Free Be My Baby by Fiona Harper

Of course, you’ll find some common ground.’
    â€˜We are? I mean, we will?’
    â€˜Yes! She’s a mini version of you. A baby control freak.’
    â€˜I’m sorry. Did you say “control freak”?’
    Gaby nodded. She looked as if she were trying not to laugh. ‘That’s why you clash so much. Neither one of you is willing to give an inch sometimes. She needs to be in charge of her destiny just as much as you do.’
    He opened his mouth to contradict her, but closed it again and stared at the ceiling. ‘You think?’
    â€˜You just need to ease off a bit and she’ll calm down. Stop trying to do everything for her. She’s not the little six-year-old you left behind any more. And you can’t make up for lost time by treating her as if she were.’
    â€˜And you think this will improve things?’
    â€˜It certainly won’t hurt. You’ve already started doing it a little. Just keep going, a step at a time.’
    â€˜How do you know all this stuff? Is this what they teach you at nanny school?’
    Gaby shuffled in her seat a little. She seemed to be embarrassed. ‘Let’s just say that, as a child, I used to feel a lot like she did. I know what it’s like to have your whole life mapped out for you. It’s suffocating. Every little thing had to be just so, or it was the end of the world. I don’t know how I stood it as long as I did.’
    Somehow the conversation had shifted and he knew she wasn’t talking about her childhood any more. It had to be the ex-husband. What an idiot.
    â€˜Earlier on…’
    â€˜I thought we weren’t going to talk about earlier on, Luke.’
    â€˜Let me finish, woman. I was going to ask you about your drawing—the one you had in the pad when you came in.’
    â€˜It wasn’t very good. I threw it away. I’m a bit rusty.’
    â€˜Better than me. I have problems drawing a straight line.’
    â€˜Painting is what I really like to do. I was planning to start again in my free time. The colours on the river are just so beautiful.’
    Were they? He couldn’t say he’d noticed that much. Too busy looking inside to notice the world around him.
    â€˜What’s your favourite colour, then?’ Okay, sparkling conversation was still out of reach, but she didn’t seem to notice. She looked as if she were enjoying herself as much as he was.
    â€˜Green, I think. It’s hard to choose. But not that garish bright green. Soft mossy greens and deep emerald greens are my favourite. What about you?’
    He was mesmerised by her. When she talked about things she loved, she sparkled. How had he ever thought of her as ordinary? She was looking right at him and her eyes were positively glowing…
    â€˜Brown.’ The word was out of his mouth before he had a chance to think about it.
    â€˜Brown? Your favourite colour is brown. Seriously?’ She pulled a face.
    â€˜No, not brown, I mean…’
    Then he looked back into her eyes. Polished chestnut, warm and dark with gold lights. At that moment he couldn’t think of a colour to top it.

CHAPTER SIX
    A NOISE dragged Gaby from sleep. She propped herself up on an elbow and listened. The clock showed it was some time past three.
    There it was again.
    Suddenly, she was very much awake. She flung back the duvet and jumped out of bed. Her movements were swift and silent as she crossed the room and eased the door open. Everything was quiet again. All she could hear was her own magnified heartbeat. She crept towards Heather’s door and pushed it gently.
    Heather was fast asleep, one leg out of the duvet and an arm around a toy rabbit. Poor kid. She might act tough, but underneath she was a scared little girl who hung on to security anywhere she found it.
    Gaby was just pulling the door closed again when she heard a shout. The hairs on the back of her neck immediately stood to attention.
    Luke!