Nathan stood on the side of the lounge and flipped off it, landing on his back amongst the cushions. He scrambled to his feet and did it again. He’d been peering through the window for an hour, waiting for Rick, when I’d suggested he show me his front flips. I hadn’t been able to just stand by and watch his growing disappointment as the minutes ticked by and Rick continued to not show up. So I’d resorted to an age-old mum trick. Distraction.

“Mum, when is Jamison coming back? He still has to teach me how to do backflips.”

I paused, clutching the shirt I’d been folding. “I’m not sure, mate.”

“Can’t you call him? He knows how to do all the fun stuff.” He bent his knees, poising himself to jump again, when he stopped and peered through the slatted blinds covering the window.

“Dad’s here!” Nathan whooped as he jumped off the lounge, landing on the floorboards with the thunk. “And he’s brought a truck! Awesome!”

I took a deep breath, willing myself to calm down. Nathan might have instantly forgiven his father for being over an hour late, but I hadn’t. Rick hadn’t even bothered to call this time. He’d been late two other times this week, but at least then he’d called to apologise. Not that apologies meant much to a little boy being tucked in at night by his mum, when he really wanted his dad. I sighed, trying to calm the adrenaline riling me up for a fight. That wouldn’t help anyone.

Nathan jumped at the deadlock on the back of the door, but he was too short to even touch it, let alone turn it.

“Hold up, Nate.” I put down the washing I’d been folding. “I’ll get it.”

I wasn’t even three steps toward the door when the lock turned and the door swung in. Nathan jumped out of the way before it collected him. “Dad!”

I frowned as Nathan launched himself at Rick’s legs. “How did you get in? Did I leave my keys in the lock?”

“I took the spare and made myself a new copy.” He held up the two keys dangling on a simple ring like they were a medal. Irritation made the back of my neck prickle. I had no idea why he looked so proud of himself.

“You could have asked.” My eyebrows pulled together.

“That would have ruined my surprise.”

I folded my arms across my chest, a sense of dread coming over me. I didn’t think I was going to like where this was heading. “What surprise is that?”

He pushed the front door open further, pointing back to the street. “I hired a truck!” Nathan ran past him and sprinted across the grass to where a solidly built man was opening the back of the large vehicle.

“Who’s that?”

“His name is Tony. He’s the maintenance man at the firm. I hired him for a few hours to help me move.”

My stomach sank. “Move…” But Rick was already following Nathan back out to the road. I trailed behind them, dread gnawing at my gut. Tony unlocked the back of the truck and disappeared inside, reappearing a moment later with Rick’s favourite reading lamp, the one that had always stood by his office desk. My mouth gaped open as I took in a truck full of furniture—the furniture he’d moved out of the house just a few months earlier.

“You’re moving back in?!” Nathan squealed.

Rick scooped him up and lifted him to his shoulder, before holding up his palm for a high five. Nathan slapped it, grinning from ear to ear.

“Sure am, buddy.” He glanced over at me. “If that’s okay with Mummy, of course?” He gave me a smile that was probably supposed to be boyishly charming. I’d always loved that smile when we were teenagers, but suddenly it looked poisonous and manipulative.

One by one, I uncurled each of my fingers from the fists I’d formed without even noticing. I gave Nathan the brightest smile I could muster.

“Boss, where do you want this?” Tony asked, holding up a canvas covered in brightly coloured swirls of paint. It was a painting Rick’s mother had done years earlier and I’d always hated it.

“It goes in the foyer,” Rick answered.

Like hell it did. I’d chosen a beautiful watercolour the day after Rick left that had filled that spot in the foyer ever since. No way was I giving that up without even a word. But I didn’t want to argue in front of Tony. Or in front of Nathan. So instead I sucked in a deep breath of air, slowly filling my lungs completely, before letting it out in an equally slow puff. Rick shot me a questioning look, which I ignored. I couldn’t believe he thought he could just move his stuff back in without so much as a conversation. He knew how that conversation would have gone—I might have broken up with Jamison, but I hadn’t made any commitments to Rick. I’d allowed him to come for dinner, twice of which he’d blown off to stay back at work. But I’d been trying, because having Rick around more meant the world to Nathan. And Nathan’s happiness meant the world to me.

