“Maybe I didn’t yell ‘I love you’ every time I walked through the door, but I showed you, Izzy. I showed you all the time. Let’s do some fact-checking. Remember when you were nine years old and were crazy about dinosaurs?”

“You took me to the American Museum of Natural History.”

“And then we came home and I spent two days making you Jurassic scenery, complete with a papier-mâché volcano.”

Remembering it made her smile. “It was cool. Until you got red paint on a chair. Mom was furious.”

“She was, and I didn’t care. Do you know why I didn’t care? Because you had the best time. The smile on your face stretched all the way from Brooklyn to Connecticut. You played with your dinosaur world for two months.”

“Until Molly crawled on top of it and it collapsed.”

“That’s right. The perils of having a baby sister.” He looped his arm round her shoulders. “I didn’t spend hours building it because I thought it would be a fun project, although it was a fun project. I did it because I loved you. Then there was the time you decided you wanted to do a trip to the top of the Empire State Building for your eleventh birthday. I took you. Remember that?”

“Yeah. You almost crushed my hand.”

“That’s because I’m not good with heights and I was scared out of my mind.”

She snorted. “You were not.”

“Terrified. I was jelly. But I did it because it was what you wanted. Love got me up there and love got me down again. Do you believe I love you yet, or do I need to keep going?”

“I guess I believe you.”

“You guess?”

“I—I believe you. But—”

“No ‘buts.’ I love you. You’re my girl and I’ll always love you. Nothing is ever going to change that. Nothing you do. Nothing your mom did. And now it’s time to talk about that.” He glanced along the platform to where the three people were still waiting. “I was going to suggest going somewhere private, but this is pretty private. It will do. Clare tells me you know your mom was having an affair. That she was leaving.”

Panic threatened to strangle her.

Izzy stared down the track, willing the train to come right now but there was nothing but trees, and fresh air, and this conversation she didn’t want to have.

“I know this is difficult and you don’t have to say anything, sweetheart.” Jack’s voice was gentle. “I’ll do the talking.”

Where was the train?