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“Welcome to Pope Mountain,” he said.
“Welcome to our home,” Sean added.
“Mom made pot roast and all kinds of good stuff,” B.J. added.
Aaron laughed. “Leave it to the kid to know the menu.”
Dani was still smiling as they started escorting her up the steps, and then she looked up, and Shirley was standing in the doorway with her arms wide open.
“Welcome, honey! It’s so good to see you again. Come in, come in!”
Aaron saw the joy in Dani’s smile and the delight of being welcomed in such a fashion. It made him grateful for the people he called his own.
It was, as Aaron had predicted, a hug fest, and then a continuous stream of chatter and brotherly arguments during supper, with Shirley quieting the outbursts before they got out of hand, while keeping up a conversation with Dani.
But it wasn’t until Shirley got up to plate dessert that the focus shifted.
“I’m assuming everyone wants a piece of coconut cream pie?” she asked as she made the first cut into the first of three pies lining the sideboard.
“Yes, please,” they all echoed, then Aaron got up and carried the servings to the table as she plated the slices.
As soon as they were all seated again, Shirley cleared her throat.
“I received a phone call from Cameron this morning. He’s called a special family meeting up at the church day after tomorrow. It’s at seven o’clock, and I expect all four of my sons to be present with me. Is that understood?”
They nodded.
Shirley glanced at Dani. “I don’t know what it’s about, but we all just found out that the man who shot my nephew has been arrested, so we don’t think it has anything to do with that.”
“Aaron told me. It’s wonderful news,” Dani said. “I also heard about Wiley’s big day at work. Congratulations on catching the bad guy, sir.”
Wiley grinned, pleased by the praise.
“Indeed,” Shirley said, and then looked straight at Aaron. “But I have questions about Cameron’s call. What do you know that we don’t?”
“Bits and pieces,” Aaron said, then glanced at Dani.
“It’s okay if you tell them,” she said.
All of a sudden, everyone was looking at Dani.
“Tell us what?” Sean asked.
Aaron put down his fork and reached for her hand.
“I’m not certain what Cameron’s call is about, and I’d prefer that this conversation stays between us until after Cameron’s meeting. I don’t want to blow his news out of the water, and I’m not sure what he’s planning, but what you can know…what the whole family needs to know, is that Dani is the one who found the journal the shooter dropped. She also witnessed him droppingit, along with a metal detector, a shovel, and a gun that fell out of his hiking gear after he came running up from the creek. She’s the reason we had a composite sketch before Charlie regained consciousness. She’s also the one who identified him from security footage. If it had not been for Dani, we’d still be kicking up rocks and looking for ghosts.”
“Oh my God!” Shirley said.
The brothers stared.
“Why did it have to be a secret?” B.J. asked.
Aaron hesitated, and Dani answered for him.
“Remember when you were helping me move in, and you found out I’d had a stalker who tried to kill me?”
They nodded.
