Page 152 of Cheap Shot

“We’ll figure it out,” Sebastian told her firmly. “Now go. I’ll take care of tomorrow.”

“Thanks. You’re a lifesaver.”

“Just a brother who loves you and Harper,” he reminded her.

He ended the call, then shot off a quick text to Luke.Wanna babysit Harper with me tomorrow?

“Mr. Luke! Mr. Luke!”

The following evening, Luke glanced up to see Harper moving as quickly as she could toward him. Luke had been parked in front of Brie and Harper’s place, leaning against his car and dicking around on his phone while he waited for Sebastian and Harper to arrive after PT.

They must have been stuck in traffic or something.

“Hey, kid,” Luke said, straightening. He tucked his phone in his pocket as she got closer.

“Up!” Harper said, holding her arms out to him.

“How about you asknicely,” Sebastian said in a dry tone as he followed her.

“Pick me up please, Mr. Luke,” she said with a big, cheesy grin.

He chuckled and picked her up, popping her onto his hip. “Did you have a fun day at the shop?”

“Yes! I got to make flowers, and Rose-lee taught me how to make acrown.” She touched the circle of flowers on top of her head. They looked a little wilted.

“That’s Rosaleen,” Sebastian corrected.

“It looks very pretty,” Luke assured her.

“And we had grilled cheese and tomato soup and I took a nap, and then Uncle Sebby took me to PT.”

“Sounds like a very busy day.”

“It was.” She played with the collar of his jacket. “What did you do?”

“I went to practice and then I ran to the store.”

Her eyes lit up. “What did you get at the store? Is it a present for me?”

Luke chuckled.

“Harper …” Sebastian said, although he was laughing a little. “That’s kind of rude. Hi, by the way.”

The second part he said to Luke as he stepped closer, brushing his fingers across Luke’s upper arms.

Luke used his free hand to skim it across Sebastian’s side. “Hey,” he replied.

Luke turned back to look at Harper. “It’s sort of a present for you and your mom.”

Still holding Harper, he bent down to grab the new faucet and a few other supplies. “I’m going to finish your kitchen today.”

“Luke …” Sebastian said, sounding an awful lot like his sister. “You’ve already doneso much.”

“It’s no big deal,” he said gruffly.

Over the past few weeks, Luke had replaced the drywall, taped and mudded it, then replaced the flooring with new peel and stick tiles, plus installed a new cabinet sink.

He’d had to get a little creative about the last part, because Brie both refused to let him pay for itanddidn’t have a big budget, but he’d found a resale place that had a short run of unpainted lower cabinets and a slab of butcher block to use for the countertop.