Kimberley Chambers 3-Book Collection: The Schemer, The Trap, Payback. Kimberley Chambers
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Название: Kimberley Chambers 3-Book Collection: The Schemer, The Trap, Payback
Автор: Kimberley Chambers
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Современная зарубежная литература
isbn: 9780008141349
isbn:
Pam’s eyes welled up. ‘I’m not trying to spoil anything for you, Lin. I just worry about you, that’s all. Both you and Keith are heavy drinkers and surely there’s a fifty-fifty chance that your child might be born a dwarf. Have you even thought about that?’
Absolutely livid, Linda walked over to where Pam was sitting and pointed a stubby finger in her face. ‘Have I had a drink today? No, I fucking haven’t! As for the chances of my baby being born with dwarfism, so what if it is? I’m gonna love my baby whatever size, shape or deformity it might have. Even if it was born with no fingers or toes, or had Down’s Syndrome or something, I would still love that child more than any mother could. And do you know why? Because I know what it’s like to be different.’
‘I’m sorry, Lin. Let’s not fall out over this,’ Pam said, wiping her eyes with a tissue.
‘Stick your sorrys up your arse, ’cause I ain’t in the mood for ’em today,’ Lin said bluntly. She walked over to her boyfriend and grabbed him by the hand. ‘Come on, Keith, we’re going home.’
Barry pulled up on Stephanie’s driveway. Wayne’s hire-purchase car had gone back last week, but Steph’s car wasn’t there either, and Barry wondered if she had hidden it around the corner because she was trying to avoid him. He knocked on the front door. The house was in darkness, so he put his ear to the letterbox to see if he could hear the kids at all. He couldn’t hear a dickie bird, and after numerous knocks and rings on the bell, he was sure that no one was home. Kicking at the gravel in frustration, Barry got back in his car. The only other place he could think of where Steph could be was her mother’s house. Debating whether to drive straight round there, Barry decided not to. He would go to a nearby pub, and if Stephanie wasn’t home in the next couple of hours, he would then take a little trip over to Dagenham.
When Cathy and Michael left, Steph put the kids to bed, then she and her mum shared a much-needed bottle of wine between them.
‘I’m so worried about Lin, Steph, and it ain’t just her height. She’s nearly forty, for Christ’s sake. I never knew my mum’s sister, but I remember my mum telling me that she had a kid in her forties and died in childbirth. Say that happens to Lin. I mean, say her little frame can’t cope with pushing a baby out?’
Stephanie said nothing. She could understand why her mum was concerned about Lin, but she had so much going on in her own life at the moment, her aunt falling pregnant was the least of her worries.
Sensing that Steph had other things on her mind, Pam squeezed her daughter’s hand. ‘Do you want to tell me why you and Tammy fell out?’ she asked.
Stephanie explained in detail what had happened at the restaurant. She was still furious with Tammy for ruining what should have been a great farewell evening for both of them.
‘Well, I dunno what to say, love, but the only reason I can think of why Tam has got it in for poor Barry so much is that she’s worried he’s after you. I mean, it would take a blind person not to see that he’s in love with you, Steph. I’ve seen the way he looks at you and it’s more than just friendly glances. I’ve watched him, and sometimes he can’t take his eyes off you. I think he’s actually besotted with you.’
Stephanie felt her heart pounding in her chest. ‘Barry doesn’t think like that. He’s too much of a gentleman, Mum. Anyway, he knows how much I love Wayne. How could I even think of moving on while I have no idea where my fiancé is or whether he is dead or alive?’
Pam sighed. She was under no illusion that Wayne was ever coming back. The police had all but said so themselves the last time she had spoken to them. ‘Do you want my honest opinion, love?’
Stephanie nodded.
‘I don’t think Wayne’s gonna be coming home, darling, so if I was you I wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth by turning Barry down. You ain’t got to rush into anything. Just take things one day at a time. Barry’s ever so good with the kids; Dannielle adores him. So why don’t you just take things slowly and see how it goes? Men like Barry don’t come along every day of the week, and he’ll always provide for you, I know he will. Surely that’s better than being a one-parent bloody family in council accommodation, relying on handouts from the social?’
Stephanie looked at her mum in astonishment. Was she saying what she thought she was saying? ‘Didn’t you like Wayne or something, Mum? And what makes you think he ain’t ever coming back home? Do you know something I don’t?’
‘Of course I liked Wayne, but if you want the truth, I never thought that you and him were particularly well suited.
I thought his fathering skills left a lot to be desired, an’ all, if you want total honesty. He was never there for them
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