Excerpt from The Stranger on the Train by Abbie Taylor, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

"Just one coffee." Antonia was watching her. "Look, I have an idea. I've been visiting a friend of mine, and I was supposed to meet my husband in town, but why don't I call him and ask him to collect me here instead? He has a car. Let us take you home."

Emma wanted to say no. She really did, but she felt beaten, weary, unexpectedly overwhelmed at the idea of someone being kind to her. Her shoulders were heavy, as though someone had put a blanket over them.

"Okay," she said. Her eyes prickled. "Thank you."

While she was blowing her nose again, Antonia stood up with Ritchie in her arms.

"I'll get this young man settled," she said.

"He won't let—" Emma began, but Antonia was already loading Ritchie into his pushchair. He didn't protest at all. His head nodded, his eyelids drooped. Antonia fastened him in with the straps. She seemed to know exactly what she was doing.

"There." She patted Ritchie's head. "You need a sleep, don't you? Poor little man."

Emma went to take the buggy, but Antonia had the handles in her grasp. She took off at a brisk pace, steering Ritchie towards the stairs. Emma had nothing to do but follow them, empty-handed. The platform was open at both ends; a chill breeze blew over their heads. Emma's knees stung beneath her jeans. It felt strange to have nothing to carry, no Ritchie, no bag. She felt out of control. Vulnerable. She would have preferred to carry Rich, to take him out of the buggy and hold him; but Antonia had been so kind, it would be rude to wake him up. She settled for watching him as they walked. My God, my God.

She helped Antonia to lift the buggy up the stairs. At the turnstile, Antonia turned to her and said: "You've lost your ticket, haven't you? You'll need to report your missing bag to the guard. Ask him to let you through."

Emma hesitated.

"Go on." Antonia gave her an encouraging smile. "Don't worry about Ritchie and me. We'll wait for you at the entrance."

Wanting to hurry, Emma didn't mention anything to the cheerful orange-jacketed guard about Ritchie getting caught on the train. She just said that she'd lost her bag at the previous station, Stepney Green, and asked if anyone had handed it in. The guard went into a room at the side to use the phone. Emma glanced through the turnstiles, towards the entrance to the station. It was dark now outside. Raining, it looked like. The pavements were shiny with light. A couple of people stood inside the doors, sheltering from the rain, or queuing for the little newspaper and sweet kiosk at the side. More people pushed through the barriers: a man wearing a woolen hat, a woman in a hijab holding the hand of a little girl. Then they were gone, and there were just their footsteps on the wet floor. Emma looked again at the entrance. Then she froze. She took a jerky half step towards the barrier.

Where had Antonia gone?

She saw her then, just beside the kiosk. She was kneeling by Ritchie's buggy, adjusting the zip of his fleece; that must be why she'd missed her at first. Emma let out a shaky breath. It just went to show how jumpy she was. Ritchie was asleep. She watched him hungrily. His head was on his chest, making him look as if he had three chins. His wispy hair was brushed straight down on his forehead. The smiley blue elephant on his front moved up and down as he breathed. Antonia looked up just then and saw Emma watching. She gave a little wave.

The guard came back.

"No bag, I'm afraid," he said. "There's a number for Lost Property if you—"

"It's okay." Emma was anxious to be back with Ritchie. She gestured to the barrier. "Is it all right if I go on through? My ticket was in my bag."

The guard was in a good mood. He tipped his hand to his forehead and released the turnstile for her. Once through it, Emma headed straight for Ritchie. She reached for the handles of the pushchair and instead found Antonia pressing a twenty-pound note into her hand.

Excerpted from The Stranger on the Train by Abbie Taylor. Copyright © 2014 by Abbie Taylor. Excerpted by permission of Atria/Emily Bestler Books. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.