Jamie arrived back with a cold drink and a toy tucked under his arm.

‘You’ve been a long time,’ Ali said, smiling coyly at Max.

‘There’s a box of toys in that room down there. They’ve got Batman and Power Rangers and Pokémon.’ Jamie sat a teddy bear in the space under Max’s arm.

‘Thank you.’ He studied the boy’s face, the long lashes and sprinkle of freckles on his nose. The same nose and chin as his.

‘We’ll see you in the morning. Come on, Jamie, time to go.’ Ali kissed Max on the lips.

‘Thanks for helping me, Jamie,’ Max said.

‘That’s okay, I didn’t mind.’ He gave a little shrug. ‘Can we come back tomorrow, Mum?’

‘We’ll see,’ Ali said, putting her arm around Jamie’s shoulders.

Max stared at the ceiling thinking through everything that had happened until long after they’d gone.

Max didn’t reach home until the following evening. He’d managed to speak to Maddy the night before, told her he’d had an accident on site and that the hospital was keeping him longer than he’d expected.

The house was quiet except for the dogs as they slid down from the sofa to greet him. Jamie. Adam James. He opened the back door and whispered the name into the night. The ebony sky made the stars shine with intense clarity and the moon’s half face seemed to be smiling. The dogs’ nametags jangled as they bounded into the darkness. He punched the air and silently mouthed the word ‘yes’. He daren’t speak aloud in case Maddy heard him. There was no light at their open bedroom window, but it didn’t mean she wasn’t awake. Oh, Maddy. She’d be devastated if he told her he had a son, born a year before Emily. And what if she didn’t believe he hadn’t known about him?

He sat on the garden bench and went through the events of the last two days. His hand was in a lighter dressing, his fingers still swollen. He took his wedding ring out of the pocket of his jacket and turned it over in his fingers. Something had shifted. Now he knew he had a son, he needed to provide for him. He’d missed so much of his life he couldn’t walk away and pretend he didn’t exist. The ring slipped from his fingers into the darkness.

‘Shit,’ he said to Daisy, who was panting at his side. He crouched down and pressed his good hand into the damp grass until he found it. He pushed it onto his finger. The dogs ran in front of him back to the kitchen.

‘There you are. I couldn’t sleep.’ Maddy was standing at the table, stirring hot chocolate. The smell made him feel hungry. How long had she been there?

‘Maddy, I’m so sorry.’

‘You want one?’