Page 101 of Unwanted

His grandfather had left almost everything to Jak in his will, providing a small settlement to his step-grandmother, who had flown into a rage in the lawyer’s office, screeching like one of her caged birds.

Jak had had those cages taken apart and moved them out of Thornland the same day he’d had all the cameras removed. He’d kept Nigel on. He was still oily, but Jak had come to appreciate him much more since he could sneak up on him and make him jump and squeak. Since Jak had inherited Thornland and Loni, Gabi, and Brett had moved out, he’d even caught Nigel almost smiling a time or two. Even oily creatures had their good points.

Mark had helped Jak hire an acting CEO for Fairbanks Lumber. Jak trusted the older man’s instincts about people, and the company was doing great under the new management. Jak was taking his time learning the business and found it surprisingly interesting. Maybe someday he’d participate more actively in running it. Someday when there weren’t so many other things to learn as well.

He and Harper had remained at the family estate that was close to Harper’s school, though they’d also bought a few acres of wilderness of their own and built a small cabin. They planned to spend summers there when Harper wasn’t taking classes and as many weekends as possible. Summers…when the rivers were bursting with fish, the berries were ripe and sweet, and the sun opened the flowers and warmed the earth. But…Jak had a feeling they’d also need the massive estate to offer sanctuary, if necessary, to those lost children, many who were now adults, whom the police were still searching for.

That dark feeling rose up inside when he thought of Dr. Swift and what might be happening in some godforsaken wilderness somewhere. He moved his hand slowly over the swell of his wife’s stomach, his breath evening, calm descending. Life. Miracles. Hope.

Harper stretched her arm, picking up the book on the table next to them. “Again?” she asked, her voice filled with gentle amusement.

Jak smiled as she placed his beloved copy of The Count of Monte Cristo back down. He’d just finished it for the sixth time. It was dog-eared and wrinkled. Cherished. Well loved. “Each time I read it, I find something new inside. Some different lesson.” And a new favorite word or three.

She smiled, resting her head on his shoulder, stifling a yawn. “What lesson did you learn this time?”

He thought of one of the quotes in the book that had spoken to him the loudest during this reading. All human wisdom is contained in these two words—wait and hope.

“That if we can hang on—survive—through the hard times in life, there is something better waiting for us. There’s a purpose we can’t always see. There’s an…order.” He’d felt it—that whisper, that unseen something that flowed through him, into and around all living things and back again. There were no words he’d found that fully captured it. God, maybe. Fate? Miracles? The souls who had passed before them? All he knew was that it was loving and good and it sought to make things right. Just.

Those were new thoughts. Things he’d realized, taken in, applied. He felt proud. Changed. Better. “Yes,” she murmured, kissing his jaw, lacing her fingers with his own. “Yes.” She yawned again.

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckle. “Go up to bed. I’ll be there in a minute.”

She nodded, standing and giving him a small, sleepy smile before turning and heading upstairs. After a minute Jak stood too, leaving the library and making his way to the massive stone patio that ran the length of the house and overlooked the woods beyond.

The trees swayed, dancing to the sound of the wind, speaking an ancient language beneath the earth. He looked into the darkness, his mind picturing places far beyond what his eyes could see. Somewhere out there, the rest of his pack—his family connected by shared experiences few others would ever understand—lived and breathed, fought and struggled. He felt the whispers pick up inside. A song of unity and brotherhood. “Wait and hope,” he whispered to those unknown souls. “Wait and hope.”