The Child’s Secret

‘He’s a bit old for Anna, though, don’t you think? She could have the pick of them all but you can’t blame a man for trying and he does seem like a decent bloke.’

‘I’ve hardly said two words to him,’ Laura said, ‘although he must have had a good eye to spot you in the pub and know straight away what a good worker you can be.’

‘Yes, he definitely has a keen eye,’ Finn said, giving her leg a squeeze as Laura parked the car outside the restaurant.

They were the first to arrive and Finn ordered drinks even as the waiter was leading them to their table. Laura didn’t want to spoil Finn’s mood but she needed to say something before the others joined them. She took a deep breath and then, almost casually, said, ‘You need to be on your best behaviour tonight, Finn. Sam might be able to put in another good word with his friend to extend your contract beyond the summer.’

‘Why do you think I’m doing this?’ he said and they both smiled, Laura hiding her anxiety almost as well as Finn his irritation.

When Sam and Anna walked in, the waiter was arriving with the drinks.

‘Sorry, I’m driving,’ Sam told Finn when he saw the beer.

‘You can have one, surely,’ Finn persisted, pushing the pint across the table until it was within touching distance.

‘Honestly, no,’ Sam said firmly. ‘I’d rather not.’ He pushed it back in Finn’s direction and out of temptation’s reach.

Finn shrugged. ‘Can’t you get Anna to drive?’

Anna was already lifting her glass of wine to her lips. ‘Even if I was on his insurance, which I’m not,’ she said with a meaningful look at her boyfriend, ‘I deserve this and I’m not giving it up for anyone.’ She took a gulp and rolled her eyes in pleasure.

‘You’ll have to get this one trained up pretty sharpish, Sam,’ Finn said.

Anna spluttered her drink. ‘Excuse me! We’re not domestic animals and I hope you weren’t suggesting that’s what women are.’

‘No, I was simply trying to get a reaction from you,’ Finn said with a widening smile. ‘And it worked.’

While Finn and Anna had their faux stand-off, Laura exchanged a look with Sam who was sitting diagonally opposite. It was only the briefest of connections, nothing that would risk Finn’s attention, but it was enough to get the measure of Sam. He hadn’t shared Finn’s joke and she suspected he had a very different view of the world to her husband. His green eyes had a softness and depth that made Laura envy Anna, and even when she looked away she could still feel the warmth of his attention, or perhaps she only longed for it.

‘Joking aside, it would make sense if I went on your insurance,’ Anna was saying. ‘I could share the driving when we go to the caravan in Wales. Sam! Are you even listening?’

‘What? No, Anna, there’s no point in being on my insurance. It’s only an hour’s drive,’ he said.

‘You’re going on holiday?’ Finn asked. ‘I can’t remember the last time we went on one, can you, Laura?’

A smile appeared on Laura’s face as she summoned up the memory. ‘It would have been that trip to Ireland. Jasmine was only a toddler at the time,’ she said.

‘Yeah, a lifetime ago,’ he said.

‘Don’t get too jealous, it’s not a holiday,’ Sam told them. ‘I’m doing some work for a friend of a friend and I promised Anna I’d take her there for the day to measure up the job.’

‘He never stops,’ Anna added. ‘He deserves a break.’

‘Unlike you teachers,’ Finn said playfully. ‘You have it made, don’t you? I wish I had six weeks off over the summer.’

‘You’ve just had plenty of time off, even if it wasn’t your choice,’ Laura reminded him. ‘And you complained nonstop about being at home all day, Finn.’

Finn was nodding. ‘Yeah, I hated it, which brings us nicely to why we’re here. Even though you’re only on orange juice, Sam, I’d still like to make a toast,’ he said and waited for them to raise their glasses. ‘Here’s to my new best mate, Sam McIntyre, who got me out of a hole and back into work.’ He was laughing as they all took a sip of their drinks. ‘Although right now that’s exactly what I am doing – digging holes.’

‘You used to be a foreman, didn’t you?’ Anna asked.

The smile on Finn’s face was replaced by a scowl. ‘Yeah, until my boss stabbed me in the back. I gave him ten years of my life and had the yard working like clockwork.’

‘What happened?’ Sam asked.

Finn shrugged. ‘A difference of opinion; and then, when redundancies were mentioned, I got bumped to the top of the list.’

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