‘No. God knows I wish I had.’ Cassie sounded tearful. ‘I left him a message a few days before, but… I’ll regret not trying harder to get hold of him for the rest of my life. I should have rung the school. Driven over there. Made more of an effort. He might still…’ She broke off with a sob.
Approaching the door of the bedroom they were in, Kim saw Adam place his arm gently around Cassie, draw her to him. Their backs were towards her as they looked out of the window. ‘You sound like me,’ he said softly. ‘I think we both need to stop blaming ourselves, Cas. You’re right, Josh wouldn’t have wanted us tearing ourselves apart.’
Cassie moved closer, slid her arm around his waist. Kim couldn’t help thinking she should be counting her blessings, having a steadfast man like Adam to lean on. She was about to go in when any sympathy she might have had for Cassie vanished.
‘Do you think that man we saw really does own the property?’ she asked Adam. ‘I have a feeling he might be sub-letting.’
‘Very likely,’ Adam answered with a sigh.
‘We really should insist on Kim coming to stay with us, you know,’ Cassie said, glancing tentatively up at him. ‘I know this place can be improved – it would have huge potential if it were legally rented – but I’m worried that Kim might not be able to cope with it all.’
‘She wants her independence, Cas,’ Adam pointed out. ‘We have to respect that.’
‘I suppose,’ Cassie agreed half-heartedly.
Thinking she should make her presence known, Kim took another step towards them, and then froze as the woman went on. ‘Do you think we should look at our options anyway regarding adoption? Find out what our legal rights are, I mean, just in case?’
Thirteen
Cassandra
Seeing a familiar shock of red hair through the glass in the front door, Cassie guessed it was Kim back from her doctor’s appointment. Cassie had wanted to go with her, particularly as Samuel was having his second round of injections, but she hadn’t pushed it when Kim had said she was calling at a friend’s house on the way. She was desperate to spend more time with her grandson, but also keen not to appear to be constantly hovering.
Smiling in anticipation of their shopping trip to buy furniture for the nursery, she opened the door, and froze.
‘Everything’s fine,’ Kim gushed. ‘They’ve checked his weight and length, and he’s had his vaccines as good as gold, haven’t you, darling?’ she went on, looking not the least bit troubled, which only added to Cassie’s horror and confusion.
‘Kim, what in God’s name happened?’ she asked, looking her over aghast as she helped her manoeuvre the pram in.
‘Sorry. I got delayed,’ Kim said, seemingly oblivious to Cassie’s stunned expression – and her own condition. ‘There was an emergency at the surgery. We had to wait for over forty minutes. Luckily Samuel had had his feed. I tried to ring you, but your phone went to voicemail, so I thought I would just come straight here.’
‘No…’ Cassie shook her head, confounded. ‘I meant your face.’ Was she not aware of how dreadful she looked? ‘Have you had some kind of accident?’
‘Oh.’ Kim dropped her gaze, her hand going tentatively to the livid blue-black bruising on her cheek. She had a cut on her forehead too. Cassie’s stomach turned over. If that animal posing as a father had hurt her, she swore she wouldn’t be responsible for her actions. Hurriedly, she ushered her in and closed the door.
‘Tell me what happened, Kim,’ she begged, concerned too for Samuel. She glanced quickly down at him. He looked a little tired and fractious. Had he been caught up in the middle of something?Dear God. Noting Adam coming downstairs, she looked worriedly up at him.
‘What the…?’ He ground to a halt halfway down, his shocked gaze pivoting from Kim to Cassie and back. ‘What happened, Kim?’ he asked her, slowly descending the rest of the stairs. The tight tone of his voice told Cassie that his thinking was on a par with hers.
‘I tripped and fell,’ Kim said quickly, her eyes filled with guilt as they flicked back to Cassie’s. She was lying. Cassie noticed the flush to her cheeks and knew she was covering for someone. She felt a hard knot of anger tighten inside her.
‘Against what?’ Adam asked, an agitated tic playing at his cheek, which was a sure sign of his mounting anger.
Kim didn’t answer. Her head bowed, she fiddled nervously with the zip of her jacket.
‘Kim?’ Adam urged her.
‘I wasn’t looking where I was going,’ she mumbled. ‘Jack left his trainers in the kitchen. I tripped over them and fell against the cupboard.’ She glanced at him anxiously.
‘Right.’ Adam narrowed his eyes. ‘That bastard’s fist, you mean,’ he growled furiously, striding past her to the front door.
‘No!’ Kim followed him. ‘It wasn’t him. I swear it wasn’t. Adam,please,’ she beseeched as he snatched up his car keys. ‘You’ll only make it worse.’
‘Adam,wait.’ Cassie stepped towards him, torn between lifting Samuel out of his pushchair and bodily barring Adam from leaving. ‘Where are you going?’
Raking a hand through his hair, Adam stopped. ‘Where the hell do you think I’m going?’ he retorted. ‘To give that piece of cowardly scuma taste of his own medicine.’
‘Please don’t.’ Kim swiped at a tear rolling down her cheek. ‘He’ll only take it out on my mum or my little brother. I couldn’t bear it if he did that. I’m moving out soon.Please, Adam.’
