Page 102 of The Sunrise Sisterhood

Adam let out a sigh as if irritated by himself. ‘I overreacted, didn’t I?’

He’d reacted like any protective father would have done, she thought, without even knowing that that was what he was. She couldn’t have asked for more.

‘It’s instinctive, the desire to protect,’ she said mildly. ‘And I think you were brilliant too. Did you know you’re bleeding?’ She pointed to the bottom of his foot.

Both of his feet were sandy, but there was a dark red patch on the ball of his right foot. He brushed off the sand and winced. ‘There’s something in it, I think. Can you see?’

It was really awkward to bend forward with the big brace on her arm, so Adam lifted his foot close to her face.

‘This is pleasant,’ she giggled, squinting at his foot.

‘Oh yeah, I know how to treat a woman.’

‘It might be a shard of glass or a piece of shell. You need to wash it. I’ll go and fill Ivy’s bucket with sea water.’ She started to get to her feet, but Adam beat her to it.

‘I’ll do it.’ He hobbled to Ivy. ‘Mind if I borrow your bucket, Ivy?’

‘Bic-bic,’ Ivy babbled.

He looked at Clare over Ivy’s head. ‘She drives a hard bargain this one.’

He passed the bag to Clare and left her to dole out another biscuit. She felt a warm glow as she watched him limp down to the sea. He was lovely, really lovely.

She imagined his face when he found out that Ivy was his daughter. She was sure he was going to be over the moon. Not that she expected him to drop everything and build a new life with them. She didn’t need or want that. But she’d like him to be part of her life and if that wasn’t possible, then at least part of her daughter’s.

She wasn’t going to reveal her secret now. They needed to get back home so he could bandage his foot up and get it looked at. Instead, she was going to make a special occasion of it, make it a moment to remember.

She waved to him, her heart soaring as he hobbled back up the beach towards them. Why had she ever thought that they would be better off without him? Life was never going to be perfect, but this felt pretty damn close.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Liz

Liz stacked the dishwasher with Mrs Barton’s crockery while Skye loaded The Seaside Gourmet Girls’ equipment into crates.

The wake was almost over, most of the mourners had left and Liz and Skye were clearing away as quickly as they could. They were both dying to get back to Clemency House to find out how Clare had got on with Adam at the beach. Liz had high hopes for the two of them, if they could get over their shaky start, that was. He seemed such a nice young man; Jen would have approved. What would Mike think of the situation? she wondered.

He’d only find out if Clare chose to tell him, of course – he certainly wouldn’t find out from Liz. She’d always been good at keeping the Marriotts’ secrets.

Her thoughts meandered back to when Jen had found out she was pregnant. How excited she’d been. She and Liz had spent an entire day window shopping for baby clothes, cots and prams, discussing what it was going to be like having a baby in the family.

Mike’s reaction had been more understated; he’d asked to meet Liz for a chat one day and, of course, she’d agreed. She’d found him slumped at a table stirring sugar into his coffee cup.

‘Hello, father-to-be,’ she’d greeted him playfully.

He’d exhaled woefully. ‘Hi, Liz.’

She’d sat down with a bump. ‘Has something happened? Is Jen OK, the baby?’

‘They’re fine,’ he’d said wearily. ‘Well, Jen’s fine and there’s nothing wrong with the baby as far as we know.’

‘But?’ She’d waited patiently for him to work out what he needed to say. He’d always been the same: tongue-tied when it came to expressing his emotions.

‘Jen’s too good for me.’

She’d groaned. Not this again. ‘Jen adores you. And, if she doesn’t think she’s too good for you, then you needn’t either.’

‘I don’t want to let her or the baby down.’