He smirked. "Except ants. I do not promise not to kill ants. And flies and possibly spiders, though they don't really hurt anything," he said, purposely not answering her question.

"All spiders must die," she countered, grinning at his response as she drew back to put the coffee pot on. "I swear your humor is getting drier by the day."

"Maybe my uncle's sense of humor is finally rubbing off on me," he said, mirroring her grin as she pulled away to warm up the coffee. "And the only spiders that really deserve to die are the ones as big as Shelob. Maybe tarantulas and black widows, too, but I don't think they're native."

"No, we're going to have to disagree on that one," Kaylee insisted. "All spiders must die. And these days, I kill them. Hell, I punched one into a splat on the wall yesterday. How's that for progress?"

Taylor winced. "I hope you cleaned the guts off the wall," he said, the hint of a gleam in his eyes to let her know he was teasing. Together, they'd killed a lot scarier things than spiders, and both were hoping they'd never be called upon to do it again.

"Well, you never noticed the splat, so I guess I did," she countered, sticking her tongue out at him with a quiet laugh. "Honestly, three years and you still second-guess my cleaning." Which was fair enough - Kaylee was an amazing cook, but she didn't generally have the motivation to clean.

"I didn't marry you to be my maid, Kay," Taylor reminded her, not for the first or probably the last time, rolling his eyes a little at her silliness. "We're in this together, remember" Fifty-fifty. You cook, I do the dishes. You do the laundry, I take out the garbage."

"You change the diapers, I get the snuggles, got it." She flashed him another grin, handing over a cup of coffee just how he liked it. "How's Rufus" I figured you'd drop in at the library on your way home, if only to remind him to go home himself."

"Am I that predictable?" he asked, taking the cup from her with a small smirk and a shrug of his shoulders. "He loses track of time," he said of his uncle. "I worry about him sometimes," he admitted, the smirk fading.

She met his gaze curiously. "Why do you worry?" she asked, tilting her head as she leaned against the counter. "He's in a much better place these days."

"He's only supposed to be consulting, but sometimes he still gets lost in his work," Taylor explained. "And sometimes I worry that he still blames himself for Lei's death," he added, taking a sip of his coffee. Like them, his uncle had come a long way and had mostly made peace with the past, but Taylor knew that it still haunted them sometimes.

"He's never going to not blame himself for that in some way, baby," Kaylee told him gently. "He's always going to have what ifs running through his mind. But he has Ro, and you, and Beth, and he has Miranda."

"Yeah, I know," Taylor admitted. "I worry too much, I guess," he added with a shrug. "And I have you," he said, reaching for her hand, the coffee cup in the other, a soft smile on his face. "So, how was your day?" he asked, after a moment spent just looking at her.

"Oh, you know ....the usual." She smiled, moving to lean against his free side comfortably, her arms looped about his waist. "Clare stuff, teaching stuff, doggie stuff. I did the laundry - we have clean underpants for a week!"

"Yay for clean underpants!" Taylor cheered, grinning. Clean underpants might not seem like much to someone else, but to them, it was progress. Just getting through the day was progress, but they had come a long way in the last three years. "You going to teach STARS again this year?" he asked curiously.

"Yeah, so long as it doesn't get too inconvenient for you," she told him. Teaching, surprisingly, had come easily to Kaylee, and between STARS and her private students, she was now bringing in a reasonable income. "Vicki said something about maybe having another private student for me this year, too, but she was being annoyingly mysterious."

"Not Vicki," Taylor said, smirking again. He knew Vicki well enough to know the woman was as cheeky as they came. "Maybe she's hoping Jon will take voice lessons," he remarked, pushing off the counter to rummage around for a snack.

Kaylee snorted with laughter. "I love Jon, but the man was not made to sing," she informed her husband in amusement. "And I don't think I've ever heard Vicki sing. No, she seemed to be implying a kid, but Emily's not focused enough to handle singing lessons yet."

"Well, I'm sure you're going to find out sooner or later," Taylor replied, not quite as intrigued as Kaylee by Vicki's mysteriousness. He found a bag of potato chips in the cupboard and popped a few in his mouth. "What do you want to do for dinner?"

She eyed him for a moment, considering the question. "Cook, I thought," was her answer. "Why, are you having a craving for junk food again?"

"When am I not having a craving for junk food?" he asked, grinning as he crunched on another handful of chips. "I was thinking about barging in on Des and Piper, but I'm not sure if Little Miss Crankypants can handle it."

