Page 48 of Covert Vengeance

They stopped when they heard the creak of the stairs. Kiyomi paused on the third tread, looking pale and tired, still dressed in the purple scrubs one of the nurses had given her at the hospital at Landstuhl. “I managed a shower and was thinking of coming down to eat,” she said, one hand on the carved wooden railing.

“You sure you’re up to it?” Amber asked, taking an instinctive step toward her. It looked like she was about to topple headfirst down the stairs.

“I need to get out of that room for a while.” Her eyes darted toward the breakfast room. “Is everyone still in there?” It was clear she didn’t feel like socializing.

“Yes, but the study’s empty,” Megan said, pointing toward the room. “Marcus is out at the stables, and then he’s going to take the guys out to show them the property. You’ll have privacy in there for a while. Or you could sit outside in the garden. There’s a gazebo in the northeast corner that overlooks the pond and fountain.”

“Want some help down?” Amber asked.

“No, I’m good. Thanks.” Kiyomi looked relieved at the prospect of escaping her room while still having privacy. “Also, do either of you have something I can wear? I want out of these things.” She grimaced and tugged at the scrub top.

Anything Amber and Megan owned would hang off Kiyomi’s thin frame. Trinity, even more so.

“Sure, we’ll go grab you something and be back in a bit,” Megan said, snagging Amber’s hand and towing her to the front door.

“Where are we going?” Amber asked when they stepped outside into the fresh autumn air. The sun was warm but there was a cool breath to the air.

“Into town. There are a couple of clothing shops we can grab things for Kiyomi from. She deserves comfortable clothes that fit.”

“She does.” She walked beside Megan on the crushed gravel driveway. Wide expanses of green lawn bordered it all the way down to the gatehouse. “Are we walking?”

Megan snorted. “No. We’ll take my vehicle.”

She’d never been to the gatehouse. “Do I get to see your love nest?”

Megan threw her a grin and kept going. She walked fast, no surprise given what a ball of energy she was. “Sure.”

The two-story home was perched to the left of the main gate, set back a ways from the road. It was built of the same honey-colored stone the main house was. “It’s big.”

“Just under three-thousand square feet,” Megan confirmed, opening the back door. The fresh scent of lemon oil filled the air. “More than big enough for the two of us.”

Megan led her into a tidy, farmhouse-style kitchen and grabbed her wallet and keys from the stone countertop. “Laundry room’s through there,” she said, pointing, “then family room or ‘snug’ as it’s called over here. Three bedrooms upstairs, though we use one as an office.”

“It’s beautiful.”

“I know.” Megan paused to glance around, shook her head. “Sometimes I feel like I’m dreaming. Playing house. It’s surreal.”

“You used to love playing house.”

Megan cocked her head. “I did?”

“We had a dollhouse Dad put together for us. It was our big present that same Christmas you remember.”

Her expression turned thoughtful. “Was it…blue? A Victorian with a white porch?”

Amber smiled. “Yes. I was the mom and you were either the baby or the aunt who came to visit.”

“I can picture it. On the floor by the bay window after the Christmas tree was taken down.”

They were quiet a moment, then Amber asked, “Have you remembered anything else?”

“Not really. You in the back of the car the day they separated us. Little snapshots of Mom and Dad and you, but nothing concrete.” Megan eyed her. “You?”

“A few things. Happy things. Picnics in the backyard, playing at the beach. Mom picking us up from school in her minivan.”

A wistful smile formed on Megan’s face. “I wish I could see it.” She turned and headed for the door. “Let’s get Kiyomi some clothes.”

It only took a few minutes for Megan to drive them down the lane and onto the road that went up the hill to the town. “Here we are, the famous market town of Stow-on-the-Wold.”

---