Finding Home by Elizabeth Sage Read Free Book Online Page A

been fond of Nick,” Kiera
added. “I think he somehow reminds her of her husband. She’s almost
afraid of him. But she won’t give you any trouble, if you do decide
to go ahead with it.”
    “Don’t worry,” I said. “I’ve had plenty of
experience disregarding what other people think.”
    Kiera laughed. “So I gather. Nick tells me
you’re quite unusual.”
    “Oh? And what else did he tell you?” I was
more interested than I wanted to let on. I stood up to look closely
at a series of botanical prints, thinking how much Jay would like
them. Over the summer he’d been working on drawings of the
wildflowers which grew around Auberge Ciel. But the torture of
remembering him brought me right back to my seat. Forgetting Jay
was going to be impossible.
    “Oh, Nick didn’t say anything very specific,”
Kiera told me. “Just that you’re independent and gutsy. I guess he
was always sort of in love with you, back in high school? And he
seemed to think meeting you again was some kind of an omen, almost
a godsend.”
    “That’s so strange. I had that feeling too,
about Nick, that we were meant to meet that day in Montreal. Weird,
eh?” I remembered how creepy I’d felt before I knew it was Nick
watching me. “But it was pure coincidence. Anyway, tell me about
you. Nick said you live here most of the time?”
    “Yes.” Kiera looked up almost defiantly. “I
moved down last spring. I simply couldn’t take Toronto anymore. Our
life there seemed so pointless, for me anyway. It had become one
long furious pursuit of Nick’s business contacts. Everything we
did, everywhere we went, everyone we saw – it was all geared to
advancing Nick’s career. I just got so fed up frittering my life
away lunching and power shopping and playing the perfect
hostess.”
    “I don’t blame you!”
    Kiera flashed me a grateful smile. “I guess I
should have taken a job or something,” she said, “gotten a career
myself, but the only thing I’ve ever really wanted to do is act. I
did have some parts when we were first married, but I never really
made it.” She studied her hands, which were folded in her lap,
before going on in a disappointed voice. “And I never really fit
in, either. I wasn’t edgy enough. A lot of actors resented me
because I didn’t have to wait tables to get by. Some even suggested
I should move to the suburbs and do amateur theater. Then, when I
didn’t get pregnant, my doctor recommended I give it all up. The
pressures were so immense, you know, all the auditioning,
rehearsing, performing, not to mention the strain of working with
theater egos and the terrible hours.” She unfolded her hands and
lifted them to smooth her hair. “So I took his advice because I
wanted children more than success. And I guess in my heart I knew I
wasn’t really all that good. That’s when I came down here. I’d
given up the only thing that kept me going in Toronto.”
    “But it didn’t help?”
    Kiera sighed deeply. “Oh, I feel a whole lot
better. But no baby. So I’ve taken up quilting. Phoebe’s an
excellent teacher and it helps me stay calm and not worry about
getting pregnant.” She kept fussing with her hair, which was the
color of cornsilk, cut chin-length and swept to one side over wispy
bangs. Finally she tucked it back behind her ears, in which she
wore tiny pearl studs. “And then, over the summer, I flew back and
went to the Clarington Clinic and had all the tests.” She paused
and sighed before saying, very softly, “And I found out I can’t get
pregnant anyway.”
    “I’m so sorry. It must be dreadfully hard to
accept.”
    “Yes. I’m an only child and I’d always
planned on having a large family. Actually though, I’d almost
resigned myself to doing without even one baby, and was thinking
about going back to the theater. But Nick just can’t come to terms
with it. The need to have a child is tearing him apart.”
    “And that’s where I come in.”
    “If you think you want to –