Leelo rose and went to stand beside her brother. “She’s as well as she can be,” she said gently, for Tate’s sake. “I’m Leelo. Fiona’s daughter.”

Now Nigel was the one to look a bit helpless. “Leelo? Saints. You were just a little girl...” He seemed to catch himself and glanced around at the other people in the room. He straightened and turned to Mr. Rebane. “I clearly have some catching up to do. I don’t think I’ll make it back to the farm tonight. Is there an inn I can stay at? One that allows dogs?”

For the first time, Leelo noticed an enormous animal with shaggy gray fur who had snuck in behind Nigel and made himself at home on the sofa. For a second, she thought it was a wolf, and she nearly leaped into Jaren’s arms.

But Jaren didn’t seem afraid. “Is this your dog?” he asked Nigel.

“Wolfhound, yes.” He whistled, and the dog placed his front legs on the floor, pausing to stretch before trotting over to Nigel. “This is Percy.” He turned to Tate with a wink. “Your little brother.”

At that, the massive creature jumped up and placed his paws on Tate’s shoulders, nearly knocking him over.

“Sir Percival!” Nigel grabbed the dog by his leather collar and pulled him off Tate. He smiled sheepishly. “Apologies, Tate. He gets a little excited when he meets new people.”

Leelo was still reeling from the fact that this man had referred to the dog as Tate’s brother. As in, they were both Nigel’s sons. She didn’t know what she’d expected, but she certainly hadn’t expected him to accept Tate quite so readily.

“Tate,” Lupin said. “Why don’t we go and get some blankets? Mr. Thorn can sleep in your room. You can sleep on the floor of mine, if you like.”

Tate looked to Leelo. She took his hand and followed Lupin to the hall cupboard, where the linens were kept.

“You look a little worried,” Lupin said softly to Tate. “Are you nervous?”

He took the blankets from her. “A bit.”

“He seems like a nice man, but I understand if you need more time.”

“But what about your parents?”

“My parents will let you stay here as long as I say. All right?” She must have seen Leelo’s expression, because she cleared her throat. “Both of you are welcome, of course.”

“Oh, I think I’ll be staying at Jaren’s house for now. But Tate can choose.” She turned to her little brother and managed a smile. “Don’t worry, Tate. Things are a little confusing right now, but we’ll get it sorted out.”

Lupin smirked. “Besides, how dangerous can a man who names his dog Sir Percival be?”