"What?" Rose exploded at the reporter. "Get out of here now before I call the police."
"You mean Hardy? I saw you with him earlier, why deny it?"
"Yeah, well my car broke down last night, he brought me into the town while it gets repaired, that's all."
"What about him leaning over the stroller?"
"Mind your own business, why don't you go ask him? I'm sure he'll be only too happy to tell you to go jump in the river. Excuse me, I have to go."
"Look, you can't stop me from doing a story, if Hardy was with you. He's already been in the news lately and with all the accusations at the trial."
"What accusations?" Rose asked, putting the straps of the shoulder bag over the handles of the stroller.
"Can I carry that off the beach for you?" Olly asked hopefully, to keep her talking.
"You might as well make yourself useful but I'm not talking to you. I know him, that's all. He found me a place to stay until my car is fixed – end of story."
"Then why were the two of you looking cosy over lunch?"
Rose let out a laugh as Olly picked up the pushchair and Rose picked up her son and the blanket.
"If you had really been there, you would have seen his DS with us."
"I did, she's my aunt."
"Oh, I didn't know that but what gives you the right to go spying on him? If he's already been in the papers, give him a break will ya? What's he done to you?" Rose asked, strapping Jack in the stroller and giving him a bottle containing some baby juice she'd got from the supermarket.
"Bossed me around once too often, I don't take that any more. Look, if you're leaving town when your car is fixed and there is nothing between the two of you, then I'll leave you alone but if I see you around the town together, then everyone else will and others will start asking questions. It's my job to report who's new in town and if they are interesting enough."
"I'm not interesting," Rose laughed again, putting her sandals on after shaking sand out of them.
"Give me your story of how you met then, if he rescued you. What happened?"
She knew Alec wouldn't want any glory for helping her.
"My car overheated, the breakdown truck was gonna take an hour so he let us wait in his car, then he dropped me off and today he was telling me how long my car would take, he saw to the breakdown truck. I'm gonna tell him that I told you so don't be surprised if he stops you."
Olly had been stopped more than once by the gruff detective but he'd not looked gruff fussing over the baby in the stroller nor kissing the blonde's cheek.
"Can you at least give me your name?"
"No, I don't want it in the paper."
"Why not, are you running away from something?"
"You could say that I suppose. Look I'll talk to him, he's looking out for us. If he thinks it's a good idea then I'll tell you but if he says no, well you know him better than I do."
Olly did know the detective but if this young woman had mellowed him somewhat, there may be a good story here - how a young blonde and her baby stole his recently mended heart.
"Fair enough but I will print a story, if you won't tell me your name or not. If Hardy rescued someone, the town will be interested in light of what happened at the trial."
"Why, what happened at what trial?"
"The man who killed Danny Latimer last year. He decided to change his plea at the last minute and his defence team walked all over Hardy and my aunt. Ask Hardy about it, then there was the brunette who kept turning up at the court with him and the man who Hardy had an argument with a few times both inside and outside the court."
"Why are you telling me all this?"
"If you have taken up with Hardy, you should know how the town sees him. I can make him out to be the hero, rescuing a damsel in distress and her baby, it will shed a whole new light on his softer side. Did you know he'd had heart surgery a while back?"
"Yeah, he told me, why wouldn't he? I told ya, he helped me, we talked and arranged to meet so he could tell me how the car repairs were going."
"Are you sure about that? You're a very attractive woman, people will talk if they see you together so why not prevent any speculation?"
"There's nothing for them to talk about. Why don't you go and pester him?"
Olly thought yeah, like hardass Hardy would talk to him about a young blonde he'd rescue but there again, if Hardy had taken a fancy to her, he might want to brag about it to turn his reputation around after being accused of having an affair with his own aunt Ellie, something the whole town was having a hard time swallowing considering they argued at every opportunity but where did she get to that night he and his mother went to look after the boys in that hotel room?
