It was one hundred and eight miles from Seattle to their new home – a converted lighthouse in a remote part of Washington State. Avery tucked Hattie into the back seat of the car. Fresh snow had begun to fall as he steered the car onto the interstate.

Avery let her ride shotgun and tried to persuade her to sleep. When that didn’t work, he switched on the radio and let Hattie choose the station.

She found a station playing Christmas carols - -Christmas had fallen three days ago - and left it on that. Then she and her father sang along quietly.

An hour later, they had fallen silent and Avery looked over at his daughter. Hattie was still awake her bright eyes watching the lights of the other cars on the Interstate. Since Lydia had left him – left them – Hattie had been more reserved than her usual exuberant self. The divorce, so sudden, so cruel, had been a shock, and when her mother had bid them both farewell, something in Hattie had been broken. A trust. He loved his daughter very much but, for now, he didn’t know how to reach her, to comfort her.

Avery sighed. At thirty-nine, a writer for a comic book series, he’d been blindsided by Lydia’s affair with one of her co-stars – then devastated by the revelation that it hadn’t been the first time she had been unfaithful. Lydia McKenna’s star shone bright in Hollywood and Avery had been happy to play the faithful husband, the low-key one of the two of them. He didn’t want the limelight or the fame.

Now he wondered if he could ever have been so naïve. Damn it, Lydia, how could you do it to Hattie? That had been his over-riding thought, and when Lydia had left, she hadn’t left quietly. They had been hounded out of the Seattle home they had loved by the press; even after Lydia had moved out, they never left Avery and Hattie alone, watching them like hawks, commenting on every decision Avery made – people on message boards in China, for god’s sake, telling him how to bring up his daughter.

The worst thing was that Hattie began to be bullied at school. Jealous of the attention heaped on her by the press and the teachers who tried to protect her from it during school hours, the other kids got nasty. Even some of her close friends turned on the confused girl.

‘What did I do?’ She asked Avery one day after a particularly nasty incident, the look of fear and confusion in her eyes broke his heart.

So, when the opportunity to exile themselves away for a few months presented itself – a friend who lived in the converted lighthouse on the Oregon coast was travelling around Asia and needed a house-sitter – Avery asked Hattie if she would like a change. They both agreed they would.

Avery felt both relief and nervousness now as he drove along the snowy road; he still wasn’t sure he was doing the right thing but it was done now and they had to make the best of it.

‘Pa?’

He looked over at Hattie and smiled. ‘Yes, Bub?’

‘Do you think there’s a heaven?’

Avery was surprised. ‘Where did that come from?’

Hattie shrugged. Avery was quiet for a moment before he spoke. ‘Well…hmm. Depends on what you mean. Where you go when you die?’

‘Maybe.’

‘Well, I guess we’ll find out one day.’

Hattie wasn’t happy with that answer. ‘But do you think there is one? An actual place?’

‘I’d like to think so; it’s a nice idea, isn’t it? But big pearly gates and angels? I’m not sure.’

Hattie wriggled in irritation and Avery knew he wasn’t answering the question the way she wanted him to. Hattie was never a child to be fobbed off with vague answers; incredibly bright from a young age, Avery had been glad to see his daughter grow to be uninterested in Lydia’s celebrity world. Instead she buried herself in books and writing, like he had done when he was a kid. Avery looked at her now.

‘Look Bub, the way I see it is this - either there is life after death or there isn’t. If there is, great, we get another chance. If not, I guess, it’ll just be like being asleep but forever and that’s gotta be relaxing, huh?’ He grinned sideways at her. ‘Anyhoo, it’s not something you’ll have to worry about for a very long time.’

Their song came on the radio - ‘I’m a Believer’ by the Monkees. Avery started to sing softly. That did it. He saw Hattie’s eyes start to close. He had sung this song to her ever since she was a baby – he said it reminded him of the day she was born.

‘Never knew I wanted kids until I saw your face,’ he would say, ‘My whole life changed in that minute.’

With Avery singing and the warmth of the car heater in their faces, Hattie finally fell asleep.

---

She woke as the car pulled up to the door of the lighthouse. Perched on the cliff, they could hear the roar and roil of the sea, churning far below them. It was late. The temperature had dropped below freezing and the driveway was slick.

