by Kate Hewitt
Gently I draw him into my arms, and he rests his head against my shoulder. I close my eyes as I memorize the feel of him; he fits under my chin. His skinny arms wrap around my waist. We stay like that for a few seconds, and then Isaac starts to wriggle away. I let him go.
He smiles at me, a funny, lopsided smile, just like Kevin’s, and I smile back. ‘I love you,’ I say, and I realize it’s the first time I’ve ever said it to him. He nods, silently accepting, and then I rise from the chair and we head back to the crowd.
A few moments later, with Isaac running back to Stella, I find Kev and take his hand. He squeezes my hand and I nod. I’m okay. Amazingly, I’m okay.
We find the girls, gather them up. Lucy clings to my hand as Amy and Emma murmur together. My family. I say goodbye to Stella, and she grabs my hand. ‘You know, if you want to see him, anytime… I mean…’
I nod. I know what she means. ‘You know where to find me,’ I say. And so does Isaac.
For a few moments I let myself imagine a future where I’m involved in Isaac’s life. We all are. Where Isaac stops by just to say hi, or we have Thanksgiving dinner together, a family of sorts. When we share the little moments as well as the milestones. Maybe, in this new, unexpected world, grief-touched but still wondrous, it could happen. Maybe it will. I will let myself hope.
Holding Kev’s hand, the girls walking along beside us, I step out of the church and into the sunshine.
***
If you loved A Mother's Goodbye don't miss Kate's powerful new novel The Secrets We Keep.
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The Secrets We Keep
Get it here!
‘Is her life as easy and effortless as it seems from the outside? Or is she feeling lonely, all by herself in that big house, an evening stretching out in front of her just as it is for me?’
When Tessa arrives at the little house by the lake with her two children Ben and Katherine, it is an escape. For all of them. Never mind that the rental house is a bit small – it’s theirs for the summer. A place to hide…
Their isolation is disrupted when they meet the family from the big house next door. Three children Charlotte, Zoe and Max and their glamorous mother Rebecca – who seems absolutely determined to invite Tessa in to their lives.
But Rebecca is harbouring a dark secret of her own. One that will put not only her family at risk, but Tessa’s too. And when she discovers she has no option but to leave her children for several weeks, Tessa feels like the only person she can trust.
Suddenly Tessa finds herself living a life she could only have dreamed of. Wealth, a large brood of children, and Rebecca’s handsome husband Josh visiting at weekends.
But even as powerful bonds are forming between them, secrets have a way of catching up with people. And as the summer comes to an end, who will learn to love again and who will risk losing everything?
A gripping, twisty emotional page turner with a heartbreaking twist, for fans of Jodi Picoult, Emily Bleeker and Diane Chamberlain.
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Also by Kate Hewitt
A Mother’s Goodbye
The Secrets We Keep
This Fragile Life
When He Fell
Rainy Day Sisters
Now and Then Friends
A Mother like Mine
Writing as Katharine Swartz:
The Vicar's Wife
The Lost Garden
The Second Bride
The Other Side of The Bridge
A Letter From Kate
Dear Reader,
Thank you so much for taking the time to read A Mother’s Goodbye. I am so pleased that you did and I really hope you enjoyed it. If you did, and want to keep up-to-date with all my latest releases, just sign up at the following link. Your email address will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.
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As a mother myself, I am always fascinated and intrigued by the complexities and challenges of modern motherhood, and the genesis of this story came originally from a snippet of a newspaper article I read on the difficulties and benefits of open adoptions. However, the characters of Grace and Heather are entirely my own, and I think there is a bit of me in each of them! I enjoy writing stories where there are no villains or heroines, just real people facing real issues, as Grace and Heather do.
If you enjoyed A Mother’s Goodbye, I would be so grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to write a review. You can also get in touch via my Facebook page or Twitter account, or join my Facebook page ‘Kate’s Reads’ where we discuss all sorts of books. I always am grateful to be in touch with readers; social media can feel like a lifeline to a writer working on her own!
I am currently working on my next book, and am looking forward to sharing it with you.
Thanks again for reading!
Best wishes
Kate
www.katehewitt.blogspot.co.uk
Acknowledgements
There are always so many people involved in the writing of a book; it really does feel like a group effort sometimes! I’d like to thank my agent, Helen Breitwieser, for seeing the promise in the manuscript, as well as Peta Nightingale, Isobel Akenhead, and all the team at Bookouture for their hard work in helping me to make this story the best it could be. I’d also like to thank my dear writing friend, Jenna Ness, for cheering me on as I wrote to manic deadlines of my own making, and to my husband Cliff and my five forbearing children, Caroline, Ellen, Teddy, Anna, and Charlotte, for being patient with a mother who often seemed to only be half in this world. I’m all yours now!
Published by Bookouture
An imprint of StoryFire Ltd.
Carmelite House
50 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DZ
www.bookouture.com
Copyright © Kate Hewitt 2018
Kate Hewitt has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events other than those clearly in the public domain, are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
ISBN: 978-1-78681-421-0