Nathan had come home with an award for good behaviour on Friday afternoon, which just proved to me I was doing the right thing by allowing Rick to be around more. But my heart wasn’t in it. I missed Jamison. I missed his goofy, sarcastic jokes, and the magnetised pull I felt whenever he was around. It was a stark contrast to the way I was avoiding Rick’s touch. I’d been trying for two weeks now to bottle up everything I felt for Jamison, to shove a cork in it and bury it in the sand that had become my heart. But I still wasn’t any closer than when he’d walked out my front door.

“Nate, do you want to go get a chocolate milkshake at Dream Bean?” Dream Bean was a local coffee shop Nathan and I went to regularly. I needed to get out of this house. I couldn’t watch Rick move his junk back in for a minute longer without wanting to throw it all through a window.

“Great idea. I’ll come too. I’d kill for a caramel cappuccino,” Rick answered before Nathan could even open his mouth.

“Don’t you need to stay here and help Tony?” The edge of frost that touched my words surprised me. I wasn’t one to start a confrontation, but Rick didn’t comment on it, if he even noticed.

“Nah, he’s got this.” He slapped the bigger man on the back and patted his back pocket. “I’ve got my wallet. Let’s go.”

It was a short ten-minute walk to the Dream Bean, and Nathan filled the air with his little boy chatter, excited to have his dad after waiting for him half the afternoon. The exercise and fresh air improved my mood, and by the time we reached the store, I’d vowed to put my negative feelings about Rick moving back in behind me.

We ordered our drinks at the counter and chose a huge piece of black forest cake to share. Rick led us to a small, white table in the centre of the room and we sat down around it. Nathan’s little feet dangled off the edge of his chair.

Rick sat back, crossing his legs at the ankle, generally taking up more room than he really needed to. A slow smile spread across his face. “So, I have a surprise for the two of you.”

“Is it a puppy?!” Nathan asked, glancing beneath the table. I couldn’t help but laugh at how cute he was.

“Daddy doesn’t have a puppy hidden under there, mate,” I said gently. Nathan pouted.

“No, I don’t. But maybe when we get back from Canada we can get one!”

My mouth dropped open. I had no words. My brain completely blanked, as I tried to make sense of Rick’s statement.

“What?” I choked.

“Do you know where Canada is, Nate? It’s really cold there right now, not hot like it is here in Sydney. I know your mum has always wanted to go, so I booked tickets for us. We leave next week.”

“I get to go on an aeroplane? Or do we have to drive?”

Rick chuckled. “Definitely going on a plane, little guy. Canada is on the other side of the world to Australia.”

“Yes! I want a window seat, and can I…”

Nathan’s excited chatter washed over me. “Rick, are you serious?” The unmistakable purple colour of the Lavender Fields Racecourse uniforms caught my eye from the registers. My heart thumped inside my chest before I realised it wasn’t Jamison standing there. The petite frame and long, dark hair were familiar, though, and Reese raised a hand in a tentative wave. Great. Seeing Reese while I was out with Rick was only marginally better than seeing Jamison. She’d go straight back to work and tell him, no doubt.

“You wanted me to spend more time with you, so that’s what I’m doing.”

My eyes trailed Reese and she sat at a table just a few meters away to my right. I leant forward and lowered my voice to a whisper. “I meant I wanted you to come home for dinner on time, maybe have family Sundays. Not go on a trip to Canada!”

“Go big or go home, El.”

“Don’t call me that,” I snapped before I even thought about it.

Rick huffed. “Come on, Elodie. You’ve always wanted to go skiing, and we can do some sightseeing.”

“Rick! We can’t! I have work, and Nathan has school! He’s been in enough trouble as it is; he can’t be just missing class on top of it all! What message does that send? Get detention at school and we’ll take you on holiday?”

Rick’s eyes darkened. “I’ve already booked the tickets. We’re going.”

I gaped at him. Since when did he think he could dictate my life? Since when did he even have a say in it? Anger surged through me and I jammed my arms across my chest. “No, we’re not.”

I sat back in my chair, as Rick’s face turned an unsightly combination of red and purple. My eye caught on Reese, who was unashamedly staring.

Are you okay? she mouthed, her pretty features strained in concern.

Dammit. I didn’t want Reese to see this. I didn’t want anyone in this coffee shop to see this. I nodded curtly to Reese and grabbed Rick’s hand. “We need to leave.”

Rick pushed to his feet and Nathan followed the two of us quietly. I felt Reese’s concerned gaze follow me until we were out of sight.