Saturday, August 13. 9:12 a.m. Southgate, Wellington, New Zealand.

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A week and a day had passed since Daniel and Nadia returned to their family farm. Saturday morning had dragged. Alyssa woke crying for Nadia and Danny, then dumped her bowl of cereal on the floor, demanding Nadia come back to bring her another. Thankfully, being the weekend meant Theo was enlisted to entertain Alyssa outside in the garden.

Ana slumped at her kitchen table, another cup of tea growing cold by her arm. Outside, Theo patiently threaded daisies into a chain for his sister. The same tenderness existed between Nadia and Daniel and it struck her again how much she missed him as she watched her kids interact. She took a deep breath as the mention of Daniel’s name gripped her heart with iron pincers.

The front door slammed and she heard the shuffling footsteps of her dad. He, too, had stayed with her for that first week, helping Daniel with repairs when he could and sending her pointed looks that she ignored. He’d returned home the day after the Calders left with assurances that he and Gladys would take care of each other.

“Hello, sweetheart.” He moved around the table to plant a kiss on top of her head. “Tea in the pot?”

Ana nodded. He fetched himself a mug and poured.

“This is a surprise visit. Don’t tell me Gladys has run out of teabags already?”

“Ah, no, love. Gladys’ll be by later.” He settled in the chair opposite her. “I wanted to tell you some news in person. You know how sporadic the phones still are, so I thought I’d pop in.”

Her first thought was of Daniel, and her stomach heaved into a tight black mass. “Tell me what?”

“Harrison Burbank took his own life last night.”

“Oh,” she said, stunned and then instantly guilty at the relief that swept over her.

The last she’d heard about the man’s condition was from a brief phone conversation with Sergeant Miller. The sergeant seemed to feel obligated to keep her updated and had informed her that Harrison had been airlifted to a spinal rehabilitation unit in Auckland. Paralyzed from the waist down, it was unlikely he’d ever walk again.

“Oh,” she repeated. “I don’t know what to say or how to feel about that.” She took a sip of her tea and pulled a face. Cold. “I keep seeing him as a little boy, hiding behind his mother’s skirts.”

He patted her hand. “You were always good at looking backward and not seeing what was right under your nose.”

She looked up to find her father staring at her with a stony eye.

“Harrison Burbank was not a scared four-year-old when he terrorized me and my grandson. I pity him but I can’t say I’m sorry he’s dead. Second thing. Looked in the mirror lately, sweetheart? You look like crap.”

“Dad,” she sputtered.

“It’s God’s truth, my girl, and since there’s no one else here to do it—though I’ve heard your Joel and Lucy have had a go—someone has to give you a swift kick up the backside and ask why the devil are you still here instead of with Daniel?”

Her mug clunked down on the table. “I have a life here. Kids, you, friends, my job—and that’s not the point anyway,” she snapped.

“No, that’s not the real point, is it?” Her dad leaned forward, crossing his arms and resting them on the table. “A smart lady like you could easily figure out a solution to those problems, trifling things that they are. The real point is you love him but you don’t trust him not to do to you what I did to your mother.” He nodded and pursed his lips when her mouth dropped open. “Oh yes, I know why you pushed him away.”

“Did he say someth—”

“No, sweetheart. Nobody had to say anything, because I know your mother’s heart wasn’t the only one broken that day.”

Ana blinked repetitively. They’d never before spoken of that time.

“You thought I was perfect. Your golden daddy, a larger-than-life hero. But I was just a man who loved you and your mother, but a man who made a terrible mistake. Oh, if only I could go back in time and erase all the pain I caused you and Lily. But what’s done is done. Your mother came to forgive me—a lot quicker than it took me to forgive myself, mind. Now I’m asking you, as my grown-up daughter, to forgive me.”

“Dad, of course I forgive you.” She reached over and squeezed his hands.

“Then don’t deny yourself a once-in-a-lifetime chance of happiness with that fine young man because of my foolishness. He loves you and he loves your kids. He risked his life to save you and Theo. I’ve never met a better bloke than Daniel Calder.”

High praise indeed, coming from the man who once referred to Theo’s biological father as a “long-haired hippy” and Neil as “that uptight fancy-pants.”

“What if he doesn’t want me anymore?” she whispered, remembering the distant expression on his face as he climbed into the car, waiting for Nadia to say her last goodbyes.

“Then beat him down with your brilliant arguments till he sees sense,” he said at her frown. “What? Your mother and I spent all that money on your education and you can’t even outwit one lovesick man?”

He grinned at her over the rim of his mug. “Now, think I’ll go and tell the kids that Pops and Gladys will be staying with them for a few days while their mum goes on a wee visit, hmmm?”