Tilly’s fingers linked with her own. “I know you are.”

Kate broke their gaze and looked out at the drooping afternoon sun. She would always be there for Tilly, but it wouldn’t always be easy like this, slow and simple and breathable. Soon enough, the sapphire on Tilly’s finger and its glistening promise would come between them. Once more, they’d blame distance, the miles between them. And maybe, considering how greatly Kate struggled to think of Tilly as just a friend, it was for the best.

But who would be there for Tilly when Kate was gone? When Tilly was married? When Declan abandoned his new wife for Vanuatu? Tilly rarely mentioned friends other than the few from university, and those friends had taken up teaching positions in towns all over the state. Tilly didn’t really know anybody in Mornington other than the sisters.

As a gust of wind picked up, Tilly released Kate’s hand to tuck her dress beneath her thighs.

“Why doesn’t Declan come here very often?” Kate asked. “To Lords?”

“I suppose it’s a trip.”

“An eighteen-minute ferry ride…”

“Lily gets seasick.”

“Right…” To Kate, it seemed more like Declan wasn’t willing to go out of his way.

“So do you have something lined up for next year?” Tilly asked.

Kate nodded. “I have an interview just after Christmas. Head of the Music Department. Grammar school in the city.”

Tilly arched a brow. “You aren’t going to tell me which school?”

“I don’t want to jinx it.”

Tilly laughed. “Well, I hope you get it,” she offered.

“Oh, I’ll get it.”

Tilly laughed. She shook her head. “There you go again with the arrogance.”

Grinning, Kate pushed herself up onto her elbows. She shrugged. “Your modesty balances me out, Ms. Wattle.”

Squinting, Tilly looked out to Lockie out on the sandbar, his gaze focused on Mornington peninsula. “Is he okay?” she asked.

Kate raised a hand to her brow. “I think he’s whale watching,” she joked. She looked between the girls and the retriever. It wasn’t all that long ago that she’d take the girls down to the water and Lockie would splash about, a firecracker ecstatic to spend the afternoon wrestling with the girls. “He’s getting old,” Kate said, standing. “I’ll be back in a sec.”

The further Kate walked across the sandbar, it became increasingly apparent that something was wrong. Ambivalent to Kate’s approach, Lockie extended his front legs and lay down on the sand, the shallow water barely touching his paws as it rushed and receded.

Kate crouched beside him. “Hey, matey.”

With a glance at Kate, he dropped his head to rest across his front legs.

“What’s the matter?” Kate asked, smoothing her hand over his head and rubbing her thumb between his brows just the way he liked.

His eyes closed, his tail still. A pained whimper escaped him.

A lump grew in Kate’s throat as she ran her hand down to his belly and felt his breathing. “Up, matey,” she said. “Lockie,” she encouraged gently. “Up.”