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“Seriously?” she said to the machine but was quickly interrupted by the first message.

“Hey Katherine, it’s Suzie from your favorite restaurant. I’m calling to tell you we got a new vegetable guy today, so Mr. Chen is very happy. I’ll probably even get some nookie tonight.” Suzie paused to laugh.“Anyway, thank you, and make sure to say hello to Officer Hottie for me.”Then Suzie laughed again before saying goodbye.

Beeeep!

Katherine was scribblingCall Suzieon a notepad by the phone when the next message started.

“Why Katherine Bennett, you sly girl,”her mother’s voice came through the machine, gushing with excitement.“I had a feeling something was going on with you from the moment I saw your face. Anyway, I just found out from Beth Ann that you’ve left work early again, so I’m calling to let you know that I’ve invited everyone over for dinner. Be here by six o’clock sharp. And why aren’t you answering your cell phone or any text messages?”

Beeeep!

Katherine wondered what she meant by“everyone.”

“Hey, sweetie, I heard you might be home, but I guess not. Anyway, I wanted to see if you knew what was up with dinner tonight. I’ll catch up with you later. Can’t wait to see you.”

Beeeep!

That message was from her sister Ellie, with two others like it from her other sisters, the first one from Maddie.

“Girl, I know you just left Ava’s, but I have to say, it was so great to see you today. Anyway, I can’t wait for everyone to check out your manicure tonight. They’ll be so surprised.

Beeeep!

The following message came from Andie with her kids fighting in the background while her exasperated husband Andrew called out that he needed help finding a clean pair of socks.

Beeeep!

Katherine couldn’t help laughing but stopped when she heard her father’s voice. She was beyond surprised. She couldn’t remember the last time her dad called her on the phone, let alone left a message.

“Hello?”He paused for a long moment.“I think that was a beep. Anyway, if your mother hasn’t already caught up with you, I wanted to let ya know she invited everyone to dinner tonight. And I mean everyone.”

Beeeep!

With her fears confirmed, Katherine wondered if they were ready for the entire Bennett clan to meet the Brandon’s. Then, the next message started.

“And don’t worry about it, baby girl… I’ll be there to protect you.”

As Katherine’s heart began to melt, tears formed in her eyes. She appreciated her dad calling again just to say he had her back.

Beeeep!

“Hey, beautiful, I thought I’d try to catch you at home. Beth Ann said you left the diner a while ago. I assume that has to do with your mom inviting everyone to dinner. Should be interesting. Oh, and there’s a message on your cell that says you never set up the voicemail. Let’s do that later.” Then he chuckled. “Still can’t believe you have an answering machine. Talk to you soon. Bye.”

Beeeep!

Katherine smiled at the answering machine, pressed the repeat button, and listened to Matthew’s message again. Thecalming, confident resonance of his voice boosted her own confidence, and for a second, she felt like everything would be alright.

Listening to the end, Katherine doodled little hearts on the notepad by the phone. If her family wanted to be supportive of her and Matthew’s relationship, then who was she to stand in the way?

Of course, there’d have to be boundaries, and like Matthew said, no one but the two of them and God would know everything there was to know. Still, she knew she needed her family by her side now.

Picking up the phone, Katherine dialed her sister Andie’s number and waited for her to answer. Since it wasn’t uncommon for the phone to ring four or five times before someone picked it up, she dug around in her bag and pulled out her cell phone. She had ten missed calls and three texts waiting for her, including aC U L8TRtext with half a dozen heart emojis from her sister Georgie that made her smile.

“Hello…” her sister finally answered. She sounded out of breath.

“Hey, Andie, are you alright?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m good. What’s up?”