Page 121 of Homecoming

“So your dad and Kendra are like one person?”

“More or less. She speaks for him, and everyone knows that. She doesn’t want to be CEO or COO or anything like that. She wants to go to work, do her job and go home to her girls and family. But she and Kellen often disagree on the direction of the company. She didn’t want the government contracts, for instance. She thought they were taking on too much. Kellen argued that it was reliable money, and they couldn’t turn them down.”

“I can sort of see both sides of that.”

“I could, too, but it got bad between them for a while. Kendra says she doesn’t want to be the big boss, but she kind of is anyway.”

“Where was Hugo tonight?”

“He had a meeting with a new client in Boston and is staying overnight.”

“Okay, so who else is left?”

“Kingston. I’ll text him to see if we can see him at some point. You’ll also see Kyle, who runs the paint shop at BBW, and Kieran, who’s in charge of fiberglass, but you met them at the wedding. And then that’ll be everyone. Not that you’ve officially met Kelly…”

“I’m good with the limited exposure I’ve had to her. And by the way, eleven kids area lot.”

Kara howled with laughter. “Ya think?”

“We can’t have that many. I don’t care how much you beg and plead for my seed, I ain’t doing it.”

“Eww, and don’t worry. That’s not going to be an issue. Number one, I will never ‘plead for your seed,’ and number two, I want to be able to give our children all the love and attention they need. That’s hard to do when the pot is split eleven ways.”

“I’m so glad you had Bertha, Buster, Kirby, Renata and the friends who meant so much to you.”

“I’m grateful to all of them every day for the roles they played in my childhood.”

“I have to say… I love seeing you having peaceful, happy, fun times with your family, though. I’ve wished for that for you for almost as long as I’ve known you.”

“I’ve been afraid to admit that I hoped for it, too. Coming home has been good for me. It reminded me that not everything here was terrible.”

“We’ll come here any time you want now that the seal has been broken.”

“Is it weird to be low-key relieved that my brothers gave us a reason to come home?”

“Yes, it’s weird,” he said with a laugh, “because the reason we’re here is terrible.”

“Don’t tell anyone I said that, but I’m glad we had a reason that couldn’t be ignored no matter how much I wanted to at first. And that it wasn’t some health crisis for Bertha or someone else.”

“Good point, but I won’t tell anyone you’re glad your brothers got arrested.”

“I never said that!”

She loved to make him laugh like that.

“Whatever you say, babe. I heard what I heard.”

“Stop trying to make me mad when I’m in a good mood.”

“How good of a mood are we talking about?”

“The best kind of mood.”

“Does the good mood extend to me?”

“It did until you started spewing fiction over there.”

“I’m very sorry. I take it all back.”

---