Stolen Sister: a gripping family drama by Linda Huber

Author:Linda Huber [Huber, Linda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bombshell Books: an imprint of Bloodhound Books
Published: 2019-03-24T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Monday 5 March – Wednesday 7 March

Going to Kay’s for tea – coffee turned her into a hyper lunatic now – had become a weekday ritual. Larissa was rarely home before half six, and Christine liked to talk after a day’s work. Not that she had much energy to talk, these days. Working full-time was killing her, even though she had strictly non-lifting cases now. The exhaustion was back tenfold, bringing the nausea with it, and oh, for a nice office job where she could sit on her bum all day and get fat in comfort.

Kay answered the doorbell, her face creasing in concern, and Christine winced inwardly. She must look as bad as she felt.

‘In with you. You need a cuppa.’ Kay helped her off with her jacket and rubbed her back on the way through to the kitchen, which made Christine feel even more decrepit.

She sank down on a wooden chair and leaned her elbows on the table. ‘You’ve said it. My stomach’s been murder all day. If I wasn’t feeling sick I was collapsing on the nearest chair or running to the loo. Sorry. TMI.’ She accepted a mug of milk-less Earl Grey and sipped.

Kay passed her a plain biscuit. ‘Eat. If I know you, you haven’t had a thing all day. Chris, why don’t you cut down your hours? More time to rest would do you the world of good.’

‘I know. But I don’t want to give up work too soon – it might make a difference to my pay, and I want to save. I’ve been wondering… about keeping the baby.’

It was an idea that had formed slowly, and in a really macabre way it was Sylvie who’d helped her make it. Mum had taken her on as a tiny baby – there was no reason in the world this baby wouldn’t fit in with Christine’s life just as well as she had with Sylvie’s back then. Who was she to give up on her child? Another thing was, this baby was the only other person on the planet she shared genes with. And somehow, that was more important now than it had been a few months ago. She’d be keeping the baby for selfish reasons, but she could still love it, couldn’t she?

Kay reached across to squeeze Christine’s hand, her brown eyes warm.

‘It’s a big decision, Chris, but if you decide to go ahead, I’ll be here for you.’

Christine smiled, then frowned into her mug. If she kept the baby they would need more than Kay here for them. But then, Larissa was around too, and Suze and the others from work, and she’d make new baby-mum friends at the clinic or whatever.

‘Thanks, Kay. We’d need help, but it’s not set in stone, yet.’

Or was it? Christine stared into the middle distance as she realised what she’d just said. Somehow, over the past few days, she and her baby had turned into we.

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