Page 79 of Coming Home to Hope Street

Phoebe laughed. ‘That runs in the family,’ she teased. ‘Han is just the same. She sees the best in everyone, always dishing out second chances. Whereas me, I’m an all-or-nothing kind of person. Once you cross me, you don’t get another chance to do it.’

‘If Travis showed up on your doorstep now, you’d tell him to sling his hook?’ Livvy asked.

Phoebe paused. ‘If I’m being really truthful, I suppose it would depend on the circumstances. If he was looking for a new start, and not just somewhere to lay his hat because he had nowhere to stay, then no, I wouldn’t turn him away. But he was never like Kieran. Our marriage falling apart was down to the two of us.’

Four teenage boys ran past on the main road, laughing and hollering. They sat and watched until they were out of sight. It was a thoughtful silence.

‘I wish I’d had a friend like you, someone to turn to,’ Livvy broke into it. ‘It was hard on my own, especially when Kieran left. I only had Pip for company. I was really lonely and had sleepless nights because of the money he owed.’

‘Why didn’t you? Have a friend, that is?’

‘Let’s just say it wasn’t a very nice area to live. The tenants in the surrounding flats kept on changing.’

‘You have friends, and family, here in Somerley now.’

‘Maybe but I’ve cocked that up too. Because no one will trust me once they find out everything.’

Chapter Forty-Nine

‘Listen here,’ Phoebe replied. ‘Youdidn’t steal that money. He did. No one will hold you accountable for Kieran.’

‘I should have been stronger, kicked him out when he arrived instead of bowing down to him.’

‘You did what you thought was best. There’s no right or wrong way to bring up kids. It’s all learnt by default and we all make mistakes. Lordie, I can rattle off tons that I’ve made. Sometimes our best intentions go wrong too. We can’t all be super heroines.’ Phoebe nudged Livvy and grinned, trying to lighten the conversation.

But Livvy just shook her head. ‘I wasn’t a good mother, though. Everyone can blame me for that. I never told Pip, but Kieran got in touch with me after we left Manchester. He sent me a few messages and rang a couple of times, but I ignored them all.’

‘Was that so wrong?’

‘Yes.’

‘But I would have done the same in your position. You were protecting Pip.’

‘No, I was stopping her from seeing her dad.’

‘I think he did a good job of that all by himself.’ Phoebe could feel her temper boiling, so took a moment for it to simmer.

‘I didn’t want him to find us in Somerley.’ Livvy picked at the skin around her finger. ‘I wanted to settle here.’

‘You still can. Kieran sounds like a wanderer, scared to face up to his responsibilities and someone who runs when the going gets tough. That isn’t what being married is all about. You deserve better than that.’

Phoebe noticed a smile from Livvy.

They sat for a moment before Livvy spoke again.

‘Can I ask you something? Do you think I stopped Hannah from being a mum?’

‘Or course not! Hannah chose to look after your mum. Martha often said she’d prefer to go into residential care so that Hannah could have a life of her own, but Hannah wouldn’t dream of it.’

‘I didn’t know that.’

‘There you go then. And don’t you think there are other ways to be a mother? Look at how many people Hannah cares for. They’d be lost without her. She treats us as if we’re one big family.’

‘I suppose. Hannah’s selfless, but don’t you see? I’m selfish.’

‘You were lost. You had no one to turn to and you made the most of things. If I can say one thing, you’ve made a cracking job with Pip. She’s a lovely girl. She’s bringing Tilly out of her shell.’

‘Tilly is lovely too. We’ve been very lucky so far.’

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