They dumped their bags and Avery brought the little hold-all in with their night-things and wash bags. In the kitchen, which was surprisingly large, Avery heated up tomato soup and made grilled cheese sandwiches, while Hattie changed into her pajamas and yawned as she sat up at the table. They ate in silence, looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings. The lighthouse had an annex with a kitchen, the living room and utility room. After eating, they explored a little, despite the lateness of the hour. They climbed the stairs, past the little bedrooms built into the structure, to the lantern room at the top. Avery hugged his daughter to him in the freezing cold room. Hattie leaned back towards him.

‘I’m glad we’re here, Dad. Now we can start to get back to normal.’

Avery’s heart ached with sadness. ‘I’m sorry for everything, sweetheart. You didn’t ask for any of this.’

Hattie said nothing.

‘How’d you feel about living here?’

‘I don’t mind, Pa. I like it.’

‘What about moving away from your friends at school?’

She shrugged, not meeting his eyes. ‘I don’t mind.’

Avery was silent for a time. ‘When we get settled, we’ll start looking for someone to come in and school you. I know you can do the math and science by remote learning but I think I’d like an English tutor for you here. Would that be cool?’

‘Cool,’ she agreed and he grinned.

After a little while, she looked at him. ‘Pa? What about Mom? Will she come visit us here?’

Avery sighed.

‘Bub…your mother…well look. I’ve got to make sure we make the most of the opportunities that come along, things that would be good for us as a family. Your mother knows that. Whether she agrees or not.’ This last he muttered under his breath but Hattie heard and nodded, understanding.

Avery kissed her forehead. ‘We’ll talk some more about it soon kiddo. Time for bed now, I’ll be in to see you in a while.’

---

Miro Harper knew the second she turned into the dark street, she had made a mistake. Take back the night, she had told herself when she decided to walk home from the bar, but things didn’t always work out like that.

She had shoved her long dark hair into the hood of her sweatshirt and walked assertively through the damp Seattle night, but now, downtown, walking down Sixth, she wished she had taken a cab.

There were two of them, and the fact they were obviously working together made her heart thump, her skin burn with fearful anticipation.

Fight or flight?

She didn’t get a chance to do either.

---

When her roommate and best friend, Anna, came to visit her in the hospital, she had taken one look at Miro’s bruised face and burst into tears. Miro just felt numb inside. The two men had beaten her, robbed her, assaulted her – but, thankfully, not raped her.

Thankfully. Miro shook her head at that. Like being robbed and sexually assaulted wasn’t equally as devastating. Like being told ‘Tell anyone and we’ll kill you…we know where you live’ wasn’t terrifying enough, knowing she’d been targeted. Like them debating whether to just kill her anyway, as she lay there bleeding and bruised.

Like having a knife pressed against her skin wasn’t bad.

Miro had been released from the hospital, and then the police had advised her and Anna to change apartments; the men who attacked Miro were known to them, were known to be vengeful. Four murders had already been linked to attacks like Miro.

Anna, terrified, had quit her job and gone home to Connecticut. Miro had moved into a cheap motel while she looked for a new place.

---

When she saw the ad in the Times, she knew she had to apply.

Wanted: Professional English tutor to live in with single father and seven-year-old daughter. Must be willing to take on some caretaking duties for child, and become part of the household. Appropriate salary based on experience, and free board and lodging. Please note: property is in remote location. Must be able to drive.

---

Miro Harper had been at the top of her college classes and was about to graduate when the terrible news had come. Her parents, her younger sister, killed in a traffic accident. Miro, the daughter of two renowned doctors, George Harper and Deanna Chu, had simply shut down. She sleepwalked through her graduation, watched as someone else gave the valedictorian speech she was meant to give, then moved across the country from her Harvard home, to escape everything that reminded her of her family.

Anna was the only friend she had let get close to her. Anna was soft and warm and had met Miro on her first day of teacher training. They both taught at a prestigious private school in Seattle at first but then Miro had moved to another school, in the city, in a more deprived area, wanting to make a difference.

As she sat on the interstate now, driving down to Oregon for her interview with Avery McKenna, she felt a spark of hope for once. Maybe this would be the new life she had been looking for, for so long. She had felt rootless, lost for so long now, that she was beginning to feel she would never belong.

A quiet woman, Miro had reached twenty-four without forming any long-term romantic attachments. Maybe because she was terrified if loving someone only to lose them again...

From the outside, no-one would ever guess that the beautiful young woman, with long dark hair, large chocolate-brown eyes and a sweet smile, would still be a virgin. Miro had guarded the one thing she had control over in her life and on the rare occasions she had dated, once the guys had realized they weren’t going to get her into bed, they lost interest, despite her good looks, intelligence, and warm personality.

