Page 71 of Ambush

“I can see if she opens up. I really love your mom. She’s a special person.”

“More than you know. She didn’t even date when I was a kid. It wasn’t until I was grown and off on my own that she was willing to find out what she wanted for herself from life. I worry she’s doing the same thing now with the boys, and I hate to think about her sacrificing everything for her family.”

“I doubt she considers it a sacrifice. Jenna has always been about family.”

“She’s a great mom, but she’s so much more than just that. Smart with business and with people. I want her to have a full life.”

“You’re more like her than you want to admit. You threw over a job you loved to come help her raise the boys. Did you consider it a sacrifice?”

His low chuckle rumbled in his chest under her cheek. “Got me. No, of course not. Nothing is a sacrifice when you love someone.”

It was a truth she was only beginning to realize herself.

***

Paradise could smell fennec fox in her hair after work, so she took a quick shower, pulled back her mane, and went to help Jenna with supper. There shouldn’t be much to do since she’d put the ham and beans in the slow cooker this morning. She found Jenna pulling cornbread out of the oven, and the sweet aroma mingled with the salty tang of ham.

“Wow, that smells great.” She spotted green in it. “Green chiles in it?”

Jenna nodded and grabbed a knife to cut it. “Blake loves it that way. I’ll have to give you the recipe.”

Paradise bit her lip to keep from smiling at Jenna’s blatantassumption that Paradise might want to cook for Blake sometime. It wasn’t a wrong way to think. “I’d like that.” She lifted the steamy lid of the cooker and checked the bean soup. “It’s done whenever we want to eat it.”

“I already chopped lettuce too. You want to wash the cherry tomatoes?”

Paradise took the bowl of tomatoes to the sink and turned on the water. “We spoke to TGU today. Jess told us Nicole isn’t registered at the university.”

Knife aloft, Jenna turned and gaped. “It was all a lie?” She went back to her task of prepping the cornbread.

“Not a word of truth. Hez is tracking down the license plate number, so we’re not at a dead end yet. What do you think about that whole gas or oil thing? Have you thought about what finding it on your property might mean?”

“I haven’t had time to think about it. It shouldn’t really change anything other than I wouldn’t be able to do the glamping out there. There’s another spot I could use, or I could forget the whole idea. The campground could be very lucrative though.”

“What if the land was so valuable you could sell it all and never work again?”

The question hung between them, and as the seconds dragged out, Paradise wasn’t sure Jenna was going to answer. Had she never considered how her life could change if she wasn’t running this very busy animal refuge?

Jenna used a spatula to put pieces of cornbread on the serving plate. “Selling out isn’t an option. It would mean giving up Hank’s dream. As long as I have this place, he’s still close. I see him everywhere on the preserve. Playing with the baby goats, feeding the animals, splashing in the pool with the tigers. He’s everywhere, Paradise. I can’t walk away from that.” Her voice quivered.

“I’m sorry, Jenna. Your pain is still too fresh. Blake and I would love it if you didn’t have to work so hard. Between The Sanctuary, homeschooling the boys, church, and housework, you never have a minute to yourself. You don’t sleep well either. You can’t keep burning the candle at both ends and not have a health crash eventually.”

“I’m fine. I like to keep busy. I don’t know what I’d do with myself if I didn’t have The Sanctuary.” She glowered at Paradise. “Did Blake put you up to this? Without the preserve to run, he could go back to the Marines. He loved his job so much, and I hated for him to give it up.”

“He’d never leave the boys. You should know how much he loves them.”

“I do know, but I also know he loves you. He always has, Paradise. He never really got over you. People think young love doesn’t last, but I know better.”

The direct and pointed statements struck Paradise squarely in the heart. “H-he’s never said that.”

“He won’t yet. Not until he’s sure of how you feel and probably not until he’s out from under suspicion for the murder. If we’re having a heart-to-heart, just howdoyou feel about him? I’d hate to see his heart broken again.”

“I don’t plan to do that, Jenna. Life doesn’t offer second chances very often. We haven’t talked about the future yet because we have to focus on whoever is out to destroy The Sanctuary. But I have no plans to leave.”

She couldn’t tell Blake’s mother that she loved him. Not when she hadn’t yet spoken the words to Blake. And the time wasn’t right.

Relief washed over Jenna’s face. “I’m glad to hear it. I’ll stay out of your business. Just know I never want me and the boys to stand in your way.”

“That would never be an issue. I love you and the boys. You are a great mom, and all three of your boys are pretty wonderful. Blake worries about the sacrifices you’ve made for him, and he wants to see you happy again.”

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