There’s no hesitation before she jumps into her response, and it’s with such certainty that you’d think she was telling me a fact about herself. “That pretty much sums it up. Lincoln is a man of a different character—a good man. One of the most loyal men you’ll ever meet—like Limon to Pablo Escobar loyal. When Archer was acting up, he did everything in his power to set him straight—before and after the bar incident—and has been a great role model as far as helping Archer withdraw from his past mistakes.” Her eyes settle on me. “Prison, felon—they’re scary words, I know, but you can’t bundle the terms, bundle the people who’ve had those titles, as if they were one. Lincoln didn’t commit a violent crime. He loved his dad enough to cover for them, to say, I have your back, no matter what happens, and because of that, his father received less time. In ways, I respect him for it.”

I nod repeatedly. “Me too.”

Loyalty is an honorable trait, and yes, some might say that integrity changes when it’s for illegal activity, but I don’t agree.

“You know,” she goes on, “I’m surprised he opened up to you. He’s never talked about it with me or even Archer, last I heard. That has to be a hard thing to open up about.”

“He told me some secrets. I told him some. He’s easy to talk with.”

“Are you two …? Have you two …?”

There’s no holding back my smile. “Last night was the first time.”

She literally squeals. “How was it?”

I sink in the chair as if all emotions of happiness were weighing me down. “Amazing. Perfection. I’ve had sex before, but it’s different with him. Lincoln is unlike any guy I’ve ever been with.”

“Swear to God, it runs in the Callahan blood. Prewarning: what also runs in the Callahan blood is …” She pauses. “Although I’m not so sure that’s Lincoln. The guy isn’t as distant as Archer is, and Lincoln seems to have more sense to him. You definitely got the less difficult brother. While Archer is a loner, someone who keeps everything to himself before it eats him up, Lincoln hides his pain behind a smile. I’m not sure which is worse.”

“I guess we’ll see. He’s the only man to have ever opened up to me like that, and coming from a broken home, where my father kept secrets like pets, it means so much to me.”

“He’s never brought another woman around us. Shoot, I’ve never even heard of him dating, hooking up, texting. He’s not looking for a quick screw. He’s looking for a future with someone.”