Jake sat at the bar with a glass of Coke and his packet of crisps, and Grace couldn’t help but remember all of the Saturday afternoons he’d spent there doing the same thing when he was younger. He’d come back from football and help himself while she finished her afternoon shift. She always took Saturday and Sunday nights off to spend time with him. But now, instead of the smiling chubby-cheeked little boy staring at her from across the bar, she saw the face of an anxious young man.

‘Do you think I should go and see him?’ he asked.

‘No,’ she replied a little too quickly. ‘I’m sure he’ll be in touch when he finds the time.’

‘Do you think he’s fed up of me hanging around with him.’

‘Look, Jake,’ she said as she leaned on the bar next to him, ‘I know your dad better than anyone, and I can guarantee he’s not fed up of you.’

‘So why do you think he hasn’t phoned me then?’

Grace had to stop herself from groaning. She wanted nothing more than to tell Jake that he should be grateful that his rotten bastard of a father was out of his life – she was. But Jake could never know just how much she hated Nathan. Not if her plan was going to work.

‘Look, Jake. This is just how your dad operates,’ she said.

‘What do you mean?’

‘He’s like a toddler with a limited attention span and a new best friend every week. One minute, you’re the best thing since sliced bread, and the next, well, you’re not. Don’t take it personally. It’s just who he is. There’s only so much charm to go around.’ She smiled.

Jake looked down at his crisps like she’d just told him Everton had been relegated from the premier league. ‘Don’t worry,’ she soothed. ‘It won’t last. He’ll remember who you are soon enough and then he’ll be back.’

He smiled at her then. ‘Thanks, Mum,’ he said, before downing his drink and hopping off the barstool. ‘I’ll see you later.’

‘Where are you going?’

‘I’m going to see Dad,’ he grinned. ‘Remind him who I am.’

She forced a smile. Bloody hell, this kid was too nice for his own bloody good.

‘Bye, son.’

Chapter Sixty-Seven

‘For fuck’s sake, Nathan. What the hell is wrong with you?’ John shouted at him.

Nathan’s head snapped up. There were very few people who could speak to him like that and live to tell the tale – fortunately for John, he was one of them. Nathan had heard his voice, but he’d no idea what the other man had said.

‘I just told you that some little gobshite has been trying to move in on our patch, and you sit there staring at your fucking desk like a moron.’