The Half Sister(90)

‘You can’t stay here,’ says Kate, rubbing her hand up and down Lauren’s back.

‘I know . . . I’ll go to Mum’s for a bit – wait for the dust to settle.’

‘I’ll come with you,’ says Kate.

‘No, I’ll be fine, you need to get to work.’

‘I’m sure the front line of showbusiness can wait.’ Kate smiles.

‘Here,’ says Matt, throwing a bunch of keys at her.

‘I’m going to take everyone to Mum’s,’ says Kate, catching them. ‘Will you be all right?’

He nods. ‘Just make sure Lauren and the kids are okay.’

A warmth runs through Kate as Matt’s selflessness hits home. That’s the kind of man he is. That’s why she fell in love with him. She silently apologizes for suspecting he was anything else.

‘Be careful,’ she says to him.

‘Call me once you’re at your mum’s,’ he says.

And she would have done if Rose hadn’t answered the door to them and said, ‘What the hell have you done?’





43


Kate


The Echo is laid out on Rose’s kitchen table, with Jess’s photo peering up at them.

The similarities between her and Lauren, who sits down beside it, are striking. The blonde hair that rests on their shoulders, their perfect noses, their wide-set eyes, making them look vulnerable and aggressive all at the same time.

‘I can’t believe you’d do this,’ says Rose. ‘I mean, what were you thinking?’

Lauren swivels the paper around to face her. ‘Wow,’ she says, her voice hoarse from crying. ‘When did Jess agree to do this?’

‘A couple of days ago,’ says Kate.

Lauren looks at her with a perplexed expression.

‘It turns out she works at the Echo,’ says Kate, by way of explanation. ‘With Matt.’

Kate watches as Lauren’s eyes move frantically back and forth, trying to make sense of what she’s hearing. ‘But . . .’ she starts, before her mouth drops open.

‘She was with him in Birmingham,’ says Kate.

Lauren’s hand flies to her mouth and her eyes search Kate’s.

‘I know,’ says Kate, reading her mind. ‘But it’s not what you think.’

‘B-but she was there with her boss,’ says Lauren. ‘There’s something going on between them.’

‘She’s seeing Matt’s deputy,’ says Kate, thankful that they’d had that conversation as they’d lain in bed last night. ‘His name’s Ryan and apparently she was all over him like a cheap suit.’ She offers a weak smile, keen for the comment to come across as light-hearted.

Lauren exhales. ‘Oh my God, why didn’t you say something? When I said . . . you must have thought . . .’

‘I did,’ admits Kate. ‘But it’s okay. I jumped to conclusions and it wasn’t what I thought. Thankfully.’

‘I’m so sorry, I had no idea. If I’d have known they worked together, I would never have . . .’

‘I know,’ says Kate, instinctively touching her sister’s shoulder. She’d forgotten how good it felt to be close to her, both physically and emotionally.

‘Does she know?’ asks Lauren. ‘That Matt is your husband.’

‘We don’t think so. She’s certainly never broached the subject with him and although I’ve suspected her motives behind her being there, they’re yet to be proven. I’d like to think it’s all just a happy coincidence.’

‘What else would it be?’ asks Lauren flippantly, as if there’s no other option. Kate wishes she shared her sister’s naivety.

‘Why would you let her do something like this?’ cries Rose, coming between them. ‘What purpose can it possibly serve?’

‘We now know she’s Dad’s child,’ says Kate, each word slicing through her very being. ‘But he’s not here. So let her find her mum.’

‘I told you,’ Rose says bitterly. ‘Her mother’s dead.’

Kate’s jaw clenches involuntarily, not wanting to say what needs to be said.

‘Might there . . .’ she starts. ‘Might there have been anyone else?’

Rose looks at her open-mouthed. ‘Why would you even think to ask that?’

‘Because I ran a check on Helen Wilmington before letting Matt run the story.’

‘And?’ asks Lauren, hopefully.

‘I’ve drawn a blank. There was only one Helen Wilmington in the Harrogate area and Mum’s right; she died four years ago. I’ve checked the birth records for both Wilmington and Alexander and no babies were registered with either name around that time. That’s why I thought the article was a good idea, to see if anyone else came crawling out of the woodwork.’

‘But like this?’ says Rose scathingly, as she picks up the offending newspaper and throws it back down on the table. ‘You think that having our family’s dirty laundry aired in public is the right way to go about things?’

‘There’s nothing in there to connect her to us,’ says Kate. ‘All of our names have been changed.’

‘She says she was born in Harrogate,’ says Rose, her voice high-pitched. ‘It won’t take folk long to put two and two together.’