Holding her warm, slight frame tight, Nico hunted for the right thing to say about a system he only had the vaguest knowledge of – except that, yes, it certainly meant Maria going to strangers, if no one else could step in. And if his ex-in-laws had issues of their own then nobody sprang to his mind. Then he became aware of Maria standing just inside the door, gazing at the scene as if from the outside, fidgeting. Although there was no way she could understand what was happening her eyes were fixed on him. She gave him a tentative smile, round cheeks lifting and tiny teeth gleaming white.

He realised he couldn’t turn his back and leave this innocent toddler to the neglect Loren appeared capable of, nor to the ministrations of a care system he’d never experienced. Although he knew social workers must do their best to keep children in communication with whatever family they had, he had a nightmare vision of her vanishing like a mountaineer into a crevasse.

‘OK. For a couple of days until we see how you are,’ he heard himself say.

Chapter Four

Nico wasn’t happy about leaving Loren alone but he drew the line at inviting her back to what had once been their home. ‘Should you ask a friend over?’ he suggested, instead. It had been a while since he’d known much about her friends. After Josie had been born she’d withdrawn to a place where he couldn’t reach her and even conversational questions hadn’t been received well.

Her smile wobbled. ‘I think it would be better to have an early night.’ She didn’t say ‘sleep it off’, probably because of the presence of Josie who was drying her eyes and gazing up at Nico as if he’d saved the world.

That might be the way children saw parents but, as Loren and Josie packed Maria’s clothes and toys, he felt more at sea than in charge. What had he let himself in for? Loren had calmed now, softly murmuring, ‘This is good of you. I’ll be fine when I’ve had a break to get my head together.’ Nico wished he shared her confidence. After what he’d witnessed tonight, things getting so bad that Loren had failed to hide her undesirable behaviour, he couldn’t imagine when or if he’d be able to leave Josie with Loren overnight again and that thought led logically to uncomfortable conclusions about Maria’s vulnerability. He might find himself in the position of telling social services that Maria was at risk.