Within six months, they’d rented an apartment together—a calm oasis—and for the first time in her life Karen not only knew she was safe, she was loved.
But over this past week, calm had deserted Pelican House. “That was thirty-seven years ago! I’m allowed to change my mind.”
Peter poured them each a glass of mineral water and added a slice of lemon. “Why are you angrier with Nick than with Jess?”
“I’m not.”
“I think you are.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
He lifted a brow. “You’ve always had a soft spot for Jess and it makes sense. In some ways, she reminds you of Lisa and you wanted to—”
“Nonsense.” Hating her husband’s astuteness, Karen furiously whisked balsamic vinegar into olive oil. Brown flecks appeared on the countertop. “I never got the chance to know teenage Lisa.”
“Exactly. Anyway, it’s not a crime to like Jess.”
“You’re only saying that because you’re defending Nick. Jess’s crime is she broke a friendship. Nick’s broken Libby’s trust, her heart and his marriage. Not to mention the security and wellbeing of our granddaughters.”
“Jess broke Libby’s heart too.”
“It’s not the same!” Karen shoved silver servers into the salad bowl.
“From Libby’s perspective, I think it might be worse. If Nick’s to be believed, Jess orchestrated the whole thing.”
“Given their antics, I doubt either of them are a reliable source of the truth.”
“There is that.” Peter picked up the steaks for the barbecue. “But if Nick’s right, it begs the question, is Jess’s calculated betrayal worse than Nick’s stupid mistake?”
Alice pulled her knitted cap down as low as it could go without interfering with her vision and then shoved her gloved hands into the pockets of her puffer jacket. Although she’d prepared for the 3:00 a.m. chill, the cloudless autumn night had a crisp bite to it and not even brisk walking was keeping the nip away. It was the Relay for Life fundraising weekend. Kurnai Bay had managed to field six teams, including the medical practice, the parents and friends of the school and the bushwalking club. Bright white light flooded the sports ground, mimicking mid-afternoon sunshine and Alice always got a surprise when she glanced up to see a pitch black sky.
Dan van den Berg, Kurnai Bay’s outdoor education teacher, summer surfing instructor and unabashed player, passed her before swinging around to face her. His shirt declared him to be part of the bushwalkers’ team and he grinned at her, walking backwards with ease. