Talking to Spritzi had left her exhausted for a moment and made the house seem even more deserted. Laura threw herself into making slices and had two in the oven before she decided she’d done enough, just as her phone rang again. It was Bree to tell her both Kate and baby were fine but Kate had something called cervical insufficiency, which put simply meant the baby could be in danger of falling out too early. They would be staying in Adelaide overnight while the staff assessed her further and decided what to do.

Laura looked at the clock on the kitchen wall. It was only just past midday and now she had the whole afternoon, the night and possibly another day to get through before anyone came home. The time stretched out before her like a long empty road. She set the fire going in the den and made herself some lunch. Then she saw the plate of scraps she’d meant to feed the dogs. Outside the day had barely got any warmer and the sun was well hidden behind a bank of grey cloud. She fed the dogs, left their kennels open and hurried back across the yard. Inside she locked the back door again and took her lunch into the den. Bubbles followed her and made himself comfortable in front of the open fire.

“Oh, to be a cat,” Laura said then flinched at the sound of her own voice loud in the room.

She chose one of the DVDs they hadn’t watched yesterday, snuggled into her dad’s recliner rocker and took a bite of her lonely sandwich.

Natalie strode up the ramp into the arrivals area at Adelaide airport and tried to gather some strength for what lay ahead. It had been almost two days since she’d left the remote community on the Dampier Peninsula and she was exhausted with lack of sleep and worry for Kate. She’d slept poorly at the motel and not at all on the flight from Perth, and with the time difference between states it was nearly midday already. Back on the beach she’d been feeling smug about her decision to return home. She’d thought she’d put the jumbled pieces of her life back together but now that she was almost home the doubts returned.

“Nat.”

Milt raised a hand in a brief wave from the back of the crowd of mingling passengers and those greeting them. She wove between the people and stopped in front of him. The sounds of happy reunions drifted around them but she felt like she was made of wood.

“Welcome home,” he said and wrapped an arm around her.

She had a bag in each hand and fell against his chest but there was no solace for her there. Instead it felt as if everything was unravelling all over again.

His lips brushed her cheek. “I’ve missed you,” he said.