Miro didn’t care and the longer she waited, the less important it seemed to be rid of it. She focused on her career, had enjoyed working with the less-well-off kids, until the attack. But she wanted out of the city now and this job – god, please let me get it – would be perfect.

She had covered up the yellowing bruises on her face with make-up, and now, as she pulled the car up to the lighthouse, she glanced in the rearview mirror to check they were still hidden. Getting out of the car, she looked up at the building. It was austere and forbidding to be sure, but there was something so inviting about it; the solitude, the strength.

The door opened and a small girl out came and smiled at her. Her dark curls stuck up in all directions; her smooth café-au-lait skin brought out the striking bright green of her eyes.

‘Hello, you must be Miro…I like your shirt. Pa said that if I came out to meet you first, then it might make you feel safer. Come in, please.’

Miro felt a warm feeling creep into her bones; the girl was adorable and Miro felt gratitude towards her father for his consideration. She shook the little girl’s hand, and she introduced herself as Hattie.

‘Not Harriet, because I hate that, just Hattie. I like your name.’

‘It’s Chinese, well, that’s what my mom used to tell me,’ Miro told her. Hattie had hold of her hand and was leading her through the ground floor of the lighthouse. Miro saw the warm glow coming from a door at the end.

‘We have a log fire,’ Hattie informed her, ‘because it’s so cold, and we do everything in the living room at the moment. Pa usually has his own room to write in, but it’s too cold right now.’

Avery McKenna was sitting at a desk at the far end of the warm room; he stood when he saw them come in, and Miro’s heart nearly failed. Tall, with dark, messy curls and the same green eyes as his daughter. Avery Harper was one of the handsomest men she’d ever seen. His crooked smile, half-shy, half-wary, made her stomach flip. He shook her hand, his warm fingers dwarfing hers.

‘Hi there, please come sit. It’s good of you to drive all this way out.’ His voice was deep, resonant, with a slight break Miro found endearing. Stop gaping at him like a lunatic, she told herself, realizing her mouth was hanging open slightly.

Hattie made them both coffee as they chatted; Avery asked Miro about her teaching experience, seemed impressed when she told him she had worked with underprivileged kids. Hattie sat next to her father, and Miro could see the child scrutinizing her. Hattie was wise beyond her years, she decided, and she smiled at the girl.

‘You look like the kind of girl who likes books, blanket forts, and reading past lights out. I was like that.’

Hattie looked delighted and Avery chuckled. ‘I think you just hit the nail on the head – although now I’m worried about the kind of influence you’d be.’

Miro laughed, not taking offense. ‘I will admit, full disclosure, that when it comes to reading, I would totally be a bad influence.’

Avery laughed and Hattie tugged on her father’s shirt. He looked at her, and a moment of unspoken communication passed between them. Avery put his hand on his daughter’s head, then turned to Miro, hesitating for a just a second.

‘Miro…I, sorry, we, we would like to offer you the position.’

Miro was surprised – she had figured she’d go back to Seattle and wait for his call – if he ever called. ‘Really?’

‘Really.’

Hattie laughed, and to everyone’s surprise, launched herself onto Miro and hugged her. ‘I know we’re going to be best friends.’

Miro grinned and hugged the little girl, smiling gratefully at her father. ‘I know it too. Thank you so much.’

---

Miro moved in two days later, and, from the start, Avery knew he had made the right decision. Even though Miro was an English teacher, she helped Hattie out with all her lessons, handling the correspondence with the online schools and raising complaints if needed. She reported Hattie’s progress back to Avery as they shared a bottle of wine after Hattie was asleep; it became a ritual before long.

Avery would be able to work nearly all day, undisturbed as Miro took care of Hattie. Once lessons were done for the day, they would hike along the cliffs or climb down the precarious stone steps to the beaches below and look for tide pools along the coast. Or, Miro would drive them into the nearest small town for hot chocolate, after which they’d go haunt the local bookstore. Avery often commented that Miro must spend all of her own money on Hattie and offer to repay her, but Miro wouldn’t hear of it.

‘We have a great time,’ she told him now, as they sat in front of the fire, a storm roiling around outside the lighthouse. ‘Hattie reminds me of why I wanted to be a teacher in the first place.

