Chapter 20 Fraser
TWENTY
FRASER
Iwake at dawn. Lilac light is spilling around the cracks in the curtains, painting the girl draped across my chest in lavender. Summer is fast asleep in my arms, soft curves crushed against my side.
I close my eyes.
Shit.
Last night was nuts. Summer’s fun and bubbly and hot as hell.
I like her. Only known her a couple days, but I really like her.
Dimly, I hear voices from the kitchen. Alec and Cameron are already up and arguing. I sigh. I should get up and mediate. I gently lift Summer off me, and she stirs, her eyes opening.
“Hiya,” I say apologetically. “Sorry to wake you. Cons of going to bed with a farmer.”
She blinks up at me. “Wow,” she mumbles. “What a night.” She stretches like a cat, and I can’t help my smile.
“C’mere, baby.” I pull her on top of me, and she cuddles against me happily. “You feel okay?” I check. “After last night?”
“I feel perfect. We should do it again sometime.” She looks up at me shyly. “If you want.”
“Oh, I want plenty, London.”
She smiles, and it’s the prettiest thing I’ve seen all week. After a moment though, it falls. “I need to tell you something.”
“Aye?”
“I should have told you last night, but I was, um. A bit desperate.”
I laugh. “Aye, I remember. What is it?”
She bites her lip. “After Cameron and I went to the pub last night…he kissed me.”
I stare at her. I’m not sure what I just heard. “You what?”
“Just for like five seconds,” she says quickly. “And then he pulled away. I don’t think he liked it very much. But I should have probably said something before we…” She trails off, her face pinkening. “I’m a bad person.”
“Cameron kissed you?” I repeat incredulously. She nods.
I don’t even remember the last time Cameron was interested in a woman. The man’s a real lone wolf.
Summer tries to sit up. “I know you two are friends. I’m sorry—” she starts.
I shake my head. “No, no, don’t feel bad. Kiss whoever you like. I’m just surprised Cameron did that, is all.”
“Do you think he’ll mind that we…” Before I can answer, she shakes her head. “Silly question. Of course he won’t care. He literally kissed me and then ran away.” She groans. “It’s so embarrassing he overheard us though.”
Back in the kitchen, I hear Alec raise his voice.
Summer sighs. “And then there’s Alec,” she mumbles.
My eyebrows shoot up. “You kissed him too?” I ask disbelievingly. “Christ, lass, where are you finding the time?” It’s pure impressive.
She gets even redder. “What? No, God, no. Never. He hates me. I just don’t know how I’m going to look him in the eye today. He had to run out into the storm and save me last night, and then he heard me…”
“Screaming over your wee knickers?” I finish for her. “Alec doesn’t hate you, honey.”
“He clearly does.”
“He really doesn’t. He…” I try to find the right words.
“He thinks he has to take care of me and Cameron on top of the farm and every single animal we own.” I tuck a bit of hair behind her ear.
“I think he’s just overstretched, trying to keep everything under control. You’re throwing a wrench in his plans.”
“Why does he think he has to take care of you? You’re grown men.” She wraps her hand around my arm. “Very grown men.”
I flex for her, watching her eyes light up. “You notice Cameron limps?” She nods. “He injured his knee here on the farm. Five or so years ago, and it never properly healed. Alec blames himself, which Cameron isn’t a fan of.”
To put it mildly. There have been times I thought Cameron might actually kill him.
Worry thrums in me as I hear more arguing. I should really go and defuse. I don’t want it to get out of hand. Alec might say something that crosses the line. Cameron might decide to leave.
God, I’m so tired of this.
“Hmm.” Summer’s fingers curl in my chest hair. “And you?”
I meet her sweet brown eyes. “What about me, sweetheart?”
“Why does he think he has to look after you?”
I blink. “Oh, I had a wee…wobble back when I was in uni. When Alec found out, he brought me back to Lochview. And now I suppose he reckons he has to keep an eye on me.” I give her a grin. “What I’m saying is…don’t take it personal. This isn’t about you. It’s about him.”
Before Summer can ask more, her phone starts to ring with an alarm. I pass it to her to silence. “Anyway. What are you up to today?”
She frowns at her screen. “Work. I think I’ll take some more pictures, if that’s okay?
And I have calls with a couple of brands, a ton of contracts to go through, some story posts to make, an analytics meeting with Lulu…
Oh, hey, do you know if there’s a nearby shelter I can donate my extra PR stuff to? ”
“Aye, there’s one a few towns down we donate our extra veg and eggs to every week. They take clothes and stuff as well.” I watch her. “You usually do that? We really don’t mind keeping the boxes at the farm ’til you go, Alec was just being a twat.”
She’s scrolling through her email now. She has more new messages than I’ve ever received in my life. “Yeah,” she says, sounding distracted. “I donate most of my PR, apart from the makeup I have to open on camera to swatch. No one needs that much stuff. I’d feel awful keeping it all.”
“Leave whatever you want to give away by the front door, I’ll drive ’em down after lunch.”
She looks at me gratefully. “Thank you! I should really get to work. I skived off last night.”
“You usually work evenings?”
“Yep!” she says, like it’s totally normal.
I don’t like that she’s working so hard. Especially when her so-called fans are treating her so badly. I reckon she needs a break, but I can’t tell her that straight up. “Fair enough. Hey, can you do me a favour?”
“Of course.”
“I checked in on your lamb last night—”
“Crumpet,” she corrects me.
“Aye, how could I forget? Her mum’s not feeding her, so she’s still on the bottle. She’s all weak and sad, poor wee thing.”
Summer looks devastated. “Oh no.”
I nod, stroking my thumb over her hip. “But she was real excited to meet you. If you have time to give her a visit, can you play with her a bit? Give her some cuddles?”
