“Okay,” I said, stepping away from Brock. My face was on fire. “I need to get—”

The child at the carrier fell back and Rhage flew out of the cage in a flurry of brown and white fur. Claws rapped off the wood floor as he shot into the living room. Mom shouted. Kids squealed and ran off.

“Damn it,” I muttered, exhaling heavily as something somewhere in the living room crashed to the floor. “Not again.”

Dad laughed as he walked up to my side and kissed my temple. “Welcome home, Jilly.”

* * *

Later, after Brock caught the damn cat hiding in a bushy fern in the sunroom and brought him up to my bedroom, I sat on the corner of my old bed and waited for Brock. He was in his old room, getting ready for the evening.

We all had an early dinner and then Julio and Heather packed up the kids. They’d be back tomorrow with everyone else, and I was sure that would prove interesting. Or overwhelming. Brock and I planned on discussing the option of converting the space either Thursday evening or Friday.

I’d showered and curled my hair so it fell in loose waves down to the center of my back. I hadn’t parted it like I normally would; instead I let it part naturally, straight down the middle.

I wore a thin V-neck sweater in deep red, because I knew it would be warm in Mona’s, and a pair of dark jeans tucked inside the same boots I’d wore the night I’d first saw Brock in Martinsburg.

Getting ready had reminded me of that night so long ago, but as I sat on this narrow bed that would barely fit two people and gazed around my room, I couldn’t help but think about how so much had changed since that night—how much I’d changed. Sometimes it felt like I was still that same girl who got dressed up one Saturday night, full of girlish hope, and other times I didn’t even recognize her.

Though as my gaze roamed over the hundreds of books lining my bookcase, I didn’t feel like I wanted to be far from this room. There was no slicing pain in my stomach or pressure in my chest. There were memories, but they didn’t haunt me.

One side of my lips tilted up as I thought about tonight. A flutter started in my belly and spread upward. I was nervous, but in a . . . a good way. I was going out tonight.

I was going to Mona’s.

I was going to see my friends.

That was a flutter of excitement.

A knock on my door drew me out of my thoughts. “Come in.”

The door cracked open and Brock popped his head in. “Is it safe, or is Rhage going to make a run for it?”