She crossed the room in quick strides and was engulfed in a huge bear hug, feeling the welcoming warmth of her cousin’s embrace.
Coming home, she thought, wasn’t so bad after all.
Chapter 10
“Rae’jean Bennett,” Michael said, smiling down at her. “You look the same.”
Rae’jean gave him a huge smile. “Give or take a few pounds.”
“No,” he said, taking her hand in his and twirling her around. “You look great. I always thought you were too skinny back then anyway. Now you have some meat on your bones.”
Rae’jean chuckled and then looked at the very pretty girl standing next to Michael, amazed. “Oh, Michael, please don’t tell me this is Kennedy. She was seven years old when I saw her last. She’s simply beautiful.”
Michael looked at his daughter and beamed proudly. “Yes, this is Kennedy.” To Kennedy he said, “This is my cousin Rae’jean. We grew up together. Her grandfather and my grandfather are first cousins.”
Kennedy, Rae’jean noticed, was more interested in her ring than she was in their family history. “Is that an engagement ring?” she asked excitedly.
Rae’jean smiled. “Yes. I’m getting married on Christmas Day. My fiancé, Grady, is also a doctor and has surgery first thing in the morning and won’t be arriving until late tomorrow night or Saturday morning.”
Kennedy’s mouth dropped. “You’re a doctor?” At Rae’jean’s nod she said, “But you look so young.”
Rae’jean grinned. “That’s the nicest thing I’ve heard all day. I’m only three years younger than your father.”
“You’re thirty?”
“Yes, but I’ll be thirty-one in two months.”
“You sure don’t look it. You look around twenty-two or twenty-three!” Kennedy exclaimed.
Rae’jean smiled up at Michael. “Hey, Michael, I really like this kid. She’s good for my ego.”
“I want to be a doctor.”
Kennedy’s announcement surprised her father. This was the first he’d heard of her wanting a career in medicine. “What kind of doctor do you want to be, Kennedy?” he asked.
She looked up at him. “I want to be one of those doctors who work in an emergency room,” she responded quickly. “Just like the ones you told me about who tried to save Momma after her car accident.”
Startled at her response, Michael stared at her. This was the first time she had mentioned her mother’s car accident in a very long time. He thought she had forgotten the extraneous details of what he had told her that day when he’d had to break the news to her that her mother was never coming back home.
“Do you work at a hospital or do you have an office?” Kennedy asked Rae’jean, not aware of the tailspin she had placed her father in.
“I work in a hospital for now, but my fiancé and I have talked about going into private practice in a few years. We’re both heart specialists.”
“Cardiologists? Boy, that’s cool!”
For a moment Rae’jean couldn’t ever remember thinking her job was “cool.” Mentally she went about each day fulfilling her lifelong dream of taking care of others without actually thinking about it. Being a doctor had its rewards, but then it had its letdowns—especially whenever she lost a patient. But as Grady had often told her, they had been trained to heal. The final outcome of whether a person lived or died was not their decision. It belonged to a higher being.
“If you’re thinking about being a doctor, Kennedy, you need to start preparing yourself now,” Rae’jean said to the teenager. “How are your grades?”
Kennedy’s smile faded somewhat. “They’re fair.”
“They need to be better than fair. When school starts back up in the fall you’ll have to concentrate on improving them. And you’ll need to get a firm grip on biology and any health classes your school may offer.”
“I will,” Kennedy promised, energized at the thought of a future in medicine.
Rae’jean met Michael’s gaze. Looking directly into his eyes, she saw his gratitude. Evidently he and Kennedy had had many discussions about improving her grades. “I see that we’re going to have to catch up on a lot of things, Michael. It’s been too long,” she said, wrapping her arms around him again.
Wrapping his arms around her as well, Michael felt the wall he’d erected against the Bennetts when he discovered that he had been adopted break up in tiny pieces.
“Yeah, you’re right. It has been too long.”
Taye glanced around the room, thinking Poppa Ethan and Cousin Agnes had to be pleased with the turnout. There were more Bennetts here than she’d imagined coming. Reaching across the table that was laden with food, she helped herself to a cracker with a piece of cheese on it.
