Free Each Way Bet by Ilsa Evans

you?’
    ‘Yes,’ said Kate, standing up and pointing out into the backyard where a mangy looking terrier-cross could be seen scratching itself half-heartedly under a tree. ‘He’s just out there.’
    ‘Well, it’s his lucky night. Go feed him this.’
    ‘What if he dies?’
    ‘How much?’ Matt came back over to the table with his aunt’s purse in hand.
    ‘I don’t know.’ Emily looked up at him and shrugged. ‘How much do fish and chips cost for you lot?’
    ‘Oh, um – about fifty or so?’
    ‘Grab sixty and see how you go.’ Emily took a stack of plates over to the kitchen. ‘Just ask everyone what they want. And get whatever your dad likes while you’re there. Surely he’ll be home soon?’
    ‘Oh, Aunt Emily?’ Kate leant against the edge of the table and looked across at her brother through her fringe. ‘Is it okay if I go with Matt? Help him carry them back, you know.’
    ‘Don’t need help. Besides, thought you were sick?’
    ‘I’m feeling better now. And I think you do need help.’ Kate was still staring at him steadily. ‘To add it up and stuff. After all, it’d be a criminal shame not to get all of Aunt Emily’s change. Out of sixty bucks, that is.’
    ‘Oh, don’t worry about the change,’ said Emily, opening the dishwasher up, ‘just make sure you get enough for everyone.’
    ‘We will,’ Kate smiled at her sweetly. ‘Won’t we, Matt?’
    ‘Suppose so,’ he replied, looking at his sister grumpily. ‘C’mon then. Let’s go.’
    ‘C’n I come too?’ asked Cricket, scrambling down from her chair insert. ‘Let me come too!’
    ‘No way!’ yelled both her brother and sister simultaneously as they headed for the door.
    ‘Bloody buggers.’
    ‘What!’ Emily looked at her aghast and then turned to Megan for confirmation. ‘Did she say –’
    ‘Yep,’ replied Megan equably, tossing a long blond plait over her shoulder. ‘Oh, Aunt Emily, don’t put the dishes in the dishwasher, it’s broken. We’ll need to do them in the sink.’
    ‘Are you serious?’ Emily stared at the pile of dishes and pots.
    ‘Totally. Mum hasn’t got round to doing anything about it.’ Megan plugged the sink and then, after squirting a liberal amount of dishwashing liquid in, started to fill it. ‘It’s an absolute pain. Anyway, Aunt Emily, seeing as you’re staying here for the night, do you think we could, you know, have a chat or something?’
    ‘Sure,’ said Emily with pleased surprise. ‘What about?’
    ‘Not now.’ Megan cast her youngest sister a quick glance. ‘But, like, later maybe?’
    ‘Not a problem. Whenever.’
    They finished off the washing up in companionable silence. And there was quite a lot of it too. Emily had used a variety of pots and pans and spices to conjure up the crap she had placed before them – it certainly hadn’t been easy. And, she reflected a trifle resentfully, if she had known beforehand that the dishwasher was out of order, she might have opted for take-away in the first place and saved herself a lot of trouble. While they washed and dried, Cricket took the mince outside and poured it around the dog’s bowl. Then she returned to sit back at the table, swinging her legs and staring at her aunt, much as she had been ever since she realised that some sort of swap had taken place without her knowledge. Fortunately she was the only one of the children to take their mother’s disappearance to heart. The other three seemed to have accepted it, almost as if it was a daily occurrence rather than never having happened before in living memory.
    Just as the last dish had been put away, a key was heard in the front door and Emily braced herself for a few questions from her brother-in-law. Not that she didn’t get along with Jack – in fact, they had a terrific relationship and she felt almost as close to him as she did to her own brother – but she had never actually swapped places with his wife before. Instead of coming in, though, he could be