They talked about each other’s lives, slowly confiding their pasts. Miro couldn’t believe Lydia would just abandon her own child but Avery tried to excuse his wife’s behavior.

‘It’s a different set of rules in Hollywood,’ he said, ‘It’s all about that person. What I mean to say is Lydia is all about Lydia, then if she has time, Hattie might get some attention.’

Miro was studying him. ‘What about you? Did she have any time left for you?’

Avery met her eyes. ‘I think the fact we’re divorced probably answers that.’ He held her gaze for a beat too long and she saw the pain in them.

‘I’m sorry, Avery. She’s an idiot.’

Avery smiled wryly, and tapped his glass against hers. ‘She is that.’

---

Avery was starting to look forward to these times, alone with Miro, sometimes they would talk late into the evening. He found her intelligent, funny and smart, her natural warmth enveloping him and Hattie, and bringing a sense of…what was it? Home, he thought, she felt like home.

The day Hattie had led her into the room, something changed in Avery’s heart. This girl, fifteen years his junior, with a haunted look in her eyes had touched him deeply, and her obvious love for Hattie was palpable.

Do not fall for your kid’s teacher, he told himself sharply, but he couldn’t help the way his heart would lift when he saw her, hair messily pulled into a bun, blue jeans and sneakers. There was something so artless, so natural about her. The polar opposite to Lydia and her high-maintenance presence.

And he thought, maybe, Miro was feeling it too. They would talk sometimes late into the night, sitting closely on the couch, utterly relaxed in each other’s company, laughing and fooling around.

---

Two months later, the weather changed for the better – spring was on its way and Avery started to spend more time with his daughter and Miro. Thanks to Miro’s help, and Hattie’s patience, he’d been able to finish his book ahead of the deadline and was happy to be able to hang out with them both. He even sat in on a couple of Hattie’s lessons and saw how well Miro was able to instruct his daughter, help her out with math too, most of which was a foreign language to Avery. He held up a textbook in disbelief. ‘When is Hattie ever going to make use of this?’

Miro grinned and looked at what he indicated. Algebra. ‘Hey, don’t underestimate Hattie – she might be an astronaut one day.’

‘Yeah, Dad,’ Hattie shot back, ‘rolling her eyes at him. I might be the first human on Mars.’

Avery held up his hands, grinning. ‘My mistake, I apologize.’

The two of them ganged up on him then, teasing him, and Avery laughed, feeling a sense of contentment he’d forgotten how to feel.

---

It was as summer was beginning, that everything changed. A Saturday, late afternoon in June. Hattie had gone to nap, complaining of a headache, Miro sat on the counter in the kitchen, watching Avery attempting to make brownies.

‘Is it self-rising or plain flour?’ Avery said, his brow creasing. Miro rolled her eyes, grinning. There was a question every two minutes.

‘Plain. Also, you mix the stuff in a thing called a bowl.’

Avery glared at her. ‘You’re funny. You and our kid should do a comedy routine.’ He didn’t seem to realize what he said, but Miro felt her heart warm, and didn’t correct him. Instead, she entertained for a long moment the fantasy that this was her family, her daughter…her man. God, the tight feeling in her stomach when she imagined Avery being hers…she knew it was wholly inappropriate to feel this way, but she couldn’t deny her attraction to him.

‘You have to mix it until there’s no flour showing or it’ll taste wrong.’

‘Nag.’

‘Doofus.’

Avery laughed. ‘You’re fired.’

Miro grinned. ‘Again? That’s the third time today. You’d starve without me.’ She hopped of the counter and reached for the bowl. ‘Just let me do it.’

Avery pulled the bowl away from her. ‘Nah, I can do it.’

Miro laughed, and tried to snatch it from his grip. Avery hid it behind his back. ‘You’re not getting it, no way.’

She reached around his waist and grasped it. ‘Give it up, McKenna.’

She met his gaze, the atmosphere changed – god, he smelled so good, and then his lips were against hers, the bowl was forgotten and they were kissing. It was such a natural thing, so obviously right that they both forgot themselves, Miro’s arms curled themselves around his neck, Avery’s hands on her back, then cupping her face as he kissed her.

They were both breathless when they broke away. Miro started to speak but Avery hushed her.

‘Don’t say anything. Just…’ He pressed his mouth to hers again, and Miro lost herself in the sweet sensations flooding her body at his touch. His arms tightened around her waist, and he murmured her name in a way that made her groin quiver with longing.

