We trotted down the stairs, passing framed pictures of all of us, from naked butts to posed studio pictures. Kash and I took turns insulting each other, Laney chiming in with a flick of my ear that ended up with her over my shoulder, squealing. Marcus remained civilized, only offering an occasional one-liner, and Mom followed behind, fussing over his suit and warning me not to knock anything off the walls.

We burst into the dining room like a herd of wildebeests. Dad sat at the head of the table, sighing as he closed his newspaper, his moment of solitude passed. Jett entered the room with a casserole dish in mitted hands and Mom’s apron tied around his neck and waist—the purple one with the little yellow flowers.

The rest of us stopped with a nearly audible screech, paused, and busted out laughing.

His face flattened. “What? I didn’t want to mess up my shirt.”

Kash bellowed, grabbing Jett around the neck. “You look so pretty, Julie.”

Jett rolled his eyes, elbowing Kash hard enough to make him oof. “Watch it, Kassie.”

“Come on, don’t let him get to you,” I soothed. “Not when you look so pretty in purple.”

“And you look great in black and blue,” he shot.

“Now, hush,” Mom said, shooing us toward our seats. “Your brother cooked dinner for you ungrateful Bennets. Shame on you for teasing him. He was the only one who offered, knowing I can’t cook anymore.” Her voice was high and lilting but tight around the edges with guilt.

We shared a look before mumbling our apologies.

“Smells good,” Laney said, pulling up her chair. “Enchilada casserole? Man, I’ve been craving this for years.”

“That’s more like it,” Mom noted, beaming at her children as we all sat, her discomfort gone—or at least packed away for the moment. “What did everyone do today?”

Laney reached for the spoon and divvied herself out some Spanish rice. “I worked on graphics for the store all day and almost have the website finished.”

“Oh, good. I can’t wait to see,” Mom said as she filled her plate. “Marcus?”

“Oh. Here’s the guacamole.”

“No, what did you do today?”

He frowned, setting the dish back down. “Considering I have a dozen banker boxes full of handwritten receipts to go through, we can assume I’ll be doing that until I die.”

She flushed, tittering. “I’ve never had a head for math.”

Marcus smiled in an uncharacteristic display of compassion, the kind he reserved for Mom. “It’s all right. Once I get it sorted, I think we might refile with the IRS for a few years back. I have a feeling there’s another twenty to thirty thousand in deductions that were missed.”

“Well, what a surprise!” Mom said. “We should take a cruise.”

Kash’s nose wrinkled. “Stuck on a boat with a bunch of strangers and buffets covered in E-coli? Pass.”

“And you, Lucas? What did you do today?”

“Tess,” Kash said, smiling innocently at Mom.

Her brow quirked in confusion, and Laney snickered.