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THE TREES COWERED when the rain fell, stubborn evergreens shaking in the downpour that pummelled the branches and bounced off the roads. Deep puddles collected in the potholes that hacked into the tarmac like the mark of an angry fist, dirt and grit swirling together in the grey sludge of melting snow. The sky was pitch black, the roads deserted: there were no streetlamps to light the path that wended its way back to the destitute hamlet of Buck Pines.

The headlights carved through the night, illuminating the road ahead beyond the blur of the rain. The wipers were on full blaster, darting across the windscreen to clear the tenacious droplets that wouldn't let up. Adele slowed down to forty-five despite the road being a sixty and she kept both hands firmly on the wheel, her eyes straight ahead. Her stomach growled, begging her to eat, but she couldn't afford the distraction.

Next to her, Ainslie sucked salt off her fingers as she polished off her fries and started on her chicken nuggets with a satisfied groan. In the back, Caleb wolfed down his cheeseburger with ease.

"Muthaidean," he muttered with a low growl.

"Is that a good thing?" Ainslie asked. Adele laughed and nodded.

"Considering that's what he said the first time he had hot chocolate, I think it's a good thing. I figure it just means wow or something like that. Don't get hooked though, Caleb. We're not driving ninety minutes every time you want a cheeseburger."

"It's so good," he said. "It's so good."

"You'll see," Ainslie said, nodding at the bag that held Adele's food. "Though yours is gonna be frozen by the time we get back. It'll taste rubbish."

"Is there more?" Caleb asked.

"I got you two burgers!"

He pouted. "They're small. And very tasty. Very good."

"Take mine," Adele said, passing the bag back to him and catching the way his face lit up like a lightbulb in the rear view mirror when he took it.

"But you didn't eat," he said, torn between his desire for another burger and his unwillingness to take from Adele.

"It's fine, I'm not that hungry. I'm still full of coffee and hot chocolate. Which you really should be too, to be honest. Anyone would think I've been starving you, for crying out loud."

"Are you sure?" he asked, uncertainty on his tongue.

"I wouldn't offer if I wasn't sure."

"Thank you," he said, a moment of quiet gratitude before he tore the paper off the burger and groaned when he bit into the juicy meat. A dollop of ketchup dripped down his chin before he mopped it up with the bun, leaving a red streak in his stubble, that was growing closer to being classified as a beard.

Adele liked it, even if it did tickle when they kissed.

She adjusted the mirror, peering through the blurry back window, and flipped on the rear windscreen wipers that had an inconvenient habit of turning themselves off. They were alone on the road, silenced by the rain that drowned out every other sound. The radio crackled, words jumping out of songs when the signal dropped and she twisted the volume down to zero. No music was better than a tune she couldn't even follow.

Ainslie idly tapped her knuckles against the cold window, her view obscured by the rain and the haze shrouding the trees that replaced the barren fields. She fogged the glass with her breath, drawing a heart with her frozen fingertip. "Adele?"

"Mmm?"

"Do you think there's any way Angus is involved somehow?"

"No." She pushed the indicator down with her little finger, slowing almost to a stop as she turned off the pathetic excuse for a main road and onto the B9151. Even worse. It was split into two lanes but there was hardly the space for two cars to pass each other. Adele was well versed in the long road's passing places, speeding up a little between each one. The last thing she wanted to have to do was reverse further than she could see.

"Not at all?"

"We just hooked up a couple of years ago, Ains, and now I can't shake him. He's just desperate and controlling and I'm through with it, but he's stuck on me," she muttered.

"Maybe someone's making him stick."

"Huh?"

Ainslie shifted in her seat, twisting away from the window to face Adele. "Maybe he's on Creighton's payroll somehow," she said. "You said it yourself – you can't get rid of him. What if Creighton's taken advantage of the fact that you guys had a thing, and he's using Angus as a spy?"

Adele glanced at her, sceptical eyebrows pushing a deep line into her forehead. "We're heading into weird conspiracy land now," she said.

