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Chapters (62)
  1. Title
  2. Copyright
  3. Contents
  4. About the Author
  5. About the Book
  6. Dedication
  7. Your Worst Nightmare
  8. ONE
  9. TWO
  10. THREE
  11. FOUR
  12. FIVE
  13. SIX
  14. SEVEN
  15. EIGHT
  16. NINE
  17. The Answer to All Your Prayers
  18. TEN
  19. ELEVEN
  20. TWELVE
  21. THIRTEEN
  22. FOURTEEN
  23. FIFTEEN
  24. SIXTEEN
  25. SEVENTEEN
  26. EIGHTEEN
  27. NINETEEN
  28. TWENTY
  29. TWENTY-ONE
  30. TWENTY-TWO
  31. TWENTY-THREE
  32. TWENTY-FOUR
  33. TWENTY-FIVE
  34. TWENTY-SIX
  35. TWENTY-SEVEN
  36. TWENTY-EIGHT
  37. TWENTY-NINE
  38. THIRTY
  39. THIRTY-ONE
  40. Somebody Else’s Child
  41. THIRTY-TWO
  42. THIRTY-THREE
  43. THIRTY-FOUR
  44. THIRTY-FIVE
  45. THIRTY-SIX
  46. THIRTY-SEVEN
  47. THIRTY-EIGHT
  48. THIRTY-NINE
  49. FORTY
  50. FORTY-ONE
  51. FORTY-TWO
  52. FORTY-THREE
  53. FORTY-FOUR
  54. FORTY-FIVE
  55. FORTY-SIX
  56. FORTY-SEVEN
  57. FORTY-EIGHT
  58. FORTY-NINE
  59. Sunlight on Water
  60. July
  61. September
  62. Acknowledgements

‘How are you feeling?’ Matt’s attention, like Dora’s, seems focused on a stem of red roses, where the bees are crawling in the innermost petals.

‘I’m all right,’ she says.

‘Dad says they’ve put you on painkillers.’

‘They’re a double-edged sword. They do a good job, but they make me so sleepy. And I don’t want to be sleeping. Not the way things are.’

Matt takes a deep breath before he speaks.

‘Why won’t you have the op, Mum? You’re breaking Dad’s heart. And mine.’

The tears he’s wanted to avoid are suddenly there, and he wipes his eyes with the back of his hand.

‘Oh, sweetheart. Please don’t.’

‘How can I not?’ he asks. ‘You wouldn’t be very pleased if I didn’t give a damn.’

‘I suppose I wouldn’t.’

‘So why? If there’s a good chance . . . You know.’