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“You guys staying for dinner?” I ask.
“And miss out on Lidia’s amazing cooking?” Langston turns to Weston. “Did you get a hold of Callie to see if she can make it?”
“She should be here any minute,” Weston says. “And Ashton and Brensen are on their way over, too.”
“Sounds like a party,” I say.
“I hope we don’t run Ariana off,” Langston says. “Us Keith boys can get a little rowdy when we all get together.”
“Oh, she doesn’t have a choice,” I say. “She’s stuck here.” The faint sound of the garage door going up comes from down the hall. “Looks like Dad is back from Atlanta.”
“He wasn’t here with Mom?” Weston asked.
“From what I understand,” Ariana says. “Your dad helped your mom get settled here in the house and then had to run back to Atlanta to finish out the workday.”
“How did you know all of that?” I ask her.
“I overheard some of the staff talking.”
“This one pays attention,” Langston says with a laugh.
“That’s why we hired her,” I say. “She’s a smart one.”
Dad shows up in the doorway with his coat draped over his arm. “Well, this is a warm welcome.” He looks pleased to see all of us and comes over to check out what we have going on spread across the table.
“Looks like you guys are off to a great start.”
Ariana and I fill him in on what we’ve discovered so far.
“Great. Well, just keep up the good work.” He pats me on the back. “Langston, did you hear we got a new racehorse?”
Langston follows him out the door, and their voices trail off as they head to a different part of the house, with Weston following behind.
“Should we take a break now or keep going?” I ask Ariana.
“We can keep going for a bit.” She keeps her eyes on the papers spread before us. “Until it’s time for dinner at least.”
Man, this girl really is a workaholic. I’m ready to take a break and talk to my brothers, but I allow her to set the pace. We do have a lot to do, after all.
A half hour later, Lidia comes into the room to let us know it’s time for dinner. Ariana and I go wash up, and when I arrive in the dining room, she’s talking to my brothers, Brensen and Ashton, who seemed to have arrived at some point while we were working.
Dad is sitting at the head of the table with my brothers and Weston’s wife, Callie, by his side. Mom isn’t at the table because she ended up staying in bed after being on so many painkillers.
“How’s it feel to be home?” I ask Brensen once my dad has said a prayer and we’re all loading up our plates.
Brensen has been traveling in Africa for a while, but he’s back in the states for the holidays. Mom and Dad haven’t been able to convince him to settle down and take a position at the company yet. He’s been doing this soul journey across various countries in Africa.
“It’s very different,” he says. “I’ve gotten used to African cooking.”
“You were in Africa?” Ariana asks. “That’s so cool. What part were you in?”
“I was in Ghana, and I’m returning to visit Kenya next. But I’ve also been to Egypt and South Africa.”
“And what was your favorite so far?”
“Definitely Ghana. I love the people there.”
“That’s so cool. My family is from Iran. I still have grandparents there that I’ve never met.”