He tensed at the idea, but one look at her and he knew he couldn’t deny her. Not when she was giving him those big, brown puppy dog eyes.
“All right. I’ll think about it.”
Fraser held his breath as he stepped into his childhood home. He was soon reassured when Brook ran up to him in socked feet that slid against the hardwood floors before sending him stumbling into Fraser’s arms. “Uncle Fraser!”
He wore orange face paint that was already melting around his eyes. Fraser recognised the work of his mum, who had never quite mastered the art of Halloween makeup, but tried every year nonetheless.
“Hello, mate,” Fraser said, lifting him up and squeezing him tightly. “You okay?”
“Mummy says you’re looking after us tonight! Are we going trick-or-treating?”
“We’ll have to see about that.” He tickled Brook’s chin. “Are you excited to stay at Uncle Fraser’s?”
Brook nodded, displaying a gummy grin. Unlike his two siblings, he shared his father’s ash-brown hair and green eyes, but Eiley’s beauty still freckled his skin and shaped his smile.
He pointed over Fraser’s shoulder to ask, “Who’s that lass?”
Harper offered a meek wave. “Hello. I’m Harper, a friend of your uncle’s. I’ve never met a talking pumpkin before!”
Brook giggled. “I’m only a talking human, really.”
“Oh! Well, I won’t tell anyone.”
Fraser’s heart warmed. He wondered how she’d come to be so good with kids if she had none in her family. Was it natural for her the way it was for him?
Brook cupped his hand over his mouth and whispered, not very quietly, in Fraser’s ear: “Is she a girlfriend?” He rubbed his hands together with glee. Since Fraser didn’t have a child-friendly answer to what they were, he set Brook down and freed Bernard from his lead before he dragged it around and scratched the floors he’d put in last year. Bernard ran straight to the kitchen, where Mum’s chicken scraps usually waited for him.
Today, though, the house was quiet. He popped his head into the living room, just to check. Sky and Saffron sat on the red rug before the unlit fire, mesmerised by a Halloween special of Peppa Pig. Sky flapped his hands excitedly to the theme song, while Saffron fought sleep in her baby walker.
“Oh, thank goodness you’re here.” Mum appeared from the kitchen on one crutch, a plate of Sky’s favourite mac and cheese in her free hand. Her hair was a mess of brown, red, and silver-streaked waves on top of her head, and her glasses were steamed up from cooking. Out of all of them, Fraser was often told he looked the most like her, which he considered an enviable compliment. He certainly would hate to see his dad every time he looked in the mirror.
“Oh!” She looked taken aback by the sight of Harper, then whispered, “Is this her?” as though Harper could not still hear her in the echoey hallway. Her eyes glimmered with excitement.
“Mum, this is Harper,” Fraser said through a sigh.
Mum squealed, shoving the plate of food into Fraser’s hand so that she could shuffle to Harper.She yanked Harper into a tight one-armed hug, squashing her face against her fluffy rainbow cardigan.
Fraser mouthed,Sorry.
“Oh, I’ve heard so much about you!” Mum cast Fraser a stony glance, her swollen hand rising to her hip. “Not from our Fraser, of course. He’s quiet as a mouse about these sorts of things. Luckily, my daughters have been singing your praises!”
“Thank you. It’s nice to meet you,” Harper said, releasing a breath when she was finally freed. “I hope it’s okay that I came. I thought maybe Eiley could use the company, or at the very least, you might want me to watch the kids.”
“Oh, you’re too kind, my dear!” Mum put her face in her palm as though she was smitten. “You can call me Myra, by the way.”
Fraser couldn’t help but feel amused. If Cam and Sorcha were here too, the house would officially be more overpowered by wonderful women than it ever had been before. Harper would fit right in.
Not that he wanted her to, of course. She didn’t plan to. He couldn’t expect her to.
“You’re rather upbeat for someone who texted me ten poop emojis today, Mum,” he pointed out, inching his way down the hallway slowly. He could hear sniffling from the kitchen and almost didn’t want to go in. He was tired of seeing his sister in pain.
As predicted, Mum glared. Talk of Finlay always made her frosty. Though they were all grown up now, she was still protective over his sisters. Him, too, sometimes, so he made sure never to give her reasons to worry.“Aye, well, go and talk to your sister. You’ll understand why.”
Mum snatched the plate back from Fraser and disappeared into the living room to give Sky his dinner.
Fraser exchanged a wary glance with Harper. She took his hand without question, and they walked down the hallway. When they got to the kitchen, she pulled away, nudging him forwards.
He walked in first.
