The Family You Choose (36 page)

Miranda held onto Jessie for dear life, and
Jessie started to cry. "I’m sorry, babe," she said. "I should have
been there." Then Emily and Zainab gathered around and hugged the
two of them. Richard stroked Jessie’s hair and looked lovingly at
Zainab. Mitch hugged Emily and patted Miranda on the shoulder.

Miranda took a deep breath. It was the first
time in two days she didn’t feel sick. "It’s going to be okay,"
Miranda said, to herself as much as to anyone else. "It’s all going
to be okay."

~~~

Lucy came to visit Alex the next day. She
didn’t wait for Keith to announce her. Alex stared at her
coldly.

"I’d call you a name, but I don’t think
they’ve invented one yet that fits everything you’ve done."

"This is none of your business."

"You made all of it my business, and I can’t
believe you would have forgotten."

"I haven’t forgotten anything, but I’m
telling you, this doesn’t concern you."

"I could have fixed it all for you," Lucy
hissed. "You could have let me send Michael to prison for what he
did to Jessie, and then you wouldn’t have had that brief but
probably uncomfortable separation from Miranda." She narrowed her
eyes. "Or maybe I should just do it now?"

"Don’t you dare," Alex said quietly.

Lucy tilted her head. "Why Alex? Is he still
under your protection?"

"Don’t touch him."

"No, he’s not, is he?" Lucy shook her head.
"You just don’t want to upset your sweet, little Miranda." Alex
didn’t say anything. "And she is pretty fragile right now, isn’t
she? I wonder what it would do to her if she were to find out
everything? How does a smart, scrappy young man go from almost
nothing to all of this? Don’t you think she’d find it
interesting?"

"About as interesting," Alex said icily, "as
Richard would find it to discover how he ended up without a father,
or really, without any parent to speak of." He picked up the phone
receiver. "What do you say Lucy? I make my call first, or you
do?"

Lucy scoffed. "Of course not. And you know
that. I don’t play chicken with people I love."

"Isn’t it ironic that I’m the only person who
believes that you actually do love someone?"

"But everyone knows the truth about you, no
matter how you dress it up. You’re a demon." She stood up straight,
straighter than she had that day Miranda had walked in on the both
of them. "Don’t hurt anyone else I care about, or everyone will
know what I know, consequences be damned."

Alex smirked as she left, but he needed a
strong drink before he could go back to what he was doing.

Six months later, Alex greeted Miranda in the
lobby of the hospital. She looked a little brighter. It was the
first time in months that he’d seen her that way.

Miranda bought a beautiful bouquet of
flowers. "Shall we?"

"Right this way."

They took the elevator to the correct floor,
and found the room. They knocked, and Zainab hollered to come in.
They opened the door and saw Emily, tired but happy, sitting up in
bed with her tiny, brownish pink, dark-haired bundle. Mitch was
crunched into the bed next to her, tired and still looking like he
couldn’t believe this new development. Zainab and Richard were
cooing over the baby, and Jessie was rolling her eyes. "Guys, we
have to speak like people around her, otherwise she’s going to
think that’s how she’s supposed to talk."

Miranda gave the flowers to Mitch and kissed
him on the cheek. She kissed Emily on the forehead. "Oh, Em," she
sighed. "She’s just beautiful. Can I hold her?"

"Hey, I was next," Richard said, but then
Zainab tapped him on the shoulder. "Okay," he grumbled.

It’s always hard to tell with newborns, but
Miranda thought she could see both parents in the baby’s face. Her
hair was wavy and brown like Mitch’s, but the eyebrows and
cheekbones were all Emily. Miranda held the baby to her chest and
closed her eyes. That last little spot in her heart, at least for
right now, seemed to be knitting together. She kissed the baby’s
forehead and rubbed her little nose.

"What are you going to call her?" she said,
unable to take her eyes off of her.

"I like Louise," Mitch said.

"As a middle name," Emily said. Mitch made a
face, but then shrugged. "I was thinking," Emily said slowly, "that
Eve sounded like a really nice name."

