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“Welcome, gentlemen,” she said.
“Mrs. Brand,” Jimmy said. “It’s great to see you again.”
“Don’t you ‘Mrs. Brand’ me, boy. It’s Vidalia. Now get in here and greet me like you mean it.”
Grinning, Jimmy stepped inside and wrapped Vi in a bear hug.
Edie elbowed Kara. “Look at this. The woman’s shameless.”
“You blame her?” Maya asked.
A throat cleared, and Kara looked up to see that Colby had come in behind Jimmy and Tyler. Caleb and Wade, stood nearby, and each had a twin on his hip.
“Vidalia Brand, meet my good friend, Colby Benton,” Jimmy said.
Vidalia took Colby’s hand in a fervent grip. “Any friend of Jimmy’s is welcome here.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Brand. It’s a pleasure.”
“Please—Vidalia.” She released his hand, then bent down to eye level with the little boy. “And you must be Tyler. Hello, there, young man. You can call me Gramma Vi, if that’s okay with your dad.”
Tyler tipped his head to one side. “Kara says you make good cookies.”
“Cookies, cakes, pies, doughnuts—oh, you don’t even know the half of it. You come on in here and I’ll see if I can’t find you a sample, all right?”
“Okay.” He made his way through the kitchen, followed by the twins, who’d scrambled down and were following him closely.
“Tyler,” Kara said, peeling herself away from her sisters. “This is Dahlia. And this is Cal.”
The three-year-olds smiled shyly, Dahlia reaching out a hand to touch one of Tyler’s crutches. “What’s that for?”
“My legs are messed up. I need these to help me walk.”
“Do they hurt?” Cal asked.
“Not much. And I’m gonna get better, anyway, pretty soon.”
Vi nodded to Kara. “Introduce our guests to everyone, daughter, while I get these kids set up with a pre-dinner cookie.”
“Mom... “ Maya began.
“Oh, don’t start with me now. One cookie won’t spoil their dinner. Good land, I raised five of you without losing a single one to malnutrition.”
Maya bit her lip, closed her eyes, shook her head.
Kara saw Jimmy send her a sympathetic look. Then he offered a hand. “Hi, Maya.”
“Good to see you again, Jim. This is my husband, Caleb.”
“Jim.” Caleb shook his hand.
Kara kicked in then to complete the introductions. “Wade Armstrong,” she said, nodding toward Wade. Jimmy shook his hand. “And I know you remember Edie.”
He smiled at Edie but spoke to Kara. “And how do you know that?”
“You thought I was Edie when you first saw me today.”
“That’s because I’d heard Edie Brand had become a supermodel.”
