‘How was your holiday?’ she asked as I met her outside her classroom.

‘It wasn’t a holiday—just someplace to stay while Dad was with you guys,’ I told her, pulling her in for a quick hug. ‘But it was quite good. The shack I stayed in was horrific, but you’d have loved my furry intruder.’

‘What intruder?’

Heading for the car, I told her about the possum and relished the sound of her laughter when I got to the bits about it eating on the table and spilling the milk. It was so good to be with my girl again and this feeling made me more determined to make progress with the counsellor this week. The four of us being apart had to end. Soon.

‘Can you take me to Ragged Point?’ Payton asked.

‘Well, I don’t know when I’ll go back again but maybe we can visit Jedda next summer,’ I suggested.

‘Sounds good,’ she said as we pulled up at the house.

The moment I stepped inside, Charlie jumped up at me, making me drop two shopping bags on the floor, and didn’t even calm down after his usual minute of craziness.

‘Did anyone walk Charlie while I was away?’ I asked as Payton yanked open the pantry. The dog was still leaping up at me, almost managing to lick my face.

‘Nope. I told Dad we need to walk him, but he wouldn’t let me go by myself. He said Charlie’s too old to need daily walking anymore.’

Is that right? My jaw twitched. ‘Didn’t Saxon take him?’ This task was part of his requirements to get his allowance.

‘Saxon hasn’t left his bedroom the whole time you’ve been away.’

No wonder Charlie was acting like a lunatic. ‘Down boy!’

He recoiled slightly and I stooped to give him a proper welcome. It wasn’t his fault that his basic needs had been ignored. And I didn’t care if Adrian was having some kind of midlife crisis, he couldn’t forget his responsibilities, which meant reminding Saxon of his! Not even waiting to unpack my shopping, I grabbed my phone and started a message to my husband. So much for sending naked selfies; right now, I wanted to make a voodoo doll of him and stick it with needles.

Part of our bargain was that you would make sure—

‘Um, what are you doing?’ I asked, pausing my typing as I watched Payton scoop ice-cream into a large glass and then pour Fanta from a can over the top of it.

Since when did we have soft drinks in the house?

‘What does it look like I’m doing?’

Payton loved spiders—the drink, not the eight-legged variety—but they were a special treat, not an everyday after-school snack. ‘You know you’re not allowed soft drink except on special occasions.’

Sticking a pink straw in the top of her drink, she said, ‘Dad lets me have whatever I want after school.’

I raised my eyebrows—almost backing down because I didn’t want her to like Adrian better than me. At the last moment, common sense prevailed. I wasn’t here to be liked, I was here to raise healthy, well-balanced children. ‘Well, I’m back now and when it’s my week, it’s my rules.’