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Lucy flinched. She could feel everyone looking at her. Actnatural, she willed herself. ‘Uhm, no, it was actually my father, Dylan’s granddad, who got him into it.’

‘Good old Granddad! He’s certainly done St Jude’s a favour.’ John turned, called to his son and strode off towards the car park.

‘Right. I’d better grab Lorcan – he has a violin lesson at three,’ the doctor said, waving to her son.

‘Declan has a maths grind,’ someone said.

‘Chemistry,’ another chipped in.

Wow! Violin, maths and chemistry grinds – these parents were really pushing their kids. Lucy would have to keep on top of Dylan and his studies. As they all began to disperse, a small dark-haired woman came over to her.

‘Hi, I’m Heather, Conor’s mum. Conor’s told me all about Dylan. He was fantastic today.’

‘Thanks.’Lucy smiled. ‘Conor was great too.’

‘Is Dylan settling in well?’

‘Yes, he loves it.’

‘It’s a great school, and they’re obsessed with winning this football trophy. The old headmaster was all about rugby, but Mr Gough is mad keen on football. I’m thrilled because Conor is rubbish at rugby.’

‘Well, it’s certainly good for Dylan,’ Lucy said.

‘We’re lucky to have him,’ Heather said. ‘He’s fantastic.Everyone thinks so. I was going to ask you for your number for our football WhatsApp group. I know they can be a bit of a pain, but it’s the best and easiest way to get information about games and training sessions.’

‘Sure, of course.’ Lucy gave it to her.

‘Great, thanks. See you next week.’ Heather walked over to her son, leaving Lucy feeling warm and happy.

Lucy was about to go back to thecar to wait for Dylan, who was talking to the coach, when Mr Gough approached her.

‘Wonderful start to the season, Ms Murphy, what a performance by Dylan.’

Lucy beamed. ‘Yes, he was on form today.’

‘We really are so pleased he decided to come to St Jude’s. He seems to be settling in well.’

‘He loves it here,’ Lucy said. ‘Thanks, Mr Gough.’

‘Not at all, thank you for raising such a fine youngman. And how is Kelly finding it?’

Lucy chose her words carefully. ‘I think it might take her a little longer to settle in, but she is very happy to be here.’

‘Good, excellent. Glad to hear it.’ He walked off to talk to some other parents.

Lucy watched Dylan, surrounded by his teammates, all clapping him on the back. He was the centre of attention, the star. She savoured the moment.

A groupof girls approached the team. A very pretty blonde went over to Dylan and, judging by her body language, was doing some serious flirting. There was lots of hair-flicking and giggling and eyelid-batting. She was a real pro, and Dylan seemed to be enjoying the attention.

Any girl would be lucky to have Dylan, but he deserved a smart, kind, decent one. That blonde seemed very into herself – Lucywasn’t sure she liked the look of her. Besides, she wanted Dylan to focus on football and his schoolwork, not girls. He couldn’t put a foot wrong: he had to show them all that he merited the scholarship and do himself proud.

Dylan came over to her, smiling.

Lucy hugged him. ‘Well played. Everyone was congratulating me on my son being the star of the team. You were wonderful.’

‘Thanks. I’m justglad it went well. I really wanted to impress Jordan and the headmaster. I feel like it’s all okaynow. I was worried if I played badly, they might take away the scholarship.’

‘Don’t be silly. They’ve given it to you and they won’t take it away even if you break your leg and can’t play at all. But it’s brilliant that you played so well. They were seriously impressed. Even the headmaster cameover to me.’