There was no God, Kiki decided, when the sinkhole she silently prayed would swallow her up failed to materialise. Charlie’s fingers were tangled in her hair, tugging painfully at Kiki’s scalp as she worked herself up into a rare old state. She winced and pulled her head away, half of her hair tumbling free from its loose bun in the process. Heat warmed her cheeks as she considered the terrible first impression they must be making. She’d given herself a pep talk over the last hour of the journey and had been so determined to hold it together. And then Mia, of all people, had started crying the moment Kiki stepped out of the car, and it had been all she could do not to collapse into her arms and let her take the weight of everything. Everywhere she looked, kind smiles greeted her and she knew they only wanted to help, but for once, just for one damn minute, she’d wanted to control a situation.
Aaron, and it had to be him, with that same deep, reassuring voice she’d heard on the phone earlier, just kept smiling at her. Her world was tumbling at his feet— literally, if you took into account the contents of the spilled carrier bag and that ridiculous bloody bra hooked around his shoe. She didn’t know why she’d packed the damn thing; she’d bought it after cringing her way through an Ann Summers party one of the other mothers had thrown. The hot-pink set had been the least shocking thing she could find in the catalogue, and she’d felt obliged to buy something… Kiki closed her eyes. She wasn’t standing in her sister’s driveway looking at an attractive stranger and thinking about a sex-toy party. Where the hell was that sink hole when she needed it?
Perhaps sensing her discomfort, Aaron broke the awkward moment. ‘Give us a hand will you, Daniel?’
She opened her eyes, intrigued to get a good look at the man her sister had chosen to follow in Jamie’s footsteps. Tall and lean, with a close-cropped dark beard which gave him a stern appearance, Daniel was nothing like the laughing, sandy-haired boy Kiki remembered Jamie being. He took one look at the bra dangling from Aaron’s shoe and a huge grin split his face and Kiki saw instantly what had attracted Mia to him. Without any of the embarrassment creasing Kiki’s insides, Daniel bent down to scoop up her scattered belongings and stuff them into the tops of the other bags in the boot. A few hard shoves, and the two men had the overflowing contents mostly contained. She hadn’t meant to pack quite so much.
‘And who do we have here?’ Kiki sighed in relief when Aaron pulled his arm from behind his back and waved a bedraggled-looking stuffed toy at the still-crying Charlie. Caught mid-wail, her daughter opened and closed her mouth like a little red-faced fish, clearly trying to decide if the prize of her favourite toy was worth abandoning her tears for.
‘Mr Bunny!’ Charlie held out her arms and Aaron took a step closer, waggling the droopy brown rabbit in encouragement. The little girl giggled and strained forward. Caught off-guard by the sudden shift in her body weight, Kiki loosened her grip to adjust her hold and Charlie took full advantage. She flung herself across the small gap and straight at Aaron. His arms closed instinctively and Kiki wanted to laugh at the look of abject shock on his face as Charlie grabbed Mr Bunny and settled herself into the crook of Aaron’s neck.
Daniel laughed. ‘He’s always had that effect on women.’
‘You’ve got the wrong brother there, mate. Luke’s the ladies’ man of the family.’ A faint spot of colour showed on Aaron’s tanned cheek, adding a sweet shyness to his smile, and something wound tight inside her loosened a notch. They all seemed so confident and put-together, it was a relief to see a little chink in his armour. He met her eyes over the top of Charlie’s head and mouthed ‘is this all right?’
She nodded. Charlie’s long lashes were lower than half-mast and she looked utterly at ease with one little arm looped around Aaron’s neck. ‘I don’t think she’s going anywhere for a while. If you don’t mind?’
Aaron shifted his hold until Charlie was perched on one broad forearm, freeing his other hand. He rested his broad palm lightly on Matty’s shoulder and looked down at him. ‘Your smart thinking saved the day. Your sister is lucky to have a big brother like you to look after her.’ Some of the tension in Matty’s frame loosened and he stood a little bit taller. Kiki’s heart stuttered. How starved of praise must he be for a simple remark like that to have such an impact? She tried to imagine Neil’s reaction and shuddered. It would be her fault for not controlling the children. He’d have clenched his jaw and forced a smile, saving his anger for behind closed doors. A cold trickle of fear ran down her spine, stealing the soft warmth of the early summer sun.
‘What’s wrong?’ Aaron’s brow creased in concern and she forced herself to shrug the malignant presence away. Neil was hundreds of miles away, so wrapped up in his dig and his pretty new girlfriend Kiki doubted he would spare any of them even a passing thought.
‘Nothing. I’m just a bit tired. Not used to driving so far, I suppose.’
A familiar warmth looped around her waist and Mia tugged her in for a one-armed hug. ‘Come inside and I can get you all settled in. I’ve got three couples arriving tomorrow, but the forest room is free tonight. I’ll make some calls and start cancelling the bookings we have for that room.’
Kiki resisted the pressure from Mia to move towards the house. ‘You shouldn’t be turning away paying guests because of me. I thought we were staying with Aaron.’ She bit her lip. What if he’d had second thoughts? She shot Aaron an apologetic look. ‘But if you’ve changed your mind, that’s perfectly understandable.’
He shook his head. ‘There’s more than enough room for the three of you at Honeysuckle Cottage, for as long as you need it.’
‘But then…’ Kiki caught the determined jut of her sister’s jaw and understood. Now her brief flurry of tears had passed, she was in full-on protection mode. If Kiki let her, Mia would take over everything. For a fleeting moment she indulged the idea. But if she wanted to live in someone else’s shadow for the rest of her life, she could have stayed with Neil. Not that Mia would be anything other than loving and supportive, but Kiki would still be surrendering responsibility to someone else. ‘I think staying at the cottage makes more sense.’
Mia shook her head. ‘Don’t be daft, Kiki. Family should stick together.’
Kiki yanked her shoulder free from Mia’s hand and stepped back. The barb had struck too close to home, too similar to Neil’s constant undermining of her with his accusations of stupidity and incompetence. It was clear from the way the colour drained from her face that Mia regretted her hasty words almost as soon as she’d said them. ‘Kiki Dee… I didn’t… I’m sorry…’
‘Why don’t Aaron and I take the kids for a walk on the beach?’ Daniel’s tone was light, but Kiki didn’t miss the pointed stare he fixed on his fiancée.
Richard chimed in. ‘Good idea. I think I spotted a ball in the garages somewhere. I’ll dig it out and we can leave the ladies to sort things out between them.’
Kiki crouched down in front of Matty. Little furrows creased his brow and she smoothed them with her thumb. ‘Would that be okay with you, little man? Do you fancy a kickabout on the beach with Aaron and the others before we go and see our new home?’
He stared up at Aaron, who’d kept that reassuring hand clasped around his shoulder the whole time. ‘We’re coming to stay at your house for a while?’
Aaron nodded. ‘If that’s what you, Charlie and your mummy would like. It’s a bit lonely there on my own, and it would be nice to have some new friends to spend time with. We’d only be down the road so you could come and see your Aunty Mia every day.’