Premeditated Mortar by Kate Carlisle

Author:Kate Carlisle [Carlisle, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2020-12-02T00:00:00+00:00

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I slept for two hours before being rudely awakened by Mac, who asked me what day it was and how many fingers he was holding up. I dozed off immediately after that, but woke up when the doorbell rang. Before I could drag myself up from the couch, the door opened and my younger sister Chloe walked in.

“Don’t get up,” she insisted. “Mac said I could come over to say hi and see how you’re doing.”

“You are always welcome,” I murmured, as she wrapped me in a big, gentle hug. “I’m doing better now that you’re here.” I held her at arm’s length, then smoothed a thick strand of blond hair away from her face. “Look how beautiful you are. I love you so much and I kind of hate you, too.”

Chloe grinned. She had decided at sixteen that she wanted to be a blonde and it still really worked for her. I had always been perfectly happy with my curly red hair, even when it refused to be tamed. Despite the differences, we were clearly sisters. She was dressed in almost the same outfit as mine, except that her chic work boots had never seen a mud puddle or a slab of wet concrete. Her jeans were faded in all the best places, and her thick henley sweater was a shade of red rarely seen on a construction site. “What do you call that color?”

She glanced down. “Amaryllis.”

“Oh, perfect.” I had to smile. “It’s really pretty. You look so darn cute and I’m totally dragging right now.”

She was frowning at me. “And yet you still look good. Even with your face all scraped up. It’s annoying.”

I laughed again. “God, it’s great to see you.”

Robbie was so excited, he was practically bouncing.

“Robbie thinks so, too.”

“Hello, Robbie!” Chloe said, and patted her chair. The dog leaped up and Chloe scratched and patted him. “Such a good boy. What a handsome fellow.”

Robbie let out another bark of joy.

Tiger was her usual demure self, winding her way in, out, and around Chloe’s ankles. The cat gave my sister a couple of head bops to get her attention and as soon as Robbie jumped down, Chloe lifted the cat into her arms and snuggled.

Watching her play with my pets was making me feel all emotional and I knew I was headed for a crying jag, a sure sign that I was still in pain. It had been a crazy weird day.

“I’ve missed you,” I said, watching the antics.

She pulled back and looked at me with suspicion. “Are you going to cry?”

“No. Maybe. Oh God.”

“Okay, we need to sit and talk. But first, do you have any wine?”

“Are we related? Of course I have wine.” I checked my wristwatch. It was almost five o’clock and I still felt punchy.

I led the way into the kitchen, which gave me a chance to pull myself together. Opening the freezer, I grabbed an ice cube and ran it over my forehead, across my cheeks, and around my neck.

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