"There is a creepy conspiracy!" Ainslie cried out, gasping when she sloshed her drink over herself. Holding her top away from her skin as though it would ever dry when inside the truck was only a couple of degrees warmer than outside, she hopped back on board her train of thought. "This whole Katherine thing is a weird conspiracy, Adele. Clearly someone's hiding something and what sucks for us is that virtually everyone who knows anything is dead. Maybe that's part of it too."

Adele stuck up one finger, still holding the wheel firmly. "First of all, my parents got themselves killed. Secondly, Nana was shot for being a werewolf – it may be despicable, but it's hardly a conspiracy when that's literally why the Honour Guard exists." A couple more fingers went up. "Thirdly, we don't know about Katherine but even so, she was a kid when whatever happened went down. Even if there was some kind of conspiracy, she wouldn't know about it. And ... what number am I on?"

"Four."

"Ok, fourthly, Creighton's dad had cancer. You said it yourself."

"I supposed it myself," Ainslie said. "I don't know for certain. That's just something I heard. And what happened to his mum, huh?"

"I don't know, Ains," Adele said with a sigh, "but I think you might be taking it too far."

Caleb coughed. "Nothing is too far," he said. "Not if it helps us see what's close."

"Adele's farsighted," Ainslie said, looking over her shoulder at Caleb. "She can't see what's right in front of her."

"Hey." Adele swatted Ainslie's knee. "Smartiepants," she muttered under her breath, tutting at her friend. "Don't bite the hand that feeds."

*

The rain eased up as they passed through Buck Pines, the roads completely empty as they splashed through deep puddles. It was almost seven o'clock, when most of the residents were home from work and about to tuck into a hearty supper, and Adele was beginning to feel the effects of donating her supper to Caleb. Her stomach let out a gurgle of discontent as she pulled up outside the cabin, hunger slowly setting in with a growl.

"You're hungry," Caleb said as they got out of the truck, the three of them dashing inside to avoid the remains of the rain that dripped down from the trees.

"Now I am," she said. "I wasn't before."

"I took your food."

"I gave you my food," she said. "Very important distinction." She peeled off her coat and as she crouched down to start a fire in the grate, she muttered, "One that Angus could do with learning."

"What does that mean?" Ainslie asked, her features slowly pulling into a frown. Adele grimaced, facing the fire. She didn't want to have to explain the ordeal again, especially not to Ainslie.

"He's just selfish," she said, striking a match three times before it lit and the newspaper blazed, catching onto the firelight beneath it. The wood was bone dry, perfect for a warm evening fire, and she rubbed her hands together in front of the flames that grew as they latched onto the kindling.

When she filled a pot with water to put some potatoes on to boil for her supper, the sound of the gushing tap drowned out the sound of tyres outside, muffled by the snow-covered ground. The clang of the pot against the sink coincided with the slam of a door. It was only when Adele balanced the pot over the fire that she heard footsteps.

"Shit!" she cried, flying to her feet. "Did he fucking follow us home?"

Ainslie inhaled sharply, her eyes bugging. Caleb froze, rooted to the spot until Adele grabbed his shoulder and shoved him to his room.

"You need to shift. Now," she said, her heart seizing as sudden panic filled her chest. It was bad enough seeing him on neutral territory. She couldn't bear to let him cross her threshold again.

"Don't let him in," Ainslie whispered, clutching her elbows. "Just don't answer the door."

Adele pressed her back against the fridge, her heart pounding, and she raked her shaking hand through her hair. "God, I can't keep doing this," she said. "I really can't deal with this."

"Don't answer," Ainslie said again. "You don't have to let him in."

"I know. I won't," she said, her pulse slowing down just a fraction when Caleb padded back into the kitchen and rubbed his face against her thigh. She dropped her hand to his head, scratching between his ears, and she did nothing when there was a knock at the back door.

"Um, Adele?"

"Yes?"

"It's not Angus," Ainslie said, her voice hardly louder than a breath as she stared at the square pane of frosted glass in the door. The figure on the other side was blurry, but unmistakeably not Angus.

Shorter, darker, and it came with a wail.

"I know you're in, Adele!" Jade called, knocking again. "I'm coming in."

