going with Auntie Carol’s recommendation of Patty? She didn’t run a background check. Right?”
That was true.
They both looked at me.
They always looked to me for the final answer.
I had the final say for every big decision at Brisken Printing Corporation and in all things family-related. I’d planned our last takeover, our last merger. I’d planned our parents’ funeral, had the final decision on the flowers and the venue and the food at the reception. I had the final say in all things.
My gut told me to trust Patty. My mother and father had hired Patty on a recommendation, and given the way Patty talked about Becky, I knew she trusted this woman. If Patty trusted this woman with her mother and even our girls, it was worth meeting her.
But I couldn’t give in just yet. A small smile formed at my idea. “I think we should put her through the Mary test.”
Chapter 6
Becky
The Brisken men had asked me to fly up to Chicago, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t risk it. So, I had agreed to take a bus all the way from Florida to Chicago.
Patty picked me up from the bus station, and I was mute the whole ride in their car, wringing my hands in my lap.
“You’ll do fine, Becky,” Patty said soothingly. “I’ve talked you up. Plus, all you have to do is be yourself.”
“Thanks, Patty.”
Word of mouth was how I’d gotten out of my situation. It was how I’d lived the last few years of my life. I needed this job. I didn’t have a huge network of people to find me another job or a résumé that I could give out.
I blew out a breath and stared at the back-to-back traffic in front of us. Big city. Another opportunity. New life. I placed heavy palms on my knees, forcing them to stop shaking. I’d never lived in a big city. My life before had consisted of rural farms and eating at the local sub shop connected to our gas station.
I needed this.
Patty had briefed me on the family. Some information I’d already known because when she came home to visit Eleanor and gushed about the girls, I would eat her stories up like it was my favorite meal. I drank up her day-to-day mishaps with Miss Mary and deep conversations with Sarah. I lived through their excursions and vacations and daily activities.
Yes, I was nervous, but a big part of me was excited to meet them because it felt as though I knew them already.
She waved to a guard, and he opened the gates to a well-manicured, elite subdivision. We drove up a winding road that led to a palatial mansion that had my jaw dropping to the ground. Lights highlighted the pillars of the mansion that framed the door, and the window-height shrubbery etched against the building was like lines against a painting.
“It’s just a house,” Patty said, noting my shocked reaction. “What makes a home is the people in the house. And I have no doubt you’ll grow to love these people.”
I bit my bottom lip. “Patty, I’m nervous.”
She placed the car in park and put a tender hand on top of mine. “You’ll do fine. Promise.”
I wished I were as sure as she was in me.
“Can you tell me what to expect? I don’t remember the last time I’ve been on an interview. I think it was at my last paycheck job at the Piggly Wiggly.”
Patty laughed. “So, yes, you will have an interview with all of them because Mason—he’s the youngest of the Brisken men—is the most meticulous with things like this. He’ll want a formal interview. But I imagine it’ll be normal questions and be a little laid-back. I’ve told them not to pry into things that they shouldn’t.”
“Okay.” My shoulders relaxed just a tad.
I pushed up the sleeves of my light-pink V-neck ribbed sweater. I pressed a sweaty palm down my dark-washed jeans and pulled my long blonde ponytail over my shoulder. I had worn my best attire today. I would have worn black dress pants if I had any. I knew that first impressions mattered, and I wanted to make a good first impression.
“The hardest test you’ll have today is the kid test.” There was a funny look on Patty’s face.
My brows flew to my hairline. “Kid test?”
“Yes. Sarah will go along with what her uncles and dad tell her. She’s sensible, and she listens to authority and will trust that the people who love her will make the