Kaylee chuckled. "I'm pretty sure they wouldn't mind," she mused. "And Clare's not so bad. Just tired. She'd probably be happy to spend a little time with Mia, just being quiet together."

"It's decided then! Should I call and warn them or should we surprise them?" he asked, not really caring if they barged in or not. Desmond was like a brother, and they knew they were always welcome, even if their timing wasn't always the best.

"Send a text?" Kaylee suggested as a compromise. It was early enough in the evening to still be afternoon, but a little forewarning might prevent any outlandish suggestions by Lyneth for the use of the evening over there.

"Good idea! Why didn't I think of it?" Taylor teased, leaning in to give her lips a quick smooch before retrieving the phone from his pocket. They could have picked any of a number of people at Maple Grove to pop in on, but Taylor and Desmond had become friends through Rufus, and a night at their house always proved an amusing escape from the mundane.

"Because you have an amazing wife who does that kind of thinking for you?" she suggested mischievously, answering his kiss with her own before sliding away. If they were going to spend the evening at someone else's house, she needed a bag for Clare's stuff.

"You don't mind, do you?" Taylor asked, as he punched in a text to Desmond, before hitting Send. The worst thing the other couple could tell them was no, and there were times when admittedly, Taylor and Kaylee just didn't want to be alone.

She smiled, shaking her head. "No, I don't mind," she promised him. "It's good not to just stagnate at home."

"I'm not sure I'd call it stagnating, but winter will be here before you know it. We might as well enjoy the nice weather while we can," he said, using the last days of summer as an excuse to get out of the house. "Besides, I'm off tomorrow," he added as a bonus, hitting the Send button on his text.

Des chuckled at his daughter's precociousness. "I'll go order the pizza," he said, turning to do just that.

"Coward!" Taylor called after him. "Make sure you get mushrooms!" That said, he looked back at Lyneth, smiling in amusement. "You know that's kind of personal."

Piper chuckled, handing Dylan down onto the floor as she headed into the kitchen to hunt out all the necessary bits and bobs for having dinner on the floor. Taylor and Kaylee were around so often there was no call for standing on ceremony.

Lyneth grinned at Taylor. "Why's it pers'nal?" she asked searchingly. "Don't you like Kaylee's bits?"

"Has anyone ever told you you're way too curious for your own good?" Taylor asked, reaching over to tweak Lyneth's nose. He glanced over at Kaylee, wondering what her answer to Lyneth's question might be and noticing how she'd gone suddenly silent. "We haven't decided yet," he added, looking to Kaylee for confirmation. "Have we, Kay?"

"Whether or not my husband likes my bits is between him and me, squirrel," Kaylee informed the cheeky girl, one hand absently opening to take the toy truck Dylan was giving her even as she spoke. "We might have another baby, we might not. None of your business, though. Is it, midget?"

This was addressed to Dylan, who snickered. "Lynnie knows ev'rythin'," the little boy declared, clearly enamored of his big sister. She could do no wrong, as far as he was concerned.

"Tell you what ..." Taylor started, not wanting to hurt Lyneth's feeling and seeking to make a small compromise. "If and when it happens, you'll be the first to know. How's that?" he asked. So long as Miranda wasn't the first to know. Then everyone would know.

"Really, really?" Lyneth asked, eyes wide with hopeful excitement. "Not just sayin' that so I stop askin'?"

There was a gentle thump from near the couch - Amelia had just landed on her backside next to Clare, who was investigating a stuffed octopus.

Taylor scooted closer to the girls to keep an eye on them. He shrugged, a teasing grin on his face. "Dyl says you know everything, so I guess you'll have to be the first to know," he said, picking up the stuffed octopus and making it do a little dance for the girls' entertainment.

"I'm magic, I have to know everything or it doesn't work no more," Lyneth objected.

Kaylee laughed. "That isn't quite how it works, Lynnie," she pointed out, pulling the truck back and aiming it at Dylan, who was waiting with his hand open to catch it. "Ready, midget?"

"Ready!"

As the truck whizzed across the floor, Lyneth scratched her cheek thoughtfully. "So I doesn't have to know everything all the time to still be magic?"

"It's in your blood, Lynnie," Taylor tried to explain. "No one can take your magic away from you. Don't you know that?" he asked curiously as he the octopus gently bopped Amelia's nose.

