Miranda Montgomery might be the youngest in the family, but she wasn’t a kid anymore. Getting that idea into the thick skulls of her brothers and sisters, on the other hand, might take a miracle.

Forcing the man she’d loved for years to see that would be even harder.

Well, considering she was currently on a date with someone else so she could get that other man out of her head probably wasn’t helping things.

But there was only so much little-sister babying she could take.

She was twenty-three, done with school, and on the prowl.

She couldn’t help the grin at that thought. On the prowl? More like on a slow, steady march toward what she wanted. Right then, she was on a pit stop to make sure she wasn’t being an idiot though.

Just because she happened to love her big brother’s best friend didn’t mean he had to love her back.

Oh no. Decker Kendrick didn’t do anything he didn’t want to do, and loving her wasn’t in the cards. Seeing her as an adult woman with needs seemed so far out of his scope that Miranda was just about to call it a lost cause.

“Miranda, darling, are you listening?” Edward, her date, asked, that pleasant smile on his face getting on her nerves.

It wasn’t that he tried to be annoying; he couldn’t help himself. Everything about him was pleasant. His not-too-tight and not-too-bright smile, his suit that wasn’t designer—but neither was it bargain priced—his job as an accountant that was middle of the road, his voice that wasn’t too deep, wasn’t too high, or anything else she could name. He was just…pleasant.

What had she been thinking when she’d agreed to this date?

Oh, yeah...that Decker hardly looked at her as anything more than a little sister and she hadn’t been on a date in months.

Miranda shook her head then calmly put her napkin down on the table. They’d gone out to a nice dinner that wasn’t too fancy, nor was it all that casual, either. The man had a theme for sure, and he wasn’t about the get off course.

“I’m sorry, Edward. I’m not feeling well. I think I’m going to go home so I can make sure I’m ready for work in the morning.”

A Thursday evening date. Seriously? What had she been thinking? She had class in the morning and would have even more papers to grade after that. But she was trying not to be a homebody, and Thursday night dates with pleasant, boring Edward had been her answer.

Or not.

Edward frowned but not too deeply. “I’m sorry to hear that. You drove in. Are you able to drive yourself home?”

She’d driven in because she’d had a feeling she’d have to cut the date short. Also, her brothers would have killed her for going on a first date without an escape route.

“I’m good. Thank you for the evening.” She stood up, and he stood as well, gently kissing her hand.

And nada.

No spark.

“Rain check?” he asked, his eyes hopeful.

Instead of answering, Miranda gave him a small smile then said goodbye. She wasn’t about to crush his hopes in the middle of a restaurant, but she couldn’t go out with him again. Not when she was beyond bored.

She made her way home, then kicked off her heels and flopped on the couch. She’d get out of her dress and makeup in a bit. It was only seven thirty, so she had plenty of time.

Seven thirty.

Dear Lord, what a dull evening.

Miranda shouldn’t have said yes when Edward asked her out, but she’d wanted to get out of the house and get her mind off of the torment that wouldn’t go away.

Her dad had cancer, and she didn’t know how to deal with that. Others had made lists, done research, made food and brought it over, even though Mom could cook just fine at the moment. Miranda had hugged her dad and said she’d be there no matter what. Just tell her what to do.

It still scared the hell out of her.

She looked down at her phone and bit her lip. Austin might be done with dinner at the folks’ house with Shep and Shea. She’d just see how it went. Her big brother always knew what to do. She sent him a quick text asking how it went and smiled as he answered right away.

Good. As good as it can get. We just got to the house now, and I’m settling Shep and Shea in for the long haul. They’ll be here for a bit.

Miranda had to roll her eyes. For a man with fingers as big as his, her brother sure did type a lot in a text. Even as she smiled, she warmed. Shep was Austin’s age, so she hadn’t grown up with him as a sibling, but he’d been in her life for the whole of it. He still joked that he’d helped change her diapers.

Not something she liked to hear about, considering he’d once said it in front of her prom date.

I can’t wait to meet Shea.

You’ll like her. She’s tiny but powerful. We’ll be around, hon. Get some sleep. You have school in the morning.

Once a big brother, always a big brother. It didn’t matter that she was the teacher, in this case, and not the student. School came early in the morning anyway.

However, it wasn’t even eight yet, and she wanted to talk to her family. She dialed Meghan’s number, knowing the kids would be in bed by now and she’d have a better chance of reaching her sister.

“Hey you. What are you doing on the phone? I thought you’d be on your date.”

Miranda sighed at her sister’s words. “Edward was dull and boring. I’m home now.”

Meghan gave a soft laugh. “Honey, his name was Edward. You told me yourself you only thought of the sad sparkly vampire when you said his name.”

Miranda chuckled. “He wasn’t emo, Meghan. He was just…boring.”

“Well, you’re home now. I’m sorry it didn’t work out.”

I’m not. Edward wasn’t Decker, but Miranda wasn’t about to tell Meghan that.

“What are you up to tonight?”

“Oh, the usual...cleaning up vomit off the floor of the bathroom because Boomer decided to try to eat one of my shoes, and it didn’t agree with him.”

“Oh, poor Boomer,” Miranda said through held-back laughter.

“Don’t you laugh at me, Miranda Montgomery. That puppy might be the cutest thing ever, but he’s a devil. And Richard has had it up to—”

Her sister cut herself off, and Miranda wanted to scream. She hated Meghan’s husband, but she couldn’t voice it. She’d done it once, and her sister had told her not to judge what she didn’t understand.

So, she’d be the good sister, hold back, and be there for her no matter what. She’d just say bad things about Richard in her head…or to her other siblings.

Someone yelled on the other end of the line, and Miranda winced.

“Crap. Richard just found another puddle. I need to go. Love you, honey.”

She hung up before Miranda could say it back. Damn it. She was worried about Meghan just as she was about her dad. It sucked being the little sister where she couldn’t help, only stand back and pray that things would work out, being there if needed.

If only she was what Decker needed.

No, she wouldn’t think about that. Not now.

She knew love was hard. She’d seen it her whole life…but she’d been in love just as long. What was one more day?