Chapters (48)
- Cover
- Praise
- About the Author
- Also by Tricia Stringer
- Title Page
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Author’s Note
- Acknowledgements
- Excerpt
- One
She folded the recipe carefully back inside the pages. It was a silly book, full of rational and irrational messages and she knew her family would think her crazy for keeping it. She’d found Laura with it once, just before she left home to start her hairdresser training. Laura hadn’t got any further than groaning over the hated photo before Natalie had snatched it away. Not able to destroy the book she’d banished it to the back of her underwear drawer. She must have put it in the desk drawer after she’d stuck in Clem’s death notice.
She dropped it back to the desk now and turned her thoughts to food. Perhaps Laura would enjoy some soup as well as lasagne. Natalie went to the fridge, dug out some pumpkin and zucchini and lost herself in the comfort of chopping and slicing.
The soup was simmering gently by the time she glanced at the clock. Time to get some marking done before she had to start the real dinner. Soup alone wouldn’t be enough for Milt. She’d bought Atlantic salmon at the supermarket and it wouldn’t take long to cook it and throw together a salad. She got out her stickers and her favourite purple marking pen and opened the first book.
By the time she heard a vehicle and dogs barking she’d become absorbed in the creative writing produced by her year three class and was laughing out loud at Matty’s comedic storyline. Trust him to come up with a talking tractor that saved a singing horse from a flood. She packed up the books at the sound of boots thumping on the verandah. The familiar shuddering bang of the door echoed along the passage.
“Go easy!” Milt sounded tetchy.
“Weren’t you supposed to fix that?” Bree’s voice was equally strained.
“I was going to do it yesterday but I didn’t have a replacement stopper in the shed. I’ve put it on the list for your mum…” Milt stepped through the kitchen door as Natalie stood up. He was a tall man but his shoulders slumped at the sight of her and he had the grace to look sheepish. He knew she hated his lists of jobs for her to do but as he so often said, no point in them both driving into town and wasting good fuel when she went in three days a week for school. “Hello, love. Good day?” he said.