Nine weeks later

Jon blew into his mom’s house, the screen door slamming behind him and Nyx as they entered. Six dogs rushed them, barking and wagging, and Nyx loving every minute of her new extended family. Jon stumbled over the pack of pups as he headed for the living room. “Is she on yet?”

Violet Morningstar Wolfe was on her dilapidated couch with a bowl of popcorn in her lap and two of her small dogs—Cheech and Chong— next to her, their pug faces expectant, hoping she was going to share.

She did, giving each a piece as well as tossing a handful to other dogs who scrambled in. Looking up from the TV, she smiled at him. “You’re late, Jon Napayshni.”

His mother’s scolding, and the use of his Native name, gave Jon a warm feeling. On the TV was The Beauty Network channel and they were listing their lineup—up next, Jaya O’Sullivan and Cherry Bomb Spa Products. Jon plunked down in the chair kitty-corner from his mom and shrugged off his jacket. “I was finalizing the contract for the castle. Took longer than I expected at the lawyer’s.”

His dad shuffled in, moving Chong over so he could sit at the other end of the couch. Prison had been hard on him, his wrinkles deeper now, his eyes flatter. “Jon,” he said in way of greeting.

“Hey, Dad.”

Jeremiah had moved in with Violet and the dogs, and things so far were going well. While his time behind bars had hardened him in many ways, it had softened him in others, one of them being a revival of his feelings for his wife. The two were getting along better now than they had when Jon was a boy.

“That Percy character help you with the castle purchase?” his dad asked, putting his feet up on the coffee table.

Jon’s mom smacked at his leg. “Put your feet down, old man.”

He turned his head to look at her and snuck a handful of popcorn. “You let your dogs sleep in our bed and the bathtub drain is full of their hair from you bathing them in there. My feet can go on the coffee table.”

Chuckling under his breath, Jon pulled the paperwork from his jacket pocket and dropped it on the table. “The castle’s Jaya’s now. My wedding present to her. She can do whatever she wants with it, but I already know she’ll give it to her kin.”

“The Gypsies?” his mom asked.

“I told Percy to let them squat there unless he hears differently from Jaya.”

His mom held out the popcorn bowl to him. “And the Dashing’s place? Are you still buying that too?”

Jon helped himself to a handful and tossed a piece to Nyx who caught it in the air. Two houses, one in Virginia and one in Oklahoma. It was going to be an interesting setup, but with Jaya’s business expansion into DC, and Jon handling Rock Star’s service dogs, they were going to need two landing spots. “They accepted my offer this morning. There are three outbuildings that are perfect for a training center, kennel run, and office, and there’s plenty of acreage for the dogs to run and security teams to train with them.”

“I’ve got three potential dogs for you,” his mom said. Her attention went back to the TV. “Oh! There she is!”

Jon’s pulse skipped a beat, seeing his beautiful pregnant wife walk onto the stage of the show. The audience cheered, and she flashed a big smile, one Savanna had been working with her on. Full teeth, Savanna called it.

His heart hammered a little, seeing Jaya leave her comfort zone of always being behind the scenes and making other women look and feel good. She’d been a nervous wreck that morning when he’d driven her to the studio, but had only thrown up once on the way there, most likely due to nerves rather than the baby. Even after the first trimester, she still had a queasy stomach off and on.

“It’s a boy,” his dad said.

Violet smacked him again. “It’s a girl, old man. That’s my granddaughter on stage with her momma and she ain’t even born yet. Neptune Star is already a star!”

“Shh,” Jon said without malice. He loved the fact his mom and dad were back together. That he’d played a role in proving his father’s innocence and bringing the real killer to justice. He hadn’t had a bout of depression since. “You’re recording this, right?”

“I set it up earlier,” his father said, leaning forward to look at the black box on the entertainment center. “Yep, green light’s on. It’s recording.”

Jon knew Beatrice was too, but didn’t say anything. His dad was having trouble adapting to all the new electronics and other changes he’d missed during his jail time, but figuring things out gave him something productive to do, along with the help he was giving Violet taking care of the dogs.

The shopping network’s host began describing the first set of products in Jaya’s Cherry Bomb line and Jaya continued to smile, answering questions. The maternity dress she wore was a bright purple and fit her like a glove, proudly displaying the obvious baby bump. She’d forgone the purple stripes in her hair, but her unique style showed regardless with her braided hair and feather earrings.

But as he analyzed her body language, Jon picked at a thread on the chair. Jaya’s shoulders were tense, the smile tight. Jon feared she might be feeling sick.

She’d been scared to death she would upchuck on stage.

Two women without any makeup came to sit in the prop chairs, and just like that, he saw a complete change in her demeanor. As she talked about the products and their organic sources, she started applying lotion to the first woman’s face. Her shoulders relaxed and her voice softened. She told a story about her mom and a backyard garden full of herbs, and how as a girl, she’d fallen in love with plants, sitting amongst them while her mother harvested their flowers and leaves.

