Lullaby (22 page)

“That’s your justification for wasting food?” Harper raised an eyebrow.

“No, I’m just…” Gemma sighed. She looked at Harper, smiling, and her honey-colored eyes were hopeful. “Let’s just have fun tonight, and worry about the mess tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Harper relented. “But I am
not
having a food fight.”

“Fine.” Gemma turned and started making meatballs next to Harper. “But will you at least laugh at my jokes about the balls?”

“Probably not.” Harper grinned. “Plus, we probably have enough meatballs by now.”

“You can never have too many balls,” Gemma said.

“That’s what she said,” Harper said, attempting to make a bad joke, and Gemma burst out laughing.

“It’s not even that funny,” Gemma said through her own laughter. “I just can’t believe
you
said it.”

“Hey, I’m trying,” Harper said.

She might’ve even laughed along with her sister, but a loud knock at the front door interrupted her thoughts. Gemma didn’t seem to notice, happy to continue giggling, but Harper went over to the sink to wash her hands. She wasn’t sure if the sirens would knock at the front door, but they’d done it before when they came to get Gemma, so she wouldn’t put it past them.

“Harper,” Brian said as he came into the kitchen. “Someone’s at the door for you.”

“Who is it?” Harper asked as she hurried to dry her hands with a towel.

Gemma had finally gotten her giggling fit under control and turned around to see Brian standing in the kitchen doorway.

“Daniel,” Brian said, and that explained the pained expression on his face. He clearly wasn’t thrilled about boys coming around for his daughters.

“Oh, um…” Harper pushed her hair back behind her ear and shook her head. “I’m busy making supper.”

“Nonsense,” Gemma said. “You go talk to Daniel. Me and Dad can handle this, can’t we?” Brian seemed reluctant to agree to this, so Gemma smiled at him. “Come on, Dad. If you don’t help me make supper, I’ll find a way to burn everything. Even the noodles.”

“Go on.” Brian nodded at Harper and offered her a small smile. “I’ll help your sister.”

“Okay, then.” She smiled thinly at Brian and Gemma, trying to look grateful, when she really didn’t feel that grateful.

She’d spent the day with her sister preparing for a siren attack, so she probably looked horrible. Besides that, she’d told Daniel she didn’t want to see him anymore just the day before. And that had been hard enough to do the first time. She didn’t want to do it again.

In the living room, Daniel was standing with his back to her. He was bent forward slightly, admiring the pictures that lined the mantel.

Harper watched him for a moment, feeling a pang of regret at having to send him away, then she cleared her throat.

“Daniel?” Harper said, and he turned to face her.

“Are these your parents?” Daniel pointed to a wedding photo of her mom and dad.

She nodded. “Yeah, that’s them.”

“Your mom is very pretty,” Daniel said.

“Yeah, she is,” Harper agreed, and walked over to him. “Gemma really takes after her.”

“Yeah, I can see that.” Daniel glanced back at the picture as if to confirm the observation, then smiled back at Harper. “But you’re prettier.”

Harper looked down at her feet, blushing slightly. “You shouldn’t say things like that.”

“Why not?”

“You know why not,” she said. Gemma and Brian laughed in the kitchen, and Harper looked back toward the other room. “I should really go back and help them.”

“They’re laughing, Harper, not screaming for help,” Daniel pointed out. “And your dad is a grown man. I’m pretty sure he can handle making supper without you.”

“What are you doing here, Daniel?” Harper asked, finally looking up at him. “Yesterday, I thought I made things perfectly clear.”

“You did,” Daniel agreed.

Harper stared up at him in disbelief. “So … why are you here?”

“After you left yesterday, I thought hard about what you said,” Daniel explained. “What stood out the most is that you finally admitted that you like me.”

“Ugh.” She sighed. “You totally missed the point of everything I said.”

“No, I didn’t,” Daniel insisted. “It came through loud and clear. You say you’re busy with your sister. I say I can help you with that, the same way Alex and Marcy can help you. Only better, because I’m the one that actually found Gemma, remember?”

“I’m the one that knew which house it was,” Harper said, avoiding his eyes. “I mean, I appreciate your help, but we could’ve … we probably would’ve found her. Eventually.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Daniel allowed. “But I helped you find her this time, and I helped you fight the sirens on the island, and I helped you rescue her on the beach, and I scared the sirens away from her once. The point is, if you want to take care of your sister, you want me on your side.