Miranda closed her eyes and held the baby
close to her heart. "Hmm," she said, looking at the bundle again.
"No," she said, "I don’t think you’re Eve Graham. I think...Helen.
Helen Louise Graham." Alex rubbed her back, and she looked at him
with a smile.

Emily and Mitch looked at each other, and
then Mitch nodded and squeezed her hand. "Yeah, I think that’s a
really nice name."

"Great, it’s decided," Jessie said
impatiently. "But now it’s my turn."

"Hey!" Richard said as Jessie grabbed the
baby from Miranda’s arms. They all laughed, and Miranda squeezed
Alex’s hand. Maybe she really was going to be happy again.

This book is dedicated to Karen Idra Kaiser,
who has been at my side almost as long as Miranda and is one of the
kindest people I have ever met.

Once again, my team came through with flying
colors for me. Heather Rick once again helped me find the balance
between too much and not enough, as well as gave some of the
funniest feedback a writer could hope for. Keri Knutson continued
her amazing design work for me, and she's been the reason someone
lingered just a little longer on my book and decided to buy it.

One of the nicest things about social media
is the ability to meet some very talented and generous people. Elle
Chardou patiently answered all of my panicky questions about the
business and technical side of getting a book out. I am in her
debt. Claudia Hall Christian continually reminds me that everything
is fluid and not to stay in one place for too long. And Erin Cawood
is both my writing buddy and a friend. I am grateful for all of the
chats we've had about the publishing world, technological
innovations and opportunities, the blogosphere and what's good at
Starbucks.

A big shout out to the writers and bloggers
who hosted me on the Careful You Don't Outsmart Yourself Tour. Much
praise to L.M. Stull, Megan Cashman, Thea Atkinson, Dennisse
Lisseth, Lisette Brodey, Courtney Giardina, Chrissy from Every Free
Chance Book Reviews, Pia Bernardino, Take Two Publishing, C.J.
Brightley, Draven Ames, Louise Wise, Loren Kleinman, The Free Book
Dude, Michelle Cameron and, of course, Danielle-Claude Ngontang
Mba.

Where would I be without my friends? Liseli
Mulala and Sheryl Light read drafts of this story and gave me
important feedback. Allie Gillies, Susan Downs and Odessa Cozzolino
helped spread the word about my series and Jill Powers gave me
frequent encouragement to continue in this and my other writing
projects.

Thanks again to my family: my sisters
Suzanne, Penelope and Courtney and my mother Eileen for telling
their friends about my series, and my children Samantha, Jazmyn,
Jacob and Simon for bearing with me as I worked through my edits.
And thanks to my husband Michael for shoulder rubs as I typed
away.

Finally, thanks to the readers who have
bought my book, written reviews and sent me messages to tell me
what they thought. Knowing there are readers who enjoyed hanging
out in my little world for a few hours makes every hour of
agonizing over "that" and semicolon placement worthwhile.

An excerpt from the next book in The New
Pioneers...

The China Doll

Alex Sheldon stepped on a lot of people to
get to where he was, but his first opportunity might have been his
most ruthless.

During that fall morning in 1980, Gerald
Hendrickson was eating breakfast alone again. Annabelle had come
home the night before, but she’d gotten in very late. Gerald had
turned down his light, but he was still awake when she came in. He
heard her light laughter and then some unintelligible whispering.
He’d heard Stephen too, but then Annabelle shushed him. Had it been
a few hours earlier, he might have come out to lecture the both of
them. However, it was quite late, and he’d been too tired to begin
a scene. Plus, although he was loath to admit it in the cold light
of day as he plunged into his soft boiled egg, he liked seeing his
beloved daughter happy. Stephen Abbot was emphatically not the man
he would have chosen for her, but he was old enough to know that
you couldn’t always choose for your children...even when you knew
what was best.

Stephen Abbot, on his own, might have been
tolerable. He certainly wasn’t the only young man his age who had
trouble controlling his indulgences, and Gerald was grudgingly
impressed that since he’d started dating Annabelle he hadn’t been
seen with anyone else. Impressed, but not surprised- Annabelle had
a very well-developed sense of dignity that demanded nothing less.
