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
Natalie hadn’t really understood but now it was clear. The busy yet settled and happy existence she thought she had been living was not the reality. She’d thought herself a caring and competent teacher but the new principal had eroded her confidence in her abilities. Her husband’s long-buried affair had produced a son, she was convinced of that now, no matter how Milt denied it. The kitchen was no longer her domain and the property they’d worked hard to build up was under threat from Milt’s sister, who’d done nothing to deserve it. Then there were her girls. Natalie had faltered at the thought of her three precious daughters. They were her world but they had their own lives to live and even though they were all under her roof at the moment, they wouldn’t continue to be. They no longer needed a mother. A chill went through her at the thought of nothing to look forward to.
She groaned again and gripped her head in her hands. The constant turmoil in her head and the tightness in her chest were driving her crazy. In the early hours she’d decided she needed to get away, give herself some space to think, and immediately she imagined the face of her dearest friend, Brenda. It had hit her like the proverbial ton of bricks how much she missed her friend. They would have talked everything through, not the stuff about Jack but everything else. Since Brenda had left she hadn’t had a proper heart-to-heart talk with another woman like she’d always been able to do with her dear friend. They emailed and chatted on the phone but life got busy. It had been two weeks, maybe three, since she’d heard from Brenda last. Natalie didn’t know why she hadn’t thought of it earlier.
At three o’clock this morning she’d made the decision to visit Brenda in Brisbane. She didn’t care that it was tailing. Laura was managing the food. Natalie had plenty of leave up her sleeve from school. Paul would just have to arrange more cover for her.
With that all decided she’d finally slept, but now as daylight crept into the room her determination to get away faltered. Only one week and tailing would be finished, and then it would be only three more till school holidays; she could take a break then. She slipped her arms into her dressing-gown and felt the weight of common sense and duty settle with it on her shoulders.