‘I expect it looks strange from your perspective,’ Aaron went on, encouraged that she seemed to be weighing his words. ‘You probably think I’ve made too much of Lee’s fragility. I can only tell you how hyper-aware we all were of him questioning whether life was really worth the effort it takes to live and that we saw Daisy as someone for him to live for. Then—’ he flicked a glance behind him to check nobody else was within earshot ‘—he said he wanted Daisy to know us all properly in case anything ever happened to him. We were terrified all over again. That’s why we’re hyper-protective of him, however faint a threat something seems.’

He waited. He’d opened his heart in a way he hadn’t really done to anyone apart from his parents. Not Genevieve. Not a single one of his friends.

The wind ran its fingers through Clancy’s hair. She was wearing make-up tonight, mascara and professional-looking eyeliner, and he thought it was the first time he’d seen it on her since she’d arrived in Nelson’s Bar. She was beautiful without make-up, but with it she was much more sophisticated. He thought about her life in London and imagined her going out to swanky venues with her entrepreneurial colleagues and the unknown Will. In evening dress he’d bet she looked stunning. Perhaps even more stunning than she did biting her lip now and staring at him.

Aaron didn’t get cities and why people wanted to live on top of one another like in a hive or a nest. But when he’d first met Clancy he’d been entranced by her city gloss, the things she talked about. It was lust or infatuation, a crush in other words, but it had given him a week of cloud nine, euphoria. Before it crashed.

He was pretty sure she’d react badly if he dipped his head and kissed her again now but that didn’t stop him wanting to, even a non-swanky, non-city boy like him.

A gusty sigh escaped her. ‘Thanks for helping me understand.’ A pause drew out. He could almost see her ordering her thoughts. ‘Did Lee never show what you call his “fragility” before Alice left?’

Aaron squeezed her fingers, pretty sure he knew what was coming. ‘He was always much moodier than the rest of the family.’ He went on even as she opened her mouth to speak. ‘You’re going to suggest that he might have suffered from depression if Alice had stayed, aren’t you? I guess we’ll never know for certain … because Alice left. And Lee fell into a deep black hole he’s never completely climbed out of.’

She nodded, slowly. Not long after that, she said her goodbyes and left, as if the little taste of the village social life had been enough.

Chapter Ten

Will

Want to be the one to tell you Renée and I got married yesterday. V quiet but I know my sis put pix on her Instagra …

Reading the partial WhatsApp message on the lock-screen of the silver iPhone in Aaron’s hand sent a cold, slimy feeling sliding down his spine. His fingers itched to tap the notification and read on but that’s what password protection and face recognition had been invented to prevent.