Precious Stones Read Online Free PDF Page A

answered as she added more vegetables to her plate.
    Malachi took a bite of the steak and said, “Damn! She grills almost as good as I do. It’s tender and seasoned just right.”
    â€œShe’s a great cook,” Keilah said before changing the subject. “What’s going on, Malachi? I mean, seriously, why are you here a week earlier than everyone else? Is there something you’re not telling me? Is everything okay back home?”
    Malachi put his fork down and smiled. “Everything’s cool. I needed a break, that’s all. You know it can be hard sometimes being around family all the time. I love my brothers, but damn! They can get on my last nerve. Besides, I wanted to spend some time with you guys before everybody else got here. You do know it’s going to be crazy, right?”
    â€œIt’s not going to be crazy, because if you and Keytone start tripping, I’m going to shut it down with the quickness,” Keilah retorted.
    â€œWhy are you singling us out?” Malachi asked.
    â€œBecause it’s always you two, that’s why. Everyone else gets along just fine.”
    Keilah was the only girl and the baby in her family. Her brothers, Luke, Roman, Malachi, and Genesis, had basically raised her after their parents died. Her half brother, Keytone, was the same age as her oldest brother, Luke. He had a shady past, and it had been difficult for the brothers to accept him into the family dynasty, but he had changed his ways and had been a great manager at one of the family-owned casinos.
    Ramsey laughed and asked, “Babe, how are you going to shut down Thanksgiving?”
    She looked at her husband in disbelief. He had seen her family in action and was well aware of how quickly things could get out of hand with them.
    â€œRamsey, I know you’re not going to sit there and act like you don’t know how stupid they get,” Keilah said.
    Ramsey laughed again. “I know they can get a little passionate about things—hell, I can too—but you can’t cancel Thanksgiving, so this is how it’s going to go down... . We’re going to fellowship as a family, give thanks to God, and enjoy some of Sabrinia’s delicious cooking.”
    Sabrinia was Luke’s wife and a well-known professional chef who owned her own catering business. She often volunteered to cook for family functions, including Thanksgiving.
    â€œOkay, if you say so,” she replied. “By the way, when are your parents and the rest of the family coming?”
    â€œThey’ll be here Tuesday, and my brother and sister will be here Wednesday.”
    She rubbed her eyes and asked, “Where are we going to put everyone?”
    â€œYou don’t have to worry about me. I’ve already booked my room at the St. Regis, because I might hook up with somebody,” Malachi revealed.
    Ramsey gave Malachi a high five and said, “I ain’t mad at you, bro. A man needs his privacy when he’s entertaining the ladies.”
    â€œPlease! Can we get back to the sleeping arrangements ?” Keilah asked as she rolled her eyes. It didn’t take much to get Malachi talking about hooking up with women.
    With a huge smile on his face, Ramsey said, “Okay, we have six bedrooms, so we can move Neariah’s crib into our room and my parents can sleep in Neariah’s room.”
    â€œYour mom is not going to let us take Neariah out of her room. They have some spoiling to catch up on,” Keilah reminded him.
    â€œWell, whatever they want to do is fine with me,” said Ramsey. “Then Aunt Judy can have a guest room, and so can Luke and Sabrinia. Their kids are going to spend all their time in the theater and game rooms, anyway, so they will sleep wherever. That leaves two more rooms. I say let Roman and his wife have one and let my sister, Xenia, and her husband, Keith, have the other. Roman’s kids will camp out with the teenagers downstairs.