"But I thought part of being magic was knowing everything everywhere all at once?" Lyneth queried, frowning. "Isn't it?"

"I guess it could be if that's one of your abilities, but don't you think it would be exhausting to know everything everywhere all at once" You wouldn't be able to think of anything else!" Taylor pointed out, assuming Lyneth was serious, though he wasn't too sure.

"I never thought of that," the little girl considered, now scratching at her neck. It was a thoughtful habit, not an itch, but one she really should be growing out of soon. "Maybe I'm not that kind of magic."

"You're an adorable kind of magic, that's the best kind," Piper interjected as she came back into the room, bending to kiss her eldest daughter's hair on the way past.

Desmond followed Piper back into the room, just in time to hear the tail end of the conversation. "What kind of magic?" he asked, propping himself on the arm of the couch.

"The kind of magic that knows everything everywhere all at once," Lyneth told her father, still frowning curiously. "Like, like when I knowed you was hurt. Isn't that the same kind of magic?"

"I don't think so," Desmond replied, uncertainly. What little he knew of magic he'd learned partly from watching Lyneth and partly from Rufus. "I think you knew I was hurt because of the bond between us, not because you know everything. Have you ever had that feeling again?"

She shook her head. "Only when Mummy had me and when Nanny was being hurt by the bad daddy," she clarified. That had been an evening to remember - the one and only outing of the formidable forces the Granger family could put together on short notice.

"So, your magic has something to do with the people you love," Taylor pointed out.

"That's part of it anyway," Desmond confirmed, though there was a lot more to Lyneth's magic than that. He had seen the Fae part of Lyneth in action, and though he trusted Kaylee and Taylor, he wasn't about to talk about that.

"You know, even ordinary humans have something like that sometimes," Kaylee commented, grunting as Dylan climbed into her lap with the next chosen toy - the never-ending knot. "Moms who know when their children need them from the other side of town before the phone rings - that sort of thing happens all the time. It might not even be part of your Fae side, Lynnie. It might be your human side."

Desmond's mouth twitched at Kaylee's suggestion. She had been babysitting the night Lyneth had opened a portal of some sort between himself and her and reached out to save him. There was a lot more to Lyneth's talent than simply knowing when someone she loved was in danger, but he was hesitant to say too much about it.

"There are humans who have telepathic abilities, but Lyneth's magic goes deeper than that," he said.

"Because I'm special," the little Fae in question said smugly.

Piper chuckled, rolling her eyes. "Yes, darling, you're very special," she agreed, in a tone that suggested to the adults that she didn't quite mean what Lyneth thought she did.

It was no secret how fond Desmond was of his daughter, even is she wasn't of his own blood. He chuckled a little at Piper's remark though, which thankfully lightened the mood. They had all seen Lyneth in full Fae form and knew just how special she was, but that wasn't what Piper meant.

"You are very special to us," Desmond clarified.

"Good." Lyneth nodded, looking around at the others. "Is Dyl special" And Mia and Clare? Adults don't count," she added to Taylor and Kaylee, just in case they took offense at being left out.

Lyneth whispered ferociously to her little brother, and a moment later, both of them went pottering into the kitchen, returning after only a few minor thumps and crashes with a tray of cutlery and glasses.

"Huh, I didn't know that," Taylor mused, wincing at the sound of the thumps and crashes in the kitchen. He would have volunteered to go help, but if it wasn't worrying Piper, he didn't think it should worry him either. "What are you writing about?" he asked instead, knowing Piper was an author, but not having read any of her books.

"I'm cheating a little," she confessed with a smile. "My own Earth doesn't have fairytales, so I rewrote a few of the ones I've learned here and put them into an anthology. I am working on a refigured version of Beauty and the Beast, though."

"For publication here or there?" Taylor asked with interest. Maybe it would be something he'd like to read to Clare someday.

"I've got pizza!" Desmond called, returning with a couple of boxes which would hopefully taste as delicious as they smelled.

"Both," Piper admitted. "People don't mind rewritten fairytales here, and back on my Earth, they'll be wholly new. All right, so they may start throwing around the "creative genius" moniker again, but I tend to ignore that." She slid down onto the floor with Amelia in her lap as Des returned with food, patting the floor to invite Dylan and Lyneth to sit down as well. "Is Clare on full solids yet, or should I grab something we can mush for her?"

