hugged his waist as best she could before running back to the table to finish her breakfast. ‘We’re very late!’ she shouted.
Sadie rolled her eyes. ‘If I needed kiddie power to run the house, I would be quids in,’ she exclaimed.
‘I’ll just go and check the fuse box, see if anything has tripped.’ Cooper jerked a thumb over his shoulder. ‘It’s outside on the wall, isn’t it?’
Sadie nodded, following him. ‘I need to know what to do if it’s just as simple as a blown fuse,’ she told him. ‘I don’t want to trouble you all the time.’
‘It’s no trouble,’ Cooper gave a sigh.
‘Oh, I didn’t mean anything by it. I just have to be prepared to do things on my own. So it’s useful to learn.’
‘I don’t mind helping you out.’ He grinned. ‘They don’t call me Super Cooper for nothing.’
‘They don’t call you Super Cooper at all,’ Sadie couldn’t help but smirk.
A few minutes later, Cooper had indeed located a blown fuse. The circuit had tripped, and once he’d flicked it back on again they went around the kitchen testing appliances. When Sadie flicked on the kettle, the electricity went off again. She picked it up to discover water around its base.
‘The kettle’s leaking,’ she explained.
‘I always said you make a dodgy cuppa,’ Cooper joked. ‘I can get you a new one this afternoon and drop it off later, if you like?’
‘I can get one from town,’ said Sadie, not wanting to put him to any more trouble than necessary. ‘A bloody kettle.’ She shook her head. ‘Thanks, Cooper.’
‘That’s what friends are for,’ Cooper grinned. ‘Now, as I can’t have a cuppa, can I scrounge a piece of toast? And then I can give you a lift and drop Esther off at school on the way. Deal?’
‘You’ll make someone a fantastic husband,’ she smiled, giving his arm a squeeze. ‘And, as you know, I can make a mean Sunday roast but other than that I’m hopeless at cooking. So, would you like your toast half burnt or burnt completely?’
‘Wow, I can hardly resist either, but half burnt sounds good.’ He pulled out a chair and sat down at the table with Esther. ‘What are you doing at school today, do you know?’
As she turned away at the intimacy of the scene, Sadie held in tears. Ross used to sit and talk to Esther for hours.
‘Mummy, can Cooper come for tea tonight?’
Sadie swivelled round to face them. ‘Of course he can.’
‘I’m actually busy, sorry,’ Cooper replied. ‘Maybe tomorrow?’
Sadie nodded. Although she was secretly disappointed in not having any adult company, she didn’t want Esther latching onto him any more than she already had. Cooper would eventually find a woman he loved and have a family of his own. She didn’t want Esther getting too attached, mistaking his friendship for a father’s affection.
She never wanted Cooper to feel obliged to come round all the time either. She had to learn to stand on her own two feet, no matter how hard that turned out to be.
Chapter Ten
A t ten o’clock , Riley took an unofficial break, hoping that Suzanne, the praying mantis, wouldn’t come by for a spot check and find her missing. If she did, Sadie and Dan had been told to say that she’d had to rush to the doctor’s.
It had been a month since their competition had started and yet things were still slow. She took a bus out of the town centre and, only fifteen minutes later, was crossing the road towards Petrani’s Insurance Brokers, as Ash had instructed her. Above the brokers’ office, she could see large letters on skew-whiff coloured posters spelling out the name Streetwise. Serena’s dance studio was on the first floor.
She pushed on a door and went into a small reception area with a row of chairs to one side and a desk against the far wall. Sat behind it was a thin young woman who didn’t look old enough to have a job, her thick dark hair hiding most of her pretty face until she looked up. Her name badge said
Sadie rolled her eyes. ‘If I needed kiddie power to run the house, I would be quids in,’ she exclaimed.
‘I’ll just go and check the fuse box, see if anything has tripped.’ Cooper jerked a thumb over his shoulder. ‘It’s outside on the wall, isn’t it?’
Sadie nodded, following him. ‘I need to know what to do if it’s just as simple as a blown fuse,’ she told him. ‘I don’t want to trouble you all the time.’
‘It’s no trouble,’ Cooper gave a sigh.
‘Oh, I didn’t mean anything by it. I just have to be prepared to do things on my own. So it’s useful to learn.’
‘I don’t mind helping you out.’ He grinned. ‘They don’t call me Super Cooper for nothing.’
‘They don’t call you Super Cooper at all,’ Sadie couldn’t help but smirk.
A few minutes later, Cooper had indeed located a blown fuse. The circuit had tripped, and once he’d flicked it back on again they went around the kitchen testing appliances. When Sadie flicked on the kettle, the electricity went off again. She picked it up to discover water around its base.
‘The kettle’s leaking,’ she explained.
‘I always said you make a dodgy cuppa,’ Cooper joked. ‘I can get you a new one this afternoon and drop it off later, if you like?’
‘I can get one from town,’ said Sadie, not wanting to put him to any more trouble than necessary. ‘A bloody kettle.’ She shook her head. ‘Thanks, Cooper.’
‘That’s what friends are for,’ Cooper grinned. ‘Now, as I can’t have a cuppa, can I scrounge a piece of toast? And then I can give you a lift and drop Esther off at school on the way. Deal?’
‘You’ll make someone a fantastic husband,’ she smiled, giving his arm a squeeze. ‘And, as you know, I can make a mean Sunday roast but other than that I’m hopeless at cooking. So, would you like your toast half burnt or burnt completely?’
‘Wow, I can hardly resist either, but half burnt sounds good.’ He pulled out a chair and sat down at the table with Esther. ‘What are you doing at school today, do you know?’
As she turned away at the intimacy of the scene, Sadie held in tears. Ross used to sit and talk to Esther for hours.
‘Mummy, can Cooper come for tea tonight?’
Sadie swivelled round to face them. ‘Of course he can.’
‘I’m actually busy, sorry,’ Cooper replied. ‘Maybe tomorrow?’
Sadie nodded. Although she was secretly disappointed in not having any adult company, she didn’t want Esther latching onto him any more than she already had. Cooper would eventually find a woman he loved and have a family of his own. She didn’t want Esther getting too attached, mistaking his friendship for a father’s affection.
She never wanted Cooper to feel obliged to come round all the time either. She had to learn to stand on her own two feet, no matter how hard that turned out to be.
Chapter Ten
A t ten o’clock , Riley took an unofficial break, hoping that Suzanne, the praying mantis, wouldn’t come by for a spot check and find her missing. If she did, Sadie and Dan had been told to say that she’d had to rush to the doctor’s.
It had been a month since their competition had started and yet things were still slow. She took a bus out of the town centre and, only fifteen minutes later, was crossing the road towards Petrani’s Insurance Brokers, as Ash had instructed her. Above the brokers’ office, she could see large letters on skew-whiff coloured posters spelling out the name Streetwise. Serena’s dance studio was on the first floor.
She pushed on a door and went into a small reception area with a row of chairs to one side and a desk against the far wall. Sat behind it was a thin young woman who didn’t look old enough to have a job, her thick dark hair hiding most of her pretty face until she looked up. Her name badge said
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