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Without another word to the woman who’d both saved her life but also betrayed her, Jazz walked away.
Wisconsin
The minute Jazz had stepped off the private jet that Ash had chartered for them, she felt as if she were in another world. The city of Appleton, Wisconsin, wasn’t especially large—it had just a little under seventy-five thousand residents—but it had a lovely, quaint atmosphere that made Jazz feel immediately at home.
Traveling twenty miles down the road to the much smaller community of Francine made her feel as though she’d entered a magical kingdom. Everything—trees, bushes, plants—were lush and green, animals grazed in verdant fields that seemed to stretch for miles, and beautiful, colorful farmhouses dotted the gently rolling landscape. If elves and fairies had suddenly appeared, she wasn’t sure she would have been all that surprised.
“Serena, it’s lovely here,” Jazz said.
“It is,” Serena agreed. “Every time I leave, a piece of my heart stays.”
“This is where you grew up?”
“Yes.” With one hand on the steering wheel, she waved her other hand in a sweeping gesture. “My great-great-grandparents owned and operated one of the biggest dairy farms in Wisconsin.”
“Your family has cows?” She didn’t know why, but she was excited about that. Until she’d moved to Montana, she’d lived most of her life in big cities. Farm animals were as exotic to her as a leopard or a tiger.
Laughing at her excitement, Serena nodded. “We have cows, but nothing like it used to be. We no longer have the dairy farm. Just a few milk cows, along with some chickens and a few goats. Dogs, cats, and I think my nephew got some hamsters the other day.”
After the day she’d had, Jazz hadn’t thought she could feel anything other than exhaustion and sadness, but she was wrong. An odd sort of calmness swept over her at the peaceful surroundings, and she felt a zing of excitement for this new adventure.
“Your mom and dad won’t mind me coming for a visit?”
“I’ve already called them, and they’re beyond thrilled to have you. But just as a warning, it’s not just my mom and dad you’ll be meeting. My grandparents from both sides of the family, as well as my five brothers and their families, live there. Plus several aunts and uncles and a ton of cousins.”
“Wow, like all in the same house?”
Serena snorted out a small gulp of laughter. “Good heavens, no. Just my mom and dad in the house we’re going to. It’s where I was raised. Everybody else has their own place. All my brothers are married and have kids.
“The dairy farm used to be about five thousand acres. The land area has been reduced over the years, but my grandparents—my dad’s parents—wanted to keep as much of the family together as possible. They gave everyone some of the land to build a house. Altogether, about twenty houses make up our little community of Francine, which by the way, was my great-great-grandmother’s name.”
Enthralled, Jazz gazed out the window at the beauty and simplicity before her. The idea of having that much family so close by seemed overwhelming, but she couldn’t help but think how incredibly comforting it must be to never be alone. To always have someone nearby who cared about you.
They turned down a paved, two-lane road, and Jazz sat up straighter, eating up the sights. Cows grazed in one pasture, sheep in another, and several horses roamed in yet another.
“You had a happy childhood, didn’t you?”
Sending her a quick smile tinged with sympathy, Serena nodded. “Yeah, I did.”
Passing several houses along the way, Serena waved and blew her horn as several people waved back at her.
They finally pulled into a long driveway and, after two or three turns, arrived at a large white farmhouse. Flowers were everywhere—on the porch, in little beds around the house, in giant pots, and some even hanging from the trees.
“Someone has a green thumb.”
“Both my mom and dad. They compete with each other to see who can grow the prettiest flowers.”
The instant the car stopped, a slender older woman with shoulder-length blond hair and a smile just like Serena’s stepped off the porch. With a squeal of delight, Serena put the car into park, jumped out, and ran toward her, her arms open wide. Seconds later, a big man with iron-gray hair and a military posture opened the front door and came running down the steps as fast as his wife had, a big grin covering his face.
Jazz couldn’t help but feel just the slightest tinge of envy at the enormous love she was witnessing. Just in those few seconds, it was obvious they were a close-knit family.
“Jazz,” Serena called out, “come meet my mom and dad.”
Pulling in a breath, Jazz got out of the car and went toward the older, smiling couple, already knowing that she was going to love them.
It didn’t surprise her in the least when Serena’s mom held out her arms and said, “Welcome, Jazz. We’re so happy you’re here.”
CHAPTER FORTY