Paula tried not to show her own fear but if Ted was out there in an unstable frame of mind with a gun, who knows what he might do? Dan could be in trouble. Heather’s fear on the phone had Paula jumping to the conclusion that Ted might have hit Heather and instead he…She chewed her lip and tried not to think about Ted with a gun. They sat in silence. Without the children, there was no background noise. All Paula could hear was the humming of the fridge. She wondered if she should have called the police and then remembered Dan had asked her to call Tom.

She’d just put her phone away when she heard the squeak of the garden gate. Heather rushed to the window, then turned back to Paula who was two steps behind her. “They’re both coming. I’ll put the kettle on.”

Paula’s legs felt like jelly and she dropped onto the nearest chair as Ted came through the door. Dan was right behind him, carrying the gun.

Heather moved towards her husband but stopped in her tracks as he began to yell. “You didn’t need to call Dan. I know I’ve been hard to live with, woman, but I was never going to hurt myself. I was going to have a shot at those bloody pigeons in the machinery shed. You’ve made a fool of yourself and me,” he bellowed.

Paula put her hands to her mouth and Heather remained where she was, perfectly still, as if she’d been turned to stone.

Dan leaned the gun behind the door then put a hand on Ted’s shoulder.

“Mate, you said you had calmed down.” His voice was gentle but firm. “That’s no way to speak to your wife.”

Ted turned to glare at Dan. Paula held her breath and her stomach churned. It was as if they were all in deep freeze until the silence in the room was shattered by Heather’s loud sobs. She was so slight her whole body shuddered.

Ted pushed his outstretched fingers to his forehead. Then, to Paula’s amazement, he too began to cry. Dan hovered behind him and then guided him to a chair at the table. Paula took a deep breath and did the same thing with Heather before going to the bench and organising cups of tea. Behind her, the crying turned to sniffles. Dan had just helped her carry the cups to the table when Ted sat back in his chair.

“I can’t take this any more,” he said. Paula hardly recognised the soft voice he used. “I’m glad you’re here, Dan and Paula. You might as well hear what the whole district will know soon enough.”

Heather lifted her face and looked at him. Paula glanced at Dan who was also staring at Ted.