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Nobody responded.

The stranger adjusted the bag on her shoulder. “I know I should’ve called, but my phone died somewhere near Nashville, and I remembered the directions by heart. When I didn’t see many cars, I just kept driving until I found the house with all the company.”

Patty pressed her lips together to contain another laugh.

Hudson went very still beside me.

The young woman looked around again. “Wow. Everyone’s here.”

Grandma Ruth stood. “Loany?”

The woman’s smile widened. “Hi, Grandma Ruth.”

My mind took one additional second to catch up.

Loany.

The real Loany.

The young woman who grew up around the pack.

The identity I had accidentally stepped into and then continued wearing because correcting the mistake seemed impossible.

She was standing in Hudson’s living room with calico hair and a duffel bag.

“I was going to send a text to the group to give you all a heads-up, but the old group chat doesn’t exist anymore. You guys had me worried there for a while. Thought something bad might’ve happened.”

Her gaze moved from Grandma to Hilary, then Patty. Finally, she looked at me.

Her brows lifted. “Oh,” she said. “I don’t recognize you.”

Nobody moved.

Loany smiled politely. “Are you new?”

A laugh rose from somewhere deep inside me. I tried to stop it. That made it worse. My hand flew to my mouth, but laughter escaped around it. I bent forward, caught Hudson’s arm, and laughed until tears flowed down my face.

The room remained silent for three more seconds. Then Trevor fell against the wall because he laughed so hard. Patty lost whatever control she had left. Hudson covered his face. Grandma Ruth sat down abruptly.

Loany looked from one person to another. “What?”

I tried to answer. Nothing coherent came out.

She took a small step backward. “Did I interrupt something?”

“No,” I managed. Then I started laughing again.

Patty crossed the room and caught Loany by one shoulder before she could retreat.

I wiped my eyes and approached them. The woman watched me with growing concern.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“For what?”

“That’s a complicated question.”

I opened my arms. Loany hesitated. Then she accepted the hug uncertainly, accommodating a friendly stranger during a possible family crisis.