Hearing her choked sob behind him, Adam wavered.
‘Tell him not to go, Cassie,’ Kim pleaded. ‘My dad will do something awful, I know he will.’ With another wretched sob, she launched herself towards her and wrapped her arms tightly around her, taking Cassie by surprise.
She wasn’t sure what to do as the girl cried on her shoulder. She’d been a hair’s breadth from storming around there herself. But now she realised it would serve no purpose other than to rile a man who was obviously some kind of monster. Who knew where that might lead? ‘Don’t go, Adam,’ she appealed to him, rocking a distraught Kim in her arms.
Adam appeared to debate with himself; then, sucking in a breath and blowing it out slowly, he turned to face them. ‘He needs to be told, Cassie,’ he seethed, visibly trying to control his temper. ‘If I get hold of him, I swear to God I’ll break the bastard’s neck.’
Kim cried harder at that. Samuel sobbed heart-wrenchingly along with her.
Cassie glanced between them, her own blood boiling. Adam was right. The man needed to be taught a lesson. She doubted whether the police would be able to do much unless Kim pressed charges. Judging by what she’d just said about not wanting to create a backlash for her family, Cassie doubted she would do that. Adam was tall and strong, thanks to his many years of manual work. If anyone could scare the bastard,he could. But this wasn’t the way.
‘Leave it, Adam, for now. At least until we decide what to do,’ she said, her gaze flicking meaningfully towards Kim. ‘Violence will only incite more violence, and Kim and Samuel will be in the thick of it.’
‘Christ.’ Glancing upwards, Adam tugged in another sharp breath, and then bent to gather Samuel from his pushchair, pressing the baby protectively to his shoulder.
Cassie breathed a sigh of relief. ‘It’s all right, Kim,’ she said, giving her a reassuring squeeze. ‘He’s not going to go.’
The tension leaving her body, Kim answered with a small nod.
‘Have you decided on a moving date yet?’ Cassie asked her, guessing that Adam was as determined as she was to get her away from her father rather than risk this sort of thing happening again. Or worse. Nausea knotted her stomach as she imagined what might happen to a tiny vulnerable baby in the middle of all this.
‘Next week,’ Kim sniffed. ‘I have a friend who’s going to help me, but she can’t do it until then. I don’t have much, but…’
‘You’re moving today,’ Adam said determinedly.
‘Ican’t.’ Kim spun away from Cassie to face him. ‘I have to pay a month in advance, as well as the rest of the deposit. Then there are Samuel’s things. I have to get those organised. I—’
‘How soon can you be organised once the monies are paid?’ Adam cut in, handing Samuel to Cassie, the baby’s bewildered whimpers somewhat placated.
‘Any time. Tomorrow,’ said Kim. ‘But my friend’s at work. She works in a pub. She won’t be able to help me until—’
‘Tomorrow then,’ Adam stated firmly. ‘I’ll pay whatever’s needed and we’ll move you. And if your fatherhas any objections, he’ll have me to answer to.’
Kim’s gaze travelled between them. Her expression was a mixture of bewilderment and fear. Cassie’s heart went out to her. ‘It’s fine, Kim. You need to get out of there, for Samuel’s sake as well as your own.’ She smiled encouragingly. ‘Was your doctor’s appointment after this happened?’ she asked, still concerned that Samuel had been caught up in it. That he might even have sustained an injury.
Kim nodded. ‘Samuel’s fine,’ she said, clearly getting the gist of what Cassie was asking. ‘The doctor checked him all over. She said he was a handsome little boy, just like his father. Josh used to come with me to my…’ She faltered. ‘Oh God, I miss him so much.’
Adam moved quickly towards her, easing her into his arms as a fresh sob shook through her. ‘It’s okay,’ he said throatily. ‘You’ll get through this. We all will.’
Watching Kim bury her face in his shoulder, Cassie felt a ripple of apprehension. Her heart squeezing, she pressed Samuel closer. Adam had given up the chance of having children of his own to be with her. He was still with her, even after all the upset and the heartbreak, the lack of closeness between them. Did he want to be? she asked herself. He had always been a caring man; it was simply the way he was, tactile and affectionate. But, as much as she told herself she was being ridiculous and neurotic, she couldn’t help wondering: had Josh been the glue that had held them together?
Fourteen
Kimberley
Her dad was still stuck in front of the telly while her mum was out working her fingers to the bone. Bypassing the lounge door from the kitchen, Kim curled a lip in disgust as he took a swig from his beer and flicked through the TV channels. He obviously wasn’t about to move any time soon. She headed upstairs to her bedroom to finish packing her clothes, Samuel safe out of harm’s way – at her friend’s, she’d assured Cassie. Adam had picked up the cot and the baby’s few things, which she’d left outside early that morning while her dad was sleeping off last night’s skinful and her mum was out cleaning. She didn’t have much else, she’d told them, and Adam had immediately started ringing around for furniture while Cassie went online for bed linen and things for the nursery, making it clear to Kim how much she wanted her grandson in her life.
Noting the time on the landing clock, she tried to quell her nerves. Adam had been at the house in Hibbleton earlier. He’d already purchased and organised the delivery of a washing machine and a fridge/freezer for her. He was a good man. He clearly had loved Josh as his own. Kim hadn’t been sure what to think of him when she’d first met him, but now she was getting to know him, she realised she liked him.
He and Cassie had agreed to pick her up and were due any moment. Going into her bedroom, she was alarmed to see Jack standing in his PJs staring down at her overnight bag and the clothes strewn on her bed. ‘Jack, did you have a bad dream?’ She looked him over, concerned.
Her little brother turned to face her, his eyes full of bewilderment. ‘Are you going to live in your new house tonight?’ he whispered.
Kim went across to him. ‘Yes, but it’s not far away. I’ll still be taking you to school and picking you up. And you’ll be visiting me lots. We talked about it, remember?’ Crouching down in front of him, she noted his fearful expression and her heart dropped. As far as Jack was concerned, she’d been his mummy, the person whose bed he crawled into whenever he had nightmares or when their dad was raving drunk. She got him up for school while their mum was at work, made sure he had breakfast and socks on his feet. It was Kim who tucked him up at night and read him his bedtime stories so he could escape his harsh reality and live in a glorious fantasy world where all men were heroes.
‘When can I come?’ he asked, making a brave attempt to stem his tears.
Kim made sure to look into his eyes. ‘Soon,’ she assured him. ‘You can stay with me at weekends. Would you like that?’
