“Repeat that name again and I’m going to have to murder you.”
“Roger that, Lukey Bear,” she said, un-phased by the threat. “Oh, look at your first day of kindergarten! That backpack is bigger than you are.”
Luke sighed heavily and wiped his hands down his face.
Harper paged through Luke’s childhood, pausing to admire his woodworking skills on a birdhouse in Boy Scouts. On the pages of the album he transformed from a gawky pre-teen to a hunky teenager. He was captured triumphantly crossing the finish line at a track meet and grinning as he led his football team off the field.
“Wow. You must have broken a lot of teenage girl hearts.”
“I’m sure you did your fair share of impressing the boys.”
“I was flat-chested and gangly until I was seventeen. It wasn’t impressing, it was depressing.”
“I’d like to see photographic evidence of that,” he teased.
“Thankfully, there is no photographic evidence of my awkward teen years.”
“How is that even possible?”
His grin faded when she turned the page.
“Look at you at Homecoming!” Harper pulled the album closer and studied Luke in a suit, stoically staring at the camera on a gray speckled backdrop. A gaudy crown perched on his head. He had his arm around a willowy brunette in a sparkling silver gown that perfectly matched the tiara. “Homecoming king and queen? You really had a fairy tale life, didn’t you?”
Luke pulled the album out of her hands and slammed it shut. “We’re falling behind on the tour. Let me show you the upstairs, and then I’ll introduce you to Mom’s chickens.”
“Um, okay.” Harper was confused by the sudden change in him. He half dragged her away from the window seat and towards the first door.
The quick tour of the upstairs bedrooms revealed spacious rooms with very little clutter. The master was a sunny space with a claw-foot tub in the bathroom. Luke’s bedroom had been converted into a sewing room for his mother and the other two rooms were outfitted as guest bedrooms. It was a tidy home designed around a bustling family life.
The free-range chickens in the back yard were Claire’s current pride and joy. The chicken coop that Charlie built was nicer than most of Harper’s apartments.
Everything seemed like a fairy tale to Harper and left her wondering what had made Luke distance himself from it all.
***
Luke accepted the basket of rolls from Harper and passed it on to James, at his right. He usually didn’t mind his family’s monthly Sunday meals — too much — but having Harper with him added another dimension.
He watched as she chatted with his father about gardening while making faces at his nephew, who was refusing to eat his turnips. She seemed relaxed, but he knew she couldn’t help but notice the long looks from his relatives.
Under the microscope.
He was used to the intense study, having been under it himself for quite some time. But he imagined it was more awkward for someone unaccustomed to it.
Soph winked at him from across the table and nodded subtly towards Harper. Luke got the message loud and clear. It was the first family meal in a long time that he hadn’t had to suffer through poorly disguised fix-ups and casual attempts to discern his mental state.
He just might be getting as much out of this deal as Harper was, or at least more than he bargained for.
***
The family adjourned to the deck for slices of the peach pie Harper brought from the grocery store and homemade vanilla ice cream.
“Go easy on that pie, bro,” James teased Luke. “I want you to put up some kind of fight in football before I destroy you.”
“Ooooooh,” Sophie and Ty cooed tauntingly.
Harper snickered.
“Don’t you start, Harper. You’re the ref,” Luke warned, taking a sip of his beer.
