His parents seemed a little older than her own—late sixties, perhaps. Jai was the youngest, so this made sense, assuming he was close to her age. Jackie, like her daughters, was small, slight, and had clearly contributed her light hair and overall coloring to her children. Jim was darker and very tall—towering at least a few inches above his huge son. Both parents were very casually dressed—he in flannels, she in a red, heart-embossed sweater like Ryann had seen on so many various older women the last two days. Did a store in town sell them?

A cat started weaving between her legs, and she had to fight an urge to jump away.

“Get away from there, Fido,” Jackie said, swatting at the animal. “Oh, gosh, look at your legs!” she cried. “You have fur and dog prints all over you. Let me get you a rag.”

“That’ll be Onion and Rags,” Jim said, brow furrowed. “Jos’s dogs. She didn’t train them very well.”

“Oh, hush,” Jackie said, flicking him with the rag. “She doesn’t need all the dirty family details.”

Ryann took the rag and dabbed at her legs, grateful for the moment to herself. Stuart hadn’t joined them yet, and she had no idea what to talk to these people about.

After the last muddy paw print was wiped away, she realized the three of them were watching her and couldn’t help the slight blush that warmed her cheeks.

“Thanks for this,” she said, handing Jackie the dirty rag.

“Of course. I’m so sorry about that. And you have such nice clothes.”

“Thanks.” She stuttered. “And you have such a lovely home.”

Jackie waved at her, dismissively. “Oh, gosh, this old shack? Well, thank you for saying so. It’s hard to see anything with half the city of Loveland in here. It was supposed to be just family, but word got out, as it always does.”

She threw her husband a suspicious glare, which he pretended not to see, peering up at the ceiling and whistling. Jackie laughed and pulled him closer with one arm.

“This guy,” Jackie said. “He can’t help but invite everyone he knows if there’s even the slightest bit of good news.”

“Well, this is good news and big news, honey,” Jim said. “Not every day my only son gets married.”

“Oh, Dad. Gosh,” Jai said, color staining his cheeks.

Stuart was right. It was like the damned Hallmark Channel in here. She smiled back at them, still awkward with their jolliness, and, if only to have something to take attention off her, she had knelt down to pet the cat—a different one this time, she suddenly realized—when the back door opened directly off the kitchen. Maddie came in, carrying various grocery bags, and Jai and his parents greeted her and divested her of the bags.