Her car had gone.

Not even bothering to slam the driver’s door, he sprinted into the house, hoping to find some evidence that her absence was just temporary. But he knew that it wasn’t and a quick glance into the rooms upstairs confirmed that she’d taken all her things.

It wasn’t just her car that had gone.

She’d gone, too.

He checked in the kitchen and saw the note left on the table.

His hands shaking, he ripped open the envelope and read the short letter and then strode through to his study to pick up the fax that she’d mentioned.

He skimmed it quickly, taking in the fact that he wasn’t Daisy’s father, and then dropped the fax back on his desk and turned the air blue with words that would have horrified his sister.

He should have been relieved to have his innocence confirmed but instead he felt an unfamiliar panic surge inside him.

Jenny had gone.

She’d gone because his lawyer had confirmed that he couldn’t be Daisy’s father.

And suddenly he realised just how much he’d wanted to be exactly that.

He glanced around him, acknowledging for the first time just how much Jenny had changed his life in the short time since she’d entered it. She’d filled all the empty spaces with her warmth and gentleness and she’d turned his house into a home. Not by her cooking or the way she’d nurtured both him and Daisy, but just by her presence.

And he didn’t give a damn whether Daisy was his or not. He wanted them back in his life.

For the first time in his life he’d found a woman that he didn’t want to lose.

Alex let out a long breath and realised that if he lost Jenny and Daisy he would have lost everything that was important to him.

Without dwelling on his feelings a moment longer, he strode back to his car and drove at a breakneck speed down the road that led away from the coast. He didn’t know where she was heading but he guessed that she would have started on this road and his car was a lot faster than hers.

His shoulders rigid with tension, he shifted gears like a racing driver, peering impatiently along every new stretch of road in the hope of seeing her little red car.

But there was nothing and he started to wonder whether he could have been wrong about the direction she’d taken.

Maybe she’d stayed in the village after all, or maybe she’d taken back roads.

Growling with frustration, he was about to hit the accelerator once more when he saw a flash of red up ahead.

He slowed his pace and then felt a lurch of horror.

The flash of red wasn’t on the road.

There was a car lying in the ditch, and it was Jenny’s.

He hit the brakes and the car came to a halt with a shriek of tyres.

‘Jenny!’ His voice was hoarse as he slid down the bank to the driver’s side. ‘Jenny, sweetheart!’