She still tiptoed around her brother’s moods. Her father’s, too, for that matter. “Have a great half-birthday, girls,” Ken said, exiting without a word of thanks to Abby. “Oh, Kenny-loo.” Abby muttered the words softly enough to pretend she hadn’t intended Ken to hear them. “Kenny-loo” was what Danny McCormick used to call her brother in grade school, code for “He was fat enough to break the loo.” It was mean, and she regretted it instantly. What was it about siblings that made you shrink back to your worst childhood self?