In the sidebar onscreen that listed the price of the facial kit and that a total of 1000 kits were available, Jon saw the counter begin dropping as sales came in.

Pretty soon it was down to 900, then 750.

As she continued to work, Jaya told more stories. Stories about Shelby, a former Miss Oklahoma, and about Jaya’s spa in Good Hope. The counter dropped to 517, 432, 301.

“Mother Mary,” his mom said. “They’re going to run out of kits before I finish my popcorn. I better place my order now.”

“I brought you one, Mom. Jaya sent it with me. She said to pamper yourself before the wedding. It’s in my truck.”

She waved a piece of popcorn at the TV. “That girl’s a keeper. I said it all along. I’m glad you two are honoring our traditions next week.”

Two houses, a castle, and three weddings—since Jaya’s mom couldn’t travel, they’d had a small ceremony in Good Hope shortly after Trace and Savanna’s wedding. Because Jon wanted an outdoor ceremony with his family, they’d waited until now for the weather to improve. Their third, and hopefully final binding ceremony, would take place next week out on his mother’s land.

Once Jaya completed the first woman’s facial, the host showcased the set again and warned viewers that they had less than fifty left in stock, and then they brought out the next set, a spa kit for the entire body.

Before the end of Jaya’s time slot, they had sold out of both sets. The host thanked Jaya and invited her to come back. As Jaya left the stage, waving and smiling—a real smile—Jon finally relaxed.

“Jaya did good.” His dad smiled. “I’m happy for you, son.”

For the first time in a long time, Jon was too.

“I still think you should have been there for her,” his mom said, sharing popcorn with the dogs again. Nyx left the spot at Jon’s feet to make sure she got some.

“You shouldn’t give the dogs popcorn, Mom,” Jon chastised. “And Jaya didn’t want me there. Savanna, Parker, and Shelby were all in the audience and they’re taking her out for a lunch celebration and then shopping for the baby. This was her day, and she knows I support her.”

“Oh, all right. Go get my facial kit,” Violet demanded. “And I’ll take you to meet your new recruits.”

Outside, the spring air was crisp, the dogs in their kennels barking at him. His cell rang as he opened the cab door, a new, but still familiar ringtone making him smile. Jaya had switched her tone from the Gypsy song to one by Marvin Gaye—Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.

“You killed it, sweetheart,” he said upon answering.

Jaya’s voice was happy, breathless. “We sold out!”

“I know, I watched the whole thing. You were a natural.”

“Neptune Star kicked.”

“No way.” He laughed and slapped a hand to his forehead. “While you were on stage?”

“Yep. While she was on live TV. I think your daughter likes the limelight.”

After reading some tea leaves, Jaya was even more convinced their baby was a girl. Jon wasn’t about to argue. “Speaking of Neptune, I say we visit Castle O’Sullivan after the baby arrives. Sort of a delayed honeymoon.” With everything going on, they hadn’t had a chance to have an official one.

“That would be awesome, but…”

“I bought the land, J. The whole place, castle included.”

Her exclamation made him smile and was loud enough he had to pull the phone away from his ear. “You did not!” she screamed.

“I did. Percy’s going to look after it for us and he’s lining up some contractors to start fixing the structure. Meantime, Neptune and your family have free access to the place and the grounds.”

“Jon Wolfe, I love you.”

The bright sun filtered down on him and he closed his eyes and breathed in. “I love you too, Jaya. Enjoy your afternoon with the girls. Buy whatever you want for you and the baby.”

“Are we still on for dinner with your parents tonight?”

“Yep, and Finn should be here by then as well. We’ll go over the expansion plans with him for the kennels. He’s going to enjoy it here.”

“I can’t believe all of this,” she said, sighing. “It’s too good to be true.”

He smiled at Nyx, making her way out of the house beside his father who was going to feed the dogs in the main kennel house and turn them loose for a run over the hills. “Believe it, Mrs. Wolfe. Your luck has permanently changed for the good.”

“I am one lucky woman.”

“Yes, you are, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life making sure your life is better than you could ever imagine.”

“Meet me at Rock Star Security at three, okay?”

“Three? I thought you were taking the whole afternoon for shopping with Shelby and the others.”

“A little goes a long way for me, and you’ve already bought the essentials for Neptune. Way more than she needs. I’d rather spend time with you in our hotel room.”

Now there was good fortune smiling on him. “You don’t have to twist my arm for that.”

She chuckled. “See you at three?”

“With bells on.”

“Love you.”

“Love you too.”

He signed off and pocketed the phone. Life wasn’t about luck, he thought, as he dug out the spa kit Jaya had sent for his mom. It was about courage, just like his Lakota name implied.

Birdsong accompanied him as he made his way back to his mother’s house. Kissing his mom on the cheek as he handed her the kit, he felt at peace in his heart. “Let’s have a look at those potential dogs,” he said to her, and put his arm around her shoulders as they went out to the kennels to join his dad and Nyx.

His dysfunctional family wasn’t so dysfunctional anymore.