Page 7 of The Perfect Gift

‘Of course you did.’ Harry reached down and grasped the bottom of Ed’s top. ‘Come on, let’s get you showered and into bed and we can talk about everything in the morning.’

‘I can manage.’ The brandy had done a decent job of reviving him and Ed brushed off his brother’s attempts to help him as he stood. He swayed like a tree in a storm and Harry had to grab hold of him again.

‘Just let me help you, bro.’

Ed nodded and gave in. He managed the shower on his own, thank God, though it took a bit longer than it should as he had to brace one hand on the wall to stabilise himself. It took two goes with the shampoo before his hair felt clean and the water ran clear. The staining on his hands didn’t fade at all, unfortunately, so it looked like he really was stuck with it for now. Stepping out of the shower, he accepted the towel Harry held out for him and wrapped it around his body. He turned his back to Harry. ‘How’s my hair looking?’

‘You’re going to need a hat.’

Ed spun around to face him, almost unbalancing as his head began to spin again. With Harry bracing his shoulder, he moved with more caution towards the bathroom mirror and checked his reflection as best he could. At least half of the hair he could see was tinged a nasty orangey-red. ‘Bloody hell! What am I going to do about that?’

Harry shrugged. ‘You’ll have to shave it off, or try and colour it, I guess.’

Ed sighed. ‘Great.’

His brother clapped him on the back and gave him a grin that bore no trace of sympathy. ‘That’ll teach you to go around scaring defenceless women.’

‘Any chance of you keeping this between the two of us?’ Ed asked him, more in hope than expectation.

Laughing, Harry whipped out his phone and took a photo. ‘Absolutely no chance, bro.’ He checked the image and nodded. ‘That’s going straight on the family group chat in the morning.’

Ed groaned and hung his head. ‘I’m never going to live this down.’

6

Even with Ed’s keys safely tucked away in the back of a kitchen drawer, it took forever for Frankie to get over his surprise intrusion. After the third time of checking the doors, she’d blocked the back door with the kitchen table and was just wrestling an armchair towards the front door when her phone rang. Spotting the name on the screen, she flopped down into the chair and answered it. ‘Hey, Kat, is everything okay?’

There was a soft chuckle from the other end. ‘That’s what I’m calling to ask you. I’m sorry I had to hang up earlier but Harry needed my help with Ed for a minute.’

Help with him? Frankie’s anxiety ratcheted back up. ‘Why, what’s wrong with him?’

‘Other than Ed being Ed, you mean?’ Kat laughed again, which served to calm Frankie a little. ‘I think he’s just exhausted and, coupled with the shock, he’s crashing hard.’

‘He did say something about having been travelling for forty hours…’ A hint of guilt nipped at her conscience and Frankie brushed it off, annoyed with herself. She hadn’t done anything wrong!

‘It’s nothing a hot shower and a decent night’s sleep won’t fix and, besides, I’m not calling to talk about him. I wanted to make sure you’re okay. He must’ve given you such a fright.’

‘Yeah, he really did.’ The admission surprised Frankie. Though she’d been lucky on a few occasions, too many of her experiences in foster care had taught her the dangers of admitting any kind of vulnerability. She’d learned the hard way that when push came to shove the only person she could rely on was herself. As a consequence, friendships weren’t high on her agenda. Even when she did meet someone who seemed to be on the same wavelength, bitter experience made it hard for Frankie to overcome her barriers and let them get to know her. Kat and her three friends, Issy, Anya and Chloe, had blown their way straight through her defences with their relentless kindness and good humour. They never treated her like she was something special – not that Frankie thought she was, but any kind of public profile these days seemed to elevate people in this age of social media.

To most of the people she met Frankie wasn’t a person, she was an accessory, a make-me-famous-by-association promo tool for others to boost their own profiles. She’d learned quite quickly that nothing was out of bounds when it came to someone demanding a selfie – in the middle of a conversation, with a forkful of food halfway to her mouth in a restaurant, even once as she’d emerged from a bathroom stall. That woman hadn’t even given Frankie a chance to wash her bloody hands before she was flinging an arm around her shoulders and shoving a camera in her face. Frankie had seen the photo on Instagram soon after – because of course the woman had not only tagged her profile, she’d used any and every hashtag she could possibly think of to reach as many users as possible – and the toilet had been in plain view behind them! Frankie’s displeasure had been obvious from her expression but the woman gurning beside her had either been oblivious or simply hadn’t cared. It was her chance at catching a bit of vicarious stardust and she’d been determined to milk it for all it was worth. Frankie had locked down her notifications not long after that.

There had been a few selfie hunters around Halfmoon Quay, but the majority of people had been like Kat and her friends – a quick double take of recognition followed swiftly by a polite greeting and then general conversation about the village and, more importantly, about Frankie herself. How was she settling in? Did she have everything she needed? Assurances that if any problems came up all she had to do was pop into the café and speak to Issy, and if she couldn’t help she’d definitely know the right person. Frankie had been a bit wary at first, but after she’d been sitting quietly in the café a couple of times and observing the comings and goings, it became clear that she hadn’t been singled out for special treatment. Issy, Kat and the others genuinely cared about their friends and neighbours and moving into her pretty little cottage had automatically granted Frankie a place in that circle of generosity and consideration.

By her third visit, Frankie had a ‘usual’ order. By her fourth she had her own table and she was part and parcel of the daily morning flow. She knew that Chloe was always in a rush and couldn’t possibly stop to chat but somehow was still at the counter fifteen minutes later, filling the air with her vivacious laughter and positive energy. Kat was a gentler spirit but no less warm and welcoming in her quiet way. Harry, Kat’s boyfriend, had a similar energy to Chloe and it hadn’t surprised Frankie to discover they were related. But where Chloe was outgoing and effervescent, Harry was more contained, as if holding himself in check. He and Kat seemed like an odd match at first, but Frankie hadn’t needed to spend long in their company to notice they were completely smitten with each other.

‘Do you want me to come over?’

The question startled Frankie back into the present. ‘Come over?’ Her gaze strayed to the smartwatch on her wrist that tracked her every movement. The alarm would be going off in less than six hours.

‘I just thought with Ed bursting in on you like that you might still be a little bit unsettled. I know it’s crunch week for filming and you need your rest, so I’ll come over and sleep on the sofa if you’d rather not be alone.’

For a second Frankie was tempted to accept, but she wasn’t the only one with a busy day ahead. Kat and Harry were providing on-set catering and they’d have to be up even earlier than her. ‘That’s very kind of you, but I think I’ll be okay.’

‘If you’re sure?’ Kat’s sweetness was almost enough to bring Frankie to tears.

‘I am, thank you.’ Frankie laughed. ‘I was just shoving the armchair in front of the door when you called.’ It was another of those unexpected admissions.

Kat’s giggle bubbled over the phone. ‘I don’t blame you, though the state Ed was in when he turned up, I know who I’m backing in any fight. No one messes with Frankie Webber!’