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
Dot’s face lit up again. “We’re going into town to the shops this morning. You could come with us. I don’t know about you but a friend’s opinion is always welcome when I’m buying bathers. I know we’ve only just met but we’d be happy to help, wouldn’t we, Faye?”
Faye’s look was impartial but she gave a nod. “We’re taking the bus in.”
“We’ve been here three days already and we’re getting to know our way around,” Dot said.
“I will join you, if you don’t mind.”
“Oh good.” Dot gave a playful clap of her hands. “We love spending time with new people, don’t we, Faye?”
Once again Faye’s nod was noncommittal but Natalie thought she’d like to tag along, at least till she found her way, although the thought of the steely-eyed Faye helping her to buy a pair of bathers put a falter in her step.
Back in her room Natalie stuffed her purse and sunglasses into her tote bag and reached for her phone. She hadn’t looked at it in her rush to get to breakfast and the little blue light still flashed. She swiped the screen to find last night’s unread message from Milt and nothing from her girls. Milt’s message was brief. Safe travels. Say hello to Brenda. Behave yourselves. And a smiley face.
She tossed the phone in her bag without replying, not sure what bothered her the most. The fact that she hadn’t yet told him she was not in Brisbane or his glib message to behave. If he’d behaved twenty-seven years ago they wouldn’t be in this mess now.
Natalie applied her brightest lipstick and strode off to meet Dot and Faye. There was no way she was going to bloody behave. She walked through the lush gardens filled with towering palms, pandans perched on stilted roots and colourful hibiscus. An ornamental bridge took her over a small stream leading to a trickling water feature and she slowed to take it in. It was all so different to home, so soothing. She let her anger go and laughed. Her companions were both close to seventy, Dot celebrating her special zero birthday and Faye only a couple of years her junior. Not likely there’d be too much misbehaving but Natalie was determined to let her short hair down.