Jack looked at Clare. She knew what he was thinking because she was thinking the same thing. Izzy was leaving because she believed she no longer had a place in the family.

The emotional side of Clare wanted to sob for the girl, but fortunately her practical side took over.

She pulled out her phone. “There is only one cab firm in the village. I’ll find out where they’ve taken her.”

“They won’t give you that information.”

“Of course they will. Todd gave the owner a friendly rate when he extended his house and I do yoga with his wife. Hello?” She was swift with her request and the response came back equally quickly. “They’ve taken her to the station.”

Aiden nodded. “I’m going after her.” He started up the garden but Jack stopped him.

“Wait, Aiden. I know you care for her, but—there’s more to this. It has to be me.”

“I’m the one she’s going to talk to.” Her son’s reaction convinced Clare that Izzy had confided in him, too.

She decided a compromise was in order. “Aiden should drive you, Jack. It will be faster. He knows the way. He can wait in the car while you talk to Izzy.”

She just hoped they’d make it in time to have that conversation before Izzy boarded the train.

21

Izzy

Izzy sat miserable and alone on the edge of the seat on the station platform, wondering where the train was. She’d never actually traveled alone in England before. She wasn’t sure if she felt sophisticated or scared.

The station was unlike any she’d seen before. She was used to Manhattan and the roar, shriek and rumble of the subway line, the chaos and grandeur of Grand Central Station, the press of people breathing the same air and pushing, always pushing, to get on or get off. Here the air was clean and fresh. No one was pushing. She saw a bird with a pinkish breast settle on the wall nearby and opened her mouth to point it out, but then realized there was no one to tell.

There were only three other people on the platform and they hadn’t even glanced toward Izzy, which was just as well because she knew she looked a mess. She’d cried all the way in the cab, and then almost died of horror when she’d seen Aiden driving the other way.

She was fairly sure he’d seen her, which was why she needed the train to arrive quickly.

Luck wasn’t on her side. She checked the time on her phone and when she looked up Jack was standing there.

She was trying to train herself not to think of him as “Dad.”