Page 33 of Daddy's Pride

He winces. “I got crazy lost, didn’t I?”

“I’ll guide you back to the main road to Scarborough. As long as you stay on it, you won’t get lost again.”

“Tomorrow?”

We lock stares.

My stomach drops. “Tomorrow.”

Harris drinks half his glass of wine in one go. I do the same and top our glasses up.

“Do you have any siblings?” he asks.

“A younger sister. Anne. She’s a doctor, married a doctor, and then moved to Australia.”

“Australia? Wow. You’re from a real jet-setting family.”

I laugh, glad of the diversion from the weird, heavy feeling in my chest.

“Do you visit her often?”

“I’ve been across once since I left the army. I want to go more often, but I sank all my savings into this place. They’ve arranged to come here for Christmas. Well, to my parents’, but that’s close enough.”

“A festive family reunion will be lovely.”

I push my empty plate away and rest my chin on my upturned palm. “What’s your dream job?”

Harris blows out a breath. “Now you’re asking. Marketing for a company I believe in, I guess. A company that makes a positive difference in the world, however small.”

“I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

He rolls his eyes. “I’ve got to start looking first. I have a job.”

“A job you don’t enjoy.”

He droops his shoulders. “It’s okay. I love marketing. If that’s all Nigel asked me to do, I’d be content.”

“Would you be satisfied with ‘content’?”

He stares at me, lips slightly downturned. “What do you mean?”

“Why settle for content when you could find a job that makes you happy?”

He fidgets in his chair. “Content pays the bills, and I’m helping my brother out.”

“But are you happy, boy?”

“Well, no. But that’s more to do with Nigel heaping tons of extra work on me than anything.”

“Do you think he’ll ever stop doing that?”

Harris shakes his head. “I know. I know. I need to get out and find something else, but it’s not that simple, Daddy. He’s my brother.”

“That doesn’t give him the right to use you. No one else would put up with the way he treats you. Why should you?” I ask softly.

“I shouldn’t.”

“Do your parents know?”