‘I’ll look after Amy for as long as it takes. But Hannah will never get over it if she gives Amy up, and neither will Amy. I’ve just got to give Hannah the right support.’
‘You and James, you mean.’ Jon couldn’t help smiling. Chloe was so determined to do this alone, and it was oddly gratifying that her unwillingness to take any help extended to James as well as him.
‘Me and James, then. Obviously. Although he has his own family to think of, and he doesn’t have as much time as I do.’
They sat in silence for a moment, and Chloe sipped her tea. Despite all the uncertainties, all the loose ends, this seemed somehow right. The three of them against the world.
‘Hannah never said anything to me about Amy’s father.’
Chloe shook her head. ‘He’s not on the scene. Very deliberately so. We know who he is, he went to the same school as Hannah. It seems that he and Hannah had something going together, and when he went off to university they split up. When Hannah ran away, that’s where James found her. Living with him in his student halls.’
‘Didn’t anyone notice?’
‘Apparently not. He used to smuggle her in at night and back out again in the morning. Hannah spent most of the day in coffee bars. When we realised she was pregnant, James went to see the family, but the boy said it was nothing to do with him and his parents didn’t want to know either.’
‘That must have been hard on Hannah. Has the boy ever been in touch?’ It would be hard on Amy too, when she was old enough to understand. Jon held the sleeping child a little closer.
‘Not once. Hannah decided not to pursue it and I couldn’t help agreeing with her. If someone lets you down that badly, you’re better off without them.’
‘I suppose so. Still hurts, though.’
‘Yes, it does still hurt.’
Chloe’s face showed no emotion, but Jon suspected that she was talking a little about herself, as well as Hannah. Someone had let her down, and she’d decided that she should deal with everything on her own, now.
‘You know I didn’t tell the exact truth when I said I’d be gone in a couple of days, that was really just for Hannah’s benefit. You’re off for the next two weeks, and I’ve given the hospital the time I promised them. I have the next three weeks off.’
‘That’s supposed to be for you to finish the renovations on your house. So that you’ll have it all done when you start work permanently. You agreed that with them.’
‘I told you I’d be around to help, and I will be. The builders are putting the new bathroom in, and I can put anything else off until later.’
He could see the disbelief in her eyes, and all he wanted to do was to show her somehow that he really did mean what he said this time.
‘Yes, I know. Thanks.’
Chloe’s words offered him little comfort. Because, whatever she said, he knew that she didn’t believe him.
CHAPTER NINE
JON MADE SURE that he was home from work early the following evening so he could see Amy and Chloe off. It had just been two weeks but now that he was putting Amy’s things into Chloe’s car, and about to kiss the little girl goodbye, it seemed impossible that he could have come to care so much about her in so short a time.
‘I’ll be back on Sunday evening.’ Jon thought he saw Chloe’s lip tremble.
‘Yeah. Give me a call if that changes. You never know, I might cook you dinner.’ Jon was banking on having the weekend here alone, and he didn’t want Chloe walking in on him unannounced.
‘It’s not going to change. I’ve said I’ll go in to work on Monday for a few hours to do a handover. But you don’t need to cook. I’ll have had Sunday lunch with the family.’
Jon congratulated himself silently on clearing the final hurdle before his plan could be put into action. ‘Okay. Well... Good luck. You’ll give me a call if there are any problems, won’t you?’
‘Yes, I will. Thanks.’
They stood facing each other in the hall. There was nothing more to say, and they both had things to do, but something kept them both glued to the carpet. Finally Jon put his arms around her shoulders.
The awkwardness of it was melted away by the scent of her hair. Chloe clung to him, and he felt himself let out a breath. This was crazy. It was just a weekend.
‘Go...’ It seemed altogether wrong to let her go anywhere, now that she was so close, but somehow he managed to take a step back.
Chloe looked up at him and the now-familiar feeling of honey oozing across his senses almost made his knees buckle. Then she reached up, standing on her toes to plant a kiss on his cheek. She drew back, almost before he had a chance to register it, walking into the sitting room to fetch Amy.