Page 35 of Stealing Sloane

The huge man next to her—he was even taller and wider than the Alpha—nodded his head in greeting. “Austin.”

“And this is Lily, my mother-in-law.”

The slim, white-haired woman stepped forward, and when Sloane extended her hand to shake it, the woman embraced her instead. “It’s very nice to meet you. As Jordan said, you’re part of our family now.”

Sloane stiffened, unsure what to do. She glanced over at Stella, who beamed at her. “Er, thank you.”

“You must be starving.” Lily let go of her. “Come, we have breakfast ready.”

“Do you have biscuits and gravy, sausages, and waffles, Grams?” Jacob piped in as he went in for a hug.

Lily laughed as he lifted her up. “Yes, of course. All your favorites.”

“Extra gravy,” they said at the same time.

“Let’s go before it all goes cold,” Jordan said.

They all filed inside, toward the large kitchen in the back, then sat down at the wooden table.

“Eat up,” Lily said, passing the gravy to Jacob.

“You always were the favorite,” Austin said, though his tone was lighthearted.

“Austin Campbell Forrest, I do not have a favorite,” Lily protested. “I love all my grandchildren the same.”

“You’re all just jealous,” Jacob declared as he heaped his plate with food.

“Jacob would spend a lot of time with me when he was a child,” Lily said. “He was one of the younger ones, and the older boys would tease him and leave him behind. I was always there to dry his tears.”

Sloane couldn’t help but smile at the thought of Jacob as a little boy, being consoled by his grandmother.

“As he grew up, he was a quite the hothead, but Lily was the only one who could calm him down,” Jackson said. “And while all the boys were roughhousing, he stayed behind to help Momma with the chores.”

“Of course, he could visit more these days,” Lily said, miffed.

“Awww, Grams.” Jacob scratched behind his head. “I’m sorry, I’ve been busy you know? I’ll try to come by more often.”

Sloane ate quietly as the rest of the people chatted for the remainder of the meal. While she didn’t want to be rude, she was just too tired to make small talk.

“Sloane, you look ready drop,” Lily remarked.

“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I just haven’t slept.”

“You poor thing.” The older woman got up. “Come on, I’ll show you to your room and you can get some rest.”

Unsure, she looked to Jacob, who said, “It’s all right. Do you want me to come with you?”

“No, no. Enjoy your meal.”

She trudged after Lily as she led her upstairs. “Cliff and Stella are in the guest room, you’ll be staying in my other granddaughter’s room. Katie lives in San Francisco now.” They stopped in front of the door in the middle of the hallway. “The room’s all ready, I prepared it myself.”

“Thank you,” she said. “For everything.”

“You’re welcome.” She opened the door. “Have a good rest.”

Exhaustion seeped into her, and she practically collapsed on the bed. It seemed like only moments passed, but when she woke up, the room was filled with light. She blinked then slowly got up. She was still wearing the sweats and hoodie she changed into before driving here last night. To her surprise, her backpack was already next to the door, so she got some fresh clothes and took a quick shower in the ensuite bathroom. Checking her watch, she saw it was two o’clock in the afternoon.

She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do, so she decided to go outside. When she opened the door, Jacob was standing there, hand raised as if he were about to knock.

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