“No, scratch that.” Daniel waved his hand. “You
need
me. So you can’t use that as an excuse to stay away from me anymore.”

“It’s not an excuse,” Harper said. “I’m trying to do the right thing here. I really am. I’m trying to protect Gemma and you! You conveniently forgot about that part, Daniel.” She lowered her voice, in case her dad might overhear. “These are monsters that kill boys, and you’re a boy. I don’t want them to hurt you.”

“I didn’t forget about that,” Daniel said. “You just don’t get to make decisions for me.”

Harper was genuinely offended. “I’m not!”

“You’re trying to,” Daniel said. “If I choose to be in danger, that’s my choice. If I want to be with you, even knowing how dangerous it’s going to be, I can do that.”

“But Daniel—” She started to protest, but he put his hands on her shoulders to reassure her, startling her into silence.

“So the only question that really matters is, do you like me?” Daniel asked.

“You know the answer to that.”

“You’re right.” Daniel smirked. “I think I do know the answer, but I want to hear you say it anyway.”

“Yes,” Harper said, almost as if it pained her to do so. “I like you.”

She lowered her eyes and opened her mouth to argue with him, so Daniel slid his hands from her shoulders to her waist.

He gently pulled her closer to him, and she looked up. His arms were loose around her waist, so he wasn’t forcing her to stay in place, but she didn’t move away. She put her hands on his chest and stared up into his eyes.

“I like you,” Daniel said softly. “And I don’t need you to protect me. I can take care of myself. And I can take care of you, too.”

“You don’t need to.”

“I know,” he said, brushing her hair back from her forehead. “But I want to.”

His hand was warm on her face, and Harper could’ve sworn she felt his heart hammering through his chest. His palm pressed harder on the small of her back, pulling her against him, and she slid her arms up around his neck. She stretched up, standing on her tiptoes … and then her dad said her name.

“Harper.” Brian almost barked her name as he appeared in the living room. Harper jumped away from Daniel.

“Hi, Dad, sorry.” Harper flushed and looked everywhere around the room except at her father or at Daniel. “We were just talking. We weren’t doing anything. How’s supper going? Do you need help with supper? I can help you. Do you want me to go in the kitchen?”

“No, supper is fine,” Brian said. His voice was gruff, but it softened a bit. “It’s cooking, and it won’t be that long. Gemma was just setting the table, and so I thought I would ask if your boyfriend would be staying to eat with us.”

“Oh, um, he’s not my—” Harper tried to stammer out but Daniel interjected.

“That would be fantastic, Mr. Fisher,” he said. “I would love to join you. I don’t get a lot of home-cooked meals.”

“So you’re still living out on that boat, then?” Brian asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Harper stood off to the side, her eyes bouncing nervously between the two of them.

“For now.” Daniel nodded.

“Why are you staying out there?” Brian asked. “Aren’t you working?”

“Yeah, I’m working,” Daniel said. “I mostly do odd jobs, but it keeps me busy.”

“You make any money doing that?” Brian asked.

“I make enough to support myself,” Daniel said. “But it’s hard to save up enough to get my own place. I’m working on it, though.”

“The boat must get pretty cold in the winter?” Brian asked.

“It can get cold,” Daniel admitted. “But I make do.”

“Yeah, I bet.” Brian scratched his temple and shifted his weight. “You know about the island, don’t you? You helped Harper clean it up last weekend?”

“You mean Bernie’s Island?” Daniel asked. “Yeah, I was out there helping Harper.”

“I don’t have any use for it,” Brian said. “If you wanted to stay out there, rent the place, that’d be fine by me. It wouldn’t be free, of course, but I wouldn’t charge you too much.”

“Really?” Daniel asked, sounding surprised.

“Yeah, seriously?” Harper chimed in.

“If you’re going to be seeing my daughter, I can’t have you living on a boat,” Brian attempted to explain. “So … it’s there if you want it. Think about it, and … you can decide later.”

“Supper’s ready, guys!” Gemma called from the other room.

Harper let Daniel go into the kitchen first, so she could smile up at her dad. She mouthed the words
Thank you
at him, but he just brushed it off and ushered her into the next room.

Supper started off slightly awkward, but thanks to Gemma’s almost unnatural cheer, the tension eased quickly. The four of them were soon talking and laughing, and it had been a very long time since Harper remembered a family dinner when they’d been happier.

