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The frame for their new house was going up, and Jena couldn’t wait to see it happen.
“Get up.” She bounced on the bed beside Matt.
He groaned and shoved his head under the pillow. “Go away. This is my first day off in months.”
“Liar. You were off last weekend.”
“I was on call last weekend. There’s a difference.”
She grabbed the pillow and lobbed it over the room. “You need to get dressed. We have to get to the building site. I want to see the house go up.”
Matt rolled onto his back, momentarily distracting her with his pecs. Yum. She shook her head. No. Not yum. There was no time for yum. His eyes sparkled as he guessed what she was thinking.
“Why don’t we stay here for a while instead?” He reached for her, but she jumped out of his way.
“I don’t want to miss this. Get up and get dressed right now.”
He groaned. “Explain to me why I have to be there so you can see it. You can see it perfectly well without me.”
“Matthew Donaldson, this is our first home. Probably our last home. We’ve been planning it for months. This is important. It’s something we need to share together.”
“Fine, I’ll get up, but you owe me.”
She clapped her hands and bounced some more as he hauled himself out of bed. “You shower, I’ll get your clothes. Hurry.” She shooed him in the direction of the bathroom.
Apart from the fact it was exciting to see their house being built, she was also excited that there was an end in sight to living in Matt’s horrible police-issue house. No matter how much colour and mess she threw at it, it still seemed sterile. Not to mention the orange glass windows made her want to vomit. She did a little twirl as she waited for Matt to finish in the bathroom. Normally she would have climbed into the shower with him, but she actually wanted to leave the house sometime before lunch.
She could never have guessed how fabulously things had turned out. Her old house had building insurance. It wasn’t enough to cover building a new home, but it had been damn close. Then the government had gotten in touch. It turned out they planned to pay damages for the fact her property sat on an unsafe mine. It meant Jena and Matt had more than enough to build the house of their dreams. Not that Matt was bothered. He kept telling her that his savings were now her savings. Which was great, kind, generous, all of those things. She still felt better sharing his savings when she had something for them to share too.
An arm wrapped around her waist and Matt buried his face in the crook of her neck.
“Delicious,” he rumbled against her skin. He kissed her shoulder before nuzzling the spot behind her ear that made her go weak at the knees.
She stepped away, thrusting his clothes at him. “No distracting me.”
He laughed, the devil. “Are Gordon and Brenda coming?”
Jena nodded. “They’re meeting us there.”
“I hope they’re bringing food.”
Jena ignored him. Everything revolved around food for Matt. She was pleased Gordon would be there for the start of their house. He’d really taken her under his wing at the hardware store. She’d learned so much the past few months, and after her house had blown up, Gordon started paying her in money rather than materials. She loved it. She loved everything DIY, and Gordon was talking about her becoming a partner in the business. He said he wanted to change the sign above the door to “Stewart and Daughter”. It made her cry—much to Matt’s amusement.
“Hurry up,” she told him.
“I’d go faster with coffee,” he grumbled.
She held up the to-go cup she’d put on the dresser. His eyes lit up.
“Have I told you I love you?” He reached for the coffee.
“Once or twice.” She laughed.
At last they managed to get down the stairs and out of the house. Jena wriggled in her seat all the way through a town that looked pretty empty for the time of the morning. Highland folk tended to start their days early, yet there was no one in sight.
“Just think,” Jena said, “in a few short months the house will be finished and decorated and we can move in.” She grinned wickedly. “Then, of course, we’ll have to christen every room.”
“Evil woman,” he said.
They drove up the quiet country lane towards her land, and Jena could see the field the council had been working in. They were filling the holes the mine made. By the time they finished, the area would be stable and safe. It was slow work, but at some point the field would be covered in grass once again. As they turned the corner to their new build, Jena’s jaw dropped. The road was filled with people. It seemed like the whole town was there.
Jena turned to Matt. “Did you know about this?”
“Nope, but are you really surprised?”
Surprised didn’t cover it. She was shocked as hell. They squeezed into a parking spot and climbed out to cheers. People were milling around drinking coffee from flasks and chatting.
