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While my father seemed to be slightly frustrated, I couldn’t miss the look of contentment in my mom’s expression. Apparently, my dad also saw it, and he didn’t hold himself back. “Why does it seem like you don’t have a care in the world, Evelyn? Do you understand how much of a nightmare this is going to be if Wyatt can’t get this deal done? It’s the only thing holding us up.”
I didn’t know how it was possible for her to feel the way she did at that moment, but I couldn’t say I wasn’t glad about it. My mom’s smile grew. “I have faith in Wyatt. He’s doing this the right way, Malcolm.”
“What?”
She raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “Do you not recall how you managed to accomplish your goal all those years ago?”
Suddenly, I perked up, wondering if perhaps I still had a reason to hope for something good with Rhea. God, I would have given anything to know there was a chance to turn things around and get her to see how great we could be together.
Jules looked up from where she was happily drizzling glaze on her cookies and asked, “What goal did Dad have years ago? And how did he accomplish it?”
Before either one of them could answer, we heard the front door open, followed by the sound of multiple voices. A moment later, Cooper, Tate, Ivy, and Liam all walked in. While it wasn’t uncommon for a couple of us to show up at the same time, I figured it was par for the course that the rest of the crew would arrive together today. In the long run, it was probably for the best.
“Hey, kids,” Mom greeted them.
“Hi, Mom. What’s going on?” Ivy returned, her curiosity getting the best of her.
Jules didn’t hesitate to respond. “This is perfect timing.”
Liam walked right up and snatched a completed cookie off the cooling rack and sunk his teeth in. Tate attempted to move in that direction to do the same as he said, “It looks like it. Fresh cookies out of the oven.”
Jules swatted at his hand. “That’s not what I meant when I said that. These are for after dinner.”
“Liam got one!”
“Liam’s different.”
Jules shifted her attention to our youngest brother, who smiled and winked at her. When it came to Liam, it was impossible for anyone in the family not to have a soft spot for him.
“If you aren’t referring to us arriving now as perfect timing for cookies, then what did you mean?” Cooper asked as he moved toward me, clapped a hand on my shoulder, and sat down on the stool on my opposite side.
“Well, Wyatt showed up here early today to talk to Mom and Dad about the girl he likes named Rhea, who he went out on a date with. Dad’s frustrated because Rhea’s family owns the dairy farm Westwood’s hopes to purchase the land from, and he thinks Wyatt should be able to keep himself focused. Mom thinks this is great news, and she was just about to remind Dad what he did to accomplish some goal he had years ago,” Jules happily revealed.
In an instant, Liam and Tate were seated on stools, ready to hear the story, and Ivy rounded the counter to take over the salad prep so Mom could say what she needed to say.
“Well, kids, it’s an interesting story how your dad wound up becoming the CEO of Westwood’s,” Mom shared.
“Evelyn, darling, I’m not sure this has anything to do with Wyatt’s situation,” Dad argued.
“Oh, boy. Dad wants to avoid this topic like the plague. Something tells me this is going to be good,” Tate declared.
“Wait. Weren’t you the automatic choice for CEO of Westwood’s after Pop?” Cooper questioned him.
“Of course.”
“So, what is Mom talking about?” Liam asked.
Dad groaned with frustration as Mom revealed, “Apparently, your dad liked to have a little too much fun when he was younger, and your grandparents got fed up with him. They gave him a very short window to straighten up, or Aunt Mina was going to become the CEO.”
“What?” Ivy gasped, verbally reacting the way I was sure the rest of us felt.
Mom nodded and continued, “Your dad decided there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do to secure his position within the company.”
Dad had stood and started rounding the island toward her as Cooper asked, “Well, what did he do?”
When our dad came to a stop behind our mom, he slipped his arms around her waist and pressed a kiss to her cheek. Then he revealed, “I met your mom, and she changed my whole life.”
She smiled as Jules declared, “I get the feeling you’re not telling us the full truth.”
