'He's probably one of the funniest people you'll ever meet.' Mia says.

'I know, he's certainly kept me amused at school over the years.' Hannah says to her as I approach them from behind. I cover Hannah's eyes with my hands.

'Guess who?' I whisper in her ear as I kiss it.

'Matt.' Screams Mia.

'Mia you ruined the surprise.' I say. 'Hi baby, miss me?'

'You know I did but I was mad with you again.' Hannah says. I smirk at her. 'And you can cut that out.'

'What?' I ask innocently.

'Smirking at me, you know you're in the wrong and any cute smile from you won't fix it.' Hannah says.

'I'll go and find my dinner then.' I say as I put my hands in my pocket and turn away from them. 'You can continue talking about me now.' I shout over my shoulder as I walk away.

'Hi Mrs Richards.' I say as I walk into the kitchen.

'Hi Matthew, your dinner will be ready in two minutes. Shall I bring it out to you?' Mrs Richards says.

'Can I eat it in here please?' I ask as I sit on one of the bar stools by the kitchen island.

'Sure.' She says and looks at me questionably.

'I'm not in Hannah or Mia's good books for just disappearing to the hospital.' I say but smile at her.

'I know but I understand your reasons.' She says and I smile shyly realising I've got someone I can trust. 'Dan said you didn't want any fuss. He's gone home now to walk the dogs.'

'You have dogs. How many?' I ask.

'Four.' She says.

'Can I come and meet them please? I've always wanted a dog.' I say.

'Of course you can.' She says before turning away.

'Mrs Richards have I upset you?' I say as I'm sure she had tears in her eyes.

'No not at all.' She says as she turns back towards me.

'I have, what have I said?' I ask.

'After dinner head to the beach, Dan will still be there with them.' Mrs Richards says.

'Please tell me.' I say.

'Dan and I have always had dogs, usually Collies. I know how much you love them. When you came with your daddy you always used to meet us on the beach and we would all walk them together. At the moment we have two that are nearly thirteen years old, a five year old and the youngest is two. The oldest are from the same litter, a brother and sister and we had their mum as well.' She says.

'So I probably played with the mum.' I say.

'Yes you did, you loved her.' She says before adding. 'It was so cute how you used to talk to her as if she understood every word you said.'

'I still feel like there's something you're not telling me.' I say and look her directly in the eye.

'Your lasagne is ready now.' She says changing the subject as she opens the oven door.

'Why don't people tell me stuff?' I mutter.

'I need to speak to Grace.' Mrs Richards says.

'Why? Look just talk to me please. You know things that I'd like too know. I've been so over protected since my parents died but I want to know stuff.' I say.

'Joe and Bess our oldest dogs, well one of them was meant to be yours. You didn't come back…..I'm sorry, it still hurts.' Mrs Richards says and promptly bursts into tears. I stand quickly and make my way over to her and envelope her in a hug where she cries on my shoulder.

'I'm sorry.' I say as I try and soothe her. 'I shouldn't have pushed you into talking.'

'It's good to talk to you at last but it's so hard. You're just like him' she says as she pulls away.

'Will you talk to me now whilst I eat and then take me to meet the dogs?' I ask.

'Yes, what do you want to know?' she asks as she places the plate in front of me as I sit once more and she stands on the other side of the island.

'Your relationship with my daddy, did you love him?' I ask.

'Yes, we lived in the same village and went to school together. We bonded on our first day and then through secondary school we sat next to each other on the bus journey every day. We started dating when we were fourteen and were very much in love.' She says. 'When you hugged me just now it took me back, it felt like your daddy's arms were around me.'

'What happened?' I ask.

'Your daddy went away to university.' She says.

'And he met my mommy.' I say.

'No not immediately, in fact not for a couple of years.' She says. 'We still met up on weekends, either he would come back to London or I would travel to Cambridge, he was studying music there.' Ah, I've found out what he did now and mom was waiting to tell me because she didn't want me to be influenced by what he did. I'm glad I know though.

