she would call her mechanic yesterday to take care of it. But maybe she’d had trouble contacting him at the end of the working week. She’d need to deal with it in short order, however, because the local council had strong feelings about abandoned cars. If Pippa wasn’t careful, her car would be towed and she’d have to pay a release fee on top of everything else.
Seeing Pippa’s car reminded him of something else that had happened last night. Maybe it had been stupid of him given the circumstances and how close-mouthed Steve had always been about Pippa and Alice, but when he’d hit the pub he’d taken Steve aside to let him know what had happened with Pippa. Harry had figured that if it was his ex, the mother of his child, he’d want to know. But Steve had simply nodded as though Harry was talking about someone he barely knew and changed the subject. No interest whatsoever.
Big deal. They’re not together. And she sicced some government agency on to him to squeeze more money out of him. He’s got every right to feel the way he does.
It wasn’t as though Steve had gone looking to be a father, after all, and no one knew better than Harry how messed up and angry Steve had been when Pippa broke the news. And yet … his mate’s indifference didn’t sit well with Harry.
But he wasn’t in the habit of sticking his nose where it didn’t belong. So Pippa would have to sort her car out on her own.
Except she didn’t.
When he drove to work on Monday morning the car was still there, and when he drove home at the end of the day. Tuesday, same deal. Wednesday morning he kept his eyes peeled and the moment he saw her hatchback, he pulled over. After three minutes of searching an online phone directory, he realized she must have an unlisted number. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel for a few seconds, then waited for a break in traffic before doing a U-turn.
Five minutes later he climbed the steps to Pippa’s front porch. It was only after he’d knocked that he questioned what he was doing. She was an adult, after all. She didn’t need him ordering her life or breathing down her neck.
Too late. Footsteps sounded within the house, then the front door opened and a bemused Pippa stared at him.
“Harry. Hi.”
Her hair was tousled, her eyes heavy. A fluffy dressing gown swamped her body, her bare feet peeking out beneath the hem.
She should have looked a mess—mumsy and suburban—but she looked good. Soft and warm and gently pretty.
“What’s going on with your car?”
She blinked and it occurred to him that he may have actually dragged her out of bed.
“Sorry if I woke you, but you should know that the Peninsula council is all over abandoned cars like white on rice. If someone reports you, your car will be towed and impounded.”
“Oh. Right.”
Somewhere inside the house, a baby cried. Pippa glanced distractedly over her shoulder.
“I’m a bit slow this morning. I’ve been up since five with Alice. I only got her down again half an hour ago.”
She backed up a step and gestured for him to follow her.
“Come in.”
She was gone before he could explain he’d already said what he’d come to say, neatly sidestepping her way around a detached door leaning against the hall wall before disappearing from sight. He hesitated on the threshold, uneasy.
“Do you want a coffee?”
Pippa’s question echoed up the hallway. He shook his head, then realized she couldn’t see him.
“I’m fine, thanks.”
Harry entered the house, navigating his way past the detached door. He found Pippa cradling a blond-haired, blue-eyed baby in the bright kitchen, rocking from foot to foot as she attempted to soothe her.
“Shh, sweetheart, you’re all right. It’s all good.” Pippa’s voice was soft and achingly tender. She glanced at him. “There’s juice, too, if you’d prefer something cold.”
He was too busy staring at Alice to respond immediately. He hadn’t seen her since the day she was born. She’d been red and squashed-looking then, her eyes squeezed tightly shut, her hands clenched into tight little fists. Now, she was pink and plump, with pale, wispy hair. She looked like Steve. Almost disconcertingly so. It was weird seeing his friend’s features replicated on a tiny baby girl.
“She looks like Steve,” he said.
“Yes.”
The way she said the single word made him remember he had no business being here. Steve was his mate, after all. Harry owed his first loyalty to him.
He cleared his throat. “Anyway. The car. You should chase up your mechanic because the council are real sticklers about towing anything that looks like it’s been abandoned.”
“I didn’t realize. I thought I’d have a few weeks …”
A few weeks? To do what?
Then it hit him—her worry at the roadside, the slightly shabby house, the fact that she was a single mother.
She couldn’t afford to get her car fixed.
Hence her delaying tactics when he’d mentioned having her car towed, and hence her need to wait a few weeks before she had the funds to repair it.
He glanced around the room, racking his brain for a way to offer help without stepping on her toes—because he might not know Pippa that well, but he knew she had way too much pride to ask for help.
“Listen, Pippa, why don’t I get my dad to tow the car to your place? At least you won’t have to worry about it being impounded.”
She was shaking her head before he’d even finished speaking. “It’s great of you to offer again, Harry, but I’ll sort it. Thanks, though. And thanks for the heads up. I appreciate it.” She glanced at the wall clock. “I don’t want to hold you up.”
She was fobbing him off. Getting ready to send him on his way.
“How are you going to sort it?” he asked bluntly.
“Sorry?”
“How are you going to sort the car when you can’t afford to get it fixed?”
Her chin jerked with surprise. “That’s not what this is about.”
She was a terrible liar, her eyes blinking rapidly behind her glasses.
“So I should call A1 Towing and get them to take the car to my work and ask my boss to quote on it for you, then?”
She stared at him, her expression half frustrated, half chagrined. After a second she shook her head. “You don’t beat around the bush, do you?”
“I’m hoping I might have a chance of getting to work on time if we cut some of the back and forth out of the way.”
She