She had to tell him, though, if this was going to happen…she had to tell him that she’d never done this before, that if she made a mistake, it wasn’t him, it was her…all these things spun through her head, as she felt his hands slip under her t-shirt.

‘Avery…’

But he shook his head. ‘It’s okay…it’s okay…’

He pulled her t-shirt gently over her head, then paused, checking to see if she was good. She smiled up at him – god, he was beautiful – and as he unclasped her bra and dipped his head to take her nipple into his mouth, Miro gasped, feeling herself getting wetter and hotter for this glorious man. More than that, she wanted to be vulnerable in his arms, and when he had stripped her, and was running his hands all over her body, Miro let herself go. Avery picked her up, and laid her down on the couch as he removed his own clothes, and she saw him naked for the first time. His broad shoulders, thickly muscled arms, so often hidden under sweaters, flexed now with his movements. His hard chest and firm stomach felt so good against her soft curves. Avery stroked the hair away from her face. ‘Are you sure?’

She nodded, feeling his cock hard against her thigh. Now. Tell him now. ‘Avery,’ her voice was a whisper, ‘I’ve never…’

His eyes widened in surprise. ‘No? Then, really, Miro, you need to be sure. We can stop, if you’re not ready.’

‘No,’ she took his face between her hands. ‘I am ready. I think I’ve been ready from the first moment I saw you.’

That delighted him, she could see, and he trailed the back of his fingers down her belly. ‘We can take this slow.’

‘I want you, Avery, I’ve never wanted anything more in my life.’

His kiss was rough then, passionate, reacting to her words. His hands slipped between her legs and began to stroke her clit, gentle caresses which sent shivers through her body, and he stroked her into her first orgasm, Milo burying her face in his shoulder to muffle her cries. ‘God, Avery…’

When he had made sure she was ready for him, he slipped a condom on his huge, rigid cock, and hitched her legs around his waist.

‘Darling Miro…if you’re scared, if I hurt you, we’ll stop. Please don’t be afraid.’

But she moaned at him to hurry up, and then he was gliding his cock into her, and Miro felt only elation. It hurt a little, but she wanted him so badly that she didn’t care. Moving together, their bodies entwined, Miro realized she had come home…that here, with this man, was her place in the world.

‘I love you,’ she said, with tears in her eyes, and Avery gazed down at her, his eyes serious as he nodded.

‘As I love you, Miro Harper. You have changed our lives. My life.’

He drove her gently to another orgasm; this time she couldn’t help crying out as she peaked, but she didn’t want him to stop, loving the joy on his own face as he came, feeling his body shudder, the force of his orgasm inside her.

They moved to his bedroom; Avery supporting her as her legs trembled, then as they lay down together, Avery covered her body with his, kissing her gently. ‘Stay with me all night,’ he whispered, ‘all night, my beautiful Miro.’

She felt so safe, so loved in this man’s arms, and wondered how she’d had a life before him, before Hattie, before this place. The rest of the world melted away.

---

The next morning, she awoke, wrapped in his arms. She studied his face while he slept, the dark lashes resting on his cheek. There was a little half-moon scar at the side of his eye, and she traced it with her finger. Avery woke and smiled at her.

‘Good morning, lovely Miro.’

She smiled. ‘Good morning. Listen, do you think I had better go back to my own room before Hattie wakes? She may not be ready to see us like this, and I’d hate to cause any problems.’

Avery kissed her. ‘You always think of everyone’s feelings; another reason I love you. Yes, it might be for the best – but we should tell her soon. Hattie’s not stupid, she already knows I, um, am sweet on you.’

Miro giggled. ‘’Am sweet on me’?’ She broke into more giggles as he rolled his eyes.

‘Her words, not mine. She told me last week that she’d seen the way I look at you. I don’t imagine she’ll be…unhappy.’

Miro smiled. ‘I hope not. Look, I’ll just go check on her.’

Avery stopped her. ‘Wait, before you go…’

He kissed her again, and then their bodies curved around the others, and they made love slowly, drinking each other in.

---

Afterwards, Miro slipped from the bed and went to her room to find her robe. She diverted from her path to Hattie’s room to rescue her clothes from the living room. I’m no longer a virgin, she thought to herself in wonder. She felt…changed, but in a good way as if some of the walls she had built up inside her had come crashing down, only to reveal a new, better, more exciting life.

Her body ached pleasantly; her thighs, her vagina all pulsing with the hot blood that making love had sent through her veins. She felt alive in a way she hadn’t since before her parents and sister had died.

