Afraid (38 page)

But as shocked as she had been about all that, and as mortified as she had felt to face the court knowing that they had all seen extracts from the videos of herself and Chloe being raped and abused, Skye had held her head high after giving her evidence and had gone back to court every day afterwards to see out the rest of the trial. She had stared Jamie Thornton in the eye right up until the jury had delivered their verdicts of guilty on all counts, at which point she had calmly got up and walked out, letting her abuser know that she didn’t give a damn how long a sentence the judge gave him.

Now, as Jeff looked at her, he saw no trace of the frightened, confused little girl she had been back then. Still not yet seventeen years of age, she had blossomed into the most beautiful self-assured young lady, and Jeff couldn’t have been any more proud of her than he was right now.

‘So, when am I going to meet her?’ Skye asked, breaking into his thoughts. ‘’Cos there can’t be long left, can there?’

‘A couple of months,’ Jeff told her. ‘But you know where we are, and you’re welcome to come round any time you like.’

‘I’ll give you a ring when I’ve finished my placement, so we can set something up,’ Skye promised.

‘How’s that going?’ Jeff asked. ‘Still enjoying it?’

‘It’s great,’ Skye said, smiling as she linked her arm through his and set off towards the other grave. ‘I love being at the salon, and can’t wait till I’m qualified and I can get a full-time job there. But I’ll have to get my exams out of the way first and I’m dreading them.’

‘You’ll be fine,’ Jeff assured her. ‘I’ve got every confidence in you.’

‘Let’s see if you’re still saying that when I want to cut
your
hair,’ Skye teased. ‘You’re going to be my first victim after I qualify,’ she warned him. ‘You’ve had it like that for as long as I can remember, and I’m dying to drag you out of the 1980s.’

‘Don’t be so cheeky,’ Jeff scolded, grinning. Then, ‘So how’s your mum getting on with Bernie? Is she used to him yet?’

‘Not really.’ Skye laughed. ‘She says she likes him, but I think she’s a bit scared of him.’

‘Why? He’s not vicious, is he?’

‘Is he ’eck,’ Skye scoffed. ‘He’s as soft as anything. I’m glad the police let me keep him ’cos it would have killed me if they’d put him down, poor thing.’

‘Well, as long as you’re happy,’ said Jeff, putting his hand over hers and squeezing. ‘That’s all that matters.’

‘I am,’ Skye told him, gazing into his eyes as they walked. ‘And you are, too, aren’t you?’

‘Yes, love, I am,’ Jeff admitted. ‘I’m sorry it didn’t work out with your mum, but Shirley’s a lovely woman.’

‘I’m sure she is,’ said Skye, a twinkle coming into her eye as she added, ‘And your copper mate seems like a lovely man, too. So if you just give him a little nudge in the right direction next time you see him, we’ll all be happy, won’t we?’

‘I guess so.’ Jeff grinned. ‘I’ll see what I can do.’

They had reached Chloe’s grave by now, and a feeling of sadness settled over them both as they gazed down at it. In stark contrast to Hayley’s well-tended, often-visited resting place, the only flowers adorning this one were the same ones that had been placed there in Skye’s honour on the day of the funeral, and they were all long dead and shrivelled.

‘God, it’s such a shame,’ Skye murmured wistfully. ‘I can’t believe he killed her like that. She was only a kid. And some of the stuff she told me about what her dad did to her …’ She trailed off and shivered, before saying, ‘She didn’t deserve any of it.’

Jeff put his arm around her shoulder, and said, ‘I know I shouldn’t say it, but I’m just glad it wasn’t you. It broke my heart when I had to leave you here that day.’

‘Do you think she’s at peace now?’ Skye asked, resting her head on his chest.

‘Definitely,’ said Jeff. ‘And she’s got Hayley to look after her, hasn’t she?’

‘Yeah.’ Skye reached up and touched her angel necklace. Then, sniffing back the tears that were stinging her eyes, she said, ‘Let’s go, Dad. It’s time to move on.’

Jeff nodded and, taking her hand in his, strolled back along the path with her.