Why does she sound like that? The grin on her face is terrifying and I don’t know if I’m in trouble or if she’s trying to rope me into doing something she shouldn’t.
“Hey, Piper. What’s up?” I send up a silent prayer she’s not going to drag me into some scheme she’s concocted.
“I heard you have a guest.” She smiles and bats her eyes, doing everything in her power to be innocent.
How could she know that? We haven’t passed anyone as we’ve come and gone. Half of my siblings don’t even have cameras on their property.
“Oh yeah?” The need for whatever information she has outweighing telling her the truth.
“Yep.” She pauses to see if I’ll say anything else. I refuse to give her the satisfaction. When she realizes I’m not going to fall into her trap, she sighs. “I ran into Callie yesterday morning. I didn’t realize she’s been at your house since the storm started. How did that even happen?”
It was only a matter of time before someone found out. I guess I should be happy it’s Piper and not any of my other siblings. She won’t be obnoxious like our brothers.
“Miles called me to check on her. She wasn’t answering her phone and he couldn’t leave the ranch.”
“I bet he was freaking out. He’s always been an overbearing big brother. I swear, it’s like it runs in the water in this town.”
Should I be offended by that? I think so, but I’ll let it slide for now. “He was. It was kind of annoying actually.” He acts like she’s not a grown ass woman capable of taking care of herself. Though, I guess I’m not much better for demanding she stay at me house. “Anyway, I went over there and they didn’t have power or water. I couldn’t let her stay there when I have a set up that is somewhat comfortable.”
“Not to mention Miles would have kicked your ass if you’d left her there.” How the hell does she know my best friend so well?
“Pretty much. She fought me on it, but eventually came with me.” I’m not sure how much of the story she knows, and she’s not going to tell me, so I continue. “When I got power, we decided it was time for them to go home, but they had a water leak. The plumber can’t get there until closer to the end of the week. I told her it was fine to stay with me in the meantime. But I’m going to call in the morning to see if that’s still the timeline.”
“Why? It seems like y’all have a decent routine with her staying there.” I swear if she tries to act like Eric, I’m going to lose my shit.
“Because I’m sure she wants to be in her own bed again.”
“Oh, so she’s sleeping in your bed?” Piper waggles her eyebrows. It never fails, she’ll always be the pain in the ass little sister.
“Not with me. I’m sleeping on the couch.” As much as I like having her in my house, I’ll be happy when I can sprawl out on my bed again.
“I’m going to need photographic proof because there’s no way you fit on that thing. At least not comfortably.”
“It’s not comfortable…at all.” Hoping the conversation is over, I turn toward the dolly and pull it closer to me. The bottles of wine clink together at the movement.
“Maybe we should have an impromptu game night tonight. It’s been forever since I’ve hung out with Callie.”
Oh hell no. There’s no way that’s happening. The last thing I need is her trying to do whatever she’s cooking up in her head.
“Lexi has to get ready to go back to school tomorrow.”
“She’s a teen. They basically roll out of bed and go to school.”
I double over in laugher. The dolly the only thing keeping me upright. “I seem to remember you taking at least an hour to get ready for school. I have a feeling Lexi is the same way.”
When I catch my sister’s gaze, she’s not amused. She can’t deny it, though.
“Fine. But don’t be shocked when I invite her over for the next one. It’ll be nice to have more girls around. I love you, Parker, and Phillip, but it sucks being the only girl when Paula isn’t there.”
“We’ll see.” It’s the only thing I can promise her. There’s no telling if Callie will even talk to me after she’s back home. At least, not as much as she has been. “Since you’re here, can you help me take these bottles to the main house?”
“Sure.” She grabs another dolly and we load that one with fewer crates. “I’m sure Parker will be relieved I’m back.”
Of course she’d leave him in charge. He sells almost as much wine as she does. It must be something about their charm. It missed quite a few of us kids. Now I just have to hope she didn’t say anything to any of our other siblings. I don’t want them poking around in my business.
I pull my jacket around me as I make my way from the truck to the back door. After everything was done at work, I decided to bail early. Pierce asked me to stay to help with some inventory, but I told him to get one of our brothers to help him. My sister would be so proud of me for not caving to his demands. I’m sure I’ll get attitude from him at some point, but right now I don’t really care.
The back door squeaks as I push it open and shut it behind me. I kick off my shoes and head to the living room. It’s the most likely place Callie will be. Her car is in the driveway so I know she’s here.
