Page 26 of Kindling
“Okay. Sorry.” She trudged away, the sound of Bernard’s whines on the other side of the door doing nothing to lift her spirits. She knew when she wasn’t wanted. She would just have to spend the rest of the day following her list, and since she didn’t feel like being too adventurous today, an afternoon of reading sounded just fine.
Or, so she told herself.
11
When Fraser emerged from his cave to mottled blue twilight, he knew he would have to apologise for brushing Harper off earlier. Only, when he knocked on the cabin door, nobody answered, and the place was still plunged in darkness.
“Must be at the café, eh, Bernard?” he muttered, clipping on Bernard’s tartan leash and getting into his truck. He rubbed his cold hands together before turning on the radio, finding the skin sore and dry as ever.
The rain began to spit across his shoulders as he made the quick walk to the café. He couldn’t wait to find out how Harper had liked her boat trip.
His chest squeezed tight as he realised he couldn’t remember the last time he’d looked forward to spending time with someone who wasn’t family.
There was nothing wrong with it. He had no reason to be wary or feel nervous. But he did, still, just like the last time he’d tried to date, or when a girl in the tavern had tried to flirt with him and he’d shut her down without meaning to. He was fairly certain he was allergic to intimacy, and he didn’t fancy finding out the hard way.
When they entered the café, Cam blinked at him, startled.
“Someone’s in a rush,” muttered the older woman at the table closest to the counter, over her frothy cappuccino. Her name was Mrs. Boyle and, since retiring from her teaching job at the local primary school last year, she could often be found here with a plate of shortbread and a puzzle book. Cam routinely complained about how she chewed her ear off for hours on end.
The other non-stop talker, the one Fraser had come here for, was nowhere to be seen.
“Hmm,” Cam agreed, mouth curling with amusement. “I wonder who he might be looking for, Mrs. Boyle.”
Fraser paid no attention and marched up to the counter with Bernard in tow. Mrs. Boyle tutted. “That dog of yours should be outside. People are eating in here, lad.”
“Dog-friendly café, remember, Mrs. Boyle?” Cam asked, her perky tone barely concealing the annoyance beneath.
“Aye, and what’s next? Have them climbing all over the tables?” the older woman groused, then went back to munching her shortbread.
Cam gritted her teeth and leaned in close. “I will pay you to get rid of her.”
“Just be glad she didn’t teach you,” Fraser replied quietly. Only Fraser had experienced the pleasure of being nagged by her as a child. “Have you seen Harper today?”
“Aye, she came in for lunch after her boat trip.” Cam scrutinised her brother. “Honestly, Frase, I hope you’re going to show that woman a good time while she’s here. If I wasn’t married, I certainly would.”
He narrowed his eyes. “I’ll tell Sorcha you said that.”
“Sorcha would say the same thing. She’s fucking hilarious and not to mention ridiculously hot. I know you’re not usually into blondes, but comeon.”
“That’s no way to speak about a lady!” Mrs. Boyle chimed in.
“I’ve told her the same thing,” Fraser said, shaking his head at his sister disappointedly. “Lesbians these days, eh? No manners, Mrs. Boyle.”
Cam batted him with a damp tea towel, and continued in a lower voice: “I’m just saying, you have chemistry. Why aren’t you taking her out? Wining and dining her? Why was she on that boat alone today?”
“Well, for starters, I have work,” he replied. She didn’t need to know that he’d taken a rare day off today – she’d only demand to know why, and he was not ready forthatconversation. Not even close. “And just because a pretty lass turns up, it doesn’t mean I have to woo her. The world doesn’t just stop when a woman appears.”
Cam scrunched her nose. “‘Woo’? Dear lord. Are you ninety-four?”
His patience was quickly fraying, and he shifted from foot to foot in annoyance. “Just stop, will you? I’m not looking for anything.”
“You never are.”
“And?” He bristled, fists clenching. “Not everybody needs a wife and kids to be happy.”
“Not everyone does,” she agreed. “But you? You love family. You love coddling people. You love being needed. So make her need you,if you catch my drift.” Cam winked, leaving him to scoff.
Sometimes, he didn’t like his sister at all, even if he loved her enough to hypothetically run into a burning building for her. He was glad at least one person in his family was willing to pursue what they wanted so boldly, but it meant he was also subjected to advice he simply didn’t want to follow.
