Beth narrowed her eyes at Jan’s expression, as it seemed to hold a secret.
‘Because I know Spencer,’ replied Jan. ‘He wouldn’t give up Archie for all the tea in China.’
Instead of feeling reassured, Beth was suddenly worried. Had she lost her son to the stranger? Was she about to go into battle with more than her mental health?
Chapter 9
Spencer
There were so many nappies lining the supermarket shelf, Spencer felt a little overwhelmed. He clutched the shopping trolley, wondering which was the best brand to buy. Things had changed since he was eight, and the corner shop never did have much in the way of choice anyway, so it was easy for him to know what to buy when his mum sent him off with a few quid and plastic carrier bag.
Homing in on the nearest packet, he widened his eyes at the price. ‘What!’
‘Shocking, isn’t it?’ said a female voice.
Spencer turned to the pretty lady around his age. ‘Oh, yes. They cost a fair bit.’
‘And the milk.’
Spencer glanced down at the two large tubs in his trolley and wondered if Archie’s mum was struggling financially. ‘Hmm,’ he muttered.
‘Do you need any help?’ she asked, edging closer.
He politely declined the offer and carried on examining the guides on the nappies until he found ones suitable for Archie.
He checked his phone before seeing what else he could buy. Lottie hadn’t messaged him, so he assumed she was doing okay looking after Archie with Samuel.
He had told them not to come back last night, but they had anyway, and thank the lord they had. Poor Archie was ever so distraught on seeing a stranger trying to feed him, and no matter what Spencer did, it wasn’t soothing enough to comfort the child.
Archie had spent most of the night wailing, only settling when in Lottie’s arms, and Spencer had managed a few hours’ sleep.
There were some colourful toys along the aisle that caught his eye, and he was sure they would catch Archie’s too, so they went in the trolley. He was glad the supermarket catered for most things a baby might need, and within minutes the trolley was full to the brim, with a cream baby bath lying on top.
Spencer looked twice at the checkout till. How could one tiny human cost so much? He blinked hard, paid, then packed the lot away in the back of his van, feeling quite pleased with himself.
It had been a weird night and even stranger morning, but all in all, he felt he was handling the situation well enough. The flower shop was fully staffed for the day, the Sunshine Superheroes in school, and no shift at the Hub. Now all that was left was a proper chat with his sister about the baby, because they hardly had time for anything other than seeing to Archie all night.
All the way home thoughts of fatherhood consumed him, bringing him back to his childhood when he was the main carer for his siblings. He never saw himself having kids. He never saw himself settling with anyone. But Archie was in his life now, and protecting and providing for the baby was at the front of his mind, just as looking after Lottie and Jordy had been all those years ago.
He opened his front door and called up to Samuel to ask for help bringing in the shopping, completely forgetting that Archie might be asleep. Slapping his hand to his mouth, he shook his head as he went back to the van.
Samuel came down quickly, his amber eyes widening at the load. ‘Wow! I thought you were only buying nappies and milk.’
‘I figured he’d need more than that for his stay.’
There was something about the way Samuel looked that caused a tremble in Spencer’s stomach.
‘What?’ he asked, looking towards his street door.
‘Jan’s upstairs.’
Spencer’s blood boiled immediately. He thought Lottie had agreed not to call anyone, but the moment his back was turned she had gone and done that. How could she? He would never do something like that to her.
As though reading his mind, Samuel said, ‘It wasn’t Lottie.’
‘You?’ asked Spencer, glaring.
‘No. She just turned up. Said she needed to speak to you about Archie.’