There was no time to move, no time to hide. Caleb sank down in front of the fire, his ears drooping, and Adele's stomach dropped to the floor in slow motion as the handle turned and the door opened. Jade stood on the other side, bundled up with a hat pulled down over her ears and her crying baby in her arms.

"Hi," she said, stomping the snow off her boots on the mat as she juggled her baby, trying to shush her. It gave Adele a moment to compose herself, unfurling the fists her hands had unconsciously clenched into. She dropped her guard, trying to focus on the relief that it wasn't Angus rather than the horror that Caleb was lying just a few feet away in full view.

"Hi," she said.

Jade looked up. Her eyes fell on Caleb. Her brow furrowed, but she seemed remarkably unfazed. That only set Adele even more on edge.

"He's my dog," she blurted out. "A husky."

"I didn't know you got a dog," Jade said. Her words were flat. Her entire being seemed flat, as though she had been deflated, the life sucked out of her. There was nothing behind her eyes until she looked down at Fiona, who was screaming bloody murder. "Shush, baby. It's ok."

"Are you sure you want to play the I didn't know game?" Adele asked. She couldn't help the comment from slipping out, cursing the words as soon as they left her mouth, and she followed them up to steal Jade's chance to respond. "What're you doing here? I didn't know you were coming over."

"I lost my phone," Jade said. Adele's hackles shot back up but she bit her tongue. Caleb stood, nuzzling her knee before he sat down by her feet. "Hi, Ainslie."

"Hi," Ainslie said quietly.

"Jade, why're you here?"

"Can you hold Fiona a second?" she asked, holding out the baby to Adele, who held her awkwardly for a moment before she managed to find a more comfortable position with Fiona against her chest, her cheek on her shoulder. While she rubbed her back, her body swaying on instinct, Jade peeled off her thick outdoor coat and the jacket underneath.

Fiona settled. Her wailing ceased to a hiccup and then nothing. Jade showed signs of life for the first time in a long time, a hint of a smile gracing her lips.

"You got her to stop," she said. "She's hardly settled all day."

Adele's combat mode softened, her fight or flight adrenaline dissipating. The tiny baby was warm and soft, and she still had that delicious scent in her wispy black hair. "She just wanted a cuddle from her auntie," she said, kissing Fiona's head. "Is everything ok, Jade? What's up?"

Jade sank down into the armchair as though her legs had given up. "Creighton's gone to see his mother," she said, her eyes on her daughter. "He wanted me to get some meat."

"I could've come to you, Jade. You had Fiona a week ago. You should be resting," she said, her hand splayed out over Fiona's back as she swayed her.

"It's nice to get out of the house. It's the first time I've left since I had her," she said, her voice laced with exhaustion, and she rested her head in her hand. Adele leant against the sink, a wave of love flooding her chest as she stared down at the baby. She had done nothing wrong. She had done nothing to deserve the father she'd been born to, and Adele was struck by the urge to protect the tiny baby.

Ainslie rested on a log by the fire, stroking Caleb's back and rubbing his ears. He rested his chin on her knee, looking up at her as she idly played with his fur, but her eyes were on Jade. "I didn't know Creighton's mother was still alive," she said, carefully throwing out her line and hoping she'd get a bite. "Does she live around here?"

Jade shook her head, tearing her eyes from Fiona to address Ainslie. "No, she's in Penlark," she said. Her voice was uncharacteristically soft. It unnerved Adele, but it wasn't as eerie as her robotic presence had been the last time she had seen her. It was as though getting out of the house unlocked her from her shackles.

"How come she left town?" Ainslie asked, tentatively pushing forward when she didn't sense resistance on Jade's part.

"She lives at Longton House," Jade explained. When she was met with two blank faces, she elaborated. "It's a care home."

Adele frowned. She stopped swaying. "She's in a care home? But she can't be old. Creighton's only thirty-two."

"Mmm. Rose is only sixty-four," Jade said, "but she has dementia. She's been there for a couple of years now." She looked up at Adele and reached out for her daughter, craving her baby in her arms. Adele was reluctant, but she carefully handed Fiona over to her mother, who nestled the sleeping child against her chest.

