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This book is a work of non-fiction based on the author’s experiences. In order to protect privacy, names, identifying characteristics, dialogue and details have been changed or reconstructed.
HarperElement
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published by HarperElement 2019
FIRST EDITION
© Casey Watson 2019
A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library
Cover image © Clive Nolan/Trigger Image (posed by model)
Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers 2019
Casey Watson asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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Source ISBN: 9780008298616
Ebook Edition © May 2019 ISBN: 9780008298623
Version: 2019-03-28
Contents
1 Cover
2 Title Page
3 Copyright
4 Contents
5 Chapter 18
6 Chapter 19
7 Chapter 20
8 Chapter 21
9 Chapter 22
10 Chapter 23
11 Chapter 24
12 Chapter 25
13 Epilogue
14 Also by Casey Watson
16 About the Publisher
LandmarksCoverFrontmatterBackmatter
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It wasn’t usual practice for a social worker to work with the children on their books at the weekends. Not that social work was ever just a nine-to-five job, because there were always occasions when the unexpected happened. But unless a social worker was on call, weekends were free time – well, in theory. They, like us, were always dogged by endless paperwork. It was also Easter weekend, and though we weren’t planning to make any sort of fuss (this year, Riley was going to be away with her in-laws, so it wouldn’t be much more than a quick Easter egg hunt for Dee Dee, at Kieron’s), others did, I knew. So I was extremely grateful when Colin Sampson agreed to help us out with Sam the following Saturday, so that Mike and me could go to Mrs Gallagher’s and talk about the potential upcoming respite.
We decided
