‘That said,’ she carried on, ‘I do think, that before you get too involved, there’s a couple of things you ought to know.’

‘I take it you are, in a roundabout sort of way, talking about Joe Upton,’ I said, just to be sure.

‘I am.’

‘Well, if it’s about the crash,’ I said bluntly, ‘I know everything already.’

‘From Joe?’ she asked.

‘Of course, from Joe,’ I told her, ‘so you don’t have to say any more about that particular business and I also know that he was a bit of a rebel, and,’ I added for good measure, ‘I’m also well aware that a few of the locals aren’t thrilled to see him back because of his bad-boy reputation. Not that now, as a fully-grown man, he has one of course.’

‘Right,’ she said. ‘I see.’

She was denied the opportunity to say anything further as more customers arrived, but I could tell she was bursting to.

‘Look,’ I said, once she had finished serving again, ‘Joe’s got more than enough on his plate right now without having to worry that folk are still talking about him and what happened in the past. Believe me, he isn’t back in Wynmouth to cause trouble.’

‘So, why is he back then?’ Sophie asked. ‘And why did he come to the pub? Sam’s not been the same since he showed up.’

‘Given that Sam was the one responsible for the crash,’ I pointed out, ‘that’s hardly surprising, is it?’

Sophie looked hurt by my words, but her protectiveness of Sam had glossed over certain unsavoury facts. He might have lost part of a leg that night, but the Upton family had lost a son and a brother. The fact that Joe was now back in Wynmouth, or for most of the time, just on the outskirts of it, was bound to rake a few things up, but there was no way of avoiding that.

‘Joe has come back,’ I said trying to diffuse the fuss, ‘to help Charlie. I think the farm is experiencing some difficulties and he’s here to help sort them out, that’s all.’

‘Ah.’

‘And,’ I went on, not that I should have felt obliged to explain further, but I did, ‘that’s one of the reasons we’ve become close.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘We both work with our families and we both know how difficult that can be.’

I wasn’t just explaining this for Sophie’s benefit. I was hoping that she would pass the information on to Sam and that he would realize my friendship with Joe was a result of shared experiences and a similar background, rather than picking a side over an old hurt.

‘Difficult?’ Sophie questioned.