"I will then but ask him about the brunette and where he went after the trial ended."
Rose walked off, leaving Olly talking into his phone, making notes of his conversation with the mysterious blonde and hoping he'd sown the seeds of doubt enough to get her asking questions. Then if she got mad enough at the detective, she might be more willing to talk.
Rose really needed a strong coffee after that conversation so she got one to take away and sat on the wall opposite the police station and wondered what the annoying reporter had been getting at. He'd said something about accusations, a brunette but where he'd gone after the trial had ended was no-one's business, not even hers.
Alec had tried to go back to work but now, he couldn't keep his mind on anything and considered taking the rest of the afternoon off. The chief super had told him not to do anything stupid like chase another suspect and he could do the hours he felt he could handle for at least another month but if he went home, Rose may take it the wrong way.
Ellie knocked on his door and sat opposite him.
"She's nice, just what you need."
"What's that supposed to mean Miller?" he asked, shuffling folders he'd never even opened.
"There's no point in denying anything Hardy, she's more than just staying with you, the way she greeted you."
"She was just nervous, she had a hell of a day yesterday. She'd had a long tiring journey plus she'd packed up and left home, what do you expect?"
"She may have done but I can't imagine you taking someone in without wanting something in return."
"Excuse me for playing the hero then, was I supposed to just throw her to the lions and drive off?"
"No, that's not what I meant Hardy. You're still impossible, how does she put up with you?"
"What makes you think she does?"
"I saw the way she greeted you and the way she smiled at you and Jack seemed quite at home with you."
"Can I help it if the baby liked me feeding him? He probably thought I was his dad, he's not old enough to tell the difference. Did you want something?"
"Yeah, I'll be over to your place around six, you can help me take everything in. I called Beth, she doesn't need the cot yet but you'll need new bedding for it. I have a chair, a baby lounger that rocks, you know what I mean and a collapsible playpen. Oh I might still have Fred's baby bath, if Tom's not used it as a storage bin for his junk after we moved back in. I can get that loft done if you're having second thoughts."
"I am not having second thoughts. I hope you are not going to tell your annoying nephew about this?"
"Olly's got bigger worries than to bother about your love life."
Alec scowled at her, something that was never going to change. He got a text message and Ellie took that as her cue to leave. The text was from Rose. It read 'I need to speak to you' with a 'x' after it.
Was she mad at him already over something? Only one 'x' after the message? Why was he even bothered about how many she had put, he never even used them despite Daisy saying that was what you were supposed to do with someone you knew well but he didn't yet know Rose that well, did he?
He sent one back – 'Where are you?'
The reply was – 'Opposite the police station, look over the balcony'.
He got up and went to the balcony door, getting him a stare from those who wondered why the king had come out of his ivory tower. Rose was just seeing to Jack but she looked up and waved. He waved back and sent another message for her to wait there.
She waved to say she would but what was she going to say to him? Olly had upset her but did she think she could just move in with Alec without him having a past? She'd told him about hers but he'd not yet said much back since she'd fallen asleep. She wished she knew more about what had happened in the town but she'd had other things to worry about at the time, she'd given birth to Jack.
When she and James had got back from their trip, she'd missed her period, gone to the clinic and found out she was almost six weeks pregnant. That night in Norway, neither of them had thought about the consequences but it was the best sex of her entire life and the weeks following, they'd had it as often as they could and he'd already asked her to move in with him but when she'd told him, the move had been rushed and it became apparent neither of them were going to change their ways.
At least he'd stuck by her to some degree, as far as she knew he'd never gone elsewhere for sex, there were no tell-tale signs except for him working late after Jack was born. She shook her head as she saw Alec come out of the station's front entrance and walked down the steps, checking the road. He kissed her cheek as he sat next to her and saw Jack had nodded off.
"The sea air must be doing him good. What's wrong love?"
Rose turned to him. "I'm sorry to bother you but, well the town's reporter just caught me by surprise."
