Page 39 of Lee

“So you work at the clinic with Lee?” Aria asked.

“Yes. I’m the receptionist.”

“Oh, I’m a receptionist too,” Aria said with a smile. “Well, part-time receptionist at the moment.”

“Aria is Janessa’s best friend, and she moved here to work at the clinic.”

“Then I fell in love with Gareth, and the rest is history.”

“How did you meet your husband?” Rori asked Charli.

“Oh, this is a good story,” Aria said with a laugh.

“Really?”

Charli shrugged. “Since I’m happy with how it unfolded in the end, I agree it’s a good story. It could have had a very different ending, no thanks to me.”

Rori listened as Charli shared how she and Blake had gotten to the point of getting married a few months earlier.

“I learned in a big way that lying and keeping secrets is never the right way to live life. I’m just fortunate that Blake loved me enough to forgive me for what I did. God truly worked in our relationship to help us get to this point.”

Rori found her reference to God interesting, and she thought again of the sermon that morning. It was clear these people gave God a place of importance in their lives.

“I second that,” Aria said with a nod. “I almost lost Gareth because I wasn’t honest about what had gone on in my life before I came to Serenity.”

Was she supposed to spill everything about her life to these people? She’d been honest in any answers she’d given to questions about her family and experiences. However, there was more that she hadn’t shared. It felt too personal to explain about her relationships with her family members.

“Hey, Rori,” Kayleigh said as she joined them. “Would you like to hold Shiloh?”

Rori’s eyes widened as she looked at the little baby cuddled in Kayleigh’s arms. “To be honest, I’ve never held a baby before.”

“Well, there’s no better time to start,” Kayleigh announced.

“I’m not sure…” Rori glanced at Charli, uncertain if the woman would want Rori practicing on her baby.

Instead of looking alarmed, Charli smiled. “I can’t even remember how old I was when I held a baby for the first time. So, if someone trusted me as a young kid with a baby, you’ll do just fine.”

Rori set her camera on the blanket beside her, nerves fluttering in her stomach. Moving with ease, Kayleigh went down on her knees in front of Rori. She got a whiff of light perfume as the woman leaned forward and settled Shiloh in her arms.

The baby gazed up at Rori with large, light brown eyes. She had wispy brown curls and a cute button nose. She was a beautiful little girl.

Rori tried to relax, but it was hard to when she was certain the baby was going to start crying at any moment.

“See. That’s not so hard.”

Rori glanced up to find Charli smiling at her. A glance at the other women there showed that they, too, were smiling.

“She’s beautiful.”

“Even though she’s adopted, she looks just like Layla,” Aria commented.

“Will you tell her she’s adopted?” Rori asked.

“Definitely,” Charli said. “We might have been able to hide that fact since she does look like she’s ours, but it’s not something we plan to keep secret. Adoption isn’t something that we need to hide.”

Kayleigh nodded. “As you can see from our family, adoption has brought us amazing siblings that we love very much.”

Rori cuddled the baby close, and without thought, swayed slightly as she ran a hand over her soft hair. She’d never really thought much about having children. She hadn’t been sure she’d be a good mom since her own hadn’t set a very good example.

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