The Promise of Home

Jenna whipped out her phone again and scrolled through the pictures, stopping at the close-up of a spider roughly the size of the designer dog Elaina had carried around in her purse.

Dev blinked. Okay, it was that big.

“What did you do? Throw your shoe at it?” He’d been kidding…until he saw the guilty look on Jenna’s face.

“You threw your shoe at it?”

“Yes, but I didn’t think I’d actually hit it.”

“I’m shocked.”

“So was I.” The husky laugh that followed packed more of a punch than Jenna’s smile.

While Dev was recovering from the impact, she veered toward the cabin. Tossed a smug look over her shoulder.

“And you said they weren’t practical.”

Dev closed his eyes, but there she was—engraved in his memory—ready to return at a moment’s notice.

So maybe Jenna wasn’t a clone of Elaina, but she was obviously a city girl.

There was no point getting involved with someone who’d made no secret of the fact that she couldn’t wait to leave Mirror Lake, the only place in the world that Dev wanted to be.

Jenna was right. Boundaries weren’t such a bad idea.

For all of them.

Chapter Five

“Helloooo!”

A lilting voice rose above the rattle of the ancient ceiling fan that paddled in lazy circles above Jenna’s head, dispersing humid air to every corner of the cabin.

The children, who’d been playing a lively game of Go Fish while Jenna washed the breakfast dishes, leaped to their feet.

“It’s Kate!” Logan shouted on his way to the door.

Jenna tried not to feel envious. Even though the cafe owner had gone out of her way to make Jenna feel welcome since she’d arrived in Mirror Lake, the children’s exuberant greeting was a painful reminder that Kate Nichols knew her niece and nephew better than she did.

The petite redhead scooped up Tori and anchored her against one slender hip. “How are you doing, strawberry shortcake?”

Tori giggled. “I’m not shortcake.”

“That’s right.” Kate’s clover green eyes twinkled. “You’re much sweeter.” She planted a kiss on the little girl’s temple and reached down to ruffle Logan’s bangs. “How are you doing, buddy?”

“I caught a fish this morning.”

“Well, that answers that question.” Kate winked at Jenna over his head.

“It’s good to see you, Kate,” Jenna said. Although she’d hoped to have the cabin looking a bit more presentable before anyone stopped over.

She’d planned to do some cleaning and then take the children into town to pick up some groceries. A quick inventory of the cupboards had yielded a few cans of soup and a box of macaroni and cheese. Fortunately, Abby had insisted Jenna take a basket of homemade cinnamon rolls and a quiche with her when they’d left the lodge, so breakfast had been covered.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call first.” Kate set Tori down on the floor. “We wanted to surprise you.”

We?

As if on cue, a young woman with a cap of cherry-cola curls trudged into the cabin, a colorful plastic tote gripped in each hand.

“’Morning, Jenna!”

Jenna recognized the visitor immediately. Zoey Decker and her fiancé, Matthew Wilde, were close friends of the O’Hallorans and had dropped by the inn to visit while Jenna and the children were staying there.

The couple planned to exchange their vows at the inn on Christmas Eve, and Abby was in charge of the event.

“Zoey.” Jenna greeted her cautiously.

“I hope we’re not too early,” Zoey sang out, and in the next breath, “Where do you want this stuff?” The question was directed at Kate, who pointed to the kitchen.

Jenna’s gaze cut back to the woman clearly in charge of the operation. “What’s going on?”

“A housewarming party,” Kate said.

“You provide the house, we provide the party.” Zoey swept past her with a grin.

Kate saw Jenna’s confusion and took pity on her. “We’re here to help you spruce things up a bit. Stanley Lambert, the guy who owns this cabin, is one of my regulars at the cafe and he let it sit empty for years. I figured if he hasn’t updated his wardrobe for forty years, chances are he hasn’t done anything to this place, either.”

While Jenna was recovering from the shock of the unexpected invasion, the screen door swung open again. Warm, blue-gray eyes peered at Jenna over an enormous picnic basket. The fingers of one hand fanned a greeting.

“Emma Sutton.” Kate took charge of the introductions this time. “This is Jenna Gardner—Logan and Tori’s aunt.” She smiled at Jenna. “You already met Emma’s husband, Jake.”

“Hi.” Emma flashed a friendly smile.

Sutton. The police chief. Jenna searched the woman’s face but didn’t see a hint of judgment that she’d met Jake under less than ideal circumstances. He was the one who’d called Grace Eversea the night that Shelly had started the fire.

“It’s nice to meet you,” she murmured.

Emma set the picnic basket down on the scarred Formica table. “Logan and my son, Jeremy, have gotten to be good friends over the past few weeks.”

Logan’s face lit up when he heard the boy’s name. “Is Jeremy here?”

“Are you kidding? There was no way he was going to stay home once he found out where I was going. He’s unloading some things from the car.”

“Cool! I’m going outside, Aunt Jenna.” Logan dashed out the door, Tori at his heels.

“Jeremy is twelve and very responsible,” Emma assured her. “He doesn’t mind keeping an eye on Logan and Tori while we work.”

Kate frowned. “Speaking of work…where’s Abby?”