“Have you found a contractor yet?” Dad asked Calum, only my brother seemed lost and thought and didn’t appear to hear him. “I said, have you found a contractor yet?” Dad repeated, louder this time. There was a ring of annoyance in his tone from being ignored.
“For the home studio, yes. For the other stuff…not yet. We’re in no rush, though,” Calum answered, his eyes sliding to Harper as a slight smile tugged the corners of his lips up.
“We’re?” Dad repeated with a frown.
“Yes, we. Harper and Asher are moving in next weekend.”
“I see,” Dad said. It was difficult to get a read on him; I couldn’t tell if he was pleased with his news or upset.
“That’s wonderful news,” Mom declared, deciding for him. “Do you need us to help? I’m sure your father wouldn’t mind loaning his truck out for the day.”
Dad looked very much like he minded, but he wisely didn’t say anything to contradict her.
“It’s okay, I’ve rented a moving truck and Dare and Evan are helping with the heavy lifting.”
“Oh, all right. Well, let us know if you change your mind and need extra hands.”
“Thank you, Maeve,” Harper spoke up, smiling at her. “You guys will have to come over for a dinner once we’re settled.”
“Of course, we’d love that.” Mom smiled, the happiness practically shining from within her.
Dad had welcomed Asher into our home without a moment’s hesitation. It was evident he wanted to get to know the little boy just as much as the rest of us did. But even though he’d been welcoming to Asher, there was still an undercurrent of judgement toward Harper.
He was standoffish at first, but by the time we were through with brunch…his demeanour had changed toward her. He’d softened.
I think seeing firsthand what she’d built for herself and Asher had impressed him. Despite the money and success Calum found, she had never gone after him to support her. Instead, she focused on making her dreams a reality on her own merit.
Although my father was coming to terms with this situation more and more every day, there was something still needling him. I had a feeling it had less to do with Harper and Asher, and more to do with Calum. A few times, I caught Dad looking at him, with regret and a quiet kind of sober regard.
Cal didn’t often look at Dad, but when he did, it was with a hardened gaze, as if he was truly pissed at him. I sensed he was only playing nice for everyone else’s benefit. I frowned, wondering when the two of them would ever let bygones be bygones.
The rest of brunch passed by in an uneventful manner. Polite conversations and smiles masked any discomfort caused by my father and Calum’s weird mood with each other, but we all still felt it.
Harper and I cleaned up the kitchen after we’d finished eating, packing away leftovers as we went. We sent Mom into the living room to visit with Calum, Asher, and Dad.
“This was really nice,” Harper commented to me when it was just the two of us. She was drying the dishes I’d washed and set in the drying rack, a happy smile on her lips. “I really wasn’t sure what to expect, given…well, everything.”
“It was,” I agreed, relieved that it had gone well. “Mom wants to make a regular thing of it, brunch every Sunday,” I warned her with a chuckle.
Harper nodded, her smile growing a little. “I’d be okay with that. Cal too. My parents like to get together weekly, also.”
“He seems extra angry at Dad today,” I remarked, glancing over my shoulder to the hallway. We couldn’t see them in the living room, but we could hear their voices and the occasional laughter that followed each time Asher told a joke.
Harper paused, her brown eyes swirling with secrets. “I think they just have a lot of talking they need to do,” she finally said.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” I replied, a sigh billowing from my lips. “At least they’ll be in the same room together again.”
Harper shook her head, a sadness in her smile that hadn’t been there before. “I hadn’t realized how bad things were, or how…stuck he was in that self-destructive mode.”
“Yeah. Things have been messed up since Cal left. But he’s back now,” I said, picking up the frying pan and putting it beneath the soapy water. “At least he’s trying. Dad is too. They don’t always know what to say to each other, and there’s a lot of anger there still...but I’m hopeful they’ll be able to put the past behind them.” I scrubbed while I talked, then rinsed off the pan.
“Yeah,” Harper agreed, looking troubled by that. I passed it to her to dry, wondering why she didn’t look so convinced.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-TWO
Connor
Once we finished cleaning up,Harper and I joined everyone else in the living room. We visited for another forty-five minutes, with Harper and Mom guiding the conversation while Calum and Dad joined in only occasionally when prompted.
