Page 104 of Elusion

“And Connor?”

“Graham started in on him again first thing this morning about absolutely nothing. He went to basketball this afternoon, so hopefully, he worked off some aggression, but I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since he left.” She grows quiet, and I picture her eyes closed as she presses her lips together to regain her composure. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep up with all the fires before they blaze out of fucking control.”

I hate her dealing with everything alone. She’s admitted to Graham’s opinions being more aggressive and outspoken lately. But, as always with Callie, I worry she downplays the situation to prevent me from worrying. Obviously, it doesn’t work.

“Want me to come and help tomorrow?” I ask.

“Yes,” she says. “Please save me. I’ll love you forever.”

“Your sexy ass is already going to love me forever.”

She laughs, and the sound alone relieves my anxiety. Whatever happens tonight, I will still have her.

“You’re right. I will.” She groans again, annoyed. “Cate’s screaming again. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Bye, beautiful.”

I miss whatever she yells, but if I were Cate, I’d be running my ass off.

Before the calming effects of Callie wear off and I change my mind, I climb out. Greta greets me and ushers me into the foyer. As I set off on my journey to the sitting room, she wishes me luck, like she knows I need it. Not a positive sign when the housekeeper shows concern.

On the way past the kitchen, Dustin snags my arm. “Cutting it close, bro.”

“Why are you even here?”

“I’m here as backup in case you need me to go toe-to-toe with Mom.” He smiles, smug. “Given I’m the sensible one, she’ll listen to me.”

I fear my eye roll will never end. “Are you hoping this means I won’t take the LSAT? Because I’ll beat your score regardless of what we decide tonight.”

He chuckles. “You won’t beat me. But no, this is about my little brother, who’s always wanted to find his own way. You shouldn’t have someone else’s dreams forced on you.”

Terrified of what happened to make him say such a supportive-brother statement, I jerk my head back. “What?”

“I mean it. You have far too much passion to settle on a career someone else picked for you. We all deserve the opportunity to find what makes us ridiculously happy.”

“Thanks, Dustin,” I say cautiously.

He slaps me on the back, harder than necessary. “Well, it’s only fair you follow your dreams since you’ll never be smarter or more good-looking than me.”

There’s my real brother.

“Neither of those is true,” I say. “Especially not you being better-looking. I’m devastatingly handsome, and you, my fine fellow, are sexy at best.”

We both grin, and he messes up my hair, which, in all honesty, doesn’t alter the appearance much at all. Before we go any further, I give him my phone and keys so that nothing in my pockets distracts me.

It’s time for battle.

Another seven hundred and thirty-six steps later, we reach the sitting room. My mother stares at her watch, so we must be at least ten seconds late. Ray greets me with the usual handshake that turns into a one-armed hug. I bend over and kiss Carol on the cheek. She keeps her eyes straight ahead, confirming Dustin exaggerated the truth about her being open to this conversation.

Across from them, Dustin and I sit on the couch. Small talk ensues over a glass of scotch. We quickly cycle through the easy topics, so I dive straight in without any more pleasantries.

“I have three different ideas I want to run by you.Thefirst—”

Carol holds up a hand to stop me. “Do any involve you upholding your end of our arrangement?”

And we’re off.

“Carol, let the boy talk,” Ray says.

---