“About plants in space?” Sierra asks.
“No. They were about managing fungus and bacterial growths in receptive environments.”
This is evidently less fascinating to Sierra than it was to me. “But seven people,” she muses, returning to the problem that is more interesting to her. “You and Abbie and Luke makes only three.”
“Luke didn’t live with us,” I say before I catch myself.
Sierra doesn’t seem to notice. “Two then. Who else is there?”
Sylvia murmurs a warning but we both ignore her.
“Jake is the oldest. He’s a financial consultant in Toronto now.”
“What does that mean?”
“He knows a lot about leveraging debt and managing capital assets.”
“I don’t understand that either.”
“Neither do most of us, but he seems to make a lot of money at it.”
I’m aware of Sylvia’s smile.
“Who else?” Sierra demands.
“I’m the next oldest, then there’s Austin. He’s on a TV show calledSo You Think You Can Cook?Maybe you’ve seen it?”
“That Austin Cavendish?That’syour brother?”
I nod.
“But he’s such an asshole.”
I grin even as Sylvia chides Sierra. “And now the whole world knows it, instead of just us.”
We all laugh at that.
“You probably won’t ever meet him either. He’s more likely to be in the States than in Empire.”
“Okay, who else?” Sierra demands.
“You know about Abbie. She’s next. Then Candace’s son, Grayson, who is in Seattle now. He got his MBA and went to work at a high-tech company. Her younger kids, Madison and Ethan, do lots of different things.”
“That sounds diplomatic,” Sylvia teases and I toss a smile at her.
“I can’t keep up. Madison was going to be a fashion designer, then an interior decorator, then an events hostess, then a wedding planner. Last I heard, I think she was going to start making soap to sell at fairs.” I shrug. “Ethan is currently making fruit wines.”
“Wine is made from grapes,” Sierra informs me.
“But you apparently can make it from other fruits, too.”
“Is it good?”
I just smile. “I don’t know.” Far be it for me to rain on Ethan’s parade. Dad dotes on him and keeps him funded. Theyoungest, he’s the classic rich boy, spoiled and indulged, fond of shiny trinkets, fast cars and exotic vacations, plus allergic to work of any kind. But that’s not my concern, so long as he’s not working for me.
“What about Luke?”
“What about him?”
