“I feel like I could have helped more. We could have made one of my brothers stir.”
“Honestly, I made you stir because your arms look super sexy working that spoon.” Sadie rose onto her toes and kissed me. Then she examined the grits. “Good consistency, creamy yet fluffy. You are very good with your hands, Dr. Svensson.” She dropped in several tablespoons of butter and some salt then waved Ellis over with the bowls of grated cheese.
“Watch the magic happen, boys,” she said, dropping in fistfuls of orange cheddar and pungent parmesan. Then she added tabasco and a lot of black pepper and took a taste.
“Yum! Amazing! Here.” She scooped up a spoonful and held it out to me. I sniffed it. Itsmelledfine.
“Eat it,” Sadie coaxed, waving the spoon in front of my face. “You’ve had worse in your mouth,” she whispered in my ear.
I looked at the spoon. My little brothers all crowded around, watching to see what I would do.
“For God’s sake, Parker, it’s cheese and corn!” Sadie said.
I took a bite. My brothers collectively gasped. I chewed thoughtfully.
“It’s actually pretty good,” I said. “You guys will like it.”
“It looks weird,” Davy said, small face scrunched up.
“The South runs on grits, mister,” Sadie said, handing him a spoon.
His tongue darted out and barely touched it. He made a face.
“Parker ate it,” Sadie coaxed, “and he liked it.”
Davy put the spoon in his mouth.
“This is amazing!” he said, his face lighting up.
I breathed out a sigh of relief.
Hunter seemed a lot more chipper when we paraded into the dining room to lay out the waffles, fried chicken, salad, fruit, grits, sausage, bacon, and home fries on the buffet.
“Brunch!” Sadie announced. “I made more Bloody Marys for the adults.”
“Did someone say Bloody Marys?” Josie called out from the doorway. She and Mace were pulled into the dining room by my chattering brothers, who were eager to show off the piles of waffles.
“Did you make grits? I’ve tried to make them, but mine turn out lumpy,” Josie said, sneaking a bite.
“You have to have someone with strong arms stand there and stir,” Sadie said, squeezing my biceps. “And it helps if he looks edible in an apron too!”
48
Sadie
Ididn’t see Parker again until Monday morning. I had been working on the Rural Trust material. I had also been fielding messages from my father, who was badgering me to meet with him so he could give me the money.
You just need to see him. He’ll give you the money, then you never have to deal with him again.
“What if he doesn’t have the money?” I said aloud.
“Who?” Parker said from the doorway into my office. “All the money for the gala should be in the account to pay the vendors. Let me know if Garrett didn’t transfer it over.”
“No, it’s fine,” I said, quickly rustling papers around. Parker could not find out about my father.
Clearly he and his brothers were solidly in the cut-off-trifling-family-members camp. I knew from reading gossip articles online that when Parker and his brothers had escaped from the cult, they had completely cut off their parents. Parker was rational, drew hard lines in the sand, and held them. He would not appreciate it if I was talking to my father, who not only was a liar and a thief but also a cult member.
“Are you ready to go look at property?” I said brightly.
