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“Oh, good.”

Charlotte continued up the steps, reaching out and gripping the handle. She caught Ali’s eye and grinned. “I hope you like dogs.”

The door opened and a rush of sound met them as they moved into the foyer. Cheerful barking reverberated off the walls, rattling her insides as her eyes took in the scene unfolding around her. There were so many and all of them were smiling up at her, offering their greetings as they all snuffled and licked at her hands and legs.

“Hi! Hello! Hi!” she greeted, trying to pet each one. “EARS!” Ali exclaimed as a tall lanky German shepherd with giant bat-like ears pointing straight to the ceiling barreled around the corner to join the welcome wagon. To her great surprise, none of them jumped up on her, keeping their paws to themselves as they jostled each other to get closer making it almost impossible to move without stepping on one of them.

“Back up, knuckleheads,” Charlotte ordered, pointing to each one and introducing them.

Sadie, a graying chocolate lab; the German Shepherd was Gustus, “Gus” for short; and three pitbulls: Vincent, Kahlo, and Chicago.

A shout rang out from another room.

“Places!”

The dogs moved as one out of the foyer, disappearing around the corner. There was one straggler, small and all white except for the brown and black patches around her eyes.

“You must be our new guest,” Charlotte greeted, bending down and cupping the dog’s face in her hands and giving her a once over. “Look at your big belly. How many are in there?”

Ali bent down, running her hands over her soft fur, smiling at the happy thump of her tail. “You look ready to pop, friend.”

“This is Lily,” Diana’s voice sounded from the other end of the foyer. “We’re fostering her. She’ll likely have puppies in the next few weeks.”

“She’s so cute,” Ali said, pressing kisses to her cheek right on her smooth smooch patch. “You’ll be such a good mama. I can tell.”

“She will, the nursery is all ready to go. Just waiting for the time to come,” Diana said, approaching and pulling Ali into a warm hug. “How are you, Sugar?”

“Great,” Ali returned the hug, snuggling into it.

Diana pulled back, looping their arms together. “I’ve always had a passion for animal rescue. But with all of my children grown and moved out, it’s gotten a bit excessive.”

As they moved through into a large living room where all the dogs were settled on their beds, Ali noted the house, while massive, felt like a home. Where the Pryce mansion could be described as cold and ostentatious, the Carter-Davenport residence was elegant and filled with comfortable seating, sporting an assortment of decorative pillows and soft throws. Diana’s renowned love for art was clear in the choice of paintings hung on the wall, but her love for her children was even more apparent in the number of pictures of all of them throughout the years scattered in each room.

Plus, it smelled wonderful thanks to the expensive candles burning on the mantle in the great room, mixing with the spices wafting from the kitchen.

Ali’s nerves fell away the deeper they moved into the house. A place where people gathered and memories were made and laughter rebounded off the walls.

The environment of the kitchen appeared heated. A lively discussion was taking place about what game they were going to play after dinner. Ali watched as Charlotte joined Lizzie in their quest to play charades.

“Absolutely not! You two always win!” Lilah cried, hands on her hips as she squared off against the twins.

“Agreed! The twintuition gives you an unfair advantage,” Natasha shouted from one of the barstools arranged around a massive granite island. “Especially since you refuse to be on any team but each other’s.”

“You want to penalize us because the rest of you can’t step up?” Charlotte taunted, eyes fierce.

“Your audacity is staggering,” Imani quipped over the rim of her wine glass next to Natasha.

“Isn’t game night supposed to be fun for everyone?” James inquired as he tossed a fresh salad in a bowl, mixing the contents together.

“No, the point is to remind the kids who’s in charge,” Lizzie growled, her voice held the same formidable tone as Charlotte’s.

Diana led Ali around the back of the island to where there were a few open wine bottles. “Do you drink, my dear?”

“I wouldn’t mind a glass or two,” Ali admitted.

“White or red? Sweet or dry?” Diana asked, paying no mind to the battle of wills raging behind them.

“White and sweet, please.”