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Not for the long haul.
“My sister has twins. Felicia and Ford.” He sighed. “I didn’t visit much during the regular season or, uh, the off-season.”
“Why not?”
He shrugged. “My former brother-in-law hated me.”
I nodded seriously. “I probably would too, if you broke my nose.”
Burke stared at me for a moment, and then his lips curved into a tiny smile. “Yeah.”
“See? We can manage friendly conversations. Isn’t it nice?”
“It’s not awful,” he murmured.
“I guess we can thank Mack for that, then,” I said. “We’d still be arguing if it weren’t for him.”
Burke gave me a look.
I held up my hands. “I’m just saying. Truces are a good thing.”
“This doesn’t mean I’ll do whatever you say, though.”
I laughed. “I never thought you would.”
Chapter Ten
BURKE
Charlotte:We have a builder! William is GREAT.
Burke:And he can work with our timeline?
Charlotte:Yes. He just had a project fall through. They couldn’t secure a grant from the state for the renovations, so he’s free to start anytime.
Burke:Crew?
Charlotte:Three guys plus him. He has family here, so we don’t have to cover room and board. He only has one subcontractor he’s bringing in from Chicago—the plaster guy. Everyone else, he’s open to using the people I know here.
Burke:Good. I’ll be back in a couple of days.
Charlotte:Ahh. I was wondering. I sort of filled your room with art that I found in the attic. I’m making a spreadsheet of what we have and its estimated worth.
Burke:That’ll help when we sell it to pay for the roof.
Charlotte:Funny. What did the estate lawyer say about that?
Burke:I’ve got it handled.
Burke:And I know that the whole west wing needs new framing. You think I don’t notice how the ceiling is sagging?
Charlotte:I was going to tell you eventually.
Burke:When they started rebuilding walls?
Charlotte:ANYWAY. I’ll clean out the room before you get here. Unless you don’t mind Campbell ancestors staring at you while you sleep.
She attached a picture of a stout, stern-faced woman looking at the camera. She was wearing a high-necked dress and a lace bonnet thing on her head. I didn’t realize I was smiling until my sister gasped.
