Page 72 of The Last One to See Him

In the corridor, Harper is waiting, holding two gigantic carrier bags. ‘These are for you,’ she says, handing them to Kate. We’re about the same size and you’ll need some clothes.’ She looks down at the slippers Kate’s wearing, offered to her by Liv. ‘There are shoes in there too. And some of Dexter’s school uniform for Thomas.’

Kate stares at the bags, her body unable to move, to take anything from this woman.

‘Thanks,’ Ellis says, reaching for them.

Harper nods and turns away, heading back to where Dexter is waiting for her. Kate resists the urge to go after her, to question her again about the fire.

‘Come on,’ Ellis says, watching Harper walk away. ‘Let’s get out of here.’

With sinking dread in the pit of her stomach, Kate takes Thomas’s arm and they head outside.

They get in the car and when she turns to watch Ellis climb in, she sees that he’s smiling.

THIRTY-TWO

2015

The moment Dexter is born, Harper knows she’s done the right thing. In the chair next to her hospital bed, Jamie is holding him, giving Harper time to recuperate – her labour was long, and she was moments away from having to have an emergency C-section. But Harper doesn’t care how traumatic the birth was – her son is here, breathing and healthy.

And she has let Jamie back in because she’s playing the long game now. What goes around comes around, and sooner or later he will learn that.

Jamie is smiling at Dexter, his eyes shining brighter than she’s ever seen before. Being a father suits him – this is what it takes for him to feel love. ‘I can’t believe he’s here,’ Jamie says, his eyes fixed on the baby. ‘Everything’s going to be all right now,’ he says. ‘This little guy will keep us on track.’

Harper wants to scream.It wasn’t me who went off track.

A phone rings and she glances around the room, unable to work out where the sound is coming from.

‘I think that’s yours,’ Jamie says. ‘And it’s in your locker under there.’ He points to the bedside table. He’s splashed out for a private room for her, and although she was tempted, Harper never asked him where the money came from. ‘I’ll get it,’ he offers.

‘No,’ she says, swinging her legs off the edge of the bed and reaching into the locker. She grabs the phone just as it stops ringing, and her stomach lurches when she sees who the missed call is from. Pierre. The man she hasn’t seen since the night she saw Jamie with a woman in that restaurant.

‘Who was it?’ Jamie asks.

‘Nothing important,’ Harper says.

Jamie nods, smiling down at Dexter, while Harper climbs back into the bed and tries to compose herself. She hasn’t seen Pierre since the night they had that meal. She hasn’t wanted to, and seeing his name now makes her shudder. The past never stays hidden; she should have learned that from everything Jamie has done.

Later, when they’re at home, with Dexter napping in his Moses basket, Pierre messages her. She deletes it without reading his words, but now thoughts of him are imprinted in her mind, making her feel sick.

The baby begins to grizzle, slowly stirring, and before she can reach to pick him up, Jamie is by her side, lifting him out. ‘Are you hungry little Dex?’

‘It’s Dexter,’ Harper snaps. ‘Not Dex.’

‘I like Dex.’

She opens her mouth to yell at Jamie, to tell him it’s not up to him, but she thinks better of it. Her silence is what will pay Jamie back for everything he did to her. To their little girl. ‘Let me have him,’ she says, unfastening her maternity bra. Her breasts are heavy and sore and she needs to get this milk out.

Jamie helps her get Dexter into position then watches while he feeds. ‘Do you think he looks like me?’ he says, stroking Dexter’s soft smooth head.

‘Babies don’t always look like their parents.’

‘But normally there’s something, isn’t there?’

‘Maybe he’ll have your charm,’ she says.

He ignores her jibe. ‘I just don’t see any resemblance.’

Harper smiles. Of course Jamie doesn’t. And when she looks at their son, all she can see is Pierre.

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