Then, with Adam’s arms around her, she felt safer and more at peace than she had been for a long time. ‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered. ‘Sorry for everything. It’s all my fault.’ It frightened her to realise how any one of them might have been killed.
‘No, Mother, it isn’t.’ Mary too, was shaken, but deeply thankful that Lucy was safe.
‘Leonard … and Vicky,’ Lucy murmured again. ‘We must go to them.’
Adam looked at Mary, as though seeking her approval. ‘Please take her,’ the new bride told him. ‘We’ll wait for news.’ There was little else they could do.
It had been touch and go.
With the bullet lodged in his chest, Leonard had undergone dangerous surgery to remove it.
A fortnight later, Vicky having spent every possible moment at his bedside, Leonard finally turned the corner to recovery.
‘I love you,’ Vicky told him on this bright April morning.
‘And are we forgiven?’ he asked weakly.
Vicky nodded. ‘You were right and I was wrong. It was what Barney wanted. I understand that now.’
On a glorious day in midsummer, Lucy made her usual visit to St Andrew’s churchyard. She knelt by Barney’s little cross and she told him everything that had happened.
‘At last, our hearts are settled and we’re able to get on with our lives,’ she said. ‘Abbie and Stuart are already planning a future together, as are Ronnie and Amy. Vicky and the rest of the family have resolved their differences and have returned to America, though of course we’ll always keep in touch and hope to see each other again before too long.’
She laid her posy of flowers on the grave and as she arranged them she carried on talking, though somewhat shyly. ‘Adam has asked me again to marry him, and this time, I’ve said yes. We’re getting old now, Barney, and we need each other. He’s a good man, as you know. I do love him, but not in the same way I loved you. I will always love you, deep in my soul. That’s where you will always be, my Barney. I can never change that, nor would I want to. Vicky and I have reached our journey’s end now, and we are reconciled. We both love you, oh so much, and we will never forget you. Our four children will love and honour you always. Goodbye, my darling. Goodbye.’
Suddenly a small voice spoke from beside her. ‘Is your Barney in Heaven?’ The little girl was blonde-haired and blue-eyed, with the look of an angel.
Lucy smiled. ‘I hope so, yes.’
‘That’s where my grandad is,’ came the reply. ‘He was very special, my grandad. Was your Barney very special too?’
Lucy took the girl by the hand and walked her back to where her mother was waiting. ‘Yes,’ she whispered. ‘My Barney was very special.’
With a smile, she handed her back to her mother, and walked on.
Mary met her, and escorting her to the gate she said, ‘I’ve got something to tell you, Mother.’
‘Have you, dear? And what’s that then?’
‘Ben and I … we’re having a baby.’
Filled with emotion, Lucy turned to look at her. ‘A baby!’ The tears fell and suddenly the two of them were embracing. ‘Oh Mary, my love, congratulations!’ She glanced back at Barney. ‘Did you hear that, my darling?’ she asked him silently. ‘Your daughter is going to make you a grandad.’
They strolled on, talking and laughing, and feeling so incredibly happy. ‘A grandchild,’ Lucy sang. ‘Oh Mary, your daddy would have been so happy.’
‘He is,’ Mary said. ‘Look!’ She pointed to the skies. ‘Do you think he’s given his approval?’
Filled with wonder, Lucy looked up to see the most beautiful rainbow!
Six months later, Mary gave birth to a sturdy little boy. They named him after his grandad, for he was strong in character, brave in heart. He was a fine boy, with his grandfather’s blood flowing through him. In the years that followed, Barney would have been proud of his grandson.
Here was a special man in the making.
Another Barney.
PRAISE
Once in a while we are blessed with the friendship and love of someone who is uniquely special. When I was an infant and my mother gave birth to her fifth baby boy, I loved him from the moment I saw him; as we all did. She named him William, but he was always known to us as Billy.
Small and sturdy, with the funniest, most mischievous little smile, he was a rascal from the start. He grew up to be a fine man, with high principles and a fierce passion for family. He was at times infuriating, aggravating, bossy, but immensely lovable. He was our Billy, one of us and we all respected and loved him, without reservation.
A short time ago we celebrated his sixtieth birthday; it was a wonderful evening, with everyone there and our Billy in the midst of it all, laughing, teasing, innocently flirting, showing off his beloved grandchildren and happy to be with family and friends.
A short time later, he fell ill and, with very little warning, was all too quickly gone from us. With the memories of his birthday party still strong in our minds, we found ourselves mourning the loss of a much loved and very precious man.
God bless you, Billy boy, and keep you safe until we meet again. We’ll talk about you and love you, and keep you proud in our hearts.
Most of all, we’ll miss you desperately, our one and only Billy. There will never again be anyone like you.
OTHER WORKS
Also by Josephine Cox
QUEENIE’S STORY
Her Father’s Sins
Let Loose the Tigers
THE EMMA GRADY TRILOGY
Outcast
Alley Urchin
Vagabonds
Angels Cry Sometimes
Take This Woman
Whistledown Woman
Don’t Cry Alone
Jessica’s Girl
Nobody’s Darling
Born to Serve
More than Riches
A Little Badness
Living a Lie
The Devil You Know
A Time for Us
Cradle of Thorns
Miss You Forever
Love Me or Leave Me
Tomorrow the World
The Gilded Cage
Somewhere, Someday
Rainbow Days
Looking Back
Let It Shine
The Loner
Songbird
Born Bad
Divorced and Deadly
Blood Brothers
Midnight
Three Letters
The Woman Who Left
Jinnie
Bad Boy Jack
The Beachcomber
Lovers and Liars
Live the Dream
The Journey
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JOURNEY’S END
Josephine Cox was born in Blackburn, one of ten children. At the age of sixteen, Josephine met and married her husband Ken, and had two sons. When the boys started school, she decided to go to college and eventually gained a place at Cambridge University. She was unable to take this up as it would have meant living away from home, but she went into teaching – and started to write her first full-length novel. She won the ‘Superwoman of Great Britain’ Award, for which her family had secretly entered her, at the same time as her novel was accepted for publication.
Her strong gritty stories are taken from the tapestry of life Josephine says, ‘I could never imagine a single day without writing, and it’s been that way since as far back as I can remember.’
Visit www.josephinecox.com to read her exclusive serial, catch up with her online diary and to find out more information about Josephine.
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COPYRIGHT
This novel is entirely a work of fiction.
The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are
the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to
actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is
entirely coincidental.
Harper
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
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Hammersmith, London W6 8JB
www.harpercollins.co.uk
First published in Great Britain by
HarperCollinsPublishers 2006
Copyright © Josephine Cox 2006
Josephine Cox asserts the moral right to
be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book
is available from the British Library
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EPub Edition © MARCH 2012 ISBN 9780007369690
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