Flesh and Blood (A DI Amy Winter Thriller) by Caroline Mitchell (best love novels of all time .TXT) 📗

trial. Honestly, sis, you could drive yourself mad thinking like that. Enough is enough. We owe ourselves a break.’

‘You’re right.’ Sally-Ann sighed. ‘But it needs saying. Thank you – for everything.’

‘How is the evil old windbag, anyway?’ Amy said, with a wry smile.

Sally-Ann snorted a laugh. ‘Don’t ask me. I’ve cut all ties.’

Amy’s eyebrows rose a notch. ‘Seriously?’

‘Yup.’ Sally-Ann’s face was fixed in determination. ‘You were right. I don’t need poison like her in my life. I’ve got what I wanted – my family.’ She raised the bottle of Prosecco and topped up her glass. But the situation didn’t match her words. Sally-Ann didn’t have a family, not without her daughter. But Amy could not spoil the moment by saying the words aloud.

‘Oh, hun, don’t feel bad for me,’ Sally-Ann said, taking in the expression on her face. ‘I’ll have my family in time.’ She took a deep breath. ‘I didn’t want to tell you until I was sure.’

‘Sure of what?’ Amy said, watching Sally-Ann’s face light up. ‘You’re not pregnant, are you?’

Sally-Ann laughed out loud. ‘No! God, no, I couldn’t put myself through that.’

Amy wasn’t surprised that Sally-Ann’s experience was something she would be in no hurry to repeat. She thought of Paddy, who had lost his daughter when she was tragically young. They would have made good parents. It was a crying shame. Yet her sister seemed upbeat about it all.

Sally-Ann dipped her head towards Amy as she whispered conspiratorially, ‘I’ve applied to be a foster carer.’

‘Really?’ Amy had not expected that. ‘Paddy too?’

‘Oh yeah, he’s all up for it. I think he’s quite looking forward to it. We’ve had to jump through a lot of hoops, but we’ve been approved.’

‘Well, congratulations!’ Amy’s eyes widened, clinking her mineral water against Sally-Ann’s glass. ‘You kept that close to your chest.’

A gentle smile played on Sally-Ann’s lips. ‘I was scared to jinx it, especially given where I’ve come from.’

‘So that’s why you cut off ties with Lillian,’ Amy said, as the truth dawned. ‘You’ll make great foster parents, the pair of you. Have you been allocated a child yet? I doubt you’ll be kept waiting for long.’

‘We have. In fact, you know him.’ Sally-Ann’s grin widened until she could barely contain herself. ‘His name is Matthew. Chatty Matty to his friends.’

‘Get away! You’re not serious?’ Amy pushed her sister’s shoulder, her mind spinning in disbelief. This had echoes of what her adoptive father had done, and it warmed her from the inside out. Robert Winter had attended the Grimes family home to arrest her parents, and later ended up taking Amy in. She had a good feeling about this. Matty would finally be in a good home.

‘We need to finalise some paperwork,’ Sally-Ann said. ‘But he should be coming to us soon. Teenagers aren’t as popular as babies. The agency said we’d be a perfect fit.’

Amy was not one for physical contact, but she could not help but give her sister a hug. ‘I can’t believe it,’ she said, as they broke apart. ‘How?’

‘Much the same way your dad found you. Paddy came across him when you were investigating the case. Kismet, isn’t it? We didn’t think we’d stand a chance, but it seems that we do. I just hope he likes us. I’m so nervous. We’re meeting him next week.’

‘I gave my parents hell for the first few years,’ Amy said, remembering her swearing outbursts in the early days. ‘This won’t be a walk in the park,’ she continued, although not wishing to dampen Sally-Ann’s excitement.

‘We know. But we have a lot to offer someone who has lost their way. Everyone deserves a second chance – look how well you turned out.’

Amy snorted. ‘That’s debatable.’

Sally-Ann chuckled to herself. ‘You know what Lillian said when I told her I was done? That I should find her old therapist and ask for her records. Then I’d understand.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘As if I’d want to read what goes on in her mind. Talk about nightmare fodder.’

‘Huh,’ Amy said. ‘Sod that for a game of soldiers.’

But it was true. Lillian’s cruelty sprang from weakness. Amy cradled her mineral water as Sally-Ann topped up her own glass. Her sister didn’t know that Amy already had Lillian’s records. Each therapy session had been recorded at Lillian’s insistence. She had attended upon her release from prison, for all the good it had done her. There had been little remorse as she justified her actions to date. Amy could give Sally-Ann the paperwork. Lillian’s backstory would illicit a sympathetic response in the hardest of hearts. But it was time for her sister to move forward. Lillian’s reports would not see the light of day.

CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT

Amy’s bed had never felt so welcoming, and she snuggled next to Donovan, tired and content after a long day. It had been lovely to catch up with her mum, Flora, who had cooked her speciality lasagne for them both. Home-cooked food and great company had gone down a treat. For once, Amy was looking forward to her rest days.

‘I meant to tell you,’ Donovan murmured into her hair, sounding half asleep. ‘I know why Molly’s been acting so odd.’

Amy masked a yawn. She already knew.

‘She’s pregnant,’ Donovan continued, before she could reply. ‘I knocked her bag off her desk in Clacton. A positive test fell out.’

Amy stiffened in his embrace. Of all the things she expected him to say, that had not featured. She extricated herself from his grip, turning to face him. ‘Have you told anyone?’

‘God, no. There was no one else about, so I put it back. I thought I’d leave it to you to find out what she’s going to do.’

‘Why?’ Amy looked at him indignantly. ‘Because I’m a woman?’

‘Because it’s none of my business, and you’ll handle it a lot better than me.’ He raised an eyebrow. ‘Why, should I have said something?’

‘No. Definitely not. It’s personal, and besides . . .’ She exhaled an exasperated breath. ‘What are we doing? We’re in bed