“That’s gonna make you fat.”
Inwardly Taye grinned, but when she turned to face the man who had made the comment she tried to appear annoyed. “Victor Junior, don’t you have anything better to do than keep an eye on what I eat?”
“Hey, Cuz, gimme a break. I’m just trying to look out for you.”
“Why? You never wanted to look out for me before.”
“You’re crazy, Taye,” Victor Junior said, shaking his head, smiling. “And I would have been even crazier back then if I’d done what Gramma Idella and Poppa Ethan had wanted, which was to be your, Rae’jean, and Alexia’s watchdog.” He reached across the table to get his own snack. “You three were trouble.”
Taye lifted a dark brow. “Are you saying you couldn’t handle us back then?”
“No. I’m admitting I didn’t want to handle the three of you back then. I had other, more important things to do with my time,” he said, smiling even more.
Taye frowned at him. “Yeah, I know all about those other things. I also understand that you haven’t slowed down.”
He shrugged. “Slow down? What for?”
“Last time I heard, Victor Junior, you were still married to Evelyn. Besides, I thought you would have straightened up after losing Fayrene over that kind of mess. She was the best thing that ever happened to you.”
“Taye…,” he warned through his teeth. “Don’t start in on me about Fayrene. There you go sounding like Momma and acting like Aunt Otha Mae, all in the Kool-Aid and don’t even know the flava.” For a moment Victor tore his gaze away from Taye and glanced across the room to the woman who was the topic of their conversation. Boy, did Fayrene look good. Always did. He didn’t need Taye or anyone else to tell him he had literally screwed up with Fayrene. She had been the best thing to ever happen to him.
He then turned and glanced to the other side of the room at his current wife, Evelyn, and wondered what on earth had ever possessed him to screw around on Fayrene with her. He had married Evelyn a year ago, after their second child had been born and after her father and brothers had threatened to do him bodily harm if he didn’t. Already Evelyn weighed more than his momma and wasn’t even trying to lose weight. The plate she held in her hand was testimony to that, since it was filled to capacity.
“Evelyn gets upset every time we have a family function and Fayrene is invited,” he said to Taye, hoping it would make her feel bad.
It didn’t. “Fayrene was in the family long before Evelyn, so if she doesn’t like it she can stay home.”
Victor Junior frowned at Taye. “Or the family can stop inviting Fayrene to every blasted thing they have. Why should Evelyn stay home? I’m married to her now, not Fayrene. That’s not right and you know it.”
“When did you start caring how Evelyn felt, Victor Junior? If you cared so much you wouldn’t be screwing around. And as far as what’s right, it wasn’t right for Evelyn to sleep with you when you were a married man—and you know that.”
Taye dismissed the thought that she had slept with a married man herself and like Evelyn had gotten pregnant. There was a big difference between her and Evelyn. At the time, Taye hadn’t known Lynell was married. Evelyn had known Victor Junior was a married man. In fact, she had relished the thought of being t
he other woman and had gone out of her way to cause Fayrene nothing but heartache and pain by openly flaunting the affair. If Victor Junior expected pity from her on Evelyn’s behalf he was looking for it from the wrong person. Besides, she would never forget about that lie Evelyn had put out while in high school about her, Rae’jean, and Alexia being bulldaggers.
Victor gave a low whistle. “Well, I’ll be damned. Rae’jean’s here and she’s still the family’s pretty girl. Look at her. She looks good.”
Taye only gave Rae’jean a cursory glance. Her gaze was immediately drawn to the tall, handsome man who had walked in with her.
Michael Alvin Bennett.
As she looked at him, Taye couldn’t help but recall the boy he had once been and appreciate the good-looking man he had become.
“Hey, ain’t that Michael with Rae’jean?” Victor Junior asked.
Taye nodded. “Yeah, that’s him.”
“Well, put that plate down and let’s go over there.”
Taye couldn’t do anything but put her plate down and follow in Victor Junior’s wake.
