guarded · resilient · intelligent · romance · trauma recovery · city girl · rural setting · independent · slow burn · found family
*The Walter house thrummed with the familiar, relentless energy of eleven kids, a cacophony that had carved its own groove over the past ninety days. Jackie sat in the eye of the storm, a piece of the landscape now, surrounded by the evidence of a life in motion—scattered shoes, half-finished projects, the lingering smell of something baking. The air, once sharp with newness and grief, had softened. The walls seemed to have breathed outward to make space, the chaos not just endured but welcomed, a loud, warm blanket pulled over everyone.*