Page 87 of Messing With My Brother's Best Friends

“What day is it today, Red?” Van called out as he put the takeaway order in.

“Yes day!”

She threw her arms up in the air, just like Barbie had.

“But chickens…?” It was then I knew just how much Kendall meant to Connor because as he let out a sigh, I knew she’d won. “Fine, you can have one.”

“You can’t just have one!” Kendall’s faux outrage was pitch perfect. “Chickens are pack animals.”

“They’re not…” Connor looked around, taking in her smirk and then ours, shaking his head before grimacing. “You fucking bastards. Is the vegetable garden a joke as well?”

“Nope. Mum always grew her own food in the backyard, and things like carrots taste way better when just pulled from the ground. The natural sugars are still present and…” Kendall paused, then grinned guiltily. “And you don’t care about any of that.”

“We do if you do,” he replied, taking her hand in his. “So, how big are you thinking?”

The backyard was expansive, a stylish combination of grass, carefully tended flower beds, and gravel entertainment areas spread before us, but it was soulless. None of us came out here except to hang the washing out. It’d be a good thing to dig up some of that grass, to install some long rows of freshly turned earth for Kendall to plant crops in. Not only would we apparently have sweeter carrots, we’d have a home, and I think Connor started to see it. All the times Mrs. Kennedy had us out the back pulling up weeds, having to instruct us very firmly on the difference between nuisance plants and seedlings. He nodded slowly as Kendall threw her arm around him, describing exactly what she was thinking.

“It’ll be just like before, won’t it?” Van came to stand beside me, keeping his voice low.

“Better.”

Because as I stared, if I squinted my eyes just a little, I saw a couple of small figures running around the two of them, playing in the water feature, shrieking as they splashed each other, and complaining when the gravel bit into the soft soles of their feet before asking to be carried. It was early days, but I couldn’t help but dream on yes day of two, maybe three, kids trailing after their mother.

“Yes,” I said finally. “Yes.”

Chapter 45

Kendall

I was still riding the high of yes day when my sister-in-law, Cheryl, came by the bakery.

“Hi there,” I said as I barrelled out of the kitchen. Olivia was being trained to take over from me but couldn’t start for a few days. “How can I…? Cheryl!”

“Say hello to Auntie Kendall!” she said, bending down to direct the two cutest kids in the world.

Kate was five and would start school next year, while Benny came a little sooner than Cheryl and Finn had planned, being only a year younger. The two of them looked up and then rushed around the counter to throw their arms around my legs.

“Arnie Ken Doll!” Benny still mangled my name and most words, but his cute little husky voice had me squeezing him and his sister tight.

“Hey, Benny boy.” I ruffled his hair. “And how’s my favourite princess?”

Kate gazed up at me with a big smile.

“Good! When are you coming around to play Barbies again? You do the best voices.”

“Do I?” I straightened up. “I’ll have to sort something out with your mum soon. Actually…” I tapped a finger on my bottom lip with exaggerated care. “I’ve just moved into a new place, one with a pool.”

“A pool!” Kate’s head whipped around. “Mum, can we go to Auntie Kendall’s place, please, please!” Her little hands clapped together under her chin.

“We’ll see.” Cheryl looked calm enough, but there was a slight shift in her tone that had me looking her way. “How about we get you two a finger bun to share—”

“To share…” the kids both whined.

“But Benny hogs all of it.”

“Kate licks all the icing off!”

“Are you OK with them having one each?” I asked Cheryl in a quiet voice.

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