‘That’s better.’ Sarah looked him over, satisfied that he was as clean as he could be. ‘I knew you had a face under there somewhere. Shall we go back and see how Daddy’s doing?’ She glanced questioningly at Laura.
Laura nodded. Her face was still drained of colour, but she looked more in control than she had a short while ago. ‘Sorry I lost it.’ She smiled self-consciously as Sarah took hold of Ollie’s hand to lead him to the landing. ‘I just couldn’t bear the thought of spending a whole day with her.’
Sarah wasn’t surprised. She was concerned, though, very. Laura hadn’t been just reluctant to accept Sherry’s invitation; she’d seemed terrified. And why had her mother exacerbated the situation instead of simply taking no for an answer? The whole episode had been bizarre. Laura was a grown woman, for goodness’ sake. Yes, she had some stress-related issues, quite clearly, but nothing she wasn’t managing. Yet Sherry insisted on bossing her around, treating her like a child. It was almost as if the woman had some kind of hold over her that Laura was trying to break free of.
‘Can I still have some birthday cake, Mummy?’ Ollie asked hopefully as, allowing Laura to go ahead of them, they made their way down the stairs.
‘Of course you can.’ Laura smiled back at him. ‘But maybe later, since your tummy is full of chocolate volcano.’
Ollie thought about it. ‘Okay.’ He shrugged. ‘Can Lucas have some too?’
‘I think Lucas has some, munchkin,’ Sarah said, nodding towards the hall, where Lucas stood with his parents, a birthday gift bag in his hand.
The little boy gave a wave as his parents ushered him towards the front door. ‘Bye, Ollie.’
Ollie waved back. ‘Bye, Lucas,’ he said, looking a little dejected now. ‘Can he come and play again, Laura?’ he asked, looking up at her.
‘Of course he can,’ Laura assured him, smiling bravely despite the obvious awkward atmosphere.
‘Any time,’ Lucas’s father said, giving Laura a sympathetic glance.
‘Yes, why not?’ his wife said sharply, looking daggers at him and then heading off without even acknowledging Laura.
Laura’s cheeks flushed furiously. ‘I’d better go and clear up outside,’ she said, turning quickly towards the kitchen. To hide her embarrassment, Sarah guessed, glancing after her.
‘Would you like to snuggle up on Laura’s sofa and watch a film rather than go to bed for your nap?’ she bent to ask Ollie.
Ollie looked delighted at that. ‘Finding Dory!’ he said excitedly, spinning towards the lounge.
As Sarah put the film on and settled Ollie down, she wondered why it was that Laura was so reluctant to go back to her childhood home. It had to have something to do with the disappearance of her brother. The memories around it would be almost unbearable, but was it more than that? Reminders of the precious time Laura had spent with him there perhaps? Something to do with summers playing by the pool? She would bite the bullet and ask her, she decided. Given how today had turned out, maybe it wasn’t the best time, but she had to know. There were just too many unanswered questions.
‘Comfy?’ she asked Ollie, plumping the cushions up around him.
‘Uh-huh.’ He yawned widely, working to keep his eyes open. He would be asleep in minutes, Sarah guessed.
‘I’ll be just outside in the garden,’ she said, straightening up and pressing a kiss to the top of his head. ‘Back soon.’
Noting Sherry’s designer bag hanging on the newel post, she gathered she was still here. The woman seemed omnipresent in Laura’s life. Maybe Sarah should suggest that Steve have a quiet word with her and ask her to allow Laura to live her own life. She would never do that with her mother constantly interfering in it.
She’d taken a step towards the kitchen when the doorbell rang. With no one else around, she supposed she should answer it.
‘Afternoon.’ A man around middle age smiled charmingly as she pulled the door open. ‘Grant Caldwell,’ he introduced himself, extending his hand. ‘I’m here to collect Sherry.’
‘Ah, right.’ Sarah shook it and stepped back. So this was Laura’s stepfather. Closing the door, she ran her eyes over him. He wasn’t what she’d expected. She wasn’t quite sure what she had expected, but possibly not someone who, stylishly dressed in a blue linen shirt and cream chinos, was undeniably handsome. Slate-grey eyes that looked at her kindly. Dark hair, flecked silver at the sides. He was tall, almost athletic-looking.
‘She rang me,’ he said, offering an explanation as to why he was here. ‘It’s a bit inconvenient, I’m supposed to be on the tennis court, but she said it was an emergency, so …’ he shrugged easily, ‘here I am.’
‘Does she not drive then?’ Sarah asked.
‘She prefers not to if she can avoid it.’ He leaned closer, lowering his voice. ‘Don’t say I said anything, whatever you do, but she has a little problem with her eyes. Can’t tolerate contacts and refuses to wear glasses. I told her they would quite suit her, but … Women’s vanity is a strange thing.’ He sighed good-naturedly and shook his head.
‘Oh, I see.’ She did, where Sherry was concerned. She’d only met the woman twice, but she struck her as the sort who was definitely vain. ‘I think she’s out in the back garden. Steve and Laura are out there too.’
‘I’d better go and fetch her. Knowing Sherry, she’ll be holding court,’ he said with an amused wink.
Sarah thought better of pointing out that thanks to Sherry, there wasn’t much of a court left to hold. This really was none of her business. Except it was, because Ollie was still here and had already been caught in the middle of it.
‘This way?’ he asked, gesturing towards the kitchen with another disarming smile.
Sarah nodded, and was about to follow him but paused as her phone rang. She fished it out of her jeans pocket and a flight of butterflies took off in her tummy as she realised it was Joe. Should she answer? Glancing back into the lounge, where Ollie appeared to be fast asleep, she decided she should talk to him. It was immature not to. Whatever he had to say, she had to know where she stood; draw a line under things if necessary, heartbreaking though she knew it would be.
Steeling herself, she accepted the call, then cursed silently as she realised he’d rung off. She headed for the kitchen, out of earshot of Ollie, and called him back.
‘Sarah?’ Joe answered, breathing a discernible sigh of relief. ‘Thanks for calling back. I really need to …’
She stopped listening, her heart lurching as Laura’s voice reached her, high-pitched and petrified. ‘No!’ she screamed. ‘I’ve told you I don’t want him here. I don’t want either of you here!’
‘Laura! Stop!’ Sherry’s voice, distressed. ‘You need to stop this. You’re destroying your life. Everyone’s life. Please …’
‘No! Don’t touch me!’ Laura screamed louder. ‘Don’t … Steve!’
What on earth …? Sarah flew to the back door and took in the scene before her: Laura on her knees on the lawn. Sherry looming over her, clutching her daughter’s forearms as if trying to grapple her to her feet. Grant … Grant was crouching over Steve, who was lying motionless on the patio. Sarah’s heart turned over as she noticed the blood flowering slowly beneath him, staining the flagstones deep crimson.