"That's sad," Ainslie said with a pout.

"It is. We went to see her when we got engaged but she didn't even recognise me. She's trapped in the past."

Ainslie's eyebrows twitched but she said nothing, occupying herself with Caleb's incredibly soft ears to stop herself from asking the wrong question. Adele shot her a look, warning her away from the words she knew were on her tongue.

"Poor Creighton," she said instead, both hands scratching the scruff of Caleb's neck. The words were hard to say when he was the only person she had ever wished death upon. "That must be hard on him."

Jade pressed her lips together and nodded but she said nothing, slowly sighing as she rubbed Fiona's back.

"What about his sister?" Ainslie said, the words flying out before she could stop them. Adele widened her eyes at her, but Jade hardly reacted.

"Katherine? She disappeared years ago. He won't talk about her," she said. She smoothed down Fiona's cardigan over her little onesie, impossibly tiny socked feet squirming in her sleep as her fingers stretched and curled around the soft wool of her mother's scarf.

"Your baby's adorable, by the way," Ainslie said. "She's so precious."

"Thank you," Jade said. Her smile grew. A genuine smile. "She's perfect, isn't she? My little rainbow."

Adele's eyebrows pulled together ever so slightly at the nickname, but she couldn't find the words to ask about it. Ainslie, however, had come into her own and talked to Jade as though they were old friends, rather than virtual strangers.

"Rainbow? Is she a rainbow baby?"

Jade nodded, almost imperceptibly, her nose pressed to her daughter's head. Adele's eyes darted between Jade and Ainslie.

"What's a rainbow baby?"

Jade said nothing, leaving it up to Ainslie to explain. She lowered her voice and looked up at Adele.

"It's when you have a baby after you have a miscarriage," she murmured, as though she didn't want Jade to hear. Adele's jaw dropped, her face twisting.

"You had a miscarriage? Jade?"

"It's ok," Jade said.

"What happened?"

"I was pregnant and then I wasn't," she said. "But it's fine. I have Fiona now."

"When did you lose the baby? You didn't tell me, Jade. God, that's ... that's awful."

"It was in the spring. The start of March," she said. Adele skimmed over the maths and her heart sank.

"Nine months ago," she said. "You lost the baby, and you got pregnant with Fiona right away?"

Jade nodded. "The doctor warned us that could happen."

Adele seethed, gritting her teeth. Creighton had made sure that would happen. He didn't care what Jade was going through. He didn't even care that she wasn't ready to have a child. She dug her nails into her palms and swallowed the bead of rage that tracked its way up her spine.

Fiona woke up. She sniffled, and then she wailed. Jade held her close and stood.

"I need to change her. Where can I?"

"My room," Adele said. "Just ... put down a towel or something first."

Once Jade had gone, Adele dropped to her knees beside Caleb and Ainslie, her head racing and her hands shaking with the purest rage.

"What the fuck?" she whispered. Ainslie looked utterly defeated.

"Poor Jade," she said. "He's so evil. Why is she with him? Why doesn't she leave him?"

"Because that fucking cunt has made her think she needs him," she hissed, keeping her voice low enough that her sister wouldn't hear her. "God, this is awful." Her hand fell on Caleb's fur, soothing herself with his warm body beneath her touch, and he nudged her arm with his wet nose. He licked her wrist and rested his heavy paw on her knee.

A couple of minutes passed before Jade returned, dropping her bag from her shoulder to the floor and plumping onto the chair. She adjusted the baby on her chest and looked up at her sister. "What's with all the men's clothes in your room?" she asked.

Adele had to fight every instinct not to panic at the inquisition. She'd forgotten about that. "Um, must be Angus's," she said, shrugging it off.

"I thought you hadn't seen him in a while," she murmured, making herself comfortable as she began to feed her daughter.

"What? How would you know that?"

Jade faltered. Adele's skin flushed hot and cold. Maybe Ainslie's theory wasn't so far-fetched after all, she thought, though she wished that wasn't true.

"Jade, seriously? What the hell? Are you getting him to spy on me or something? Is that why he's so fucking needy?"

