming from, but unlike everyone else, she’d maintained contact with Julian throughout his treatment. She thought she had a better handle on how he was doing than most of the others.

“Are you ready to head home, love?” Jude asked as he approached them.

“Yep.”

“We can catch up tomorrow,” Kiara told her. “You need some time to get settled at Jude’s.”

“Well, I want to see the house now that it’s all finished.”

“I think you’ll like it,” Kiara said. “It looks amazing.”

“I’ll be over first thing in the morning,” Angie promised as she hugged Kiara. “Love you.”