Later into the evening, Rose wandered outside to gaze at the full moon. Seth found her and curled an arm around her waist.
“So many babies, so little time,” she said, smiling. “Do you think Megan and Caleb’s baby will be a boy or a girl?”
“Huh, well, if those are the only two options…”
She elbowed him.
“A boy. Because Caleb would lose his mind trying to keep the boys away from his daughter.”
Rose leaned her head against Seth’s shoulder. “I always wanted four kids. I’m not sure why. Maybe because it was only me and Heath, so a big family like yours was appealing.”
“Four? Well, then, we better get started soon.” He turned her in his arms and kissed her. He smiled down at her, but his gaze was serious. “I want to build a life with you, Rose. Marriage, babies, all of it. I love you.”
“Same. I can’t wait to give you a daughter and have you freak out trying to keep the boys away from her.”
Seth laughed. “Deal.”
They laughed and talked for a while longer, talking about the future, when they saw Jubilee come around the corner. It was dark enough that she didn’t see them, but she was standing near a house light that illuminated her figure.
“We need to do something about Heath and Jubilee,” said Rose. “They’re driving me crazy.”
“Hummingbird, don’t interfere. They’ll figure it out.”
She sighed. “Men are so stupid. You know when Jubilee got her hair cut, Heath saw her that night and didn’t say a word to her about it?”
“So?”
Rose glared at him. “Men.”
After Jubilee had turned around, her expression sad, Rose closed her eyes for a moment, only to gasp, “The hair!”
Seth blinked at her. “What?”
“The hair! I was so sure it was hers. But if Johnny didn’t have Jubilee in the first place, where did he get it?”
“Wait, what?” Seth looked even more confused.
Rose had told Seth all about Johnny lying to her about having Jubilee when she’d met him at the cabin, but in all the commotion, she hadn’t told him about the lock of hair. She’d since forgotten all about it in the craziness of moving and creating their new lives together.
“It looked just like hers, because it was the same color as yours.” She touched his dark hair, much shorter than that long strand. “So where did Johnny get it in the first place?”
Seth frowned. “We don’t know it was Jubilee’s.”
“I’m sure it was.” Rose’s eyes widened when the puzzle pieces started to click. “Heath!”
“Now I’m worried you have a fever.”
She pinched him, and he yelped a little. “No, Johnny broke into Heath’s place. What if he stole it from Heath?”
“Why would your brother have a lock of my sister’s hair?”
They both stared at each other: Rose with an eyebrow raised, Seth slowly putting it all together.
Then, Seth just said, “Oh.”
“This proves he cares about her. Maybe something has already happened between them. And he acts like I’m crazy anytime I mention it!”
“Probably because you’re his sister. And he’s into my sister.” Seth groaned. “My brain hurts. I need a drink now.”
Rose didn’t mention the lock of hair again, but she knew it had been Jubilee’s.
The real question was: why had Heath had it in the first place? She knew her brother wouldn’t have sneaked into Jubilee’s place or something creepy like that to acquire it. So, had Jubilee given it to him?
“I know you’re going to turn this into some mystery,” Seth said with a wry smile, “and I know I can’t stop you.”
“I’m glad you know me so well.”
“And I love you anyway.”
She gave him a smacking kiss, which resulted in him pinching her ass. “I love you, too,” she gasped.
“My princess,” he said, and they returned to the house, laughing together.
Jubilee Thornton gazed into the mirror and said to herself, “Stop being such a scaredy-cat.” She thrust a finger at her reflection, which she barely recognized. With the short hair, the makeup, and the Halloween costume, she’d felt like a new woman. A sexy, confident woman.
A woman who could get any man she wanted—except that one she did, in fact, want.
Well, she couldn’t blame the man in question, because whenever she was around Heath DiMarco, she turned shy and awkward. She said stupid things. Sometimes she managed to flirt, but he never flirted back.
Until tonight. At least, she’d thought he’d flirted with her.
“Stop. Being. A. Scaredy. Cat.” She tapped the mirror one last time for good measure.
Jubilee had been scared her whole life. She’d been scared of dying, she’d been scared of doing things alone. She’d been scared of living.
She was tired of being scared, and the only way to overcome her fears was to face them.
She was going to ask Heath DiMarco out. On a date.
Her heart fluttered, and she took a deep breath.
Someone knocked on the bathroom door, making her jump. “Hey, are you done yet? Sorry, but I’m about to pee my pants.”
Jubilee opened the door to find Abby on the other side, smiling from a little too much alcohol. “Hey, Jubi. How are you? God, I have to pee.”
“So you said.”
Abby laughed, and Jubilee shut the bathroom door before everyone saw how much Abby had had to drink that night.
Really, if anyone should be drinking, it should be Jubilee.
It was near midnight when she returned to the living room, where most everyone had been hanging out. Megan sat in Caleb’s lap, his hand over her belly, both looking like they’d conquered the world. Rose and Seth had disappeared—unsurprisingly—Sara and Harrison were in a corner whispering, and James had fallen asleep on the couch, Bea at the end of the couch, surrounded by rolled-up blankets so she didn’t roll off the couch. Mark was looking at his phone, clearly having had enough socializing for the night.
Trent’s brother, Ash, and his sister, Thea, were talking with some of Harrison’s coworkers, including Jackie, a nurse at Harrison’s practice, and Linda, a fellow teacher at Sara’s school. There were some people Jubilee didn’t know well, others she didn’t recognize.
Despite all of the people, Jubilee felt alone. It had been strange, watching all of her siblings find significant others one by one, until only Jubilee was left.
And who would love her? She’d done nothing extraordinary with her life. She didn’t have a fiery nature like Megan, or a sweetness like Sara. She wasn’t brave like Rose. She was just…herself.
Poor Jubilee, she’s never done anything, has she?
She’d heard those words many times, sometimes from her own family members. It hurt—because it was true. She hadn’t gone to college, she hadn’t traveled; she’d only gotten her own place and a job at Megan’s bakery two years ago.
I can’t change the past, but I can change the future.
With that in mind, she went in search of the man she’d had a crush on since she’d met him seven years ago. She’d never had the courage to do anything about it, because she was shy and self-conscious, and Heath was her brothers’ friend. He’d always treated her like a little sister.