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I wondered if Graham cooked for women often. I bet there was no shortage of candidates banging at his door.
***
When I arrived at Val's house, Will was still there. He and Milo were throwing darts at a target my sister had set up in one corner of her living room.
"Mommy, please, can Uncle Will and I finish this round?" Milo asked.
"What about your show?" I countered, ruffling his hair. It was on Netflix, so we could stream it anytime.
"We can watch tomorrow."
"Okay, finish your game."
I left the boys to their dart game and sat on the couch next to my sister.
“Why did you come with an Uber?” Val asked.
“My car wouldn’t start, so I had it towed away.”
"Wine?" She pointed to the glass she was nursing.
"Yes, please. I'll get myself a glass." I wasn't driving, so why not? I took a glass out of her cabinet and sank on the couch again once Val had poured some wine.
"Will looks a bit down," she said.
"My thoughts exactly."
As a little girl, I'd dreamed my brother would become an actor. He certainly was handsome enough, but then again, all my brothers could pass as movie stars without a problem, and I wasn't saying this because I was related to them. No, sir. I had photos with the family everywhere in my office, and more than a fair share of bridesmaids—and even the occasional bride—had sighed at the sight of my brothers.
But Will had never had Hollywood dreams. Still, he hadn't seemed like the type to join the force. In fact, he'd had a few run-ins with the police as a teenager, after our parents passed away. Despite his adventures, he'd also been a responsible older brother. He'd fit the devastatingly handsome but troubled bad boy profile. Now, the devastatingly handsome part still held true, but he'd grown from a bad boy into a badass man with a dangerous job.
We'd learned not to ask, because he wasn't allowed to speak about his work, but we'd also learned to read clues into his body language. A frown was easy to erase. We could count on a little old-fashioned sibling teasing to do the trick. A scowl required a bit more creativity. Hunched shoulders meant shit had hit the fan. We hadn't yet discovered how to take his mind off that, but we weren't giving up.
Currently, Will's expression was somewhere between a scowl and a frown.
"What do you think? Teasing will be enough?" I asked, sipping wine.
Val nodded excitedly. "If we team up? Of course."
We waited for the boys to finish their dart game. When Milo went to the bathroom, Will joined us on the couch, sitting between the two of us. Val and I exchanged a glance.
"I know that look," Will said.
Damn. My brother could smell a Connor Secret Intervention from a mile away.
"What look?" I asked innocently.
"You know I can't talk about work, so don't ask."
Val shook her head mockingly. "After all these years, he still hopes the badge might start working on us. You can't boss us around, brother."
"Watch me try," Will said. He was trying to sound firm, but I could hear the tinge of humor.
"I think he likes to fail," I teased.
"Girls, it's been a shitty day; that's all. No need for an ambush."
Val brought her hands to her chest theatrically. "Ouch. This is an intervention. I'm wounded that you can't tell the difference."
