Alara's hand came up to cover her mouth. She'd never heard Zia mention Reaves's mom before. And from his reaction, she guessed Charles hadn't either.
"That's right," he said eventually. "And you know—once upon a time, Grandma Grape and I lived here, in this house. Like you and your mom and Reaves do now."
Zia looked all around. "That's why it's so special, then, isn't it? I wondered what it was. This house feels good."
"I'm glad to hear it."
"Sunflowers," Zia said suddenly. "I want to plant some of those here. We'll come to the castle and see you all the time still. But it'd be nice to have sunflowers here too. Will you help me plant some?"
He ran his hand over her hair. "I will. But I'm afraid we'll have to wait until the spring. If we try to plant them now, they won't grow."
Zia's little face fell. "Oh. Okay."
"I'll tell you what. We'll gather you some seeds. From the ones up at the castle. Okay?"
Zia brightened. "Oh, yes, please. All those seeds need a place to grow."
"That's right," said Charles. "They always do."
They wandered off down the side of the house, and Alara sat back down, looking around the small living space she and Zia had called home for years—if she wanted to look at it that way.The two of them had been like seeds blown on the wind. And now they'd finally found their place. Here they were.
She smiled, wondering if that was where the logo had come from.Rooted in stillness.
She didn't get to sit still long enough to ponder it, though. Reaves's Cruiser pulled in a few minutes later, and Zia came running, Charles following. Alara hurried to the camper door. She couldn't wait to see this.
~ ~ ~
"It's okay, old fella," Reaves said soothingly, when he heard Homer whine from his crate in the back. "You're going to be okay now. You're home."
He jumped out, and his dad winked at him.
"Prince Daddy! Prince Daddy, where have you been?" Zia came running.
He grinned at her. "I had a very important errand to run this morning."
"You did?" Her eyes widened. "What did you get?"
He chuckled. "What makes you think I got anything?"
Her little eyebrows drew together. "Because you did. I know you did."
Alara appeared in the door of the camper and gave him a nod. He went to open the tailgate, and Zia followed him. He reached in and lifted down the crate—and Zia froze, eyes wide, staring and silent for a moment. Then she let out a squeal that made Charles wince.
"Homer!" she cried. "Homer, Homer, Homer—you're home!"
"He is," said Reaves. "Do you think we should let him out of there?"
"Oh, yes, Prince Daddy, let him out. He wants to come and sit down and enjoy some peace. Don't you, Homer?"
The dog stood up and shook himself, and when Reaves opened the crate, he stepped out and looked around at them all before walking placidly straight to Zia. He sat down beside her and leaned against her leg. Zia dropped to the ground beside him and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I love you, Homer. You're home now. It's all going to be okay."
Alara came to join them, and as Reaves wrapped his arm around her shoulders, Zia shot her mother a worried look.
"I asked Prince Daddy," she said quickly.
"It's okay, Z. He talked to me about it. And now that we have our own home, he can live here with us." Reaves shot his dad a grateful smile.
