Wesley asked us to take you for a while.”
She swallowed hard and looked up at Lexie. “We’d never wanted kids. It wasn’t that we couldn’t have them. We’d discussed it and decided it wasn’t for us. We had the pub and we were happy with that. But we were also happy for you to stay with us temporarily.” Her voice became thick with emotion and she stopped for a moment, covering her face with her hands. Lexie automatically sat beside her and squeezed her hand.
“After you’d been here a few weeks,” Mary went on, “I knew I didn’t want to let you go.” Pulling a tissue from her pocket, she wiped at her nose. “I was terrified of speaking to Angus about it, but when I finally did he felt the same. Neither of us could imagine not having you around. We hated the thought of you going back to Wesley. Even though Stephanie wasn’t around much she still had full parental rights so we asked her if we could adopt you.”
Lexie wrinkled her nose. “Is that why you fell out with Grandad? He always told me Dad stole money from him.”
“Not money,” Mary said. “You. He thinks we stole you.”
“But it was Stephanie’s decision.”
Mary nodded. “She wanted you to go back to Wesley.”
“So what happened? I don’t understand.”
Mary’s eyes filled with tears again. “I couldn’t stand the thought of losing you. And I honestly thought you’d be better off with us. You seemed so happy. You used to have Leana over to play and you were always giggling.”
“So what did you do?”
“Angus told Stephanie he was worried about her, and that as her uncle he’d be happy to help her out if she was struggling …”
“You gave her money?”
“We offered to help her get back on her feet …”
“If she signed the adoption papers?”
“It wasn’t quite like that, but I suppose it might have seemed like that to Wesley.”
“Oh my God!” Lexie wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. “You bribed Stephanie.”
“Not really, no.”
“There’s no wonder you didn’t want me to know what really happened.”
Mary took Lexie’s hand. “The point is, we always wanted you. So much. And not because we couldn’t have our own children. We never wanted them. But we did want you. And so did your grandad.”
“I don’t even know what to think,” Lexie said. “I was upset about Nick … and now everything feels even more of a mess.”
“It’s not a mess, though. We think the world of you. And so does Nick, and so do your friends.”
“I should have just told them, shouldn’t I?”
“It’s not too late. Tell Leana and Elspeth everything. Then fix things with Nick.”
Lexie checked her watch before thinking about how drunk Leana and Elspeth had been when they’d left the pub. She’d have to wait until tomorrow, but it would be the first thing she did, and if they couldn’t be happy for her that was their problem.
“Everything okay?” Angus asked when he wandered into the living room.
Lexie and Mary exchanged a look and smiled.
“My life isn’t anything like I thought it was,” Lexie said, standing. “But I suppose everything is okay.”
Mary stood too and pulled Lexie into a hug. “I’m sorry. I really am. I had no idea how you felt or I would have explained everything sooner.”
“It’s okay.” Lexie squeezed her hard. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Night, love,” Angus said, looking slightly perplexed.
“Goodnight,” Lexie said, leaving Mary to fill him in on everything.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Considering the revelations of the evening, Lexie slept surprisingly well. When she woke it was with a sense of determination and a spark of hope that things might turn out okay. It was hard not to let the lack of messages from Nick get to her, but she was determined to stay positive. As soon as she’d spoken to Leana, Lexie would go and put things right with Nick. She’d decided to just tell Leana and let her tell Elspeth.
That plan was scuppered when she messaged Leana and received a reply to say she was on her way to her parents’ house for a much-needed hangover breakfast.
Determined not to delay things any longer, she walked down to the shore and onto the rugged path that led to Keith and Christine’s house. It wasn’t a place she spent much time. Their house always seemed like the perfect family home. Filled with bustle and laughter. Lexie had always felt a bit out of place there.
Having found out the truth of how Mary and Angus had come to