“You really think I can help her?”
“Aye,” I say honestly. “I do.”
“Of course I’ll go see her,” she says determinedly, and I have to hide my smile. Being around the animals will do her a world of good. I’ve found that playing with newborn lambs can fix most problems.
There’s another shout from the kitchen, and I sigh. “All right. I’d better go.” I kiss her soft cheek. “I’ll make you a coffee, yeah?”
She beams at me. “Thank youuu!”
When I step into the cold kitchen, Alec and Cameron are in the middle of an argument.
“Just tell her a pipe burst or something,” Alec says, sounding agitated.
“I’m not going to lie to her,” Cameron argues. “There’s nothing wrong with the cabin.”
I stand in the doorway for a moment, so very tired.
They’re always arguing these days. And it’s my job to be the glue which sticks them together. Recently, that’s been getting harder and harder. But someone has to do it, so I plaster on a smile. “Problem?” I ask easily, heading over to the counter.
“Good night?” Alec’s voice is dry.
“Oh, aye,” I agree. “Very restful, you know?”
“Sounded that way.”
Cameron dumps his plate in the sink with a clatter.
“What were you two talking about?” I ask, grabbing two mugs from the cupboard. Summer gets one with a sheep.
“Alec wants Summer to leave,” Cameron mutters, turning the water on full blast. “Wants me to tell her the cabin needs repairs and book her into a hotel in Inverness.”
I’m shocked. “What? No. Why?”
Alec leans back in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose. He looks exhausted. “I can’t have a repeat of last night,” he says quietly. “We’re due at least two more storms this week. I won’t be able to focus if I have to worry about her safety too.”
“She’s safe in the cabin,” Cameron repeats, his voice rising. “I built the damn place. You think it’s not sound?”
“Of course I do. But she’d be cut off from the rest of us—”
“If you’re concerned, we can keep her in the farmhouse,” I suggest. “Put her up in the guest room.”
Cameron snorts. “What, like you did last night?”
I shrug. “Her sleeping in my room was just temporary. We can set it up for her, make it real nice.”
Alec’s jaw tenses. “Having her in the farmhouse will be a distraction.”
“Pfft. Wee slip of a thing like her? Won’t even notice her.” I fill the coffee mugs from the pot. “Honestly, I reckon she needs it. I know she acts like a ball of sunshine, but some of those comments she’s getting are downright nasty. She’s probably scared. We should at least offer.”
Alec’s watch beeps. He stands. “I don’t have time for this. I need to feed the bottle babies. Viola’s lamb still isn’t gaining weight. It’s not looking good for her.”
“You should ask Summer to feed her,” I start. “I swear, the two of them bonded. I’ve never seen anything like it—”
“You don’t have to make shit up,” he cuts me off. “If you want Summer to stay that badly, then fine. I need to work.” He drains his coffee and leaves.
I open the fridge and pull out a bottle of fresh milk. “I’m not making it up,” I mutter. “God, he’s in a mood.”
Cameron doesn’t answer, just stands silently by the counter as I fix the drinks. His energy is dark.
I glance at him. “Sleep well?” I ask casually.
“We are fixing up the guest room,” he says. “You can’t just…just keep her in your bed. She’s a paying guest.”
“’Course. I’ll help you spruce it up after the morning feeds.” I wonder how to broach the topic of his kiss with Summer. There’s no way he’ll bring it up himself. “Sorry about any noise last night,” I try.
Cameron immediately pushes off the counter. “Going to chop some firewood.”
“No need. I did a bunch a few days back.”
“Not enough.”
“Enough to last us the month.”
“Well, you did a shit job of it,” he gripes.
I lean back against the counter. “Is something wrong? I’m sensing some tension here.”
He stands silently for a moment, not looking at me. “Can you just…stay away from me until she’s gone?” he says eventually.
“Summer?” I ask innocently. “Why?” He doesn’t respond. “Mate, I don’t want to annoy you, but I can’t stop doing whatever’s bothering you if you don’t tell me what it is.”
“Nothing,” he bites out. “You’re doing nothing wrong. I’m the one who—”
“Who what?” I cajole.
“I kissed her,” he mutters eventually. “Last night. Shouldn’t have.” His frown deepens. “Don’t even know why.”
I grin, taking a sip off my coffee. “Aye, she has that effect, doesn’t she?”
His gaze snaps up to mine. “You knew.”
“Yep. She told me. So that’s why you’re in a bad mood? You’re jealous?”
He sucks in a breath. “Aye,” he says. “I’m jealous, and I don’t know why, and I’m angry at you, and I don’t want to be. You’ve done nothing wrong.”
Damn. So he really likes her. This changes shit.
Cameron goes to leave, but I grab his shoulder. “Wait, don’t go. You know I don’t own Summer, right? If you want to lay one on her, go ahead.”
He frowns. “She wants you.”
“I mean, if she kissed you back, kinda sounds like she wants you too,” I point out. “Hey, maybe she’d even be down for an Aileen situation. That was fun. Two big Scottish lads sharing her on her countryside holiday?” I elbow him. “You know we’re better than those skinny London boys.”
His jaw tightens. “She wants you,” he repeats.
“But—”
“She kissed me and then went to bed with you an hour later,” he snaps. “Which is fine. I don’t have time for her anyway. So please just stay out of my way until she’s gone.” He pushes past me again.
I try to get in his way. “Cameron—”
“Is everything all right in here?” Alec’s clipped voice comes from behind us. I turn to see him in the doorway holding his toolbox.
Oh, he definitely heard every word of that.
“Fine,” Cameron mutters, stalking off to the back door.
I salute Alec with my coffee mug. “All good in here, boss,” I promise, taking a swig.
Today is going to be an interesting day.