moved to the door. She was being unfair. She knew Adam wasn’t materialistic. He had a natural work ethic. He’d bought the beautiful Victorian house they lived in and renovated it for her and Josh, his family. He was being protective of her now because he thought she was vulnerable, and she was grateful that he cared enough to do that. Her inclination, though, was to feel protective of the child. Her grandchild. How could she not?
‘Cassie,’ Adam moved towards her, ‘wait.’
‘We need to talk to her, Adam, not about her.’ Cassie was resolute. They shouldn’t be whispering about the girl behind her back. Pulling the kitchen door open, she stepped into the hall – and stopped dead. The front door was wide open.
She ran to the lounge, her heart dropping like a stone. What had they done? The girl who’d come to them desperate for support had obviously overheard them talking and run.
Four
Kimberley
‘Where on earth have you been?’ her mum asked, almost before Kim was through the front door.
‘Just out,’ Kim answered shortly. Smelling the oil from the chip pan as she parked the pushchair in the hall, she knew her mum had been slaving in the kitchen. And this was after getting up at the crack of dawn to do her cleaning job and then looking after the kids all day before starting work this evening at the local pub. She’d been waiting for Kim to get back and take over, make sure her youngest brother went to bed at the right time and the other two didn’t sit up late watching Netflix. Kim felt bad about snapping at her, but she had her own problems to deal with. Her mum wouldn’t be able to rely on her once she’d moved out. Mentally crossing her fingers, she prayed that the guy who she’d learnt through a friend was sub-letting his house got back to her. It was an old property, in need of loads of work, but anything would be better than living here.
‘Oi.’ Her dad, the reason she was so desperate to get a place of her own, appeared from the lounge as if on cue, his eyes unfocused and a beer can in his hand. Kim couldn’t remember a time when she’d seen him without one. He’d probably had his baby formula fed to him in one. ‘Show your mother a little respect, you. She’s waiting to go out to work.’
Kim almost laughed at that. The only time he’d shown her mother any respect was when he’d accepted she didn’t want sex after giving birth to her little brother. Kim had heard it all through the wall. ‘No’ wouldn’t have been an option if he’d decided not to be so gracious. ‘Pity you don’t do the odd job occasionally, isn’t it?’ She smiled disdainfully at him. ‘Mum wouldn’t have to juggle two jobs then, would she?’
‘You cheeky little bitch.’ Her dad lunged forwards, coming after her with remarkable agility for a man who thought walking to the fridge to fetch his own beer was too much effort.
Kim’s heart caught in her chest. She had been about to lift the baby out of the pushchair, but moved away from it, heading swiftly for the kitchen. Her dad was too fast, grabbing hold of her hair and yanking her head back.
‘Do not ever bad-mouth me again, or you’ll regret the day you were born, do you hear me?’ he snarled, his beer breath close to her ear.
‘I already do,’ Kim assured him, gritting her teeth and trying to twist from his grasp, but he only tugged her hair mercilessly tighter.
‘Danny!’ Her mum intervened, dropping a pan with a clang, which caused the baby to start in his pram. ‘You leave her alone,’ she warned him, taking her own life in her hands and squaring up to him.
‘Or else?’ he growled.
‘Or else I’ll be late again and I’ll get the bloody sack! Then what will you do for your beer money?’
Kim took her chance as he relaxed his grip on her hair. As she darted away, though, the framed photograph she’d taken from Josh’s parents’ house slipped from where she’d tucked it under her jacket.
Her dad spotted it as she bent to retrieve it. ‘Leave it,’ he growled. ‘I said, leave it.’ His boot came down perilously close to her fingers as she scrambled for it anyway.
He wouldn’t hesitate to stamp on them. Reluctantly Kim straightened up.
A satisfied smirk on his face, he scooped the photograph up. ‘Who’s this