‘Hailey. Stephen Marshall is my ex.’

‘But Hailey said…’ Aidan trailed off. It seemed wicked to tell a mother that her child had declared her dead and, then, Aidan felt compassion towards her. Sympathy. Not knowing that she knew all about being wicked.

He wasn’t sure if he believed she really was Hailey’s mum but still he said, ‘I’m sorry about Hailey.’ He felt more sorry than she looked. ‘We all are.’

‘Ah yes. Your son, the boyfriend. Connor, isn’t it?’ Something in the way she said his name made Aidan raise his guard.

‘I have to get to an appointment now.’

‘And your wife, the doctor. Lucy.’

‘You need to get out of my car.’

‘And you, the vet, you’ve all done very well for yourselves, haven’t you? I thought, that’s a good family my girl got herself involved with but you aren’t good, are you?’ She narrowed her eyes.

Cold, cold fingers trailed across the back of Aidan’s neck. What did she want? ‘We… we… try to be decent people. That’s all any of us can do, isn’t it?’

‘And I’m not decent because I left my child?’

‘I don’t know the circumstances of you leaving and I certainly don’t judge you, but I’m going to ask you again to leave my car.’

Julie didn’t move, instead picking at a loose piece of cotton hanging from one of the paisley squares on her shorts, tugging at it until it unravelled, the patching lifting at the corner revealing a glimpse of pink skin underneath.

‘I’ll go when I’ve said what I came to say. Were you young when you met Lucy?’

Aidan remained silent. Unwilling to divulge anything personal to a complete stranger. How could he get her to leave? He couldn’t physically force her, the minute he laid a finger on her the implications could be astronomical.

‘I was young when I met Stephen,’ Julie said. ‘I saw him walking through town and I followed him. There was something about a man in uniform. We saw each other a few times and by the time he was deployed again I were pregnant. He married me, of course.’ She glances at him before staring into her lap. ‘It was… hard. Lonely. We moved around a lot and the other wives were older than me, cleverer. I didn’t fit in. I missed my mum, we’d been so close. One day, someone offered me something to take the edge off. I’m not proud but I felt I had nothing to lose.’ She met Aidan’s disapproving gaze. ‘Don’t judge me.’

‘I’m not.’ But he was, although he knew babies were hard. He could imagine the desperation of a young mum far away from home.