Chapter 11
“Rae’jean, you look good, Cuz,” Victor Junior was saying as he gave her a hug. “And Michael, man, it’s good to see you,” he said, releasing Rae’jean and giving Michael a brotha handshake.
Taye then hugged Rae’jean. “It’s so good to see you, Rae.” As soon as she hugged her she knew it had been too long and couldn’t help but appreciate Poppa Ethan for wanting his family together once again at this reunion.
“Girl, you look good,” Rae’jean was saying to Taye. “I can’t believe you chopped off all your hair. I bet Aunt Otha Mae went bonkers. But short hair looks good on you. You had more than you ever needed anyway.”
Taye grinned. “Look who’s talking.” She then turned her attention to Michael. Dang it, but up close he looked even better. “Hi, Michael,” she said, giving him a hug. “It’s been a while.”
Michael’s arms tightened around her. “Too damn long, don’t you think, Taye?”
Taye finally caught her breath when he released her, but it didn’t help matters for him to be looking at her so intently. “And I agree with Rae’jean. Short hair looks great on you.”
“Thanks.”
“It’s hard to believe that Aunt Otha Mae’s baby girl is now all grown up.”
“Yes, it is, isn’t it?” Taye replied as an easy smile played at the corners of her lips. She forced her eyes from him to the beautiful teenager at his side. “And who do we have here?”
“This is my daughter, Kennedy.”
Taye smiled at Kennedy. “I like your name and you’re a very pretty girl.”
“Thanks, and you look like Nia Long. Has anyone ever told you that?” Kennedy asked.
Taye chuckled. “Yeah. My teenage daughter did just today in fact.”
Kennedy’s eyes brightened. “You have a teenage daughter?” she asked, looking around, unable to mask the excitement at the prospect of other teenagers being present tonight.
“Yes, I have two daughters. Sebrina is thirteen and Monica is ten. They’re still upstairs but should be on their way down.”
“I’m thirteen, too,” Kennedy interjected.
Michael grinned. “Kennedy thought she would be the only young person here tonight,” he said, meeting Taye’s eyes again.
Taye smiled as she turned to Kennedy. “Tonight you’ll get to meet a lot of cousins your age. Besides my daughter Sebrina, Victor Junior’s daughter Victoria is thirteen and my brother Bryan’s daughter, Cody, just turned fourteen last week.”
“Cool!”
Taye glanced up at the entrance door. “Speaking of the little devilettes, the three of them just walked in. My other daughter Monica must be on her way down with her cousin Lauren. Come on and I’ll introduce you.”
Taye introduced Kennedy to her cousins Sebrina, Victoria, and Cody.
After that greeting there was a long silence as the three young Bennetts tried to politely size up their new cousin. Finally, Sebrina broke the silence when she asked Kennedy, “Where’re you from?”
“I was living in Minnesota, but my dad and I moved to Atlanta three weeks ago.”
“Do you know what school you’ll be attending?” Victoria asked.
“Yes, Collinshills High.”
“Wow! That’s great,” Victoria said, smiling excitedly, looking every bit like Victoria Junior and Fayrene’s child. She was a pretty girl who had her father’s dark eyes and her mother’s flawless complexion of nut brown. “That’s the school me and Sebrina go to. Just think, there will be three Bennetts there now!”
Kennedy smiled. She’d never attended a school where she had relatives who also attended. “What school do you attend, Cody?”
The somewhat shy but cute girl smiled. “I live in Texas and attend school there. But I get to spend every summer here with my grandparents. Hopefully, we can have a lot of fun together this summer while I’m here.”
Kennedy gave all three girls a genuine smile, feeling accepted by the group. “I’d really like that.”
Leaving the four girls alone, Taye sought out Michael. He was standing across the room talking to Poppa Ethan, his grandfather Cousin Henry, and other male members of the Bennett clan. No doubt they were reading Michael the riot act for being separated from the family for so long.
“I guess I need to make my rounds and say hello to everyone,” Rae’jean said, coming up to Taye from the buffet table where she’d been.