"She should be okay with pizza," Taylor replied, handing Clare off to Kaylee, so that he could help pass out pizza and pour drinks. "What are we having" Milk" Juice" Soda?" he asked, seeing how Lyneth and Dylan had brought glasses but nothing to fill them with.

Lyneth shrugged. "We dint know what, so we dint bring anything," she admitted. "But we didn't drop anything either!"

Dylan nodded fervently next to her.

"Maybe you should go and get the soda, then," Piper told them. "One glass each, and then water if you're still thirsty."

"I can get it," Taylor said, since he was already up. He didn't think it would be too hard to find, assuming it was in the fridge.

"Lynnie, Dylan, mushrooms or no mushrooms?" Desmond asked as he set one of the boxes on a table and opened it up.

"I don't like mushrooms," Lyneth declared, earning herself a raised brow from her mother.

"Says the little madam who had mushrooms on toast for breakfast this morning," Piper pointed out.

"I don't like mushrooms on pizza," Lyneth clarified with a grin. "Dyl does. Don't you?"

Dylan nodded. "I like all the mushies!"

The only reason Desmond was even asking was that the children tended to change their minds daily as to what they liked on their pizza. It wasn't long before everyone had a slice or two of pizza on their plate, along with a glass of soda, picnicking on Piper and Desmond's living room floor.

It was an education to watch Lyneth organising her little brother and sister's slices for them, that was for sure. Kaylee grinned around a mouthful of her own, glancing down to make sure Clare was getting on with her bite-sized bits in her lap.

"Every time we come over, one of you guys is deconstructing dinner for everyone else," she pointed out. "Is that an every day thing here?"

Desmond shrugged. "Dinner should be fun, don't you think?" he countered. It had originally been Piper and Lyneth's idea that he had just adopted when he'd become part of the family and it was an idea they all seemed fond of.

"We sit at the table on Sundays and when Gramma and Grandpa come visitin'," Lyneth volunteered, as though hoping to prove that they did do things normally every once in a while.

"An' birfdays," Dylan added around a mouthful of pizza.

Kaylee smiled. "I'm not judging!" she promised. "Just enjoying the evolution of this little family, that's all."

"Lucky for you, Loki likes pizza," Taylor remarked, as the old dog wandered over to help himself to the pieces the children had already dropped on the floor.

"If he was younger, we wouldn't let him do that," Piper admitted with a rueful smile.

It was just a fact that Loki didn't have much more time in him - he was almost eighteen years old now, a venerable old man who had somehow managed to father puppies on the Storm's dog, Bella, before his arthritis finally made itself known. She would miss him dearly when he was gone.

Desmond frowned, practically reading Piper's mind. He and Loki had become quite fond of each other, and he knew he's miss the old dog, too, when he was gone.

"Where's your cat?" Taylor asked, not really knowing the difference between a cat and a Kneazle. "Hiding in your room?"

"He's not a cat, silly, he's a Kneazle!" Lyneth giggled, tilting her head back toward the kitchen door.

As if on cue - or rather, knowing he was being spoken about - Knip padded into the living room, scanned the family eating, and made a beeline for Dylan with all the assurance of a feline who knew he could get at least some of the little boy's meat pizza when he wasn't paying attention.

"I'm sorry ....a what?" Taylor asked, uncertainly. This wasn't the first time he'd made Knip's acquaintance, but he looked like an ordinary cat to him. Desmond smirked, but remained silent, allowing Lyneth to explain.

"He's a Kneazle," the little girl said again, reaching for her glass to take a drink. "Like ....he's sort of a cat type animal, but he's really clever, and he understands what you say, and he can tell when someone is a liar."

"How can he tell that?" Taylor asked, curiously. He wasn't exactly challenging Lyneth, since he knew there were stranger things in Rhy'Din, but he was curious how a "cat" could tell someone was lying and what he'd do if he knew.

"He just does." Lyneth shrugged, returning her attention to her pizza.

"Dyl, don't leave your pizza on the plate," Piper warned, half an eye on the Kneazle in question, who turned and gave her a dirty look.

Kaylee snorted with laughter. "Well, he's definitely intelligent."

Piper chuckled at their conversation, knowing a little of how that felt. Not that any of hers tried it on anymore, but they had done once, all of them.

"She wasn't screaming," Taylor argued. "She was just tired. Anyway, she's not screaming now," he pointed out with a grin as he followed her into the kitchen with an armful of dirty dishes.

