How to Stay Out of Prison: A Modern-Day Woman's Guide

Chapter 6

Nixon~

Lyrical Rodgers.

What a hell of a name.

I wondered if her parents were hippies or something like that. I mean, my brothers' and my names weren't too common, but I couldn't think if I'd ever heard the name Lyrical before.

After she had stormed off-without a bra or shoes-it'd taken everything that I'd had to finish up the repairs that Linc and I had been working on. It'd taken us well into the evening before we'd been finished with everything, but we'd gotten it all done. Unfortunately, we'd left the building without another Lyrical sighting, and, boy, did I want to see her again.

It hadn't helped that Lincoln wouldn't shut up about how she'd thought that he was sexy. I had managed to stow away my irritation by telling myself that, if she thought that Lincoln was sexy, then she had to think that I was sexy by default since we looked alike. Hell, all of us looked just like our dad, except that Jackson had gotten Mom's blue eyes, instead of Dad's hazel ones. However, other than that, we all looked similar. So, if she thought that Lincoln was sexy...well, then, I was also sexy, and so was Jackson.

Plus, as if my obsession with Lyrical wasn't bad enough, the second that I'd made it home, I had headed straight into my office, pulled up the Canal rental property, then had broken the motherfucking law. I had pulled up Lyrical's rental agreement information to stalk her.

However, I hadn't been irresponsible about my stalking. Before powering up my computer, I had called Lincoln, then asked him just how illegal was I about to get. He'd told me that invasion of personal privacy was a pretty big deal, to which I had ignored, then hung up on him.

So, armed with Lyrical's name, I had cyber-stalked all her social media sites. After a couple of hours, I had managed to find out that she worked as a pet store manager, had one sister, both her parents were alive and well, and she had a best friend that also lived in the Canal building.

Most importantly, I had been able to deduce from her online presence that she wasn't married, nor did she have a boyfriend. I also noted that most of her friends called her Lyric, and I found that I liked both versions of her unique name.

Now it was Sunday evening, and still seated at my desk, my eyes glued to the computer screen, it dawned on me just how frightening it was to realize just how easily someone could pick apart your life if they knew just where to look on the internet.

As I was comparing my stalking skills to those of others, my phone rang. I grabbed it off my desk, then saw that it was Jackson, so I answered, of course. "What's up?"

"Hey, Nix," he replied easily, and I smiled.

Though understandable, Jackson was way too serious sometimes. I got that his job was stressful, and that he was super dedicated to it, but he needed to find a way to enjoy the rest of his life, too. Granted, Linc and I also took our jobs seriously, but we weren't absorbed by our careers the way that Jackson was. He seemed to only be happy when he was tending to his patients.

It was also kind of funny how my brothers were perceived. Lincoln was so easy-going that you'd never guess that he was a ruthless criminal defense attorney. Seriously, watching him in action in the courtroom was such a contrast to his personality outside of it. Granted, when you had people's freedom in the palm of your hand, then you had to always give more than your all, and Linc always delivered on his promises to his clients.

Jackson was also a bit of an enigma. He was one of the best pediatric physicians in the state, but looking at him, you'd have your doubts. His dimples were reserved for his patients only...well, his patients and his family, but everyone else got the serious doctor. Colleagues, co-workers, patients' parents, hospital staff, and the rest of the world...well, they were all greeted with a six-foot-two, tattooed mass of muscle, seriousness, and unparalleled medical talent.