* * *
LAURA STRETCHED OUT beside Javier, bliss still singing through her. Sex was the best way she knew to release stress. “We may be old, but we’ve still got it.”
“Who’s old?” He drew her closer, kissed her cheek. “You’re a hot and sexy fifty-two, and I’m a badass fifty-eight. Fifty is the new twenty. You think any of those kids at today’s graduation has a sex life that comes anywhere near to ours? We’re just getting started, bella.”
Someone knocked on the door. “Aunt Laura? It’s Klara.”
“Carajo!”
Fighting not to laugh, Laura jumped up, grabbed her bathrobe, and slipped into it, while Javier grabbed his clothes and disappeared into the bathroom. She called toward the door. “Wait just a moment.”
When Javier was safely in the bathroom, Laura unlocked and opened the door. She could tell immediately that something was wrong.
“Come in, Klara. What is it?” She instinctively switched to Swedish, but Klara, who was very proud of her fluency, continued in English.
“You did a wonderful job today.”
“Thank you.” Laura tucked a dark curl behind Klara’s ear. “Are you okay?”
Klara nodded, her gaze averted, her expression clearly troubled. She paced the length of the room. “I had a long talk with my parents just now.”
“Oh, I see.” Laura knew that Erik and Heidi wanted Klara to come home to Sweden rather than staying in the U.S. “Is this about the internship?”
Klara shook her head, her fingers fidgeting with her rings. “I made them promise that when I finished college they would tell me who my real parents were.”
Laura felt blood rush from her head, her heart pounding so deafeningly she didn’t know Javier had stepped out of the bathroom until she felt his hand against the small of her back. “What did they say?”
Klara met Laura’s gaze, tears in her eyes. “They told me you are my mother.”
The words sent a jolt through Laura, making it hard to breathe.
“Let’s all go sit down.” Javier guided her to one of the chairs on the other side of the hotel room. “You need anything—water, coffee, tea?”
Laura shook her head, her gaze fixed on the young woman who sat across from her—her daughter.
So the day had come.
She wished Erik and Heidi had warned her. Despite the selfish side of her that would have loved Klara to know, she hadn’t wanted her girl to be burdened with this. She didn’t know what to feel, happiness, worry, and grief tangling inside her.
“Yes, Klara. It’s true.” Laura reached out, took Klara’s hand in hers. “I am your biological mother. What else did they tell you?”
“Everything, I think.” Klara shared what Erik and Heidi had told her, and it was everything. “They said you gave me up for adoption because you were afraid that bastard Al-Nassar’s relatives might come to steal me back.”
“There was more to my decision than that.” Laura gave Klara’s hand a squeeze, fought not to give in to tears. “You were so precious and innocent. I didn’t want you to grow up knowing how you’d come into the world. I knew that if I returned to the U.S. with you, the media would figure it out. Not only would Al-Nassar’s family know where to find you, but you would grow up with that knowledge in your heart. I didn’t want that for you. I can’t imagine how painful it has been for you to hear all this now.”
Klara’s blue eyes were clouded with emotion. “I’ve hated that man since the day I found out what he’d done to you. It’s hard to imagine that he’s actually my father.”
“Ever since Javier rescued you, you have been surrounded by love. Erik and Heidi loved you so much that the moment I realized I couldn’t keep you, they offered to adopt you. Stella and Anette adore you. My mother, your aunt Birgitta, loves you, and although you might not remember much about her, my grandmother loved you, too.”
“I remember her.” Klara smiled. “She was fun. And Aunt Birgitta is really my grandmother. Wow.”
Then a look of realization came over Klara’s face. “I always thought all of the security we had when you came to visit was because of what had happened to you. I never understood that part of it was for me. It was, wasn’t it?”
Laura nodded. “We all worked as hard as we could to keep your relationship with me and your location secret all these years.”
“That’s why you have to keep this to yourself.” Javier explained the risks to Klara, told her what she could and couldn’t do, her eyes wide by the time he finished.
“How do you feel?” Laura asked her.
“I’ve always loved you and admired you. I went into journalism because of you.” Klara’s chin quivered. “I’m proud to be your daughter.”
She stood, reached for Laura.
And Laura took her daughter into her arms, unable to hold back her tears. “Oh, Klara, min älskling.”
Years of fear, grief, heartache seemed to pass through Laura at the pure joy of this moment. She felt Javier behind them, felt his strong hand on her shoulder as he did his best to support them both.
Klara gave a little sniff. “I hate knowing how much you suffered, and that I was a part of that.”
Laura drew back, wiped Klara’s tears away. “You were never to blame. You were a victim of it the same as I was. From the first moment I saw you for the first time at your parents’ house, you’ve been nothing but a joy for me.”
“I’m glad I know.” Klara smiled. “I’ve always wondered why my mother left me. Mom and Dad always said she had given me up because she wanted what was best for me. I always wondered why she didn’t try harder to overcome her problems or whether there was something about me she just didn’t like. But now I understand. You never really wanted to give me up, did you?”
“No, I didn’t.” Laura wiped her eyes with a tissue. “But Erik and Heidi have been such wonderful parents. They love you deeply. They let me be a part of your life. They are your true mother and father. I am so grateful to them.”
Klara wrinkled her nose. “I hate Al-Nassar even more now.”
“He died long ago in a prison cell, alone and broken,” Javier said. “Forget him.”
Klara looked shyly up at Javier. “When I heard Laura was my mother, I’d hoped you were my father.”
Javier drew Klara into his arms and hugged her. “I held you all the way to Stockholm. I’d never seen anything as precious or sweet as you in my life. I’ve watched you sleep, watched you play, watched you grow up. If you want to believe I’m your bio-dad, hey, that’s fine with me.”
For a moment there was silence.
Klara looked at both of them, clearly uncertain what to do next. Her world had just shifted on its axis. “I should go back. Mom and Dad will be wondering.”
Laura tried to reassure her with a smile. “This must have been very hard for them. Go to them. We’ll meet you in the lobby in ten minutes.”
Klara turned to go, then looked over her shoulder at them. “I want you both to know I love you.”
“We love you, too.”
Then she was gone.
Laura took a step, then sank onto the bed, a riot of emotion inside her. “Well . . . that was unexpected.”
“I’d say it went well.” Javier sat beside her, held her. “Everything turned out just fine in the end. My guess is that it only gets better from here.”
Laura looked up at the man she loved, the man who’d been her husband for nineteen wonderful years. “I couldn’t have gotten through any of this without you. Through all of it, you’ve been my support, my anchor. I don’t know how one man’s shoulders can possibly be so strong.”
He kissed her hair. “What is it your mother likes to say?”
“Kärleken gör oss starka. Love makes us strong.”
He tilted her face up to his. “With the love I feel for you, bella, I could lift up the world
.”
Pamela Clare, Striking Distance
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