"Well, no, now she's got her daddy close at hand, and a new feline friend keeping her warm for the time being," Kaylee pointed out, setting her armful of glasses on the kitchen counter before bending to stuff the pizza boxes into the recycling bin. "It's a shame we can't bring Sam over here, but he and Loki are like chalk and cheese."

"Are you sure it's Loki you're worried and not Knip?" Taylor asked, as he set the pile of dishes down near the sink and turned on the water. "Sam just wants Loki to play, that's all."

"Loki can barely move at more than a walk these days," Kaylee murmured, glancing furtively toward the living room. "It's killing Piper to see him like this. Pretty soon, she's going to have to make the decision between quality and quantity for him."

"I know," Taylor replied with a frown and a sigh. Maybe she'd get another dog, maybe even a puppy, but that dog wouldn't be Loki. "I'd probably feel the same about Sam," he said, though hopefully it would be some years before they had to face that decision.

"I can't imagine how it must feel." Kaylee sighed, leaning against the counter. "Loki's was with her through everything - getting jilted, getting pregnant, ending up in Rhy'Din, the whole shebang with Ollie, everything."

Taylor frowned, only knowing what Kaylee and Rufus had told him about Piper. "No one lives forever, Kay," he reminded her. Or at least, no one and nothing that was in any way shape or form mortal.

"I know." Kaylee smiled faintly. "I guess I'm more worried about her than the dog. But she's got Des, and the kids, now. She'll handle it."

"He's one of the family, but whenever you get a pet, you have to accept the fact that you will probably outlive them," Taylor said, tossing Kaylee a towel. "I'll wash, you dry."

"It's almost a bigger responsibility than having kids," she mused, catching the towel easily. "You expect to outlive and mourn your pets." She smiled again, shaking her head. "Look at me, all morbid. Must be tired."

"Tired?" Taylor echoed, looking puzzled. Kaylee was usually a whirlwind of energy. Why was she tired" His gaze took her in from head to toe, as if looking for some reason she might be tired. He was an EMT, after all. Not quite a doctor, but he knew enough to make a possible diagnosis. "You know, I almost told Knip that you're pregnant," he teased.

She raised a brow at him, her smile deepening. "I wonder if he can detect that, too?" she teased in return. "You never know, it would definitely be less fuss than taking a test."

Taylor paused in the middle of rinsing a dish to glare at her. "You aren't ....are you?" he asked, uncertainly. It had only been a stab in the dark, but it wasn't impossible.

Kaylee laughed gently. "It's a possibility," she admitted. "I am tired, but that could mean anything. It's not like we've been trying, or anything."

"Yeah, but ..." Taylor murmured, thoughtfully. "I thought you were using something," he confessed. It wasn't the end of the world if she was pregnant. It might be a little sooner than they'd been planning, but that was all.

"I am," she assured him. "But life finds a way, you know" If I am pregnant, that's not the end of the world. Is it?" Now she looked uncertain, her hands stilling for a moment as she met his gaze.

"No! Of course not!" he exclaimed, trying to look a little less shocked. "I just wasn't expecting it." He paused a moment as he finished rinsing that dish and set it in the strainer. "Do you really think you are?"

Looking a little relieved that he wasn't going to freak out on her, Kaylee shrugged. "I don't know," she admitted. "It hadn't even occurred to me until you mentioned it. I'm just tired - it could mean that I'm pregnant, or it could just be that I'm tired."

"Well, when was the last time you got your, you know?" he asked, not mentioning what it was he was referring to, though it seemed obvious enough.

"I'm late, but it's only a couple of days," she pointed out. "I'm not exactly predictable at the best of times." She tilted her head toward him. "Either I am or I'm not, and we're not going to discover that here and now tonight, are we" So don't worry about it."

"You don't really think Knip can tell, do you?" he asked, doubtfully, as he scrubbed another dish clean. There weren't all that many really, but it gave them a few minutes of privacy they otherwise wouldn't have had until they tucked Clare into bed.

"I have no idea," Kaylee told him in amusement. "Maybe he can. Animals have keener senses than humans, after all. But we are not asking a sort of cat, Tay. I'm not having that conversation in front of Lyneth."

"Fair enough," Taylor replied, falling silent a moment before going on. "Would you be upset if you were?" he asked curiously. Clare wasn't quite two years old yet, and they hadn't talked about the possibility of having another, but he had always assumed they'd have another child at some point.

