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*
    After giving Durlach his lesson on omelet making, Jaren
focused on getting to know Kajakti better. She still thought of him as the
knight who had come to her rescue when she’d needed him the most. It scared her
to think of where she would have ended up if Kajakti hadn’t come along.
    Jaren found she liked all his friends too. Instead of
seeming to be only roommates, they came across as a close-knit family. She’d
also gotten a few laughs out of watching Eryn put her brother in his place when
Carson did his best to rile her up.
    Now she and Kajakti sat out on the back deck, drinking
coffee. She gazed at the section of trees that lined the edge of the grass of
the property, stretching farther than she could see. “You guys have a great
place,” she said.
    “Thanks. We’ve only lived here for over a year.”
    “Where did you live before?”
    Kajakti hesitated for a few seconds, as if he had to think
about it. “Cassidy was in a one-bedroom apartment when she and Edensaw first
met. He, Wachei, Ketah, Capac, Durlach and I ended up staying with her, which
was a little crowded. We were lucky this place had been on the market for a
while and sat empty. The owner had no problem with a fast closing date.”
    Jaren had thought Kajakti would go into a little more detail
as to why he and his friends had moved in with Cassidy, but he didn’t seem
inclined to elaborate. “You have a lot of treed land. Do you have to worry
about wild animals coming onto your property? Like bears and such?”
    “No, but we do get wolves from time to time.”
    “Really? I’ve always wanted to see one out in the wild. We
really don’t have a wolf population in Kelowna.”
    “Maybe you’ll get to see one soon.”
    “I hope so. We could always go for a walk through the trees.
That might increase my chances of coming across one.”
    Kajakti smiled. “You never know.” He then changed the
subject. “Are you sure you’re still okay with cooking dinner for everyone
today? You are on vacation.”
    “I don’t mind. I actually missed not being able to get into
a kitchen. At home, I cook every day. And I enjoy it more when I’m making food
for a group of people than just myself.”
    “You do realize Durlach will be right in there with you. I
think you have made a new best friend.”
    Jaren chuckled. “I figured that would happen. It’s okay. I
like seeing someone who is as enthusiastic about cooking as I am. By the time I
leave he should have improved a lot.”
    Kajakti reached over to Jaren where she sat next to him in a
patio chair. He took her hand in his and twined their fingers together. “What
will you do when you reach the end of your vacation and you decide you want to
stay here, with me?”
    She met Kajakti’s gaze and saw in his eyes he was quite
serious. She didn’t know how to answer him. The thought of keeping him sent a
shiver of delight through her, but Jaren couldn’t deny she’d be hurrying into
another relationship when the other had barely ended. She didn’t want to make
another mistake.
    “I still have to go home,” Jaren said. “I can’t just decide
to stay here and never go back.”
    “Is it because you have family there?”
    She couldn’t hold back a snort. “I do, but they wouldn’t be
the reason why I wouldn’t do it. My parents aren’t exactly there at the best of
times. They were both seventeen when my mom got pregnant with me. They’d only
been dating a month, but decided to get married anyway. It didn’t work out.
They divorced when I was five. I lived with my mother until I was eight, then
moved in with my dad. Mom didn’t have much of a mothering instinct and had no
problem giving me up when her new husband didn’t want me around because he
wanted to start a new family. Dad did his best, but was busy trying to reclaim
the teenage years he’d lost. I spent a lot of weekends with my grandparents,
his folks.”
    “Are you close to them?”
    “Not really. My grandmother resented the fact she