Questions of Trust A Medical Romance - By Sam Archer Page 0,58

I’m phoning about. She’s –’

‘And you know Rebecca’s put her up to this.’ The steeliness was back in his voice. Chloe was utterly disorientated by the sudden changes.

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘That’s exactly –’

‘Rebecca came to see me last night,’ he cut in. ‘She knows you spoke to the Jones woman. That you believe she, Rebecca, is behind these allegations. And she’s furious. It’s tipped her over the edge. She’s determined to drag this through the courts now, this custody fight. Even though I’ve offered her full, uncontested custody. She wants to make it as messy as possible. All to humiliate me.’

‘Tom, that’s terrible.’ Chloe was trying to process everything he’d said. ‘But what do you mean, you agreed to give up custody? There’s no need.’

‘She would have backed down,’ Tom continued, as if he hadn’t heard Chloe. ‘She would have let us settle this quietly. But your involvement has provoked her. And Kelly’s going to suffer as a result.’ His voice rose in pitch. ‘Why couldn’t you leave it alone, Chloe? Why did you have to interfere?’

‘Tom, I’m so sorry.’ Chloe felt the tears choking her voice. ‘I only wanted to… I didn’t mean to –’

‘I’m sure your intentions were good,’ he said, his tone softening a degree. ‘But the result is that the situation’s become far worse than it needed to be. So please, Chloe. Back off. Don’t interfere any more. This is my problem, and I need to deal with it myself. I don’t need any help, especially not if that help is going to end up aggravating things.’

‘Tom –’

‘Goodbye, Chloe.’

And the line went dead.

Chloe stared at the phone before the shaking in her hands made her put it down. The sobs welled in her chest and she fought them down, because Jake was looking at her quizzically and she didn’t want to upset him.

Tom was right, she knew. She’d meddled, without his asking her to. She had promised to be a good friend to him, and her actions had harmed him. That wasn’t the sort of thing a friend did. He’d trusted her, and she’d betrayed his trust.

Chloe thought about her own problems with trusting people. Doctors, in particular. Well, trust worked both ways. She could hardly complain about not being able to trust others when she wasn’t worthy of it herself.

Tom had asked her to back off. The respectful thing to do would be to grant his request and retreat, keeping her nose out of his business. Chloe knew this. And yet… what she’d learned just that morning from the email she’d received changed everything. She couldn’t ignore it. To do so would be far more of a betrayal of Tom than would ignoring his wish for her to stay away.

In for a penny, in for a pound, she thought, and picked up the phone once more, her hand steady again.

The number was easy enough to find through Directory Enquiries. Chloe had in fact wondered if the woman would have a land line, considering how many people used only mobile phones these days, so she was gratified when a number came up for Sabrina Jones. Chloe would probably have been able to track down her mobile number sooner or later, but this saved time.

She suspected Ms Jones would be at home, given how early it was and the fact that she was off sick form work. Sure enough, a voice bleary with sleep answered after four rings.

‘Yeah? Who is it?’

‘Chloe Edwards.’

There came a sharp cough, then almost a shout. ‘I’m not talking to you. You tricked me.’

‘I need to meet you in person again.’

‘What? No way.’

Chloe said, ‘I think you might change your mind when you hear me out, Ms Jones. Or should I say, Christina Hutchinson?’

The silence hung thickly.

Then the woman said, a tremor in her voice: ‘What do you want?’

Chloe told her.

Chapter Twelve

Chloe’s first instinct, when she saw the red Mercedes parked outside Tom’s house, was to turn back and try again later. Rebecca was there, and Rebecca the last person Chloe wanted to see, especially considering what she had to tell Tom.

But then she thought: no, this is actually perfect.

It was a little after two in the afternoon. Chloe knew this was a day Tom worked mornings and evenings, and she was gambling on his having come straight home after picking Kelly up from nursery. She knew her assumption had been correct when she saw his Ford in the driveway, a moment before she spotted Rebecca’s car. Chloe had deposited Jake with the