and adopted a stern look and a tone terrifyingly similar to their mother’s. “Of course, Teague. We can’t be giving that Sheridan girl the best of the best, now can we?” She rolled her eyes. “I’ve been up here for two hours. Did you know we have four boxes this size filled with handkerchiefs? Why in God’s name would we need so many?”
They shared a look and said the word at the same time. “History.”
Teague looked around the dim attic. “I haven’t been up here in years.”
“No one has. That’s the point of it being an attic. The only things up here are boxed-away memories and maybe a ghost or two.” She dug deeper into the box. “But you didn’t text me because you were dying to dig through family heirlooms.”
No, he hadn’t, but he looked around the attic, and couldn’t help seeing it as a physical reminder of everything they had to lose. It was entirely possible that Callie’s secret wasn’t something that could potentially be a grenade, but he wasn’t about to place bets on it. Life was far too willing to rise up and kick him in the teeth for him to hope for the best. “How did things go with Callie last week?”
She sneezed when a cloud of dust rose out of the box. “She’s not what I expected, but I suppose I was a little biased. She managed to placate our mother without insulting her, which is something I’ve never pulled off, so she’s smarter than I gave her credit for. Prettier, too.”
High praise coming from his sister. “Do you like her?”
She shrugged. “I don’t hate her.”
He suspected it was as good as he was going to get. “I’d like you to take her out—spend some more time with her. She’s going to be family, after all.”
“If you’re trying to endear her to me, comparing her to family isn’t the way to go about it.”
He laughed. “I’m family.”
“My point stands.” But she was finally smiling. “But since you are my second-favorite brother, I will see about some sisterly bonding time.”
“I appreciate you—” Then he stopped to consider her words. “Wait—second-favorite brother?”
Her smile widened. “You’re great and all, but Devlin is—”
“Devlin. Yeah, I get it.” He reached into the box and grabbed a scrap of blue that had caught his eye. “Is this it?”
“Oh, thank God, yes.” She took it out of his hand and frowned at it. “It doesn’t look like much. But, back to Callie, don’t worry about it. The girls and I are taking her out tomorrow night.”
He sat back. “You already planned this before I asked you to, didn’t you?”
“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She pushed to her feet and dusted off her skirt. “That fiancée of yours is wound too tight. She needs a little loosening up.”
Considering he knew exactly what kind of activities Carrigan enjoyed to loosen up, that wasn’t comforting in the least. Callie was so restrained and proper—at least outside the bedroom. He couldn’t imagine her in the clubs his oldest sister liked to frequent. Not to mention… “You’re not taking Keira, right?”
Her green eyes were all innocence. “Keira isn’t twenty-one. Would I really take her to a place that might corrupt her innocence?”
“Yes, you would.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “And I don’t see Sloan volunteering for that sort of thing, either.”
“Brother, you constantly underestimate me. It will be as good for Sloan to get out of her shell as it will be for Callie. Now, run along. I have things well in hand.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.” But he recognized a losing battle when he saw one. Carrigan would do what she wanted, despite his wishes. She always did. The only saving grace of the whole clusterfuck was that his sister had perfected getting in and out of these places without being caught. There was no reason to think her perfect record would be ruined tomorrow. No reason except that nothing had gone right in recent memory. He rose. “Be careful, Carrigan. Please.”
She opened her mouth like she was going to deliver a flippant reply and then closed it. “I always am.”
It would have to do. He paused to ruffle her hair like he used to when they were kids, her outraged shriek music to his ears. He ducked out of the attic and headed to his room. There was a lot to accomplish today. If he couldn’t ferret out Callie’s secret, the least he could do was keep