“There is something important I want to tell you,” she said.

“You know how you’ve asked questions about your dad?”

Mason nodded.

His feet stopped swinging.

“Liam is your father,” she said gently.

“He didn’t know about you until he came here at Christmas.

He knows now, and we both want you to understand that you’re loved.”

He looked from her face to mine, searching for some sign that this was a joke.