"No." The answer came easily to Kaylee - she loved children, and the experience of becoming a mother herself had put the finishing touches to the healing that having Taylor in her life had brought with it. "I mean, it wouldn't exactly be convenient, but I can't say I'd be upset by it. What about you?"

"How could I be upset?" he said, smiling at the thought of it. "Even if you're not pregnant, I'd like us to have another child someday," he admitted, though he wasn't sure just how many he wanted in total.

"So would I." She leaned into his back, kissing his cheek affectionately. "But if I'm not, then I wouldn't mind waiting until Clare's verbal."

"That shouldn't be too much longer," Taylor admitted with a smile, both at the thought of that and at her kiss. "So, about a year maybe?" he asked.

"About that, yeah." She grinned, kissing his shoulder as she pulled back. "Think they've had a long enough gap between dinner and ice cream yet?"

"Think they might be sleeping?" he countered, mirroring her grin. It was unlikely anyone would fall asleep before the promised treat of ice cream.

"If they are, it'll be a miracle," Kaylee giggled, rolling her eyes at her husband. "This was a good idea. Thank you."

"Pizza or the dishes?" Taylor teased, finishing up the last dish and pulling the drain plug out of the sink. He knew what she meant, but couldn't help teasing her. His smiles came more easily and often since he'd married her.

"Dribble?" Taylor echoed, puzzled again. He knew Lir wasn't a fire breather; that much was obvious, or half of Maple Grove might have been burned down by now. "He's a water dragon, isn't he?" he asked, unsure what that meant exactly.

Dylan nodded again, grinning. "When he was ickle, Alex says he dribbled everywhere and everything was always wet!" he declared cheerfully. "Only now he's not ickle anymore, and he doesn't do that. And he's too big to come in the house, too."

Taylor considered that a moment as he finished distributing ice cream scoops. "Just how big is he going to get?" he asked of either Dylan or Kaylee or both. How were they going to manage keeping a full-size adult dragon a pet on the grounds of Maple Grove"

"I think they only expecting him to grow a little bigger," Kaylee mused, absently catching the bowl that scudded out of Dylan's hand and sliding it back to him. "Like, the size of a cottage, that sort of thing."

"A cottage"!" Taylor echoed, with a hint of alarm. "Is that all?" he asked, though he was relieved to know that Lir was a "friendly dragon".

"Well, that's less than half the size of some of the wild ones," Kaylee pointed out. "Quite small for a dragon, really."

Dylan snickered. "He's Alex's dragon," he offered. "They talk without making noises."

"Talk?" Taylor echoed, furrowing his brows curiously. He took up two bowls, waiting for Kaylee and Dylan to do the same. "Alex understands dragon?"

Dylan nodded, then looked confused. "Well ....sort of?" he suggested. "It's not like they talking, they just ....know."

Kaylee smiled, pulling out a tray to set the bowls on - eight bowls between three people was a bit of a stretch with just hands to carry them.

"So, dragons are telepathic?" Taylor guessed, unsure if anyone else could "hear" Lir when he spoke. Either that, or Alex was; he wasn't sure which, though he had heard that the Storm children possessed some unusual abilities.

"I think it's more likely that Alex is," Kaylee pointed out. "Dyl, why don't you get the spoons for us?" There was a scraping noise as Dylan obediently pulled his step out of the way and grabbed a handful of cutlery from the counter.

"I see," Taylor remarked as Dylan fetched the spoons. It seemed he still had a lot of catching up to do with Kaylee's family and the others who called Maple Grove home.

Kaylee grinned, gently touching his cheek for a moment before taking up the tray. "There's always a lot going on in this family," she reminded him. "No one knows everything."

One would think he'd know everything, considering he was related to Miranda through Rufus, but he didn't pay as much attention to gossip as his uncle's wife did. "You certainly have an interesting family," he admitted, grinning.

"You'll never be bored, baby," she promised. "C'mon, or there might be a mutiny in there if the ice cream melts before we produce it."

"Probably led by Lyneth," Taylor added with a smirk. There were still things he didn't know or understand about her family, but he was learning. And the best thing of all was the fact that her family had welcomed him and accepted him as one of their own.

And why shouldn't they' The Grangers might be Rhy'Din natives, and among the elite, but they had a collective heart as big as the city itself. They never turned anyone away, if they could possibly help it. That was what it meant, to be a Granger of Maple Grove. And that was what it meant to be part of a family.