“Dance, Harry.” Indi positioned herself in front of him, holding out her hands.
“It was my idea. I should go first,” Lucy said.
“I’m hungry,” Hunter announced. “When’s dinner?”
Leo inexplicably burst into tears, adding to the cacophony of sound. Alice scooped him up, kissing the top of his head.
“I’ll teach you both how to cuddle dip,” Harry told the little girls. “And while you wait your turn, Holly can paint your faces if you like. Right, Hol?”
“Sure.”
Indi immediately dropped Harry’s hands. “Can I be a lion?”
“What’s for dinner?” Hunter repeated.
Seemingly unfazed by the chaos she’d brought into his house, Harry said, “What do you reckon, Alice? Will we order in pizza?”
“Great idea. Thank you.”
“Cool. Can I have meat-lovers?” Hunter looked as if all his Christmases had come at once.
“Pizza!” Her overstimulated nieces cheered.
“And garlic bread,” Holly said.
“And a big bottle of Coke,” Hunter added.
“No,” Alice said as Harry’s deeper voice chimed with hers.
Harry winked at her. Despite being surrounded by noisy children, Alice got an undeniable rush of lust.
Hunter grabbed a menu from somewhere. Holly started making a list of pizza choices and Harry took a niece in each hand and spun them around and around. Leo snuggled into Alice’s shoulder, his soft curls caressing her cheek, and his thumb snuck into his mouth. Alice stood in the middle of bewitching hour—every parent’s least favorite time of day—with her heart expanding and cramping all at the same time.
Don’t wallow. With what felt to her like superhuman strength, she tried focusing on living in the moment. The impromptu dance party. The seriousness of choosing pizza. The way Harry made her feel. The weight of Leo in her arms and the softness of his sleepy body against hers.
“Mama?” Leo said.
Alice bit her lip. That was the problem with living in unexpected moments—real life always came rushing back.
The moment the car disappeared behind the trees with Alice and the children in it, Nick broke the taut silence that had stretched between them since Alice had walked in on their argument.
“Libs, this is a one-time situation. She’s in the hospital so of course Leo will stay the night with us.”
Libby didn’t think there was any of course about it. “I don’t know what’s wrong with her, but whether it’s appendicitis or the result of hitting the bottle, a social worker needs to be involved. He’s better off in foster care until she can look after him again.”
Nick’s eyes darkened. “He is not going to foster care.”
Libby felt their hard-earned détente slipping away. “You better talk to Rosa and Rick then.”
“They leave for Queensland in the morning.”
“Then you better think of someone else, because he is not staying here.”
“Libby, please. I’m begging.”
“Don’t you dare make me out to be the bad guy. You know how I feel about this. You shouldn’t even be asking me!”
“For God’s sake. I didn’t plan this. It’s just one of those things.”
“And how many more will there be? She listed you as next of kin! This is the thin end of the wedge, Nick. If we give in on this, she’ll use it to push for more. This is a line in the sand moment and you might not be prepared to draw it, but I am.”
“This is nothing to do with you and her, or me and her. It’s everything to do with a little boy. Leo’s usually home with her by now and we’ve sent him off with Alice.”
“He’s more than safe with Alice.”
“Yes, but she’s not his mother. I’m not adding to his confusion by putting him in the care of strangers. I mean, Jesus! You’d never suggest the girls go to foster care. You realize you’re pushing me to sleep on Freedom tonight with him and the girls.”
She crossed her arms and dug in. “The girls are not having a sleepover on a school night.”
His nostrils flared. “Libby, I’ve respected your wishes on all the access arrangements and under normal conditions, I was willing to keep doing it for as long as you needed. But if you can’t make one concession in extenuating circumstances for an innocent little boy, I’m wondering how you can keep working as a doctor.”
“That’s got nothing to do with this.”
“First do no harm, remember?”
“I phoned the social worker! I’m making sure he’s safe.”
“That’s the bare minimum at best. Where’s your compassion?”
He turned to leave and panic skittered in her chest. “Where are you going?”
“To pick up the kids and get them into bed on time on Freedom.”
“I said I don’t want—”
“You can’t have it all ways. You don’t want Leo here when you’re here, fine. I respect that. But I’m not prepared to send a message to the girls that I love them any more or any less than Leo. It’s up to you.”
The cold steel of old betrayals shot down her spine. “Remember to pack their toothbrushes.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Alice let herself into Pelican House. The kitchen lights were low, the sink gleamed and even for Karen it was insanely tidy. Alice got a pang of remorse for not having contacted her parents sooner. She plucked some specialty glasses out of the cabinet and carried them along with a bottle of port into the living room. Karen’s school computer was open on her lap and Peter was reading a book.
“Hi.”
“Alice!” The laptop tumbled as Karen jumped to her feet. She hugged her before moving her hands over her as if she was checking her daughter was real and in one piece. “Libby said we needed to give you space but …” Tears fell down her cheeks.
“We’ve missed you, Ally-Oop.”
Peter’s arms enveloped her too, sandwiching Alice between them just like she’d begged them to do when she was a kid. It felt ridiculously good.
“I’m going to drop the port.”
“Can’t have that.” Peter rescued the bottle and poured them all a drink.
She sat between them on the couch. “I just needed some time to—”
“Try and make sense of it.” Peter said.
“It’s too sad to ever make sense
