‘No, ’course I’m not. I’m tickled pink. I’ll come over and see her as soon as I can . . .’ He seemed reluctant to speak of his home, of Rosie and their child. But then she realized, he would think they were still enemies.

People were beginning to leave the tea-room and Danny glanced up at the clock. ‘Me train’ll be leaving in a minute. Come to the platform with me, will ya? How are you getting back to Lincoln?’

‘I can get a train in about half an hour, I think.’

On the platform, he kissed her cheek. ‘Thanks for coming – even if you did think it was some other feller!’

‘I’m so very thankful it was you.’ If fate could only allow one of the men in her life to come back, she thought, then it had to be Danny. She touched his face gently with her fingertips. ‘Go home, Danny. Go home to Rosie – and your son.’

The astonished look on his face was almost comical. She nodded in answer to his unspoken question. ‘When you were missing – we helped each other, supported each other. I was there when Robbie was born. Rosie and I, we – got close again.’

He put his arms around her, pulling her close and resting his cheek against her hair. ‘Thank you,’ he said simply.

They stood, just holding each other, then he asked softly, ‘What’s he like, this son of mine?’

‘He’s got brown eyes and black hair, just like his father.’ Her voice broke a little as she added, ‘He’ll break a few hearts too . . .’

His arms tightened about her momentarily and then a whistle sounded shrilly, reverberating down the platform. There was a sudden flurry of activity all around them. Last-minute travellers dashed on to the platform and jumped aboard. Lovers tore themselves apart, reaching out with extended fingers, touching until the very last moment.

Reluctantly, Danny drew back and held her from him at arm’s length. For a long moment he looked deep into her eyes. ‘Take care of yourself, Katie Hilton. And your little lass. If you ever – ever need me, you know where I am.’

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. His words from their childhood echoed down the years: ‘I’ll always care for you, Katie Hilton, dun’t ever forget that’.

His arms came fiercely around her once more and for a timeless moment, she clung to him. Then he turned away and climbed aboard the train, pulling the door to behind him with a thud. He pushed down the window and leaned out. As the train pulled away, he was still waving.

‘God bless and keep you,’ she whispered, as his face became smaller and smaller until she could no longer see it through the blur of her tears. She watched until the train was out of sight and then turned and walked across the empty platform, her footsteps echoing eerily in the stillness.