Life was settled at Home Farm. Joe couldn't believe how quickly the last nine months had gone, watching them pass by in a breeze. He had never felt happiness like it. At last it seemed that the so called Curse had been laid to rest like the ghosts of the past.

Yes, things were going well, he thought. The business, no longer corrupted by Kim's influence, was thriving, the ties with the village were strengthening as Rebecca extended the hand of friendship to everyone. She was, in many ways, the perfect wife.

He smiled as he looked across at little Rachel, his daughter, jiggling about on a play-mat on the crisp emerald lawn, squinting in the sunshine.

Her blue eyes seemed to sparkle, dancing around with curiosity.

A butterfly fluttered down and rested on a weed in front of Rachel, yet she showed no sign that it confused or frightened her. Her little hand stretched out and she almost overbalanced.

"Oopsie." Joe helped her back up, yet she remained undistressed, pointing.

"Butterfly," Joe explained. "That's a butterfly."

He crouched down beside her, adjusting her neat little cotton hat with pink and yellow flowers embroidered on it and smiled at her.

"So, Mummy's out for the afternoon with Seb and Uncle Robert and Uncle Graham is being a bore. Looks like we're on our own."

Rachel turned to look at him, rocking slightly on her bottom.

"Yep, you and me. What shall we do?" he mused. He wasn't expecting Rachel to answer, by any means.

"Pity we can't go to the beach, really." It was an unusually hot day for September.

Then it came to him.

"Graham!" He called up to the terrace, shielding his eyes from the sun.

Graham did not do summer wear. His idea of summer wear was pretty much identical to what he wore in the winter, but with linen waistcoats and trousers.

He stood up from his chair on the terrace and reluctantly put aside his book on history.

An hour later, the paddling pool was set up, surrounded by a sandpit and a little parasol.

Rachel took to the water instantly, splashing about and laughing in her childish way.

"You're enjoying that, aren't you?" Joe shook her little hand, keeping her upright. "Wait until you can swim!"

He paused a moment, reflecting on the irony.

"Granny, your Granny taught your Grandpa to swim after his accident," Joe told her, squeezing one of the toys that had been put into the water for Rachel's entertainment. "And I can already tell that you are going to love swimming too. You and me, Seb and Mummy, we're going to do so much together."

Rachel splashed again, sending a jet of water into his face.

"Whoa, cheeky!" He chuckled. "You want to try that on Uncle Graham!"

Rachel squealed in delight.

"I know! But Uncle Graham won't swim. He doesn't like water," Joe explained. "That doesn't matter to us though, does it?" He picked Rachel up and to his astonishment she managed to stand for a few seconds, balancing properly as he helped her toddle around in the pool.

"That's it, Rachel!" he gasped, staring at her. "Look at you! Mummy will be so proud!"

Rachel seemed to bask in this, toddling further in a circle with Joe's help.

"You can do it, Rach. Yes you can." He encouraged her, catching her as she reached out her hand before sploshing back into the water.

"Whoa, take it easy, sweetheart."

Rachel blinked her piercing blue eyes at him nonchalantly and Joe felt his heart leap as she smiled and held out her hands to him.

He couldn't wait until she could speak. She could gurgle, but he knew it would be a magical moment when she tried to say her first word. He secretly hoped it might be Dada.

"Look at this!" Joe squeezed a duck. "Mr Duck says 'Well done Rachel, well done!'" He put on a voice to amuse her and she laughed, screeching with delight.

Graham found it hard to concentrate on his book. It was nice to be Uncle Graham, he thought, but there was always that niggling fear that he would fail in his Godfathership.

He was grateful to Joe for giving him the honour, but he knew deep down that he was unworthy of it. He could never be "that man". Never the family man, there was too much darkness in him now. Whereas Joe had come through. He was so natural as a father, so good with the children. He had redeemed his own past.