Angel stared at the yellow house with trepidation. This was it. She was finally going to meet her aunt and cousins. Beyond the front door of the house from the photo, were people she was related to—people that she hoped would someday love her and consider her a part of their family.

She took a deep breath and unbuckled her seatbelt.

“Are you sure you don’t need to be working?” She peered into his eyes. “I appreciate you coming with me, but I don’t want to take up all your time.” She tilted her head to the side. “Hey, how’s that article on the logging industry going?”

Adam seemed to freeze. “Uh, it’s going.” He stared out the window.

He’d been so excited about it before, what was going on?

“Did you get good information from that guy you interviewed?”

He stepped out of the car. “I didn’t meet with him.”

“Wait, why not?” She got out of the car and stood next to the hood of the car, staring at him.

“It just didn’t work out.” He toed the ground with the tip of his shoe.

“I feel like you aren’t telling me the whole truth. You promised not to hide things from me, remember?”

He sighed. “You’re right. I didn’t end up meeting with John Nichols because that was the day I met your grandmother instead.”

A cold wave slammed into her. “You gave up your interview for me?” she whispered.

“Eh.” Adam shrugged. “I’m sure I wouldn’t have gotten very good information from him anyways. It’s not a big deal.”

“Right.” She looked at him sideways. He may not be lying to her anymore, but he was hiding how he felt. Her stomach twisted. That interview would have been major for him and his news article.

He reached over and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Don’t worry about it. New opportunities will come up, okay?”

“Okay,” she said, although she wasn’t convinced. But for now, there wasn’t anything she could do about his missed interview and she needed to focus on meeting her aunt and cousins for the first time.“Adam,” she whispered.

“Yeah?” He stopped to look at her. “Is something wrong?”

“No. I don’t know.” She glanced up at the house again. “What if they don’t like me?”

She’d already determined her family weren’t monsters, but there was still the possibility that they wouldn’t accept her. As much as she loved her mother, Erin Bennett’s decision had kept Angel from them for so many years.

“They’ll love you. Don’t worry about it.” He reached out for her hand and squeezed it.

The front door opened, revealing a woman in her late thirties. Two teenaged girls crowded around behind her, sticking their heads out to catch a glimpse of their new cousin.

“Angel?” the woman said hesitantly.

Angel nodded and walked closer, breaking apart from Adam.

“I’m your aunt, Rilla.” Tears streamed down her face and she ran down the steps to hug Angel. “You look just like your mother,” her aunt said, scanning her face. “I can’t believe it.”

Angel wrapped her arms around her aunt, her eyes filling with tears of her own. The embrace was warm and comforting, even better than she’d imagined it would be.

“Mom, we want to meet her too!” one of the girls said. Her other cousin nodded as she braced herself on the door frame.

Rilla pulled away from Angel and put her arm around her niece’s shoulders. “Let’s go inside. I’ve made us a nice quiche for lunch, if that’s okay with you.” She glanced at Adam.“And you must be Adam.”

“Yes.” He nodded and walked closer to her. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too. My mother has told me about how you helped bring Angel together with our family.” Rilla’s eyes misted over again. “I can’t even tell you how much it means to me.”

Adam smiled. “I’m happy to help. It means a lot to me for Angel to meet you too.”

Rilla beckoned for them to follow her inside. A sense of familiarity came over Angel as she entered the house she’d wondered about for so long.

“Do you remember this house?” Rilla asked. “I remember when you were just a toddler, playing with the pots and pans from the drawer under the stove.” She gestured across the room at the stove.

Angel’s gaze followed her aunt’s hand and she was flooded with memories. “My mom used to sing to me and let me beat on the pots with a wooden spoon while she sang.”

Rilla laughed. “That drove my father nuts, but I always thought it was funny.” She hugged Angel, then opened the refrigerator, pulling out a carton of strawberries and a bottle of cream. The aroma of a vegetable and bacon laden quiche filled the air.

Angel’s cousins hovered around the kitchen table and Rilla turned to them. “Girls, why don’t you go work on homework. I’ll call you when lunch is ready, okay?”

“But Mom…” the older girl whined.

Rilla fixed her eyes on her daughters and they hustled out of the room. She motioned for Angel and Adam to sit down at the table.