The Donaldsons descended on the pair. Jena was engulfed in a hug from Heather, who insisted Jena call her Mum. Something Jena loved to do.
“Isn’t it exciting?” Heather said.
“Aye, so exciting that Jena hardly slept last night. I’m knackered from all her bouncing around.”
“I don’t want to hear about what you two do in bed, son,” Heather said with a twinkle in her eye.
Claire took her turn to hug them, and Jena grabbed the opportunity to have another look at her ring. Grunt had gone all out on a diamond and sapphire combination. “It is so beautiful.” Jena sighed.
Claire looked up at Grunt with adoration. “I love it too. I couldn’t have done what you two did. It was romantic, the rush wedding in the hospital, but I’m glad we’re going the more traditional route. I’m having a great time planning the wedding, and I wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on the ring.”
Matt stiffened beside her. “I can get you an engagement ring if you want one.”
Jena rolled her eyes. “It’s a bit late for that, He-Man.”
“I don’t want you to feel you missed out.”
“I don’t.” She grinned up at him. “Still, if you want to make it up to me, I saw a real cute ankle bracelet the other day. It would go a long way towards fixing any hurt feelings that may be hiding deep inside.”
“Minx.” He kissed the tip of her nose.
“When’s the wedding?” Jena asked Claire.
“Next May. That gives us the year to plan. Plus, I want a spring wedding.”
“Let me know if I can help.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Claire gaped at her. “You’re one of the bridesmaids. I thought you knew.”
Jena blinked at her. “You didn’t tell me.”
“You’re family.” Claire shrugged. “I assumed you’d figure it out.”
Jena was about ten seconds away from smacking her insane sister-in-law. “I’ve never had a family. How am I supposed to know these things?”
“My bad.” Claire winced. “In future I won’t assume.”
“Good,” Jena said. Then pulled Claire in for another hug.
“Any word on the court case?” Grunt asked.
“It’ll be another few months yet,” Matt said grimly.
The men shared a look that made clear exactly how much they wished they’d dealt with the Frank problem themselves rather than handing it over to the courts. The stupid, dangerous man had eventually figured out the loch didn’t lead to Glasgow. He then abandoned the boat as far away from Invertary as he could and tried to walk over a gorse-filled hill. He’d been chased by a herd of Highland cattle. Lake’s men waited until he’d tired of running from the cows, and then they’d transported him to Fort William’s jail. He was being charged with a whole slew of things, including kidnapping, acts of terrorism and attempted murder. Neither Matt nor Grunt had seen him when he’d been caught, and both of them were still holding a grudge over it. Jena was just pleased it was Frank in jail and not her husband for killing her ex-boyfriend. Last she’d heard, Frank had tried to get the New Jersey mob to help him. They’d disowned him. The strip club he’d “managed” had gone bust. And Candy the stripper was working at McDonald’s. Jena grinned at the thought.
“Can I have everyone’s attention?” Dougal boomed over the noise. The crowd went quiet. “We’re here to christen Matt and Jena’s new home.”
Jena blushed, and Matt threw an arm around her shoulder. “Not the way you mean,” he whispered in her ear.
“As you all know,” Dougal carried on, “we weren’t invited to the shotgun wedding they had in the hospital.” There were good-natured boos. “So we thought we’d turn this into the wedding reception you never had. Even if it is at an ungodly hour of the morning.” The crowd parted to reveal a long table covered in food and drink. There was a banner above it saying “Welcome home, Jena and Matt”.
Jena felt her throat tighten as tears threatened.
“Please join me in raising your glasses to the happy couple.” Glasses, mugs and cups were held high. “Here’s to Matt and Jena. May you have a long and happy life together. And here’s to your new home in Invertary—may it never blow up.” There was laughter.
“To Matt and Jena,” peopled shouted.
“Welcome home, princess,” Matt said as Jena grinned so wide her face began to hurt.
As she looked around her friends and family, she realised she’d found in Scotland the thing she’d longed for most.
She’d found her family.
She was home at last.
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