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“If we get a dog to balance it out,” Cassia said with a snort.

“Pigs?”

“If we get cats.”

“Kids?”

Cassia was very glad she wasn’t holding a bale, because she

certainly would have dropped it and it probably would have

broken apart and made a giant mess.

“Kids?” Cassia asked, a little woodenly, a little cautiously,

and with a hint of optimism.

They hadn’t talked about kids yet. Not because they were

scared to, but because they were total strangers when Cassia

moved in. They’d been spending their time together fully

getting to know one another, enjoying their time as a couple,

learning how to be partners.

“Do you want kids?” Adalynn asked. She didn’t ask it

guardedly or with any kind of reserve or expectations. “No,

sorry, I know you would like kids. You haven’t said it, but I

know you do. You love kids. And I know you still miss your

family terribly.”

It was true. Neither of them had any family. With Cassia’s

encouragement, Adalynn had tried to find her mom, but

unfortunately, she had passed away three years prior, and

Adalynn had never known because no one had thought to

contact her. Her mom died in a shelter for the homeless, and

she hadn’t listed any known relatives or contacts. She hadn’t

had anything worldly to pass along.

It had been a shock for Adalynn, and she’d grieved the

mother that her mom never was. Grieved for the relationship

they never had, for the one that could never be mended. Cassia

wanted to reach out to her sisters, but she didn’t want to