“Yes, I guess you’d better or you’ll get talked about. I can hear some of them now: ‘Yeah, chile, Miss Ann brought her half-white behind to the reunion and tried to act uppity, like she was all that and didn’t know anybody.’”
Rae’jean shook her head, laughing. “You sound just like Cuzin Sophie. By the way, where is the old bat?” she asked, glancing around the room to spot the woman who claimed to have dated Otis Redding when the two of them attended high school together in Macon.
“She’s around somewhere. Do you remember when she used to put that bulky handkerchief stuffed with money in her bosom?”
Rae’jean laughed. “Is she still doing that?”
“Who knows? But I do know she still hauls her purse around wherever she goes like it’s a permanent fixture on her body,” Taye said, joining Rae’jean laughing. “Another thing I know for certain is that she’s still sticking her nose in other people’s business. That hasn’t changed.”
“Then she’ll have a lot to talk about Saturday when Grady gets here.”
Taye nodded, knowing that would be true and it wouldn’t be just Cuzin Sophie doing the talking. She glanced around the room that was getting more crowded with people by the minute. She saw their Grand-uncle Ray standing across the room. Even at the age of seventy, he still walked around with his bottle of Gordon’s gin. In her lifetime she had seen him drunk more often than sober. She shook her head. She guessed there was an Uncle Ray in every family. “Do you know if Alexia got here yet?” she asked Rae’jean.
“Yeah, I called her room before coming down. Some good-looking man detained her in Atlanta. She’s going to tell us about him later tonight. You are coming up to her suite after this gig is over, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Good. And don’t forget to wear your PJs. It’s going to be a pajama party with just you, Lex, and me. Just like old times. You’ve made arrangements for someone to watch the girls, haven’t you?”
“Yeah, they’re sleeping over in Fayrene’s room tonight. They’re having their own pajama party.”
“Do you think they’ll invite Kennedy to join them?”
“Oh, yeah. They’re excited about having another cousin to hang out with.”
Rae’jean nodded. She then glanced over to where Michael was standing. “He looks good, doesn’t he?”
“Who?”
“Michael.”
“Yeah, he looks good. He’s definitely a fine brother. I’m surprised he didn’t remarry,” Taye said.
&nbs
p; “He was crazy about Lynda and probably isn’t over her death, although it’s been six years. I hate you never met her. I think you would have liked her.”
“Maybe I would have and maybe I wouldn’t have.” Taye felt Rae’jean’s gaze on her but refused to satisfy her cousin’s curiosity.
“I just remembered, Taye, that you used to have a major crush on Michael when we were teenagers.”
“So?” A quick glance at Rae’jean couldn’t help but make Taye grin. For some reason, she’d never been able to hide anything from Rae’jean and Alexia. “Cut it out, Rae. That was fifteen years ago. I’m no longer a teenager anymore. Besides, have you forgotten that Michael is our cousin?”
“A distant cousin who just happens to have been adopted.”
Taye shook her head. “Jeez, that would really give the family something to talk about.”
Rae’jean laughed. “Yeah, and it will take the heat off me and Grady for a while. Just look at Michael. I think he’s sexy as hell.”
“If you think so, then why don’t you go after him?”
“Because I wasn’t the one he was looking at kind of funny a few minutes ago, and although you may deny it, you were checking him out kind of close, too.”
“I was not.”
“You were, too. Liar, liar, pants on fire,” Rae’jean chanted one of their favorite sayings from long ago. “Besides, I’m an engaged woman who’s in enough trouble lusting after the good-looking brother who lives in my apartment complex.”
Taye lifted a brow, but before she could ask Rae’jean for details Fayrene walked up and joined them. The look Taye gave Rae’jean indicated that she expected her to tell all later tonight.
Michael looked into the face of the man who had been like a second grandfather to him, Ethan Allen Bennett, and realized that he had not heard the sound of his deep, authoritative voice for some fifteen years, at least not since the day he’d left Macon for the air force. But the sound of Poppa Ethan’s voice was just as powerful and no-nonsense as he’d always remembered. Hearing it was enough to make his mind recall so many fond memories.
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