Page 74 of Solstice

“We’ve never been the hanging out type.” Kit narrowed her eyes, suddenly suspicious of our younger sister’s motivations.

“Don’t you want to change that?” Abigail looked from Kit to me and back again. “Shouldn’t we like…look out for each other or something?”

“We do.” Kit pursed her lips. “It’s called living our own lives to make it more difficult for our mother to control us. If we scatter like rats, we’re harder to pick off.”

“C’mon, Kit,” I said with a laugh. “I could use the camaraderie.”

She sighed. “Okay, okay. Fine. But only because you’re getting married. What do you want from me?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Don’t normal sisters do like…sleepovers and stuff?”

Abigail gasped, pushing up on her toes as she looked between us with big eyes. “A sleepover!”

“Jesus Christ, really?” Kit groaned and ran her hands over her face.

“Why? Do you have somewhere better to be?” I put my hands on my hips and gave my sister thec’monlook. Abigail activated the puppy dog eyes, layering on the guilt.

Kit shook her head and gave in. “No, I guess I don’t.”

That was how we found ourselves spread out in my living room, drinking wine and laughing our way through a game of Monopoly. It might have seemed like a boring domestic evening to anyone else, but I hadn’t spent much time with my sisters in, well, ever really. Maybe not since boarding school for Kit and longer for Abigail. I had missed them more than I thought.

Abigail grinned. “Are you excited to get married?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Kit cut in. “You know they didn’t choose this, right?”

“That doesn’t mean they don’t love each other.”

My phone rang, but I ignored it. I wanted to stay in the present. Whoever it was could wait.

Kit rolled her eyes and groaned. “Lucifer and X? It might look like true love now, but they’ve spent decades making each other miserable.”

“Better than dating no one at all.” Abigail pursed her lips at Kit.

“You’re the one to talk.” Kit rolled her dice and picked up her top hat to move it four spaces, landing on a railroad. “Buy it.” As banker, I gave her the property, and she handed me the money.

“You know why I’m not dating.” Abigail took another sip of wine. “But you could have any man you wanted.”

Kit chuckled and did her best Disney villain impression. “You poor naive girl.”

“No?”

“No.” Kit shook her head, taking another long drink of wine. “Mother has had her eye on Hugh Kennedy since I was in diapers. I’ll be married shortly after Jon.”

Abigail’s mouth hung open. “Really? You think she’d do that to you?”

“She did it to Ivy.” Kit pointed at me, and I grimaced. “You know Ivy dated Carter in college, right?”

“Kit—” I tried to cut in, but she held up a hand.

“Lex was in love with Miri. And after college, Carter broke things off out of the blue. Poof. Like it never happened.”

“So?” Abigail looked confused.

“Carter says he didn’t do it.” I took another drink of wine, swallowing back my bitterness. “He got a similar text from me.”

The pieces fell into place in Abigail’s mind. “Was it Mother?”

“I don’t know,” I said, shooting my other sister a death glare. “And neither does Kit.” My phone vibrated again, but I silenced it, sending it to voicemail.

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