And Gerald, in his day, had been known to put away his fair share
of liquor, and probably in greater quantities than young Mr.
Abbot.

It was the older Mr. Abbot that Gerald did
not approve of. He’d heard some frankly ugly rumors about Michael
Abbot. He wasn’t concerned about Annabelle- if true, she was too
old for him, and Michael had the ability to control himself in
public. Still, it was evident even to Gerald how much Stephen
withered in his father’s company. It was evident to Annabelle as
well, and Gerald couldn’t help but wonder if that contributed to
Stephen’s charm. Was marriage imminent? If so, Gerald hoped without
any remorse that Michael Abbot’s health was indeed as poor as it
looked to be.

"Good morning, father," Jim said cheerfully
when he came in.

"Good morning, Jim," Gerald replied,
suppressing his smile. He loved Annabelle for being headstrong and
independent. He loved his oldest Jim for being agreeable,
dependable and otherwise always doing the right thing. "And what
are you off to today?"

Jim chuckled as he sipped his coffee. "Same
thing as always, Dad. Duty calls."

Gerald nodded. Jim had no taste for finance.
He’d inherited his late mother’s intense curiosity, and had gone
into engineering, much to his father’s dismay. However, his father
had been gratified to see him promoted to Chief Technical Officer
of his company. The Hendrickson name should be recognized for
something.

The Hendrickson name should also be carried
on. "And when was the last time you spoke to Lucy Bartolome?"

Jim stopped eating his toast and looked up.
"Last week, Dad," he said quietly. "As I told you. And as I told
you, I don’t think she’s interested in me."

"Don’t settle, Jimmy," Gerald said in a rare
show of exasperation. "Sometimes you have to work to get what you
want."

"Maybe, Dad," Jim said as he put on his coat,
"but you shouldn’t have to work too hard. I’ll be home same time,
alright?"

"Have a good day son." Jim smiled as he
walked out the door. Gerald sighed. He was proud of his son, but
there were some things he’d change if he could. Gerald knew that
Jim had been in love with Lucy Bartolome since they’d gone to
college together. She’d been the University’s It Girl, and not
least because her grandfather Leighton was one of the founders.
Maybe most of her would-be suitors weren’t good enough for John
Bartolome, but Jim was. Still no joy. But that was alright for now,
because Gerald wasn’t nearly as good at taking no as his son
was.

Gerald knew that his time on this earth was
limited. Death was not imminent, but he could see it. Annabelle
wasn’t going to have any Hendricksons. That duty fell to Jim. Lucy,
blonde, bright and dynamic, would be a perfect Hendrickson mother.
And really, who was she to be too picky? Her mother had been a
Leighton, but she’d married this Bartolome from Louisiana. Dear
God! Gerald had no tolerance for John’s airs. Plus there was Tom,
Lucy’s older brother. Another subject of ugly rumors. So who was
Lucy to look down her nose at Jim?

Gerald pushed away his food and walked over
to the window. All of these kids- and that’s what they’d always be
to him- had trouble seeing everything clearly, and none of them
knew how to get things done. Gerald smiled. There was one. Alex
Sheldon. Gerald knew Annabelle didn’t like him, but she’d have to
accept that he came with Stephen. Which wasn’t even a bad thing as
far as Gerald was concerned, because he’d attributed most of
Stephen’s cleverness, such as there was, to Alex’s influence. And
Alex had a special something that none of the others did. He was
ambitious, and God love him for it. He needed to be. He was a young
man waiting for his opportunity, but Gerald could see that he
didn’t just wait. He measured, calculated, tested. He was someone
who knew how to get things done. And Gerald smiled again.

Deborah Nam-Krane has been writing in one way
or another since she was eight years old (and telling stories well
before that). As an adult she brought many of her characters
together to begin the New Pioneers series. The first book of the
series The Smartest Girl in the Room was published in 2013.

In 2012 she wrote the History section of her
sister
Suzanne
Nam
’s
Moon Thailand (Moon Handbooks).

Please join her
mail
list
to find out first about
new releases
and
connect with Deborah
Nam-Krane on any of the following sites:

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