‘Maisie’s been sick all day,’ came the terse reply, and she frowned, her mind hurtling through a mental medical dictionary.
‘How sick? Is she running a high temperature?’
‘What do you mean, how sick? I don’t bloody know; I’ve just spent most of the day scrubbing the carpet. Louise checked her temperature and it’s up a bit. You’ll have to come and collect her tonight; I can’t cope with this for much longer.’
‘It’s probably just a combination of excitement and too many sweets,’ Alex reasoned as Jenna flew about her bedroom, shoving her belongings into a bag, and the sensible part of her knew he was right, but at the same time a variety of dreadful diseases plagued her imagination.
‘I won’t be happy until I see her for myself,’ she told him anxiously. ‘I’ll see if I can get a taxi, I don’t want you to have to leave your parents and ruin their Christmas.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous. Of course I’ll drive you over to collect her.’
‘I’m sorry to spoil the evening,’ Jenna apologised to Alex’s parents as they waited in the hall while he stashed her bags in the car, and Katharine gave her a warm smile.
‘It’s been a pleasure to have your company for the day,’ she assured her. ‘But of course you must go and see to your little girl. I hope we’ll see much more of you and Maisie in the future,’ she added, and Jenna was aware of a complicated silent conversation between Katharine and her son, but was too concerned about Maisie to try and decipher it.
Lee was waiting with Maisie on the doorstep when they drew up outside the Love Nest, and Jenna jumped out of the car and snatched her daughter into her arms. ‘Why are you standing out here in the cold? Do you want her to catch pneumonia?’ she demanded.
‘She’s all right; just don’t give her anything to eat or drink,’ Lee muttered grumpily. ‘Especially blackcurrant juice. She’s ruined the upholstery in the sitting room; Louise has had to go and have a lie-down.’
‘Maisie can’t help being ill.’ Jenna defended her daughter while Alex strapped her into the back of the car. ‘Small children are prone to picking up viruses.’
‘Yeah, well, it’s been one hell of a Christmas, what with Maisie throwing up every five minutes and Louise’s geriatric parents driving me mad. Her dad’s as deaf as a post and her mother’s got bad legs, apparently. She’s had me running around after her like a skivvy.’
‘Do I detect that all is not well in the Love Nest?’ Jenna fought to hide the amusement in her voice.
‘To be honest, I’ve had enough. Louise has got it into her mind that we could have a test tube baby.’ Lee’s face wrinkled in distaste. ‘I’m not squirting my sperm into a damn test tube!’
‘I understood that it was fairly crucial to your finances for you to marry her?’ Jenna murmured, and Lee gave her an assessing look.
‘How did you find that out, I wonder?’ He glanced across at Alex, who was waiting impassively by the car, and sniffed. ‘It seems the boyfriend is useful in more ways than one. I might need to disappear for a while,’ he admitted. ‘A few of the lads from the fire station have bought a bar in Spain and they want someone to go out and run it.’
‘And they trust you?’ Jenna’s brows shot up. ‘You can’t possibly be hoping to take Maisie to Spain with you?’
‘No!’ A flash of horror crossed Lee’s face. ‘I’ve decided that she’s better off with you after all.’
‘Just like that?’ Jenna shook her head in disgust. ‘You can’t just walk in and out of her life when it suits you.’
‘I’ll send her postcards,’ Lee promised, and as Jenna recalled the weeks of worry he had caused, anger settled in her chest like a lead weight—cold and unforgiving.
‘You’ll do more than that,’ she told him. ‘You’ll sign a legal document waiving all claim to custody of her. I’ll never stop you visiting her, if that’s what you want, but you’ll just have to take my word on it.’
‘And if I don’t agree?’
‘Then I’ll make sure your numerous creditors know exactly where to find you in Spain.’
As she walked down the front steps she felt Lee jostle her—nothing too obvious, but enough to make her stumble, and she gripped the wall to prevent herself from falling.
‘Sorry,’ he murmured, not bothering to disguise his sly grin, and she turned to face him, her contempt so palpable that the grin faded.
‘Don’t ever try and hurt me again,’ she said, in a cold, clipped tone. ‘I’m not afraid of you any more, Lee. I’ve finally seen you as you really are—weak and pathetic. The game’s over,’ she informed him as she walked across to the car, ‘and I’ve won.’