Alec thought he should have know the scourge of the Broadchurch Echo would have spotted them having lunch.
"Forget it Rose, don't let him worry you. I told you we were not going to hide. Did you tell him anything?" he asked, taking her hand.
"I didn't have to, he saw us having lunch. Is he Ellie's nephew?"
"Yes but she disowns him on a regular basis. He wanted to know about us?"
Rose thought she'd best not drop the bombshell the reporter had suggested Jack was Alec's child.
"You could say that but he went on mostly about you. Something about accusations during the trial and a brunette. Was there someone before you got well again?"
"No, she was a witness from an old case. Short version, she was hiding from her husband because she testified against him, he walked free and I hid her about five miles away from here. Then I got a transfer to keep an eye on her and all was well until he found out where she was. I was going to tell you but you fell asleep love. She was involved with the murders of two young cousins, she's locked up, no need for you to worry. She turned up at the court in Exeter a few times, Stevens tried to get Miller to tell him about it but it's still an ongoing investigation and he knows better than to ask. Anything else?" he asked, squeezing her hand.
Ellie had seen him come out of his office, go to the balcony then get his jacket and walk out so she went to the balcony and saw him holding Rose's hand, the baby buggy at the side of Rose and Alec glancing over at the sleeping boy. If she didn't know better, the two of them could indeed be already lovers after Danny's murder had been solved. She had moved away, Hardy could have taken up with Rose and she'd gone away to have the baby but why the elaborate tale of her car breaking down on the main road? Why not just admit it?
"I didn't tell him anything except you helped me when my car broke down Alec, honestly."
"Shush love, it's ok, he is just on a fishing expedition to see if I will take the bait and he saw us together and thought you would be the easiest catch."
"Did he bother you a lot?"
"You could say that. Rose, the town is settling down after a very difficult time, Danny's murder and the trial shook everyone up. I will tell you everything tonight, I promise, if you don't fall asleep on me again?" he smiled, brushing her cheek with his other hand.
Rose kissed his cheek and looked at Jack. "He suggested Jack may be yours."
"I will string that little rat from the town hall spire."
"It's no big deal Alec, everyone is going to assume the same when they see us walking around together, we can't hide. The only way the rumours won't spread is if you talk to the reporter and confirm what I told him, that you rescued me when my car broke down."
"Then what eh? You are not considering leaving on Tuesday are you?" he panicked.
"No, of course not but if you tell him there is nothing newsworthy, he'll print that and leave us alone."
"No he won't Rose, he will still go after me and what bothers me more is what he will print about you. I will go and talk to him and warn him to back off."
Then it hit Rose what Olly had been going on about accusations. "He said to ask you why you went away after the trial."
"Rose, I went to see my daughter, to prove to her I got myself fixed. Who are you going to believe eh? Me or a junior pain in the ass reporter?"
"Then what did he mean?
"Nothing, well, look, I will tell you later. Why don't you wait here, I will close down my computer and we will go somewhere and talk. I will kick Steven's ass another time. He upset you and I am not having that."
He kissed her cheek and got up, leaning down to kiss the sleeping baby's forehead. Jack stirred slightly but didn't wake up. As Alec got back to his office, Ellie followed him in.
"Tell that nephew of yours to stay away from Rose, Miller, I mean it."
"What's he done now?"
"Ask him yourself and tell him he will be getting a visit from me when I have calmed her down. She's been through enough already, I'll not have her being upset by your nephew trying to get to me through her."
"Then tell me what he said."
"He was spying on us at lunchtime. He asked her if Jack was mine."
"Is that all? Come on Hardy, he's winding you up and you're falling into his trap. The whole town will assume Jack is yours, hell, I was thinking the same, how do I know what you got up to when I was in Exeter?"
"Well he tried to imply to her about certain accusations that were made, now who is he winding up?"
"What? The whole town knows that's complete rubbish."
