Cass stayed very still, eyes fixed on the moonlit water. ‘I want to… forgive him. Not forget. Just… forgive,’ he murmured. Thenhis breath hitched. ‘Shit… I didn’t even realise I was angry with him.’ He crumpled, tears spilling before he could stop them. The circle hushed; even Odette blinked hard. Rita stepped closer and, with a quiet nod from him, wrapped him in a gentle, slightly awkward shoulder hug.
Davie tossed his stone into the water with exaggerated flair. ‘I want to stop worrying about tomorrow… about everything, really. A day rarely goes by where I feel “normal”. And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think I do actuallywantto cry.’
Zenya looked to Teo with a stone held high in her hands. He shook his head. ‘No me tonight.’
As Zenya gently threw her stone in, she caught Priya staring at her. Blushing, she whispered, ‘I need to learn how to let people in… to follow my heart.’
As Rita circled the stone in her hand, she felt a sudden rush of emotion. Her thoughts tangled with the tiny heartbeat inside her. But looking at Davie’s honesty, Odette’s quiet bravery, Priya’s steadiness, and Cass’s raw, aching courage, something nudged her. She could throw it all into the mix: thefearof how a new heartbeat would work in her household,griefthat Archie would never meet this half of her,hopethat Jago would accept her with this new dimension, andguiltover what her children may think of the whole mad situation.
For a long moment, she hesitated, heart hammering. Then with her right hand on her stomach, she let it go. Without saying a word, the stone skipped once, then twice, across the silvered water before sinking. A flicker of calm settled over her chest, the moonlight reflecting on her face, the tide gently carrying it all away.
‘Just beautiful,’ Zenya whispered knowingly as she stood, then adding, ‘So that’s it for tonight. Don’t say that the Seahaven Bay Resort doesn’t show you a meaningful time.’
‘Well, throwing stones beats getting stoned, I guess,’ Davie said, offering a hand to Odette, who was struggling to get up. ‘Or I’d be raiding the Cosy Café for snacks all night.’
With Teo leading the charge to the Land Rover, Zenya walked in step with Rita at the rear.
‘I guess I was right, then?’ Zenya reached for Rita’s hand and gently squeezed it.
This simple gesture was enough to calm the knot of nerves she’d been carrying, just for a moment. ‘I haven’t told a soul. Not yet.’
‘And you still haven’t.’ Zenya squeezed tighter.
‘It’s easier walking in the dark when someone’s holding your hand,’ Rita whispered.
‘When you’re ready to step into the light, I’ll be holding it too.’ Zenya squeezed again.
Teo shouted across to them, ‘Zee, are you going back with Rita?’
‘Yes!’ Zenya shouted back. ‘See you at the farm.’
‘It’s funny, isn’t it?’ Rita commented to Zenya as she pulled onto the courtyard. ‘How your life can change in a second and no one else even realises.’
Zenya smiled as she hopped down from the Jimny. ‘Life turns, quietly or not. What matters is who chooses to turn with you.’
At that moment, the Land Rover doors burst open, and the resort guests spilled out in a cheerful jumble.
Teo’s voice rang out over the commotion. ‘Who’s up for a drink and a game of pool in the Nook?’
Rita laughed softly and glanced at Zenya. ‘Sounds like the perfect way to end the night.’
TWELVE
A couple of days later, Rita balanced on tiptoe, rummaging through the top kitchen cupboard where she was certain she’d shoved last year’s leftover Easter bits. A cascade of dusty wicker baskets wobbled threateningly above her, one still wearing remnants of a pastel ribbon from years gone by. There was something about this time of year that she loved. Her twins had always gone crazy for an egg hunt. She smiled as she remembered Archie being so competitive at finding the best hiding places around the farm, and Thom being equally competitive to beat his sister at finding the most eggs, whereas laid-back Sennen would be happy if she got a couple, which she would then squirrel away and nibble morsels from throughout the day.
This year, Rita had decided to make up a basket for each of the guests with a packet of mini eggs, an essential-oil roller, a tiny jar of local honey, a positive affirmation card, plus Jude’s recommended book of the season.
‘Got you,’ she muttered triumphantly, tugging at a box of tissue paper peeking from behind a cereal box. The whole shelf shuddered in protest. A moment later, three baskets and half a bag of shredded paper grass avalanched straight onto her head.
She froze. The room tilted. A slow roll of nausea started to rise right through her.
‘Oh, for God’s sake, no. Not now.’
Just as her stomach lurched, the kitchen door swung open.
‘Rita?Hola?I come to borrowing… the sticky tape? My schedule poster in the café, it keep falling down…’
Rita didn’t manage a single word. She just bolted down the hallway, barely making it into the downstairs cloakroom before the heaving began.