“Do you want some coffee?” Rilla asked, holding a mug near the coffee pot.

They both nodded. “Yes please.”

Rilla set two cups of coffee down on the table, along with a cutting board. She picked up a paring knife and with the flip of her wrist, sliced off the top of a strawberry, neatly cutting it into even portions.

Angel sipped her coffee, trying to come up with something to say to her aunt.

Rilla broke the silence first. “I knew your mom had gone to Los Angeles. She sent me a postcard when she first got down there, letting me know you were both okay.”

Angel stared at her. “So why didn’t you contact us?”

Her aunt studied the strawberry she held in one hand. “I didn’t want to cross my father and I was only in middle school. I had no way of getting down there to see the two of you. After I graduated from high school, I attended college in California, hoping to see her. But when I located the return address from the postcard, you’d already moved.”

“We moved a lot when I was a little kid.” Angel rubbed her finger along the handle of the ceramic mug. “Until my mother met my stepfather, we didn’t have much money.”

Rilla covered Angel’s hand with hers. “It must have been very difficult for her, being a single mother of a young child.” She shook her head. “I can’t even imagine.”

Tears formed in the corners of Angel’s eyes. “She was a wonderful mother.”

Rilla looked down at her lap. “I miss my big sister. I wish I’d stood up to my father. I know Mom does too.”

Angel stood and leaned over to hug her aunt. “I’m sure my mother understood.”

From the doorway, one of her cousins cleared her throat. “Is it time for lunch yet? We’re starving.”

Rilla glanced at the timer. “Just about. Why don’t you girls get washed up and set the table.”

“Oh, I can do that,” Angel said.

“No, no.” Rilla gestured to the table. “You’re our guest. You don’t need to help.”

“I’m not a guest.” Angel grinned as she pulled plates down from a cabinet with glass doors. “I’m family.”

Rilla bit her lower lip and her eyes were misty. “Yes. You are.”

During lunch, Angel kept taking surreptitious glances around the table. Family. She had a family again. Coming to Candle Beach had been a leap of faith, but it had paid off.

After eating, they chatted for a while in the living room until Rilla realized she was late for a church commitment.

“I’m so sorry, Angel. I’d love to stay here with you all day. It’s been almost like having my sister here with me again.”

“I know the feeling.” Being around her aunt had helped fill the void that her mother’s death had left. If only her mother had been able to see her mother and sister again and meet her nieces. She would have loved the woman her little sister had become. “I’ll call you later, okay? Maybe we can get together for dinner later this week.”

“I’d like that.” Rilla put her coat on and they walked to the door together. “And Angel? Thank you for giving us a chance.” She turned to Adam. “It was wonderful to meet you too.”

He nodded. “Thank you for lunch. I’m happy Angel had the opportunity to meet you.”

“I’m so glad I found you. Bye, Aunt Rilla.” Angel hugged her aunt again, then waved goodbye and she and Adam walked down the street to her car.

* * *

The next day, Angel burst into the newspaper office. Adam glanced up in surprise.

“I thought you had to work.”

“I did. I mean, I am working.” She sighed. “Maggie said it was okay for me to come down here for a few minutes.”

A slow smile spread over his face. “Well, I’m glad you did.” He got up and kissed her gently. “Are you able to stay for lunch? We could grab Chinese takeout.”

She shook her head. “I can’t. I only came down here because I wanted to tell you that according to Maggie, John Nichols comes in for an afternoon coffee break almost every afternoon around two.”

“Good for him. He’s a busy man and he deserves to take some time off to relax.” Adam cocked his head to the side. “But why are you telling me this?”

She sighed in exasperation. “Because, he’s there alone every afternoon. If you just happened to be there at the same time…”

“Maybe he’d be willing to talk with me about his deal with the timber company,” Adam finished. He gave her a giant bear hug. “Angel, you’re a genius.”

She flushed. “I don’t know about that, but I figured you could probably charm your way into a meeting with him. After all, you do share a love of coffee and sweets.”

He grinned. Angel knew him well. “Thank you.” He cast a frenzied glance around the office. “I’ve got so much to do if I’m going to talk with him today.”

She laughed. “I’ve got to get back to work.” She turned to leave, calling over her shoulder, “good luck!”