Page 186 of Serenity Falls

‘Until you found God.’

‘I thought I had to choose. Or maybe my mother made me feel that way.’

‘Did you know about Davey?’

‘No. I believed he was dead.’

‘That’s not what I meant.’

There’s a long pause. Eventually, he says: ‘Not until the night Serena left. She came and told me. Apparently, it happened that night at the lake. The night I had my accident. I didn’t remember any of it, but – well, we stole a boat and paddled out to Harold’s cabin. We had a little too much to drink and …’

‘The result was Davey.’

‘When I found out Serena was pregnant, I thought she’d been with someone else. I was following a different path, so we lost touch with each other.’

‘Did you never wonder?’

‘Maybe, occasionally, as Davey got older. Something about him. I tried to put it out of my mind but, eventually, I decided I needed to talk to her. I went round and … that was when I saw Davey floating in the pool.’

‘The day he supposedly died.’

‘Yes.’

I consider this. ‘So, what happened the night Serena left?’

Serena

He’s in the church, where I knew I would find him, clearing up hymn sheets after Pastor Purefoy’s evening sermon. I’ve seen him once since the night Davey ‘died’. At the funeral. I’d thanked him, but I could barely speak. I’m sure people thought it was grief, but I was scared I’d give something away.

‘Serena?’

‘Hi.’

‘What are you doing here?’

‘I needed to talk to you. I’m leaving Serenity. Tonight.’

He frowned. ‘Why?’

‘I can’t explain and I haven’t got much time, but I couldn’t go without telling you—’ I took a breath. ‘Davey is alive.’

‘What?’

‘I know it sounds insane, but it’s the truth. He’s alive.’

He stared at me. ‘But … we buried him.’

‘No, we didn’t.’

I watched him struggle to take it in. ‘Serena, I can’t imagine how hard this has been for you, but—’

‘I’m not having some kind of breakdown, Milo. Davey is alive. And … he’s yours.’

I saw the shock hit him like a physical blow. ‘Mine?’

I nodded. ‘That night we rowed out on to the lake, we found Harold’s cabin, got drunk and … well, we had sex.’

‘Why didn’t you tell me?’