“Aye, Mummy.” Cairstine rolled her eyes and buckled her seat belt.

Elise stepped back from the Jaguar, and Hugh closed the door. A second later, Mother waved as the car eased into traffic.

Elise turned back to Harry. “We want to go to Okana’s.”

“Can you handle a long walk, or should I call a taxi?” A pucker of worry scored the skin above Harry’s nose.

“I’m good. Okana’s is only a few streets from here.”

“Dinner afterward?” Harry jerked his chin toward Sammy, who stood at the curb watching a steady convoy of buses and lorries making their way up the hill. “He won’t last until we get home.”

“Sounds good.” After that tea, Elise wasn’t the least bit hungry, but she could order something light.

By the time they reached Okana’s on Clerk Street, a two-story shop with a view of the Forth Estuary, Elise had used up most of her strength.

“What are we looking for?” Elise asked, determined to hold out as long as possible before she located a bench.

“I have a list.” Harry opened his mobile and read it to her. “Pizza oven, juicer, a fish weight, Instant Pot, two iron skillets, a Dutch oven, and an air fryer.”

“An air fryer?” Elise frowned. In her eyes, and in any full-blooded Scot’s, an air fryer was nothing short of an abomination.

“Sammy’s main diet consists of fried foods. I think that’s why my dad had his heart attack.”

A lump formed inside her throat. Harry didn’t mention his father’s situation much, but she recognized the air fryer as an outward sign of its effect on him.

She squeezed his arm. “How’s he doing?” Elise asked.

“He’s holding his own. I’ll be happier when they move him out of ICU.”

“Anytime you want to talk about it, I’m here,” she offered.

“I appreciate that. Dad’s tough, a real fighter; he has that going for him. Plus, Mum is there, and if anyone can brighten him up, it’s her.”

“If he’s anything like you, he’ll give it everything he’s got.” Elise sidestepped out of a shopper’s way, then winced.

Without saying a word, Harry found her a chair and commandeered a store clerk to locate the items he needed. Less than thirty minutes later, he had paid for his purchases and arranged for their delivery.

“You’re not taking them home with you?” Elise asked.

“I doubt they’d fit inside the cab with us.”

“Didn’t you drive up from Clovenfords?”

“I did, but it’s a hike to the car park, and I don’t think we can manage this lot and your hips. Besides, Sammy’s done and ready for mischief.”