Jade winced at the language. She wasn't one to swear. "He's not spying on you," she said.

"Jesus!" Adele cried out. "So you have meddled? What the fuck, Jade? What did you do? Oh my God."

"Calm down," she said. "It's nothing bad, Adele. It's just ... when I heard you two were seeing each other, I asked him to keep an eye on you. Just because of where you are and what's going on and everything. I just asked him to make sure you're safe. He's police, after all."

Adele scoffed, her cheeks burning red hot. "Jesus Christ, Jade. You asked him to fucking spy on me. That's why you didn't freak out about my dog. You already knew. God, Jade! How could you spy on me?"

"I didn't," she said, shaking her head. With her baby in her arms, she refused to raise her voice. "I just asked him to let me know things were alright with you, but I saw him the other day and he said you guys haven't seen each other for a while."

"Is this for Creighton? Are he and Angus in cahoots or something? You know Creighton hates me. He thinks I'm hiding something – did he get Angus to be a spy?"

"No, Adele. It was all me," Jade said. "Calm down. I'm sorry. I had good intentions. It's nothing to do with Creighton. I only asked him to keep me up to date because you never did. I'm sorry."

Adele retreated, forcing herself to back down from the fight. She couldn't keep up her fury with the baby right there. She didn't want to yell. She didn't want to fill the room with all the angst in her soul. "I don't like that," she said instead. "Can you tell him to back off?"

"Ok," Jade said. "Then you have to tell me how you are."

"Fine. Whatever. Just quit getting Angus to spy on me."

"What happened to your face?"

Adele narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth. "You know what happened to my face."

"What? No I don't," Jade said with a frown. "You looked fine when you came over yesterday. What happened?"

"Your fiancé happened," Adele said. Jade's frown deepened. "He accused me of murdering his sister and he shoved my down the stairs. Got yourself a keeper there, Jade."

Something shifted in Jade's eyes. For a fleeting second, she looked hurt. Almost as though Adele had got through to her, her words slicing through the walls Creighton had built around her mind, but it was gone as quickly as it had arisen.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it," she said quietly.

"Jesus," Adele muttered. "You're right under his thumb, Jade. You need to get away from him. I can help you and Fiona."

She looked up, her eyebrows knitted together. "I don't need help," she said. "We're fine. We're alright." Stroking Fiona's little hand, she smiled down at the baby, and she lifted the smile to Adele. "We're good."

"I don't believe you. I don't think you're safe and I think you and Fiona need to get out of that house," she said, her words blunt. Jade just shook her head.

"It's the safest place to be."

Jade left after almost an hour. She took the meat Creighton had sent her for, leaving an envelope for Adele. A generous amount: more than what Adele had charged in the past; far more than Creighton would ever pay. She strapped Fiona into the car seat and drove off, leaving stony silence behind her.

Caleb lay dejected by the fire, letting out a long whine when Adele returned to the kitchen with heavy shoulders, her body sagging. She sat down in the armchair with a sigh and he padded over, resting his chin on her lap.

"I don't know what to do," she said. "I don't know where we're supposed to go from here."

"I do," Ainslie said. She turned around the pad of paper with her notes scrawled all over it. A solitary word dominated one corner: Rose.

"Creighton's mother?"

Ainslie nodded. "She's trapped in the past," she said, repeating Jade's words. "Who would know more about what happened than Katherine's own mother?"

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this may be my least realistic book, but it has the most realistic planning! or maybe i just enjoy planning too much. the b9151 is not a road that exists, but buck pines is located in zone 9 of the british road numbering scheme, between newtonmore and aviemore, which happen to have a b9150 and a b9152. just a (not very) fun fact for you!

i hope you enjoyed that chapter! i'm working on getting back to a better update time but my laziness really doesn't help that. i somehow manage to do nothing all day and yet still don't get a chapter out until midnight. this one would have been up a lot earlier but i got caught up in some house drama with the people i'll be living with next year (which, of course, ended with me caving and agreeing to have the smallest room again because i'm weak and hate fighting with people i will have to live with)

as has become the question du jour . . . what're you thinking after that?