She dumped her clothes back in her room then went to Hattie’s. Unusually, the drapes were still shut and Hattie wasn’t awake, her head buried in her book. Miro frowned and sat down on the side if her bed.

‘Hattie?’ She smoothed the girl’s hair away from her hot forehead. Hattie half-opened her eyes and gave a moan, and fear spiked in Miro’s heart. ‘Sweetheart, what is it?’

‘Head hurts,’ Hattie mumbled, her voice so low Miro had to bend to hear her. ‘My eyes are sparkling.’

‘Your eyes?’

‘It’s like glitter sparkling but every time it glitters, it hurts.’

Miro bent to kiss her head. ‘Darling, I’m going to get your dad, and I’ll get something for your pain, okay? Just hang on a sec, for me.’

Miro darted out of the room, fear making her feel sick. Meningitis? Migraine? She found Avery in his bathroom; his smile faded when he saw her expression.

‘I think Hattie’s really sick.’ She told him what Hattie had described, and Avery, his face pale, nodded.

They took Hattie to the emergency room in Portland. By this time, Hattie was completely listless, limp in Mori’s arms as they rode in the back of the car together.

The staff at the city hospital were immediately on hand to help then. Hattie was taken for a CT scan, and Miro and Avery could only wait in the relative’s room. Miro found herself clutching Avery’s hand tightly as they waited. Please, no, not Hattie, she kept thinking, and then there was anger. No, you’ve already done this to me once; you’re not taking her too.

She squeezed her eyes shut to stop the tears, but they fell anyway. Avery pulled her to him, his own eyes troubled and scared, and they held each other.

Much, much later, the doctor came to see them, and the expression on his face made Miro’s heart freeze.

‘I’m afraid I have some troubling news, but I don’t want to scare you. Hattie has what we think is a small tumor in her brain. The actual name for it is Medulloblastoma. Now, before you get upset, we caught it early. Usually, in these cases, the child’s pain is written off as just headaches and ignored until it’s too late, but because you caught it as soon as symptoms began, we are confident that we can operate. But we will have to operate.’

Avery could barely get his mouth to work. ‘Will she be okay, doc?’

‘I want to be honest with you entirely. Her chances of survival for this type of cancer are fifty to sixty percent. If you’d like, we can transfer Hattie to a cancer specialist, but our neurosurgeon here is one of the best in the country. I’ll leave you to talk. You can see Hattie in a little while.’

Miro turned to Avery, and wrapped her arms around him. ‘I’m so sorry, Avery.’

He leaned his head against hers and sighed. ‘I can’t believe this.’

She stroked his face. ‘We will help her get through this, I promise. Avery…I think you need to call Lydia.’

‘God.’ Avery dropped his head into his hand but he nodded. ‘I know.’ He looked up at her. ‘Miro, you should know, with Lydia…she’ll take over everything. She’ll treat you like crap. I won’t let her get away with it, I promise.’

She kissed him. ‘I know you won’t, but this is about Hattie, not me. I can ride out the Lydia storm.’

He took her face in his hands. ‘Just remember I love you.’

Avery had not been exaggerating. Lydia McKenna, in all her sleek, ebony-skinned, long-limbed elegance, swept into the hospital, ready for her performance as ‘the concerned mother’.

Expecting the doctors to fawn over her as they would have done at Cedars Sinai in L.A., she was nonplussed the doctors and nurses here, who seemed oblivious to her fame, ignored her grand-standing. Lydia barely acknowledged Miro’s presence, but Miro could not have cared less. She sat by Hattie’s bed quietly, as Avery introduced her, then listened while Hattie’s parents discussed their daughter’s care.

---

When Hattie woke in the middle of the night, the intense pain had dimmed. The smell of antiseptic, pee, and stale food made her feel sick and she screwed up her nose. The room was dark, and she could hear her father’s quiet snores as he slept in a chair. A cool hand took her hand and she blinked, startled.

‘Hattie? Darling?’

Her mother leaned forward, and smiled at her. Hattie couldn’t speak for a moment. A terrible disappointment tore through her, then she immediately felt guilty.

‘Mom?’

It sounded wrong, so wrong. The word stuck in her throat.

‘Darling you’re in a hospital. Did Daddy tell you what’s going on?’

‘Where’s Miro?’

Her mother was quiet and Hattie saw her lips tighten. She pushed a few damp hairs away from her face. There were tubes coming from her arms, machines bleeping. Her head felt muzzy.

