Courtney and the woman hugged exuberantly.
The boy scuffed at the ground while casting furtive glances in Sophie’s direction.
Ash turned in her seat. Her niece was engrossed in her phone and completely oblivious to his presence. Ash wanted to laugh but held it back.
“This is my friend Helen, from bingo. This is my sister, Ash.” Courtney pointed. “And this is my Sophie.”
Sophie looked up, her eyes wide. “H-hello.”
“Hey, nice to meet you Helen.” Ash nodded at the new arrival.
“And you! But call me Hels, everyone does.” Helen tugged on the boy’s arm and pulled him nearer. “And this is my Ryan.”
“Sophie, say hello to Ryan.” Courtney’s voice was overly sweet.
Ash took in her sister’s excited demeanour. Then she looked at Sophie—who now wore a frown—before transferring her attention to Helen and Ryan.
And then it clicked.
Oh for fuck’s sake, Courtney. Surely not . Ash only just held back a groan.
“All right?” Sophie offered the ubiquitous teenager greeting.
“All right.” Ryan’s response was mumbled, his head down, looking at his own feet.
“Why don’t you sit here, Ryan?” Courtney pointed to her vacated seat next to Sophie. “And us adults will sit over here.” She walked round the table to sit next to Ash, with Helen sitting on Ash’s other side.
Ash stared at her sister. “What are you doing?”
“I’m not doing anything.” Courtney smiled and reached for her beer.
Before Ash could respond, Sophie narrowed her eyes and said, “Mum, can I talk to you for a sec?”
“What’s up, love?” Courtney shifted in her seat.
Sophie’s frown deepened. “In private.”
In awe of her niece’s composure, Ash watched as Courtney made a big show of getting up and walking away from their table to where Sophie now stood about three yards away.
At first their conversation was muted, even though Sophie gesticulated expansively. That lasted all of a minute before their voices rose, and everyone around them became privy to their argument.
“How dare you? I can’t believe you did this!” Sophie threw her hands wide. “God, it’s bad enough you read my bloody diary, and now this? Even if I wanted a boyfriend, I can find one myself, you know? I don’t need you interfering in any of this. Any of it, you get me?”
The last few words were shouted, and all heads in the vicinity turned to watch the show.
“Keep your voice down!” Courtney spat.
“No, I won’t! I want everyone to hear this. I want them all to know what a bitch you are!” Sophie was crying now, and Ash suspected it was from a combination of frustration and hurt.
Her heart broke for her niece.
“You had no right to read my diary.” Sophie wiped at her eyes. “No right at all. And now you have, you think this is the way to deal with what you read in there? What bloody century are we living in? What, you want an arranged marriage for me now or something?”
“Sophie.” Courtney’s voice was tight with warning. “This isn’t the place to—”
“I don’t want to hear it!” Sophie held up a hand in her mum’s face. “I’m sick of you. I’m going home.” She stomped to the table, swept up her phone and rammed it in her jeans pocket, then strode off towards the gate that led out of the pub garden.
“What the fuck are you lot looking at?” Courtney shouted at the pub’s customers.
Ash didn’t hear any of the responses; she was out of her seat and racing after Sophie.
Ash slowly closed the door to Sophie’s bedroom, thankful that at last her niece was asleep. Her tears had fallen long and hard, but at least she had accepted Ash’s comfort. She’d held Sophie until she was spent, then encouraged her to lie down. She knew Sophie probably wouldn’t sleep for long—if nothing else, hunger at her missed lunch would wake her in less than an hour—but she needed a few minutes of calm.
Jesus, Courtney , Ash thought. Could you have fucked this up any worse? And where the fuck are you?
The sound of a key turning in the front door had Ash striding across the small landing and running down the stairs.
Courtney walked into the house and held up a hand when Ash made to speak. “Don’t. I don’t need a fucking lecture on how to raise my own kid.”
“Actually, I think that’s exactly what you need.” Ash’s body flashed hot, then cold; she clenched her hands at her sides to stop herself from grabbing her sister and giving her a bloody good shaking.
Courtney pushed past her and marched off towards the kitchen.
Ash followed and shut the kitchen door behind them.
“I don’t want to hear it.” Courtney’s back was to Ash. “It’s bad enough I probably can’t go back to The Fisherman for about a year after all that.”
“Are you kidding me? That’s your biggest worry?” Ash folded her arms across her chest. “What about Sophie? Her feelings? Why is this all about you?”
Courtney turned to Ash, a snarl on her face. “You don’t have any idea about raising a kid, so you don’t get to tell me what it is I’m doing wrong!”
“Well, given you can’t figure it out yourself, I think someone ought to spell it out for you.” Ash stepped closer to her sister and stood in front of her, hands on her hips. “How on earth did you think setting her up with one of your mates’ sons was going to ‘fix’ her, huh? When are you going to realise that she doesn’t need ‘fixing’? She just needs some time and support to work this all out for herself.” Courtney made to move away, but Ash caught her arm. “You keep going like this, and you’re going to lose her. She won’t want anything to do with you. Is
