She laughed, unable not to at his teasing tone. “Okay then.”

“Come on back. Gran’s in the kitchen and Mindy should be back shortly.” He leaned in closer. “She went to church with Garrett and his family.”

“Oh no. Is he a Baptist?”

Shep laughed. “Yes!”

Their grandmother must have had kittens over that.

“What are you two up to?” Her grandfather smiled as they entered the kitchen and dining room at the back of the house.

“Nothing much.” She squeezed her brother’s arm and then moved to kiss her grandfather’s cheek. “Morning.”

“You mean afternoon, don’t you? Church was nice today. The pastor gave a great sermon. Too bad you missed it.” Her grandmother jutted her chin out, both to chide and demand a kiss.

Caroline gave a kiss but wasn’t going to allow the chide to bother her. Her faith was her business, as was how she spent her Sunday mornings.

“Glad you had a good morning at church. Can I help with anything?”

Her mother would have wanted her to try her hardest so she did. And damn it, they were close to Shep and Mindy so why not her?

She wished it didn’t matter. Wished she had the confidence that it didn’t make her feel small and unimportant.

But she’d be damned if she gave in to it, even if she craved that ease they seemed to have with her siblings.

“Why don’t I set the table?”

“Mindy usually does.”

“She’s not here, Gran,” Shep interrupted. “I’ll do it. Sit down, Caroline. Want some coffee? I was just about to make some with that fancy K Cup thing you gave me for my birthday.”

“Oh! I’ll do it. You do the dishes, I’ll make the coffee.”

“He’s too young for coffee,” their grandmother said. Caroline and Shep ignored it.

Caroline looked through the spinner with all the cups and chose one for herself. “What kind do you want?”

“I want the macadamia nut kind.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Gross.”

He laughed as he put out silverware.

She made them both coffee. Her grandfather was drinking tea, and her grandmother shook her head when Caroline asked her if she wanted coffee and muttered about how they had a perfectly good coffeemaker already.

“Y’all need to get Caroline a key. Did you know she didn’t have one?” Shep asked his grandfather once he’d finished putting milk in his coffee.

“Oh. You’re right. I’m sorry, sweetheart. I’ll go down to the hardware store this week and get you one.”

“Thanks, Grandpa. It’s not urgent or anything.”

“Hush. It’s silly to make you knock on the door the way you did this morning. It just slipped my mind.” Her grandfather patted her hand.

Mindy came in all laughter and chatter with her boyfriend, Garrett, in her wake. “Sorry we’re late. We needed to get Garrett’s aunt back home.” Her sister caught sight of Caroline at the table and smiled. “You’re here.”

Caroline got up to hug her sister. Garrett nodded at her, keeping his reserve. One he only had with her apparently as everyone else got a hug and a big smile.

It was early days. She hadn’t been around him much while the others had known him for years. It would take time. She just had to be patient.

They sat down to eat, and after a while of trying to draw people out and get to know them better, she just let it go. Mindy was wrapped up in Garrett, who loved the sound of his own voice and maybe her sister. Her grandparents approved of this, despite his apparently Baptist leanings. Her grandmother probably already had plans for how she’d convert him to Lutheranism once they got married.

At least Shep appeared to want to interact with her, answering her questions about school.

“I want to go to law school,” he said with a grin.

Pride warmed her. It ran in the family after all, but it meant something to her personally too.

“Yeah? Awesome. Hard work, but it’s worth it if you love the job.”

“You do then?”

“I do. Weird as it sounds, I love the courtroom. Not everyone does, but it’s my favorite part of the job. There are other legal jobs out there. When the time comes, if you still want to pursue law school, I can hook you up with folks I know so you can see what their jobs are like. Get a perspective that way.”

“As long as he doesn’t defend the guilty,” Garrett said.

Caroline cocked her head, trying to figure out if the comment was about her or defense lawyers in general or what.

“Everyone’s innocent until proven guilty, so that’s easy enough.” She smiled, not wanting to argue and ruin everyone’s brunch.

“But what about once they’re proven guilty? What then about the people who keep trying to free them?”

Oh. No. No f**king wet-behind-the-ears near-stranger was going to lecture her about what she’d spent fifteen years learning. He never knew her father.

The table went still.

“We talking about me in particular, Garrett?” Years in the courtroom had given her pretty excellent control. She wasn’t going to lose it there in her grandparents’ home, but she did let her feelings flash in her gaze—just briefly—and was satisfied when he flinched. She’d eat this little punk for breakfast.

“No. Of course he isn’t.” Mindy elbowed Garrett.

“Why pretend she’s not making a mess?” Garrett asked. “She’s back a few weeks and already she’s starting fights all over town.”