Page 51

Everything took longer with her arm in a cast. Washing up took forever, as did a shower, and finding something to wear proved a near impossibility. Thankfully, after a few minutes searching, she found a sleeveless blouse she could fit her cast through.

Holly was still upstairs, having just dressed herself, with Evan’s aid, when there was a knock on the door.

‘I’ll go get it,’ Evan said.

‘Really, I’m fine,’ Holly said, jumping into action only for a pain to shoot through her side. Tears pricked her eyes as she dropped onto the bed and massaged her thigh. She might not have broken her leg, but the bruises were something else. She’d thought they were large when she got home, but they had only spread further, and her leg was unusually swollen. On one hand, she was grateful it was summer, and she didn’t have to try to squeeze herself into jeans, but on the negative side, she suspected she’d get more than one question if she wore shorts in the shop.

‘I’ll get the door. You follow behind at your own pace,’ Evan said, kissing her lightly on the lips before he bounded down the stairs.

The door clicked open.

‘Ben, buddy. Good to see you. Thanks for doing this.’

‘No problem at all. How is she?’ Ben’s voice floated up to meet her.

‘Pretty banged up.’

‘But her hearing is fine,’ Holly interjected, having reached the halfway point of the stairs. ‘So she doesn’t need you to talk about her.’

Ben looked up, and his jaw dropped. ‘Jeez, Holly. Should you be up and about? That cut on your head looks pretty bad.’

‘Good luck getting her to stay in bed,’ Evan said, before turning and looking at Hope. ‘Okay, little one, it’s time for youand me to get acquainted. Now, why don’t you come and show me how those bunnies fit down the toilet again?’

‘That is not funny,’ Holly said, to which Evan responded with a grin so cheeky, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to kiss him or hit him.

‘I need to get off. I’ve got a meeting to get to,’ Ben said, stepping back out of the cottage. ‘But if you need me to have Hope this evening, I can. Georgia’s coming over. We were going to go out to Cheltenham and watch something at the cinema, but really, her taste in films isn’t that great, so I’m fine to have Hope.’

‘Thanks, buddy,’ Evan said, holding Hope on one side of his hip, while extending his other hand to shake Ben’s. ‘I appreciate it.’

When Evan closed the door and returned inside the cottage, Hope was still in his arms, looking quite bemused by this person she barely recalled. Not as bemused, however, as Holly herself.

‘Buddy? Really?’ she questioned. ‘You and Ben arebuddiesnow?’

‘Like I said. Just two mature adults, making a situation work,’ Evan replied. ‘Now, how do I mix up this formula stuff?’

There was no way Holly could describe the rest of the day as easy. Hope was used to her mum’s undivided attention when they were in the cottage and was more than a little perplexed that she didn’t get picked up every time she demanded it. She was, however, seemingly aware of the object around Holly’s arm. She prodded it several times and was perfectly happy when Holly allowed her to pick up one of her colouring crayons and scribble on the cast.

To give Evan his due, it didn’t take long until he got the hang of things. He was baffled that Holly didn’t own a thermometer to check the temperature of Hope’s formula, especially when it specified the required temperature of water to make it. FeedingHope solids wasn’t any better, as there was no rhyme or reason to which bits of avocado she would put in her mouth and which she would throw onto the floor. He was, however, far more talented at finger painting animals than Holly would have expected, although after his fifth painted caterpillar, Hope had lost interest.

‘Look, I think she’s getting stir crazy,’ Evan said. It had reached five o’clock and Hope had refused to be picked up for the last thirty minutes. They had tried water play outside. They tried Evan building towers for her to knock down. But she simply wasn’t interested. Instead, she had crawled constantly, either to the door, where she banged repeatedly on the glass or to get Holly’s shoes, which she carried over to her mum. ‘Why don’t I take Hope outside for a bit? She and I can go for a walk by the river?’

‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ Holly responded.

‘Why not? I don’t have to go far. And I can keep her in the pushchair. I don’t think she wants to do any more finger painting. Or tower building. I think she wants to get out of here.’

Holly considered the idea. Her head was pounding, probably from the stitches, but there hadn’t been a minute of quiet in the house since Hope had got home. Half an hour of quiet was probably just what she needed.

‘Okay, but don’t go far.’

‘Deal.’

‘Just don’t let her out of her chair, even if you’re by the river and feeding the ducks,’ she said, as Evan and Hope headed out. ‘She’s impossible to get back in.’

‘Don’t worry, she will not be coming out of the pushchair.’

‘Because if you do, you will have to carry her and push the pushchair all the way back home. And that’s not easy to do. Believe me.’

‘I heard you, Holly. She will not be coming out of the pushchair.’