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So there.

She started the coffee maker, which was designed to fit a thermos right underneath the spout. With bleary eyes, she shoved it beneath and pushed the on button. Then she turned to get some cream out of the fridge, and heard a splattering noise.

She turned around to see that she had put the thermos beneath the spout, upside down. And the coffee was running out over the bottom of the container.

With absolutely no deference given to whether or not her sisters were sleeping in their upstairs bedrooms in their adorably eclectic farmhouse, Quinn let out a howl of rage.

A moment later, Fia appeared at the top of the stairs. “Are you fighting a dragon down here?”

“Philosophically,” Quinn said, having shut the machine off and hurriedly begun cleaning up the mess. “Yes.”

She reset everything and put the thermos beneath, this time checking to see if it was right side up. “I often think it’s utterly unfair that a person has to make coffee before they’ve had coffee.”

“One of those true injustices in the world, I agree,” said Fia, crossing her arms beneath her breasts and leaning against the wall. “Did you need some help?”

“I don’t need help. I’m going to work at Levi Granger’s ranch this morning. Because apparently I have to prove to him that I know what I’m doing.”

“You’re off to a great start,” said Fia, looking around the kitchen.

“Don’t oppose me, Fia,” she said testily. “I’ve had enough of it.”

“I’m not opposing you. I am teasing you.”

It felt the same to Quinn. And she was far too raw for any of it.

“He’s infuriating,” said Quinn.

“I’m sure that he is,” Fia said, and Quinn felt she sounded patronizing.

“Do you know Levi?” It was possible that Fia knew him in a different context, but the idea made Quinn feel scratchy.

Fia shook her head. “No. He’s way too much older than me for us to have known each other socially back in the day. Anyway. You know I don’t...go out or anything.”

“Yeah. I do.”

She had long assumed it was because Landry King had broken Fia’s heart. And yet Fia didn’t seem like a romantic. But then, she had often thought perhaps that was why, as well.

Rory was a ridiculous romantic. She had dreams of being swept off her feet.

Quinn had no such dreams. Quinn just hadn’t decided yet if she wanted any kind of romantic entanglement.

It seemed like a hassle, from her perspective.

Watching the dissolution of her parents’ marriage had been disheartening.

And really, her dad leaving had put a big dent in her ability to trust anything with a penis. How could you ever get back to trusting somebody that you had known your entire life when they proved that they were...not at all who you thought. How could you ever look at anyone the same way again?

Quinn hadn’t been able to. It was one reason she’d been so angry.

Her dad hadn’t just left them; he’d taken with him Quinn’s entire view of the world.

Nothing had ever been the same.

But right now, Fia’s expression just looked so...sad. It made Quinn wonder. It made her wonder if she knew her sister at all.

“Fia...”

“There’s nothing to talk about, Quinn. And certainly nothing that requires a summit at five thirty in the morning. I don’t know anything about Levi Granger other than the fact that he has a reputation for being stubborn. He does not have a reputation for being dangerous in any way, though, so I imagine that you’ll be fine. Unless he is a very stealthy murderer of young women that he puts to work on his ranch.”