Page 29 of The Baby Plan

“Well, she wasn’t. She was covered in vomit, wailing inconsolably and her nappy long-needed changing.”

“I’m sure Helena did her best — she’s not used to babies,” he tried to placate.

“Neither were you until recently, but you coped!”

Samson ran his fingers through his hair. “I’d better go after her,” he said.

“You do that!” Sophie turned away from him, furious. He clearly didn’t believe her and was taking sides.

“We all need to try to get along here,” he said calmly, obviously not wanting to leave Sophie when she was so angry. “None of us is perfect, and we’re all going to do things a little differently...”

“She neglected your daughter and left her to cry so she could do her bloody yoga, Samson!”

“There are two sides to every story . . .”

“There’s no other way of looking at this.”

“I know you and Helena aren’t exactly similar, and I’ve noticed you avoid her whenever possible...”

“What’s that got to do with what she’s done today?” asked Sophie slowly.

“Perhaps you’re being a little hard on her...”

Sophie was too shocked to speak. She knew Samson was easy-going, but this was ridiculous. He couldn’t genuinely think it was acceptable for Alana to have been treated the way she had been.

Finding her voice, she stated firmly, “Helena is not to look after Alana by herself.”

“That’s not a decision for you to make,” Samson countered, softly, but with the same resolute expression on his face she’d seen after Natasha’s funeral.

“We won’t continue living here if Alana isn’t safe.”

“You’re overreacting.”

“No, I’m not.”

They glared at one another, at a deadlock.

“I’m going after Helena. We’ll speak more about this later,” Samson said, leaving the house.

Sophie let out a sigh as the front door shut. Damn it! That hadn’t gone well at all. Loyalty was a commendable attribute, but he was being plain unreasonable. She felt let down by Samson. Despite her first reservations, her gut instinct that he’d be useless and unreliable, when it came down to it, she’d come to trust and depend on him. Yes, and fancy him. But now this!

She was cleaning up Alana after her apple and pear dessert when her mobile buzzed with a text message from Samson. “Staying with Helena tonight, back tomorrow.”

Though feeling like throwing the phone at the wall, Sophie put it down calmly. Screw him, she thought. If he was going to be like that, she and Alana were better off without him for the evening. At that moment, she wished they could be without him permanently.

Chapter 9

Sophie was still furious the following morning. No concrete plan had materialised over her night’s ‘sleep’ and Sophie’s conscious mind had very little to contribute. The best she had come up with so far was the old fall-back of avoiding Samson for as long as possible. She tried to rationalise that it was to give herself the greatest chance of calming down enough to argue her points reasonably when the ‘discussion’ resumed.

Her car was parked outside and she knew she could pack up the bare minimum and be out in less than an hour if she had to, but that wouldn’t be the smartest move long-term. She and Samson had to be able to co-parent together, but Sophie wasn’t prepared to give an inch regarding Helena being left alone with Alana again. She couldn’t do anything about who Samson chose to date, but she should have a say in who cared for her niece. But how could she convince Samson she wasn’t just being prejudiced against Helena? That she wasn’t exaggerating and Samson’s girlfriend had treated his daughter appallingly. It almost made her wish for one of those awful teddy bears she’d heard of, with cameras built in, to monitor nannies. Then Samson could have seen for himself exactly what had happened. That would prove she was telling the truth.

According to their schedule, Samson was due to be working away from the house. Unless he had a change of clothes at Helena’s, she guessed he’d probably come home to shower and change before work, so she was up early and ready for the day. She didn’t crave a confrontation right now, but wanted to be prepared. Arguing in your pyjamas was never a good look. But Samson didn’t show.

Alana and Sophie went about their day together. Sophie had become very adept at fitting in setting up her new business around Alana. Nap times and evenings after her niece was in bed were her main work slots. It seemed to suit them both.

* * *

Sophie took Alana out for a stroll along the seafront and returned for the baby’s afternoon nap. Samson’s truck parked outside the house gave Sophie a head’s up that he was back. She steeled herself before going in.

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