you and Cassie, I mean, I want you to know that I’m always there for you, Adam.’
Forty-One
Cassandra
Sitting in the garden with Samuel nestled against her shoulder, finally contentedly sleeping, Cassie was surprised to see Adam come through the patio doors.
‘You didn’t mention you’d be back early,’ she said, careful not to wake Samuel as she got to her feet. He’d tested his lungs mightily after she’d fed him and tried to put him down. The little man had ideas of his own, a strong personality, undoubtedly. Strength of character was no bad thing, though. God knew he would need it to survive in today’s world.
‘No, I wasn’t planning to be.’ Adam stepped out onto the patio as she laid Samuel carefully in his pram. He didn’t stir; he was obviously all cried out, poor mite.
Walking across to the pram, Adam smiled fondly down at him. Cassie felt a stab of sorrow that she hadn’t been able to give him his own child. God really did move in mysterious ways, though. After Josh had gone, this child had come miraculously into their lives. She’d hoped that he might help them to find a way through the grief that shrouded them and find some contentment again. She was realising now that might not be possible. Adam had been growing increasingly irritated, simply because she’d forced herself onwards rather than give in to the dark depression that had wrapped itself around her like a cloying grey blanket; unable to allow the dirt to build up around her, which would only depress her further. He’d never really seemed open to discussing the shoplifting incident, seeming to believe that she was guilty, presumably because of the previous incident. She’d wondered, as she lay awake in the small hours wishing she could reach out to him, if he hadn’t been content for a while. They’d had no common bond once Josh had gone, after all. And then Kim had crash-landed into their lives. No doubt she’d reminded him he could still have a family, if only he were with a younger woman.
‘Kim called me,’ he said. Cassie smiled ironically. ‘She, er, had a problem in town. I went to fetch her.’
‘Oh?’ Raising an eyebrow, Cassie glanced back to the house. There was no sign of Kim. She wondered whether she was in the downstairs toilet, repairing her make-up. Cassie had noticed she’d been titivating a lot lately.
‘And she called you?’ she enquired casually, and started to tidy up the paraphernalia on the patio table. It was growing chilly. She would have to take Samuel inside.
‘She lost her purse,’ Adam said, his expression distracted as he turned to face her.
‘I see. That’s unfortunate.’ Cassie frowned. She’d spilled some juice on the table, she noticed, moving her glass. She would have to clean that up. It would attract wasps. ‘How on earth did she manage to do that?’
‘It was in her sports bag. The bag was stolen.’ Adam was watching her carefully now, baffled by her apparent indifference. But Cassie wasn’t indifferent, far from it. If Adam was oblivious to the attention Kim paid him, her subtle manipulations, Cassie’s radar was on red alert.
‘But not her phone?’ she asked, bending to pick up her gardening tools. Tugging a baby wipe from the pack still on the table, she used it to wipe the mud from her trowel.
‘No,’ Adam said uncertainly. ‘She must have been carrying it.’
Cassie noted the furrow in his brow as she glanced at him. ‘Well that was lucky, wasn’t it?’ She gave him a short smile. ‘That she had your number to hand, I mean. And that you were able to drop everything and ride like Sir Galahad to her rescue.’
‘What in God’s name are you talking about, Cassie?’ He looked angry. But she was also angry. Fed up with being treated as if she were a fool, as if she were mentally unstable. No doubt the growing rift between them would suit Kim, whom Cassie was beginning to think wouldn’t hesitate to step into her shoes.
‘Nothing,’ she said lightly, and turned her attention to wiping her secateurs. ‘Just that I’m not as naïve as I may seem, that’s all.’
‘Jesus,’ Adam muttered, and glanced skywards. ‘Would you like to tell me what’s going on here, Cassie?’ he asked, an edge to his tone, ‘because I really have no idea.’
Cassie ignored him in favour of removing a particularly stubborn chunk of mud.
‘Cassie!’ Adam snapped. ‘For God’s sake, will you stop that!’