“That also explains why so many of his soldiers probably hate the Packers,” Taylor said. She gestured to the shiny black coupe in the driveway. “I see Darwin bought himself a new toy.”

“The hell he did. That’s mine,” her dad said. “A man only turns sixty years old once.”

He took Taylor’s bag from Jamar and led them inside.

A couple of years ago, her parents undertook a massive renovation, tearing down walls and going with an open-concept design that left the living room, dining room, and much of the kitchen visible from the foyer. Taylor spotted her mother sitting at the dining room table with her niece, Fredericka.

They were tying gold ribbons around little black boxes, which Taylor surmised were the party favors for tomorrow night. The fact that they were making the favors out in the open also meant that her father knew about the party. There was no need to pretend that she’d flown all the way from Austin for a small family get-together.

Taylor went straight to her mother and gave her a hug. She turned to Fredericka and signed Hello, Beautiful. I’ve missed you. Her niece signed back I’ve missed you too. I like your hair.

“Don’t you dare offer to dye her hair,” her mother told Taylor. “You know your brother won’t let you.”

“It won’t matter if we do it before he finds out.” Taylor signed the words as she spoke them.

She motioned Jamar over and made introductions, and then spent ten minutes relaying questions Freddie had about football and how many cities he’d traveled to while playing. Her niece suffered from a severe case of wanderlust and didn’t hold back when it came to her displeasure at never having left the United States. She maintained that the one time she visited her grandparents and aunt in Germany didn’t count since she was still a baby at the time.

“There are finger foods in the kitchen,” her mother said. “I’m sure you two are hungry after traveling all day.”

Taylor guided Jamar to the kitchen and took down two plates. When she turned back to him, he was staring at her with a mixture of wonder and appreciation in his eyes.

“What?” Taylor asked.

“You never mentioned you’re fluent in sign language,” he said.

“It’s not as if it ever came up in conversation,” she said.

“I don’t understand how you ever thought you weren’t college material, Taylor. Every day I learn something even more remarkable about you.”

An infusion of warmth filled her chest and then spread throughout the rest of her. Taylor closed the distance between them, cupped his face in her hands, and placed a kiss on the tip of his nose.