by Helen Rolfe
‘The selfish—’
‘What am I going to do? I’ve moved heaven and earth to make sure Audrey never hated him for leaving us, never knew he’d been unfaithful, that his selfishness broke up our marriage and he never looked back. I wanted her to have a relationship with him; I didn’t want to poison her mind against him. And now, now I have to tell her that her own father doesn’t want her enough. This will totally crush her.’
‘Why did he make her believe he did want her to join him over there? I don’t understand.’
‘Because that’s what he does!’ Sam’s voice rose, taking Veronica by surprise. ‘He’s always the one to come out on top, I’m always the bad guy, he’s been stalling all this time and now I have to tell her!’
Veronica’s throat went dry. It was like history repeating itself because what Sam didn’t realise was that the way she’d described Simon – how he was the father who could do no wrong, the man her daughter worshipped – was a stark reminder of Veronica’s own marriage. Sam had worshipped Herman till the day he died in just the same way – but Sam had never been able to see it.
Veronica watched Sam snatch up her phone and her bag ready to bundle out the door to work before she was late. She thought again about the way she’d comforted Sam, her daughter’s emotions being pulled from pillar to post at the thought of losing Audrey. She thought of how proud Sam had been of Audrey for taking charge of the Mapleberry Mug makeover as it had been aptly named on Layla’s calendar as they crossed off several tasks at once.
‘Sam, listen to me.’ Her voice stopped her daughter from leaving. When Sam first came back to Mapleberry, Veronica never would’ve dreamed taking this tone with her, speaking up, giving advice. ‘You are going to have to tell Audrey, but what we really need to do is to make sure she knows how much she’s loved, how much she’s wanted here. And who knows, maybe it’ll be enough to give her a reason to stay.’
And just like that, they were a team. This family might have been torn apart, but they were slowly finding a way to glue themselves back together again.
Can the kindness club give Audrey a reason to stay – or will winter bring a frosty chill to Mapleberry? And will Veronica ever find the courage to step outside?
Continue the story in Part Three, A Winter Wish, available to pre-order now:
About the Author
Helen Rolfe writes contemporary women’s fiction and enjoys weaving stories about family, friendship, secrets, and community. Characters often face challenges and must fight to overcome them, but above all, Helen’s stories always have a happy ending.
To learn more about Helen and her writing, find her at:
www.helenjrolfe.com
Facebook: @helenjrolfewriter
Twitter: @HJRolfe
Instagram: @helen_j_rolfe
Copyright
AN ORION EBOOK
First published in Great Britain in 2020 by Orion Books
Copyright © Helen Rolfe 2020
The right of Helen Rolfe to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor to be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
All the characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978 1 3987 0027 7
The Orion Publishing Group Ltd
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