‘Careful, darling, careful. You’re very sick, Hattie, my love. When your father wakes up, we’ll tell you what’s going on.’

‘Where’s Miro?’ Hattie asked again.

Lydia made a frustrated noise. ’She’s not part of this family, Harriet.’

‘My name is not Harriet.’

Annoyed, Lydia turned away and prodded Avery hard in the ribs. He coughed, and opened his eyes.

‘Avery, your daughter is awake.’ Lydia’s tone was snippy.

Avery ignored her barbed tone, and smiled at his daughter. ‘Hey, sweetheart. How do you feel?’

‘I’m okay. Where’s Miro?’

Hattie heard her mother make a sound, and her chair squeaked as she shifted in it. Avery shot her an annoyed look before his expression cleared.

‘Miro’s at home at the moment. She’ll be pleased to hear you’ve woken up. She’s not here…well, because the hospital only allows two visitors per patient and…’

‘And, of course, it should be your mom and dad who stay with you.’ Her mother finished in a high voice. Avery saw Hattie roll her eyes, and he grinned.

‘Shall I call her?’

Hattie nodded with rather too much force, which made her groan in pain. Avery squeezed her hand again, and left the room.

Hattie didn’t want to look at her mother. There was an uncomfortable silence.

‘Well.’ Lydia said and fell quiet.

---

Hattie was in hospital for just over a week. Lydia had refused to give up her vigil at her bedside enjoying the attention, when the nurses finally praised her devotion to her child. Avery rolled his eyes and gave up his place to Miro a couple of times. Hattie’s joy at seeing Miro did not go unnoticed – neither did Avery’s obvious affection for her – and, one evening very late, Hattie heard her parents arguing in whispers outside her door.

‘She’s not her mother, Avery.’

‘At least she’s here,’ her father’s voice was rigid with anger, ‘she’s more of a mother than you know how to be.’

Her mother gasped and began to cry. There was a silence then Avery sighed.

‘Please, Lydia, stop with the crocodile tears.’

Hattie’s mother’s sobs slowed and stopped.

‘I suppose you think I enjoy being away from my child?’

‘No, I… ah jeez, Lydia…I don’t know what to think anymore. But Hattie’s very fond of Miro, as am I, and whether or not you approve, she is a big part of our lives. I’m not sending her away because of one of your tantrums. Miro is part of this family whether you like it or not.’

Another silence.

‘Oh, my god, you’re fucking her.’

Hattie’s eyes widened, and she craned to hear what her father would say. She heard him sigh. ‘Keep your voice down, Lydia, for Christ’s sake. Yes, Miro and I are in the early stages of a relationship.’

Hattie, despite her pain, raised her arms in triumph, utterly delighted, but then she dropped them. Despite her mother’s abandonment, Hattie still loved her; she was her mother. Just because she didn’t want her and her father back together, making him sad, didn’t mean she wanted her mother to be sad either.

‘Well…you moved on fast.’

‘Do you really want to compare ‘moving-on-fasts’?’

‘That’s not fair.’

‘I think it is. At least we were already divorced when I fell in love with someone else.’

Lydia sighed. ‘Look, Avery…I’m just saying, isn’t it a little quick? And love, really?’

‘It’s none of your business, Lydia, not anymore.’

Lydia changed tack.

‘My work is important, Avery. I’m doing this so that Hattie will grow up independent and strong and have the opportunities she deserves. She won’t have to rely on a man.’

Avery gave a short bark of laughter.

‘I wouldn’t say you rely on me, Lydia, and how does you being a Hollywood actress teach Hattie anything but superficiality and entitlement?’

‘I rely on you to allow me the freedom to do what I do, Avery.’ My mother’s voice had taken on a new, softer tone. ‘Without you looking after Hattie…’

‘Okay then. You need to see that when you’re away from her, Hattie needs someone to teach her about things I can’t. What if you’re away when she starts her periods? When she gets her first boyfriend? There are some things a girl can’t talk about with her dad. Miro is there for those things, Lydia.’

When they had walked away and Hattie was alone, she lay back and stared up at the ceiling. Miro and her Dad. ‘Yes, Mom, love. Really.’ And she smiled.

---

Miro’s presence in their home was non-negotiable. That’s what Avery said and, after asking him what non-negotiable meant, Hattie agreed with him. Lydia wasn’t pleased with the arrangement but had little room to argue when her work called her away so often.