TWENTY-SIX

Restraint

Harper had been missing so much work lately that she picked up a Saturday at the library. That meant she wasn’t able to take Gemma for their usual visit out to Briar Ridge to see their mom. Harper had told Gemma how it had gone last week, so Gemma knew she couldn’t miss this week, lest Nathalie have some kind of breakdown. Besides that, she wanted to see her mom.

After much discussion, Brian finally relented and agreed to let Alex take Gemma. Her car still wasn’t working, and Brian thought Gemma would be less likely to run off again if she had a chaperone.

Ordinarily, Gemma would’ve been mad that Brian was still avoiding Nathalie. It’d been years since he’d last seen her, and that drove Gemma nuts. But today she was happy to be able to spend some time alone with Alex.

Since she’d been back in Capri, she’d hardly been able to see him, except for when Harper let him come over. Brian had her on lockdown, and while she understood his reasons, it was still driving her crazy not to be able to see Alex.

On the car ride to Nathalie’s group home, Alex and Gemma hardly spoke, but she was content just to hold his hand and be with him. Sometimes he’d just look at her and smile, and that was enough.

When they pulled in the driveway, Alex had barely turned off the car before Nathalie came running out of the house, waving her arms like a madwoman.

“Gemma?” Nathalie was yelling, and Gemma got out of the car as quickly as she could.

“Mom?” Gemma said. “Is everything okay?”

As soon as Nathalie saw Gemma, she froze. She put her hands to her face and let out a loud sob. Then she ran to her daughter and nearly knocked Gemma down when she threw her arms around her.

“I missed you so much,” Nathalie said, crushing Gemma to her. “I was so worried about you.”

“I’m okay, Mom,” Gemma said, her voice coming out in small grunts since Nathalie was hugging her so forcefully. “I missed you, too.”

“Nathalie?” Becky, one of Nathalie’s staff, had come out of the group home and was waving her back in. “Why don’t you and your guests come inside and visit?”

Nathalie finally released Gemma. “Do you want to go in the house? Should we go in?”

“Sure,” Gemma said. “That sounds great, Mom. Do you remember Alex?”

“Alex?” Nathalie’s face scrunched up in confusion. “Is that your father?”

“No, Mom, it’s not. That’s Alex.” Gemma motioned to where Alex stood next to the car. He’d gotten out after they parked, but Nathalie had been so focused on Gemma that she hadn’t even noticed him.

“No, I don’t know him.” Nathalie shook her head, then looked sadly at her daughter. “Should I?”

“Probably not,” Gemma said. “It’s been a really long time since you met him.”

Alex had moved in next door to them about a year before Nathalie’s accident. He’d been over to their house a number of times before she got hurt, and he’d even been over during her brief attempt at living at home after the accident.

But considering that Nathalie couldn’t remember her own husband anymore, it wasn’t surprising that she’d forgotten the boy next door.

“Hello, Mrs. Fisher.” Alex walked over to her and shook her hand. “It’s so nice to see you again.”

“Call me Nathalie.” She smiled at him and looped an arm around her daughter’s shoulders. As they walked toward the house, she whispered loudly, “He’s so cute, Gemma!”

“He sure is,” Gemma agreed, and Alex laughed nervously as he followed them inside.

The visit went really well, as far as visits with Nathalie went. She was very hyper, but she was in a good mood. She seemed especially excited to see Gemma, hugging her many times. Once or twice she got a little overly affectionate with Alex, hanging on him or holding his hand. Alex handled it well, and when Gemma reminded Nathalie that Alex was her boyfriend, Nathalie stopped what she was doing.

Nathalie even took a run at braiding Gemma’s hair. Unfortunately, Nathalie wasn’t so great at fine motor skills anymore, so it turned into a knotty mess. It was incredibly painful to endure as Nathalie yanked on her hair, but Gemma smiled through it.

When Gemma and Alex left, her hair was still tied up in a messy “braid.”

“How bad is it?” Gemma asked on the drive back home.

“It’s really … it’s really something.” Alex smirked as he glanced over at her.

“Thanks.” Gemma laughed and flipped down the visor mirror so she could admire it herself. “I think it’s sweet that she tried to do it. She hasn’t attempted to do my hair since I was about seven.”