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Back One Winter Morning Save as PDF
Chapters (56)
  1. Cover
  2. About the Author
  3. By the same author
  4. Dedication
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. 21
  26. 22
  27. 23
  28. 24
  29. 25
  30. 26
  31. 27
  32. 28
  33. 29
  34. 30
  35. 31
  36. 32
  37. 33
  38. 34
  39. 35
  40. 36
  41. 37
  42. 38
  43. 39
  44. 40
  45. 41
  46. 42
  47. 43
  48. 44
  49. 45
  50. 46
  51. 47
  52. 48
  53. Acknowledgements
  54. Read More
  55. Two Years Later
  56. THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING

Whatever happens now, I know one thing for sure – I must keep Tui in my life. I want her to know what she means to me, and that I will always be there for her, no matter what. If I have Tui, I know that I can cope with anything – caring about her has made me stronger. As fast as the thought occurs to me, so follows another: that I don’t want to wait any longer for Bonnie to return – I want my sister to know who I am now.

I don’t even realise that I’m crying until the tears land on my bare knees, and I smile as I wipe them from my cheeks. For once, I don’t feel sad to be shedding them, because I know that this time they have nothing to do with sorrow at all.

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36

Having made the decision that I want to tell Tui the truth about who I really am, I find myself impatient for it. The temptation to hurry straight back to Queenstown and jump in a taxi to the stables is an ardent one, but I know that the more sensible option would be to sleep on it. Plus, I want to tell David first. I feel bad for the way I have shut him out since I’ve been here, and I worry that he will be upset to learn about it all after the event. Anna and I had so many shared interests and spent so much time together that David inevitably ended up being left out, which must have rankled a tiny bit, even if he never showed it. I want to start letting him in again. We used to be so close when I was young – surely we can get back to that place again?

When I take out my mobile to call him from the bus, however, there is no answer. David’s voicemail informs me cheerfully that he is ‘probably reading, writing or sleeping’, while the house phone simply rings out. I know it’s only around seven a.m. in the UK – and a Sunday, granted – but my adoptive dad is an early riser. He always has been.

Frustrated and beginning to worry, I put a call through to Hayley instead.

‘Hello.’ She sounds bleary.

‘It’s Genie – did I wake you?’

‘Yes.’

‘Shit, I’m sorry, but I need a favour.’

‘Hang on a minute.’

I hear the ruffling sound of a duvet being lifted, then what appears to be a male voice asking if everything is OK. Hayley has not had a boyfriend for years, and for a moment, I am so surprised that I almost forget why I was calling her in the first place.

‘Who’s there with you?’ I ask, as soon as she comes back on the line.

‘What? Nobody. You must be hearing things.’

‘The thing I heard was a man – in your bedroom!’

There is a pause.