The Wild Child: Secrets always find a way of revealing themselves. Sometimes you just need to know where to look: A True Short Story

The Wild Child: Secrets always find a way of revealing themselves. Sometimes you just need to know where to look: A True Short Story
Casey Watson

Casey tells the harrowing story of Connor, an eight year old boy from a broken home who comes to stay with her family.It’s a Saturday morning when Casey and Mike are asked to take in eight year old Connor – an emergency placement, just for a couple of days, following a violent incident at his now former care home. And Casey’s instinct, as ever, is to say yes. With long term foster son Tyler off to football, and no particular plans for the weekend, even the fact that Connor arrives in what looks like a prison van doesn’t phase her – after all, challenging children are what she and Mike have trained for. And how much trouble can he really be? He’s eight.A lot, as it turns out.Connor is as streetwise as they come, and, hurt and angry, seems determined to cause trouble from the off. But despite the attitude, there’s something strangely endearing about their little visitor that makes Casey want to tease out the frightened child behind the swagger. So much so that, with Connor and Tyler getting on so well, she wonders – should they say they’ll keep him longer? It seems like the easiest decision in the world …

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Copyright (#u9fd89db2-22dc-5e4c-a4f5-6969c5892181)

Certain details in this story, including names, places and dates,

have been changed to protect the family’s privacy.

HarperElement

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First published by HarperElement 2015

FIRST EDITION

© Casey Watson 2015

Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2015

Cover photograph © Vanesa Munoz/Trevillion Images (posed by model)

Casey Watson asserts the moral right to

be identified as the author of this work

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Ebook Edition © August 2015 ISBN: 9780007543113

Version: 2015-07-14

Contents

Cover (#u2a48cd38-ab58-5090-a99f-9da00249e4b7)

Title Page (#ulink_a24d90b3-8852-5f80-bbb7-f8bdb6cfa0d3)

Copyright (#ulink_5a48f4b9-b517-5294-ae0d-008915f6e5f9)

Chapter 1 (#ulink_22227aa7-2b71-5eeb-9057-9b6e38455dca)

Chapter 2 (#ulink_79dba322-ec2f-5ae7-b782-5ef1dd6f5efd)

Chapter 3 (#ulink_554e1670-66c9-5614-a813-75c833f69211)

Chapter 4 (#ulink_a2992cdd-d018-5c60-8e26-241fdb683ab3)

Chapter 5 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 6 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 7 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 8 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 11 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)

Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)

Why not try …? (#litres_trial_promo)

Exclusive sneak peek: Skin Deep by Casey Watson (#litres_trial_promo)

Casey Watson (#litres_trial_promo)

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About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 1 (#u9fd89db2-22dc-5e4c-a4f5-6969c5892181)

‘How about it?’ I asked my husband Mike and our long-term foster son Tyler.

Neither batted an eyelid, because it was the sort of thing they were both used to me saying – Mike because I’d spent most of our marriage persuading him to do things against his better judgement, and Tyler because in the year and a half he’d been with us he’d had ample chance to get to know how I ticked.