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 'Though it would be hard, we knew the best choice was to let some other couple take care of you because we had nothing to offer. We had next to nothing and were close to living on the streets.'

'When the time came, though, my twelve hour labor made it too hard to just give you up. Despite what advisors had to say and friends of the family recommended, we loved you two too much to give you up to someone we didn't even know.' Here the girls' mother paused to wipe tears from her eyes. Katy and Nicole collapsed together onto a bench in the garden. The four adults seated themselves in wrought iron patio chairs and picked up the story once more.

'We took the twins home and named them the most beautiful names we could think of, Kaitlin and Nicole. We loved you girls more than life itself.

In less than a month, though, it became clear that we couldn't stay alive at the rate we were going much longer.' Mom gestured toward her parents. 'Your grandparents offered to take one of you, so we tragically let them take you, Kaitlin, while we continued to struggle to care for our other, Nicole. It was only five months after your birth, and the move was hard on you. I became very sick and almost died from the stress and pain of it all. Two energetic babies were too much to handle with all our financial problems.'

'Since we lived close, we kept you at our house and cared for you as well as any, Katy,' Gran stated. 'We came to love you as if you were our own. Your brought joy and meaning back into our lives.'

'Before you were even seven months old, though, I became very guilty and my conscience pricked me badly every time I turned around. I thought God was telling me to take you back and make the best of our situation, so I confronted your grandparents.' Mom wiped tears away again. 'They refused, knowing that we had just sold most of our possessions to make the monthly apartment payment. They even offered to take Nicole under their wings.'

'Don't forget, dear, that we invited you to come live with us, too, until you got back on your feet.' Gran looked pointedly at her daughter and son-in-law.

Mom nodded. 'Yes, that too, but our pride as a young couple was too great, and we refused. We still wanted Katy back, though. We took a road trip to another town to see if we could find better housing and a better job. After the two-week vacation, we returned to find the neighboring house, where your grandparents lived, empty for days. The neighbors informed us of their departure soon after we left. No amount of research could tell us where they went. We couldn't even trace the moving van, because they bought one instead of renting, to omit tracing.

'We moved our small family to the new town and set up house. With both of us working, we were able to bring in enough income to move to a more prosperous town, where your father became entwined with a major business company. They hired him and we began to live a better life, just about the time Nicole was old enough to have memories. She was five at the time, and we still sorely missed our second daughter. Assuming the worst we heard nothing for years, and finally gave up on ever finding you. We didn't go to court with the case because for a long while we had no money to pay a lawyer and judge and everything else. Family and friends did all they could, but it still wasn't enough. We were dependent on the Lord to supply our needs, and He did, although to a bare minimum.'

Brian Evans sat back in his chair. 'Last year in December, we got a call from Albany, New York. We couldn't even begin to guess who it was, but we took the call anyway. Even though I had a far better and high paying job then, with plenty of benefits, we had given up on ever finding you, Kaitlin. We had already poured thousands of dollars into the case, but nothing turned up.

'We devoted nearly all of our time and energy to you, Nicole, and never told you about your sister. Although we may never have shown it, nothing had yet completely filled the hole Kaitlin's departure left in our lives. We were devastated behind the scenes of everything everyone else saw. Nicole was our pride and joy, but we knew that we would never forget Kaitlin.

'Anyway, about the phone call ' I received it one day in my office. It was your girls' mother, frantic. She had just gotten a call from your grandparents, telling us where they were. Though they knew it would be hard on you, Kaitlin, they planned one last move to Idaho so we could all meet up. We felt bad doing the same to Nicole, but I found an even better job. We had a hard time finding two houses next to each other, but finally we succeeded. We checked into riding stables for both of you, because we knew your passion. Karen ' I suppose you girls have both met her?' their father looked pointedly at the girls. At their nods, he continued.

'We couldn't risk meeting beyond phone calls between the states, and we arrived almost two months ahead of your grandparents, who had a little difficulty getting away from your grandfather's job. They finally made it, though, today, and we made sure you both got to the stables. We hoped you would meet there and figure it all out, and the plan was executed exactly as planned.'

 It seemed as if the adults were finished talking then, and Katy and Nicole were both open-mouthed in shock. Neither could get over the events that had taken place in the last two hours. Those hours had changed their lives drastically and forever.

Katy and Nicole looked at each other and hugged tightly.

'But why didn't you tell me?' Nicole asked their parents and Katy asked their grandparents.

'We didn't think it was time yet,' the adults explained. 'We figured that it would only cause trouble. We thought it best if the whole thing was dropped.'

Gran spoke up. 'We kept moving all those times, Katy, because we didn't want to be traced and have to give you up. Finally, though, we decided to stop running and looked up your parents. It took a lot of self-control, but we made the call and now we're entirely happy about the decision.'

'I suppose I should be flattered that you loved me that much, and I can't say that I haven't been happy, beyond all the moving. I guess the Lord helped with that aspect in my life, helping me accept what was doled out. I've often wondered, though, what happened to my parents,' Katy announced to her newly found father and mother. 'Gran wouldn't tell me anything about you, so I was left in the dark for all these years.'

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