Page 98 of Already Home

Her hamburger sat heavily in her stomach, making her wonder ifeating it had been the smart thing to do. Not that she had anything to benervous about. She already knew Serenity, Tom and Dragon. She only had Wolf andhis wife left to meet.

“Wolf doesn’t resent me, does he?” she asked, trying not tosound anxious.

Dragon patted the back of her hand. “No. Don’t sweat it. We’refamily. Everybody here wants you here.” He flashed another smile. “Trustme.”

They drove past the beautiful old farmhouse that was now thetasting room, continuing down a road with a sign declaring it “Private.”

They dipped down into a valley. The vineyards stretched out oneither side, as far as the eye could see. After a couple more curves, she couldsee a two-story house sitting on a slight rise.

“You didn’t say it was a log cabin,” she breathed, taking inthe huge house, the wraparound porch and the flowers blooming from pots andplanters.

“It’s sixty-five-hundred square feet. Hardly a cabin.”

She turned to him. “You said you built it with your dad. Youcan’t have built a house this big.”

“I said we had help.”

She laughed. “What exactly did you do?”

“I hung a door.”

She was still laughing when he pulled up in front of the houseand parked. Before she could do much more than climb out of the car, Serenityhad burst through the front door and hurried toward her.

“You’re here,” her birth mother said, rushing toward her, armsheld open wide. “You’re finally here.”

As Serenity embraced her, holding on as if she would never letgo, Jenna realized the “finally here” comment wasn’t about the fact thatSerenity and Tom had flown in the night before. It was the relief of a motherwho had been waiting thirty-two years for her child to come home.

Jenna didn’t know what to do with that information. She huggedSerenity back, hoping the contact was enough and that words weren’trequired.

Tom joined them, smiling broadly. When they both stepped back,Jenna saw a tall, thin redheaded man standing next to a petite blonde with avery big belly.

Serenity wrapped her arm around Jenna’s waist and propelled hertoward the stairs.

“This is Wolf and his wife, Jasmine.”

Jenna climbed the stairs. “Nice to meet you,” she said, facinganother stranger who was her brother.

Wolf stared at her. He looked much more like Serenity than Tom,but he had his father’s quiet strength. His gaze appraised her with suchsolemnity that she started to feel guilty. Not just about the burger but ongeneral principal. She had a momentary flash of sympathy for his yet-to-be-bornchild.

She braced herself for some accusation only to watch as Wolf’seyes filled with tears. He lunged at her, wrapping both his arms around her.

“I’ve missed you so much,” he breathed.

Jenna stood stiffly, her arms trapped at her sides. Sheappreciated the sentiment, but how could he miss someone he’d never met?

“I knew it would be like this,” Serenity said, then joined theembrace.

“Group hug,” Dragon called.

Jenna found herself in the middle of a family moment. She couldfeel the love flowing around her and did her best to let it inside of her. Butall she felt was a little weird and uncomfortable.

When everyone had stepped back, Wolf wrapped his arm around hiswife.

“This is Jasmine.”

“Nice to meet you,” Jenna said, half holding out her hand, halfpulling it back at the same time.

“Oh, Jenna.”

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