Free Hope's Vengeance by Ricki Thomas Page B

the wedding would be off.” Dawn couldn’t help the sneer, she’d been in a similar situation and had foolishly met his wishes, a decision she regretted every single day, especially since finding out she was infertile the year before. “I promised him I’d sort it out after the honeymoon, and I did, but when it came to it I just couldn’t go through with it. I thought he’d come round to the idea of having a baby, but he didn’t, he just left, went back to his mum and dad’s. I didn’t see him again for a long time.”
    “When did he first meet Penny, I mean, you’re in touch now, aren’t you?” Dawn finished her coffee, setting the mug down and retrieving her pad and pen from the table, along with a chocolate biscuit.
    Hope nodded. “It was New Year’s Eve. She was six months old. He came round unexpectedly with a bottle of wine, saying he wanted to make amends, make it up to me for not being there. Penny was asleep in her cot, so he looked in on her. He said she was beautiful.” Her eyes clouded over, a light smile edging her lips. “She was a beautiful baby, she’s gorgeous now! A bit chubby, but it’s only puppy fat.”
    Hope swallowed hard, inadvertently pressing at her protruding ribs, and Dawn watched, intrigued. “Anyway, Frank, I didn’t want him back, I was coping with motherhood and working full time so well, why go and upset the applecart! But then his mum, Rita, she turned up the next day. She was gutted because Frank had only told her the night before after visiting me that she had a granddaughter.”
    Dawn knew she shouldn’t but the words fell out. “He sounds like a bit of a shit, if you ask me!”
    Hope giggled. “I know, he was a right idiot when he was young! He’s okay now, turned out to be quite decent in the end. But I don’t know what I saw in him! So, getting back to the rape, now Rita knew about Penny she wanted to be a big part of her life, and that suited me. She started having her every other weekend, every Tuesday night, and three days a week while I was at work.”
    “Wow! Good mother-in-law to have!” Dawn leaned back, grinning.
    “I know. Like I said, I’d been managing fine, but I hadn’t gone out for over a year, I had no social life, and the childminding costs really hit my pocket. So Rita helped me financially and socially, really. It was on one of the weekends Rita had Penny, Lucy’s mum had taken Callum so we could go out. There was a huge group of us, all the regulars who hung around at Lucy’s. We went to the pub, had way too many, it was a fun evening. But I was having big problems at work, a contract accountant kept hitting on me, and he was threatening that if I didn’t sleep with him he’d get me fired. So as I got drunker, I started to feel down, and I went outside, away from the noise, the laughter. I think I needed some tears, but I’ve always found it difficult to cry, well, since I was about seven or eight, anyway.”
    Dawn remembered the tears from before, and she glanced at Hope, questioning.
    Hope laughed. “I know what you’re thinking, but that was a one off, I was really down that day. Normally I have to get really pissed and be alone before I can cry, it’s like I have to decide that I need to, then put a date in my diary!” She continued laughing, not realising the significance that hit Dawn.
    “Anyway, Peter followed me out, said he’d seen me looking upset. He didn’t drink alcohol, and he suggested we go for a drive, he could stop at an off licence, get me some brandy, and I could offload my burdens in private. I jumped at the chance, I trusted him. I thought he was gay.”
    Hope’s voice trailed away, this was the first time that had happened in a while, now that there was so much trust between the two. Dawn became aware that Hope was holding back the tears she’d said were difficult, and was perplexed by the mass of contradictions that came from her client. “I know what you’re thinking. I just said I found it