Free From Single Mum to Lady by Judy Campbell Page A

for a short time? It made her seem so gullible, so easily deceived—and incredibly stupid to have become pregnant, believing that Terry would have been as thrilled as she was to have their baby. But it was a long time ago now and quite a few people knew her background anyway, so why shouldn’t Patrick be told?
    She gave a little shrug and said at last, ‘It’s not a secret, Patrick. I was a naïve fool and fell for someone who was already married with a family—although I didn’t realise that at the time.’
    Patrick looked at her in horror. ‘How did you find out?’
    ‘When I discovered I was pregnant and told him, thinking he’d be delighted as he’d often told me how fond of children he was, he took fright and blurted out the truth.’ Jandy’s eyes narrowed, and she unconsciously twisted her hands together. ‘I can remember his precise words actually. He said, “You idiot! I can’t possibly have a child. I realised you were getting too sweet on me recently.’”
    Patrick shook his head. ‘He sounds unbelievable!’
    ‘Ah—but listen to the punchline he gave,’ Jandy added succinctly. “‘I’ve already got a wife and two daughters, which is quite enough to cope with!” Shortly after that he disappeared into the blue yonder, leaving me to cope alone.’
    ‘What an idiot!’ Patrick’s voice was rough with disgust.
    Jandy shrugged and said firmly, ‘Actually, it taught me a lesson—never fall in love with someone who’s carrying a lot of baggage. There won’t be room in his life for him to concentrate on anyone else. I suspected Terry had other things in his life but I didn’t realise that it was a ready-grown family!’
    An unreadable expression suddenly crossed Patrick’s face and he nodded slowly. ‘You’re right. You couldn’t risk going through that again—you must have been through hell.’
    ‘I’m over it now. Terry’s history as far as I’m concerned, and although I wish he was around for Abigail sometimes, I think we’re really better off without him.’
    ‘So he’s never contributed anything towards Abigail’s upbringing?’ asked Patrick softly.
    Jandy looked at him levelly. ‘I don’t want anything from that man. He lied to me for the six months we went out with each other, convincing me that he loved me and wanted a future with me.’ She added semijokingly but with a touch of sadness, ‘I was totally naïve, but I could never go through the roller-coaster of emotions again that I went through with Terry—it took too long to recover!’
    And I wonder if she’s really recovered now, thought Patrick, sipping the remains of his coffee and watching her face over the rim of his cup. There was a wistful expression in her eyes. The wound might have healed, but it had left a scar that would probably affect her for many years. And couldn’t that scar be reopened if she was hurt again by someone who was wary of committing wholeheartedly to a relationship, someone who already had plenty of responsibilities…someone like him, for instance? Didn’t he fit into that category?
    ‘I guess this happened in Manchester, then. And when you had Abigail, you came back here?’ he said quietly.
    Jandy nodded. ‘I met Terry in Manchester, but he disappeared after I turned down his suggestion to have an abortion. I’ve never seen or heard from him since.’
    ‘He sounds charming,’ remarked Patrick with heavy irony.
    ‘I went to stay with my mother who lives in Scotland, and had the baby there.’ She laughed. ‘Mum was wonderful, but she has her own life—namely living with a garage mechanic who’s half her age! I realised after a few weeks that having a daughter and a grandchild living with you in a tiny house doesn’t fit into the love-nest scenario!’
    ‘So you moved back here?’ Patrick murmured.
    ‘Yes, I came back here with Abigail and set up home with my sister. She’s a tower of strength and we get on very well. And then I went back to nursing. It’s a busy