‘Yeah, I could see that – I’m saving you from yourself. You never were good around the ladies,’ came the not-so-backhanded insult.

Moment ruined, Justin walked off. ‘Is he always so handsy?’ Hoping Wren would say no.

‘Well, yeah, but he’ll settle down once the shine wears off.’

‘And when do you expect that to happen?’ she said in all seriousness.

He laughed, thinking she was joking. She got a terrible vibe from that guy. ‘He just likes the pretty girls, that’s all.’

‘You think I’m pretty?’ she said, emboldened by his words.

‘Yeah, I do,’ he said, suddenly shy.

Olivia couldn’t have had a better first day. She was sure she’d just met the love of her life.

Olivia dipped her toe in the cool water while lying on a towel close to the bank of the river. They were under the shade of the tall trees whose roots spread out around them, all heading for the water. ‘It’s beautiful, Wren, thanks for sharing your special spot with me.’ He smiled at how happy she was.

‘Only Justin and Wade, and now you, know about this place. Oh, and my mom. I’ve never seen anyone else down here. I guess ’cos it’s off the beaten path.’

A shadow fell over her face at the mention of Justin. He was getting worse, grabbing and touching her when Wren wasn’t looking or wasn’t there. Her disgust must have shown on her face.

‘You really don’t like him, do you?’

‘So, what about your family?’ she said, changing the conversation completely.

‘There’s Mom, my stepdad Billy and my little brother Ty. He’s my main dude.’ He said with pride. It was obvious that he really loved his brother. It was nice that he could admit that.

‘My real dad hasn’t been in the picture for a long time.’ Now he was the one frowning. ‘He’s an asshole who used to beat my mom. Haven’t seen him in years and don’t want to. I used to come here sometimes to get away from him, to escape.

‘He used to break into our house and move shit around, and I know he still hurt my mom even after Billy was on the scene. She’d come home from work with black eyes, walking funny. She always said she had just fallen at work. I mean, how many falls can one person have?’ He was angry, but a sadness came over his face. ‘He’s nothing to me.’

Olivia moved so she was curled into his arms. ‘I’m sorry, Wren, that must have been really hard on you.’

‘What about your mom? You don’t talk about her.’

‘It’s… difficult. Dad takes these jobs to forget. I think he thinks that if he’s moving around, then he can’t form attachments to people, get to know them and maybe, just maybe, fall in love again.