Still, things were tense, especially after Hattie went through the surgery to remove the tumor. Avery had insisted that Lydia stay in a motel until Hattie was released, but Miro was uncomfortable with the thought that she would be seen as a usurper.

When Hattie awoke, the doctor gave them the good news; they had removed the tumor with clean margins. A course of chemo would follow but Hattie should make a full recovery. Avery assumed Lydia would go back to Los Angeles, but she insisted on staying with them.

Lydia was an intelligent woman. Her mission now was to win her way back into her family’s good graces. She became girlish, playful, and flirty to remind Avery of the fun they had when they were first together. She befriended Miro, asking her questions about her parents, watching her while she cooked, praising her recipes, her clothes, and her hair. Miro took it all in with an amused air. She wasn’t fooled for a moment, but she wouldn’t say a bad word against Lydia in front of Avery or Hattie. For his part, Avery seem unimpressed with his ex-wife’s machinations.

Hattie was the only one who resisted. She resented her mother for coming back, for ruining what had been so perfect a life of love and laughter with her father and Miro. Lydia didn’t talk to Hattie about her work or include her in family discussions, like her father did. When she cooked. Hattie was banished from the kitchen; when the endless press people came to interview her about her ‘family struggle’, Hattie was never allowed to disturb her.

---

As for Avery and Miro…their relationship was on hold for the moment. They had come to the decision, not because of Lydia’s presence, but to wholly concentrate on getting Hattie well and healthy. But working together so closely only made them fall deeper and deeper in love deeper and deeper until one night, Avery had enough.

When Miro came to tell him that Hattie was sleeping, he pulled her into his arms. ‘I can’t wait any longer, Miro, I’m so in love with you. Please, let’s make this official you and I – share my life, share my bed…we are a family.’

She moved into his room after that, and talked to Hattie about the two of them. Hattie – who already knew – was so excited that Miro felt a pang of sadness. She missed her own parents, her sister. Even Anna, who she had been so close to and now lived a country away.

Lydia continued her charm offensive, so much so, that Miro felt slightly suffocated by her. She didn’t say this to anyone, of course, not wanting to make trouble but Lydia’s constant presence began to wear on her.

---

It was almost Christmas before the call came from the police in Seattle. The two attackers had been caught – sadly, only after they had murdered another woman – and now the police were asking Miro to come help identify them.

They left Lydia with Hattie, and traveled up to Seattle together. Miro was so grateful to Avery for his support, but when she had to walk into the identification room, her legs wobbled and she threw an uncertain glance at Avery. He took her hand.

‘It’s okay, sweetie.’

She saw them immediately. ‘Number three and number five.’

‘You’re sure.’

‘Positive.’

As they walked out of the room, Miro felt something inside her break. Her final wall. She bent at the waist, trying to drag oxygen into her lungs. Flashbacks of the attack invaded her mind and she collapsed, sobbing, as Avery wrapped his arms around her, pressing his lips to her temple.

‘It’s okay, darling, it’s all over now.’

---

He took her to a restaurant on the waterfront, and they had chowder and sat talking. It was strange to be away from Hattie for so long, and Miro said so. Avery grinned.

‘You know she loves you as much as I do – perhaps not in the same way,’ he said with a wicked grin and she laughed.

‘Avery…my life changed when I met you, in every way.’

‘In ‘Avery’ way,’ he quipped and she groaned.

‘You did not just make that joke.’

‘I did.’

‘It’s over between us.’

They both snorted with laughter, causing an older couple to glare at them. Avery took her hand. ‘Shall we go for a walk?’

---

They strolled along the waterfront piers, under the globe lamps, looking out at the lights of the houses and boats across the Bay. Avery wrapped his arms around her. ‘I love this city but I don’t regret moving away for a minute.’

‘Me either. I love our little place.’

Avery kissed her. ‘You know, my friends already extended his travels…I might make an offer on the lighthouse.’

Miro grinned at him. ‘I’ll get in on that action. I have the inheritance from my parents.’ When he looked doubtful, she made a face. ‘Twenty-first century, boy, suck it up. Equals.’

He laughed. ‘Then it’s a deal. Our place. Hattie will be over the moon.’

‘I love her so much.’

Avery kissed her tenderly then, his eyes soft with love. ‘You, me and Hattie. That’s the family I want now.’

As she gazed up at him, Miro knew that from now on, she would always know where she belonged…

---

The End