Izzy held tightly to his hand but she was looking at Aiden.

“Let’s go home.”

22

Flora

The lake lapped relentlessly at her ankles, drawing her deeper into the water.

Flora forced herself to keep walking, even though her limbs shook with every step. The water was up to her calves now, the shock of the cold water making her gasp. It was summer. How could the water be so cold in summer?

She tried not to think about Jack, or her dream of being part of his family. She forced it all out of her mind, so she could focus on this one thing.

She was going to do this, alone and quietly, with no one around to talk her out of it.

She was up to her waist now. The water closed around her. She wanted to scream but fear gripped her throat so tightly she couldn’t make a sound.

Just do it, she told herself and tried to summon up the courage.

She was concentrating so hard on taking the plunge that at first she didn’t hear the sound of voices behind her.

They grew louder and finally she heard Molly yelling. Flora, Flora.

A chorus of panicked voices reached her ears and she closed her eyes, frustrated.

She’d intentionally picked a time when no one was around. She hadn’t wanted anyone to witness this. She’d wanted to step into the water alone and sort this out once and for all without any fuss or bother but that wasn’t going to happen. Families, she was discovering, came with plenty of drama. Also, very little opportunity for personal time. It was what Julia always complained about and what Flora had always wanted.

She turned to see Izzy, Molly and Jack charging into the water fully clothed.

What on earth had happened to make them so desperate?

It took a moment to realize she was the source of their panic.

“Flora! Stop. Stop! Don’t do it.”

There was splashing and more shrieking and then Izzy appeared next to her, followed by Molly who thrashed forward in a wild dog paddle like Chase, and then finally Jack.

Flora gasped as she was showered by water.

“You can’t go in the water.” Molly’s arms flailed like an octopus. “You can’t swim.”

Flora wiped her face and then caught the child, worried that she might drown both of them. “I never said I couldn’t swim. I said I hated water. I haven’t swum since that awful day and I wanted to try it. It’s way beyond time.”

Izzy reached her, her wet T-shirt clinging to her body. “You were going swimming? You weren’t—”

“I wasn’t what?”

Izzy swallowed. “Trying to drown yourself.”