'After the first term he came back home for the Christmas holidays and we saw each other every day. I wanted more from him but he was the perfect gentleman. When he went back in the January he had a series of concerts and on one particular weekend I thought we weren't seeing each other. He came home to surprise me but I was out at a party that lasted all weekend, we didn't have mobile phones in those days so I didn't know he'd been home. The following weekend I travelled to Cambridge as planned and he didn't even get cross with me, he said it was his fault and he understood why I wasn't around. I felt guilty though and six weeks later discovered I was pregnant.' She says. I stop eating and look at her in surprise.

'Did you have the baby?' I ask.

'Yes, she lives in England now and has children of her own.' Mrs Richards says.

'Mom didn't tell me I had another sister.' I say.

'Oh Matt, she wasn't your daddy's.' Mrs Richards says sadly. 'I told you he was the perfect gentleman, he wouldn't take the relationship further because he wanted to get married first. I think I broke his heart when I told him but we did remain friends and as I said earlier it was about two years later when he met your mommy. He didn't have any other girlfriends in between us. He was Alice's godfather and he doted on her and spoilt her. I met Dan when she was about three. He was still training to be a doctor then and when he qualified he got the opportunity to work in the hospital here so we moved. '

'Have I met Alice before?' I ask.

'Very briefly, in London when we all happened to be there at the same time.' She says. 'Do you want dessert?'

'No thanks, I want to go to the beach and meet the dogs.' I say. 'If I hadn't have been so hungry I would have gone twenty minutes ago.' Mrs Richards laughs as she takes my plate and puts it in the dishwasher.

'What was my daddy like at school?' I ask.

'Hardworking, always top of the class. Very popular with everyone as he was always so kind but he did have a mischievous side and was very funny. Does he remind you of anyone?' she asks with a smile. I nod and look away. 'Hey, please don't get upset.'

'Sorry. It is good to hear about him.' I say quietly as we walk through the garden towards the ocean. 'So you knew my family as well, my grandmother and my uncle.'

'Yes.' She says.

'And.'

'They were a lovely, a very tight knit family. They always looked out for one another. Your grandfather died before you were born but he was high up in one of the banks in the city and they were quite wealthy. Your grandmother was a fantastic cook and I used to spend a lot of time at their house as she baked every day.'

'And Uncle Nick?' I ask.

'Very like your father, they were the best of friends as they grew up.' She says.

'Until he betrayed him.' I say.

'You know about that.' She says in surprise.

'Yes, dad told me a few days ago.' I say.

'He was so upset that they hadn't made up before your daddy died. He regrets everything that he did.' Mrs Richards says.

'You still have contact with him.' I say.

'Occasionally. I go back to England once a year and sometimes our paths cross as we had the same social group through school, he was only a year younger than your daddy so we spent a lot of time together.' She says.

'Does Dr Richards know all this?' I ask.

'Yes, he knows everything. He even knows how jealous I was of your mommy when I first met her. I didn't want to like her but she was lovely. So kind to me and Alice. I couldn't help but be friends with her. Your mommy and daddy were so in love with each other, I was glad that he'd found someone he could love and trust.' She says as we walk along the beach. She whistles and before I know what's happening four dogs come bounding over to us. I drop to my knees and put my arms around the first dog that approaches me.

'Joe, down.' Mrs Richards says as the dog jumps and licks my cheek. I'm almost knocked over and I grin with happiness. 'Sorry, he's not normally like this with anyone.'

'It's ok.' I say as I hug him. I'm now sat on the sand as he sits next to me. 'Hey buddy, it's great to meet you.' I put my arm round him and he licks my cheek then barks. Dr Richards has approached us now and has his arm round Mrs Richards.

'I've never seen him like that before with someone he's never met.' Dr Richards says before the other dogs start making a fuss of me.