Page 18 of A Montana Secret Admirer
She jumped and whirled around to find Jane entering the kitchen. She glanced at Serenity with a furrowed brow. There was no way she hadn’t heard what Serenity had said out loud. The house was big, but not that big, and Serenity had uttered her statement loud enough that anyone in the room would have been able to hear her.
“Nothing,” Serenity insisted. “What are you up to today?”
“Just heading to work. I have to get some things organized for the trip I have to take next weekend.”
“Trip?”
She nodded. “Going to New York. It’ll only be for the weekend, though, so you won’t get too bored without me.”
Serenity snickered with a roll of her eyes. “I don’t know the meaning of that word. Not with the two boys I have underfoot.”
Jane smiled back. “Can you believe that Mom is already prodding us about starting a family? I swear. If I don’t have news of a new grandbaby soon, she’s going to start nagging Ruth, and she’s still pregnant with number three.”
They gave each other a knowing look. Their mother was the stereotypical grandmother. She wanted all the babies she could give love to. Ironically, she’d only had three daughters herself, and yet she couldn’t get enough now that she didn’t have to raise them.
“Yeah, well, at least I have a break from that,” Serenity mumbled more to herself than anyone else. She’d always planned on having a large family. She and Finn had started early on so they could have at least five kids before she started getting too old for easy pregnancies. They were going to try for another just before the accident.
Her hand landed on her stomach at the memory, and when Jane moved up beside her with a touch on her arm, she was pulled back to the present. “I’m fine,” she insisted.
“I know. Just don’t forget that I’m here. Noah, too. If you need anything?—”
“You’re already giving me a place to stay and things to do this summer before the boys have to go back to school,” Serenity laughed. “I don’t think there’s anything else you can do.”
The way her sister continued to stare at her made it clear she wanted to say something. Great. Another one ofthosetalks. Jane had several of them. There was the one about moving on and finding someone new, the one about getting out there and finding joy in a new job, and the one about being present for her sons.
Well, Jane didn’t have to deal with losing someone. She didn’t know what she was talking about. Until she lost Noah, she would never understand.
Still, Serenity would keep her mouth shut and smile throughout whatever lecture her sister wanted to give her because she didn’t want to alienate her. The last thing she wanted to be was ungrateful.
“Have you met anyone since coming here this summer?”
Reese immediately flooded her thoughts, and she stiffened. Did Jane know that Reese had been giving her more attention lately?
“The flowers.” Jane nodded to the lotus flowers on the table. “Do you know who they’re from yet?”
Was it bad that relief flooded her chest at Jane’s clarification? “Unfortunately, not.” She hadn’t shown Jane the note, either. She’d rather not have Jane go all private-investigator on her. Whoever it was didn’t want to be found. “I don’t even know if the person leaving them is a guy. For all I know, it could be Tana.”
Jane tapped her finger on her chin for a moment. “I guess you’re right. Then again, I’ve never known someone to leave flowers multiple times for someone who they weren’t romantically interested in.”
Serenity shrugged. “Yeah, well, if they were, you’d think they’d say something. They haven’t even left me a note to tell me they find me attractive or intriguing. We don’t know why they’re leaving the flowers. Could just be a way to show solidarity.”
Jane tossed her a pained look. Serenity couldn’t tell if it was pity or acknowledgement of her loss. They’d already talked about Finn until there was nothing left to say. That topic was officially worn out.
“Just do me a favor, okay?” Jane finally said.
“What?” Serenity asked with a sigh.
“Don’t forget that it’s okay for you to move on.”
It took great effort not to roll her eyes at her older sister.
“I mean it, Serenity. You deserve to be happy. And Finn would want you to find that happiness, even if it meant meeting someone new and falling in love.”
“Jane—”
Jane held up a hand. “Just think about it. There are a lot of eligible guys around here. Despite this town being on the smaller side, guys seem to flock to the area for work. Go out. Meet someone. Test the waters. And if nothing comes from it?” She shrugged. “At least you tried.”
“Fine,” Serenity whispered. She only agreed because she knew Jane wouldn’t drop the subject. Just because she didn’t have someone to hold her at night didn’t mean she was lonely. She had her sons. She had her sisters.
