“They’re top secret, Hunter,” Peter said. “You’ll have to fish blindfolded.”

Hunter gave him a sideways glance, then grinned and took off after his sister and father.

“Who’d like a ride on the Ferris wheel?” Peter asked.

“Me! Me!” Indi and Lucy jumped up and down.

“Twinkle lights go round,” Leo said solemnly.

“Come on then.” Karen lifted Leo out of Libby’s arms. “Little girls, hold Da’s hand. Big girls, we’ll be back soon.”

“Be good,” Libby called.

“Will Nick make it back in time for the fireworks?” Alice asked.

“He texted ten minutes ago. He’s pulled the hapless tourist off the sandbar so he should be back in twenty minutes.” Libby started packing up the leftover food from their picnic dinner. “I really like Harry, Al.”

“Me too.”

“And he got through a Hunter-Pirelli Christmas and he still wants to be here.”

“Yep, he’s a keeper.”

Libby’s week sailing the quiet waterways of the lakes had started the slow process of coming to terms with Jess’s death. She and Nick understood the impact of grief better now and they’d talked a lot. The days on Freedom, without the distractions of work, gave her precious time with the children as she started the adjustment of being a mother of three. Initially, Nick had overcompensated, jumping in and doing more for Leo. She’d told him she was the one needing to do the extra things to bond. The girls behaved as they’d always done with Leo, either loving him to death or getting annoyed with him, and for that Libby was grateful.

When they’d berthed back at the marina, Alice had greeted them with her news. Libby hadn’t seen her twin so happy in a long time and she was both relieved and thrilled. But it didn’t stop her heart aching that Alice couldn’t have a child of her own.

“Will you and Harry consider overseas adoption?”

“By the time we jump through all those hoops, Harry will be too old and Holly will be sixteen. Anyway, we don’t need to adopt a baby.”

“But you love babies.”

“I know. And I used to think not having my own child was the end of the world, but life teaches you things you never thought possible. Watching Jess die helped me put things in perspective. I’m healthy and happy and now I’ve got Harry, Holly and Hunter.” She laughed. “Even if Holly is just hitting her stride as a teen.”

“You’re diving in at the deep end, that’s for sure.”

“I dunno. I look at you and Nick and Harry, and I think parenting is the deep end period. At least we’ve got Mom and Dad as role models. There’s parenting gold to mine.”

Libby thought of Jess. “The older I get, the more I appreciate how much of who I am is because of Mom and Dad.”