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She blinked back tears. “You didn’t have to—”
“It’s not much, but I hope if you ever find yourself needing some help, you’ll know where it came from and that you’re always welcome to come back.”
Her emotions continued to overflow. Twice in the last several months she’d come across people who would willingly give her the shirt off their own backs. All her life she’d been so jaded and so angry with the people around her. Was it possible that by shutting out those she didn’t trust, she’d been shutting out the possibility of finding people she could trust?
Athena reached over and wrapped her arms around Christopher. “Thank you so much.” She pulled back and hurried from the vehicle before she lost the strength to do what she’d come here for.
She retrieved her bag in the back and watched Christopher drive away. Her pulse roared, her palms were clammy, and she couldn’t feel her feet. Slowly, she turned to face the house, only then noticing that a car she didn’t recognize was parked right up by the garage.
Her eyes lingered on it as she moved toward the house. But then the sound of the door opening tore her focus from the car, and she stopped dead in her tracks.
The woman at the top of the stairs standing beside Henry looked a lot like her. The similarities to herself were uncanny. No, they weren’t identical, but she could see herself in this woman.
The stranger glanced toward Henry. His mouth moved but Athena couldn’t make out what he was saying. The woman turned toward Athena and put down the bag she had in her hand. She took a step forward, then paused.
Neither one of them seemed capable of making the first move. Not even Henry had stepped forward to introduce them, though Athena knew instinctively that this woman was family.
Heart pounding, Athena moved forward. She’d been alone for so long. She hadn’t allowed herself to believe that there was someone else out there related to her. That wasn’t true. She’d thought maybe one or both of her parents were still around somewhere, but this woman was too young to be her mother.
There was only one option. This woman was her sister.
Her sister’s expression broke into a relieved sob. She darted down the stairs and threw her arms around Athena. “I can’t believe I found you.”
Athena found Henry’s eyes. He stared at her, his gaze unreadable. She couldn’t tell if he was happy to see her or upset that she’d come back. It could go either way. At least one person was happy to see her. And her grip was like a vise.
Slowly, Athena wrapped her arms around the woman clinging to her. “Me too.” She wasn’t sure what made her say those words. She didn’t know this woman at all, and yet there was something inside that told her they had a connection that couldn’t be broken.
Her sister pulled back, placing both hands on either side of Athena’s face. “You don’t know how long I’ve been looking for you.”
Athena stared at her, wondering just how this woman even knew she existed. Her eyes drifted toward Henry, surprised to find him missing. He must have slipped back inside to leave her and her sister to get to know one another better.
“Henry told me you go by Athena now.” She smiled. “I think it suits you. I’m Rachel.”
Athena’s head continued to spin with each statement Rachel made. Even as they wandered off toward the trails that would lead them through various pastures, Athena couldn’t bring herself to ask a single question—not that she would have been able to get a word in edgewise with how much Rachel talked.
“We were in a car accident. Our parents and us. You were three, and I was only one.”
Athena’s eyes widened. “You were one?”
Rachel nodded. “I was strapped in tight. They thought you were dead—the people who found the car. There was no sign of you. They sent out a search party but never found you. I only learned about you from our great-aunt.”
This was all too much.
Rachel stopped and faced Athena. “After the accident that killed our parents, I was put into foster care and then adopted. Since they thought you hadn’t survived, no one looked for you…”
“Except you,” Athena said in amazement.
Her sister nodded. “I just knew you were out there somewhere. I—it’s like I could sense you. I can’t explain it. But when I turned sixteen, there was just this feeling that you were out there somewhere, and I needed to look for you. The problem was that if you were alive, then there was a chance you didn’t know who you were. You could have had amnesia. You might not have known your last name. If they put you into the system, then I couldn’t look for my sister, Diana McKune.” Rachel placed a hand to her head. “It’s a miracle that Henry found me. I don’t know how he did it. Pure luck.”
Athena’s stomach churned. She had told Henry to leave it alone—that there was no point in finding someone who didn’t want to be part of her family. But Athena had been wrong. They had loving parents who were ripped from their lives too soon. Athena had a baby sister who had refused to give up looking for her. “Diana…” Athena said.
“Hmm?”
“My name. It was Diana?”
Rachel smiled. “That’s what Great-Aunt Tina said.”
“And she didn’t want to raise you?” Athena couldn’t help but feel a little miffed by whoever this aunt was.
