“I’ll take the kids out for a while,” Alice offered. “Give you time to sort this out.”

Libby muttered something that sounded like, “There’s nothing to sort out.”

“Thanks, Alice.” Nick’s strained face, which had been absent for weeks, was back in full force. He dug his key fob out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Leo’s diaper bag’s by the door.”

Alice bundled Leo and the girls into the car answering their questions about where they were going with a vague “It’s a surprise!”

As she adjusted the driver’s seat so she could reach the accelerator, it started raining. Bugger! That ruled out the park, the beach and the pier. The library had just closed and the ice-cream parlor hadn’t started its summer trading hours. Normally, Pelican House was the obvious answer, but since she’d fled with Libby a week earlier, she was yet to sit down with Karen and Peter on her own. Could she take the children to Dan’s?

“Hurry up, Alice!” Indi demanded.

“What’s the surprise? “Lucy asked.

“Tractor!” Leo announced, clearly convinced that must be it.

Alice glanced at the three expectant faces in the rear-view mirror and knew although it was Thursday and technically a Dan night, his neat and very adult townhouse lacked anything the children would consider a surprise. And Dan wouldn’t welcome her arriving with three kids in tow.

Thankfully, there was a kids’ CD in the car’s player and she turned it on. With the children momentarily distracted by the music she tapped out two texts before driving the hundred yards out to the road and heading west.

“Sorry to do this to you,” Alice said for the second time as she accepted a glass of sparkling water. “Bit of a domestic crisis at Burrunan. I offered to take the kids out to give Libby and Nick some space, but the weather’s stymied me.”

“Nothing to be sorry about. It’s good to see you after—” Harry glanced around, noticing the proximity of the children. “It’s just really good to see you.”

Alice knew by the earnest look on his face that if the children weren’t there, he’d be asking her how she was going. As much as she appreciated Harry’s concern, she wasn’t ready to disclose the sordid story that surrounded her conception and birth. “Thanks for all those silly photos.”

“Did they make you smile?”

“They made me laugh.”

“Job done then. Mind you, I’m not sure Brutus will forgive me any time soon for the cow costume.”

“I should thank him for his sacrifice. Where is he?”

Harry rolled his eyes. “You arrive with three new and noisy children and you ask me that?”

“My bad. He’s in your office under the desk, isn’t he?”

“Got it in one.”