Playing For Keeps by Stephanie Morris

Smith sisters had been a blast. They were so full of life.
    He knew many people thought highly of them around Baxley.

    “Well, I called you for good reason.”

    Keirra laughed. “I would hope so. I have never been a fan of bad news.”

    “Well, the reason that I called you is that this weekend is my mother’s birthday, and I would really like it if you could join me in Atlanta for her party.”

    Her silence told him he shocked her, and when her voice came out in a croak, it was confirmed. She cleared her throat. “Are you sure that you want me to go? I mean we hardly know each other.”

    He chuckled. “We know each other well enough. I am very sure I want you to come to Atlanta with me.”

    Keirra paused. “Who else is going to be there?”

    He smiled before reclining back on the couch. “My parents as well as my sisters and their families.”

    “So in other words, your entire family,” she said on a groan.

    Eric laughed. “Oh no. Not my entire family by any means. Just in case I didn’t tell you. My mother is one of twelve, and my father is one of six.”

    Her gasp of surprise traveled across the phone line, and he could tell he shocked her with the information. From his conversations with Randy, he knew Keirra and her sisters craved the closeness of a family. He hoped she would say yes to meeting his family. She would fit in well, and his mother would love her. He waited anxiously for her to give him an answer. She was taking longer than he would like to say yes and he wasn’t certain she would. He had to figure out something he could say or do to convince her.

    Just as he went to speak, she took a deep breath, and his heart rate slowed in disappointment as he realized she was going to turn him down.

    “As crazy as I think this idea is, and as nervous as I am about meeting your family, I would love to go with you to Atlanta.”

    He couldn’t express the happiness he felt at her words, but he should have known she would accept.
    He’d issued a challenge. He wasn’t surprised that she was willing to face the challenge head on. He was willing to admit that he didn’t think it would be this easy. Nothing with her ever was. It was one of the things that attracted him to her. Maybe Kristen had been right in stating that all he had to do was challenge Keirra to capture her interest. Now he had to figure out what to do to keep it.

Chapter Five
    Keirra took another sip of her coffee as she turned off the engine and grabbed her bag before climbing out. Unfortunately, the weekend had flown by, entirely too quickly. It was another Monday, and that meant it was the beginning of another workweek. She walked into the building with her best smile in place. She signed in then went to her classroom. The first bell of the day rang, and the rest of the day flew by. Before she knew it the day was over. She straightened up her classroom before heading to the front office to sign out.

    Thankfully, the drive home was a short one. She pulled into the driveway before heading into the house. Kayla hadn’t made it home yet, so she would have the house to herself for a few minutes.
    That gave her time to go upstairs and relax for a little while. She and her sisters would all be meeting at Sam’s Café in an hour or two. Their routine was to meet at Sam’s Café every Monday for dinner.
    So far, that routine hadn’t been broken. There had been a time when they vowed not to eat at the restaurant, but that vow had gone out the window the next week. They were addicted to Sam’s Café, and there wasn’t anything that would keep them away from weekly Monday dinner. Sure they could meet at the house and have dinner there, but it wasn’t Sam’s Café. Sam’s Café held memories for them that could never be replaced.

    She walked into her room and sat her bag down by the dresser. Right now, she had no idea of what she was going to wear, but she would figure it out before it was time to leave. She slipped out of her shoes