"Well Rose doesn't know that, does she? You may as well know, I am pursuing her Miller and your nephew's little game is not going to work. I'm taking the rest of the afternoon off and I am going to tell her everything, well only certain bits about Sandbrook and Claire, since he already mentioned a brunette being seen with me at the court. If she leaves now Miller, I won't be responsible for what I do to him."
"Calm down Hardy or you'll have another heart attack. How did that happen so fast?"
"I don't know, it just did. It is not beyond the realms of possibility you know? I am telling you, if he puts her off, he'll be out of this town because there will be nowhere he can hide from me, I will make his life as miserable as he makes mine."
"She's really getting to you? I always thought something had gone on between you and Claire, the way she turned on you. What was all that crap about you hurting her?"
"You know as well as I do she just lies all the time. She had her chance to press charges against me, you saw her clam up."
"Well that won't go down well along with the fact we got accused of a non-existent affair though you have to admit, all the signs were there."
"Now you are winding me up Miller, there were no signs whatsoever, you were just careless leaving my hotel that night."
Ellie gave him a wicked smile. "Rose won't believe it, surely?"
"You and your nephew had both better hope not. Now, I am leaving, I will see you when you bring those baby items around later."
"Tell Rose about the cot, it will be a big help to her at least while she's here."
"Well I am hoping she will stay a lot longer, where else does she have to go?"
"So what's her story? Bad break-up?"
"I think she should tell you, don't you?"
Jack was just waking up as Alec joined them on the wall opposite and as he wanted feeding again, they walked back to the cottage since Alec didn't take his car with him that morning. When the baby was settled and playing with some toys, Alec wanted to know exactly what Olly Stevens had said to her. So putting her feet up, she leaned into Alec's shoulder and told him.
"Rose I will tell you now, the accusations he was talking about were the defence team trying to get a murderer off the hook and it worked. Did you not know anything that went on here?"
"I told you, I had too much going on, I was having Jack, watching the news was the last thing on my mind."
"Well they were so desperate to get him off, they accused Miller and myself of colluding to pin the murder on him so we could carry on with our affair."
Rose couldn't help but laugh, which relieved Alec somewhat.
"Hang on, did Ellie's husband kill that boy?"
"Yes, he confessed but we screwed it up. She attacked him in the interview room and to make things worse, that night, she was spotted on camera leaving my hotel. It is not funny Rose."
"Oh come on, so the jury believed it?"
"Yes, they were not from the town, were they? That's it Rose, there was no affair, I was too ill and Claire kept well away until just before the trial, she wanted some attention. Her husband came back, I put the pieces together with Miller and now they are both locked up along with a third person. It is still ongoing, I can't go into details."
"So the reporter thought he'd tell me, to put me off?"
"He wants a story, the town is bored now and if he puts on the paper's headlines I went away and came back with a girlfriend and a young baby, it will give them something to talk about."
"Then let's set the record straight. I just don't want my name in the paper until I've told James where I am."
"If he finds out you are living with me, he will stop the money he gives to you?"
"Maybe but it could turn the other way, he could want more access. I'll have to inform the benefits office wherever I go. My mum wouldn't write a letter to the council saying I could no longer stay with her."
"That was not very nice of her, did she not want you to leave?"
"Why, when I was paying the rent for her? She wasn't always like that, she just got used to being on her own when I left and was building up her business. She thought I'd be there for a few weeks but it stopped my chances of getting a place of my own."
"I'm sorry Rose, I did not know how difficult things had been for you but heading for Exeter to be on your own? You could stay here, with me, let me take care of the both of you."
"Even if everyone thinks Jack is yours?"
"Then you tell James you are staying with me, get your benefits sorted and if they stop, no worries. I have nothing to spend my money on, I can take care of things."
"Why would you do that?"
"You don't get it, do you? I am asking you to stay with me, even if the entire town gets the wrong idea. So, what do you say? I want to pursue you Rose."