Hell.Kim had guessed he might blow at some point, but she hadn’t imagined him walking out so suddenly. ‘I have to go,’ she said, grabbing Samuel’s outdoor suit from the pegs.
Sitting in an armchair in the lounge, she fed Samuel’s tiny flailing arms and legs into the suit in record time, shushing and soothing him as she did.
‘Is there anything I can do to help?’ Cassie offered. But she wasn’t looking at her, Kim noticed. Her attention was on smoothing and straightening Samuel’s blanket and pram cover. Kim’s eyes boggled. Did she not care that she’d just driven her husband from the house, dripping blood? It hadn’t seemed to occur to her that he might be seriously injured. It obviously hadn’t occurred to her that Josh had been seriously upset when she’d driven him out too. It was no wonder the men in her life were so bloody conflicted.
‘You could grab his bottle,’ she suggested, biting her tongue and jumping to her feet to place Samuel in the pram, then wheel it into the hall.
Cassie hurried into the kitchen. ‘I’ll call you tomorrow, shall I?’ she asked, reappearing to hand her the bottle.
Kim tucked it in the pram tray. ‘Do that.’ She forced a smile. ‘But not before nine,’ she added, a new wave of panic sweeping through her. ‘Samuel’s awake a lot in the night at the moment, but he sleeps quite late, so I—’
Cassie seized on that. ‘I could come early. You could have a good lie-in then, and I could—’
‘No,’ Kim said adamantly, and walked around the pram to open the front door. ‘It’s nice of you to offer, Cassie,’ she added, attempting a cordial tone, ‘but I have a friend coming in the morning. Thanks, though.’
‘What friend?’ Cassie asked, her sharp tone sending a shiver down Kim’s spine. ‘I mean, is it anyone I know?’ she added, more lightly.
‘I shouldn’t think so, no.’ Kim didn’t look at her as she tipped the pram back, negotiating the step and then hurrying down the driveway.
‘Are you sure you want to walk? It looks as if it’s about to rain,’ Cassie called after her. ‘I could give you a lift if you like.’
‘Positive,’ Kim called back. ‘The exercise will do me good.’
Turning the corner at the end of the road, she spotted Adam’s car parked a short distance off. Relief flooded her veins. She’d thought he might have gone permanently, and wasn’t sure where that would leave her. Cassie didn’t appear to have completely lost it yet, but she did seem perilously close to the edge.
Adam climbed out of his car. ‘Sorry,’ he said, looking sick to his soul as he walked towards her. ‘I shouldn’t have stormed out like that. I just…’
‘Had to get out before you lost your temper?’ Kim finished. ‘It’s okay,’ she said kindly. Flicking the pram brake on, she checked on Samuel, whose sobs had mercifully quieted, and then walked around to press a reassuring hand to Adam’s forearm. ‘I understand. I think you did well to hold your temper at all, to be honest.’
‘I’m not so sure I did.’ Adam smiled ruefully.
Kim’s attention went to his injured hand. He’d wrapped a cloth around it, one he must carry in his car. It wasn’t very clean. Cassie would have a fit if she saw it, and would probably be right on this occasion. The hand was still bleeding.
‘She wasn’t always like this.’ He sighed wearily. ‘When I first met her, she was house proud, yes, but she was fun to be around.’
Kim nodded understandingly.
‘She loved to go out,’ Adam went on, his voice edged with despair. ‘Theatre, concerts, music festivals. She would dance, let go and enjoy herself. But now… I just don’t get what…’ His voice cracked.
Tentatively Kim reached for his injured hand. ‘It needs a proper dressing on it,’ she said softly. ‘This cloth is probably crawling with bacteria.’
Adam looked nonplussed for a second. Then, seeing her teasing look, he laughed, a strangled laugh, before swallowing hard.
‘She didn’t mean the things she said, Adam,’ Kim ventured. He was clearly in utter despair about his wife, but Kim realised she had to tread carefully. She wanted him to think of her as sympathetic and understanding, not someone who would cheerfully dig the knife in. ‘She’s unwell,’ she went on cautiously. ‘This obsessiveness, her distraction, her mania… She’s obviously trying to soldier on, but she’s been through so much: her illness, losing Josh. I think she might need to see someone. A professional counsellor possibly?’
Adam sighed again, heavily. ‘I know. The thing is, how the hell do I convince her? I’ve tried, but it’s as if she’s not hearing me. She insists she’s fine. She doesn’t seem to be aware of what she’s doing.’
‘Maybe if you tell her she needs to do it for Samuel’s sake,’ Kim suggested. ‘You could tell her I’m worried about leaving him alone with her unless she makes an appointment.’
‘Are you?’ Adam asked, his look one of trepidation.
Kim took a second. ‘To be honest, with all that’s happened, I am a bit.’
He nodded.
‘If she agrees to get help, she’ll be admitting she has a problem, won’t she? We can work it out, Adam. She needs support, that’s all.’
‘I’ll talk to her,’ he said, sounding less despondent.
