Page 133 of Inflame

“Good, because I know I can’t without losing my mind. And I predict a girls’ night will be high on their to-do list.”

“Okay.”

“I’m going to expect you to give me a report on her every couple of hours. I can’t conduct business if I’m worried about her. She is my reason to breathe.”

I take a sip from my mug, savoring the smooth rich taste. “I wouldn’t expect it any other way, although I’m a bit surprised it’s not every thirty minutes.”

Graham shakes his head at me. “The other thing I wanted to talk to you about is Penny.”

My breath catches in my throat. I have not been keeping as close tabs on her progress as Graham has, so I hope she is doing well. “Okay…”

“She called me and asked if I would try to convince Dad to sign the early release papers.”

“She called me about the same thing the other week too.”

“Thoughts?” Graham asks, visibly stressed. We both want what is best for our baby sister—even if it means keeping her at the facility longer.

“I’d want to discuss the potential consequences with the doctors first before I would feel comfortable moving forward. I think she is really wanting out of there by your wedding date so she can start fresh again.”

“Why would the date she gets released matter?”

“I have no idea. Women confuse the hell out of me.”

“Ha,” Graham chuckles. “Join the club.”

“Maybe she met someone and wants the freedom to date.”

Graham’s eyes turn dark. “No.”

“No?”

“Not unless I approve of him.”

I laugh over Graham’s overprotectiveness. “I’m sure she’ll love having her two brothers screening all of her candidates. Maybe if we tell her that when she’s released, we’ll both chaperone her dates, then she will reconsider rushing her exit out of there.”

“Who says there will be more than one candidate?”

“You know there will be. It is karma for all of the times we sabotaged her dates when she was in high school.”

“You know how teenage punks are, Nic.”

“Yeah, I know. I used to be one of them. I’m not saying I have regrets about protecting her. I’m just being realistic.”

“She can date when she is thirty.”

I burst out laughing. “Angie is going to have so much fun while you are away and she gets let off the chain.”

Graham groans. “You have one job. Just keep her safe.”

“I can handle it,” I say confidently. “It'll be fun.”

“You really have no clue what you are in store for…”

“There’s only one way to find out.”

38

CLAIRE

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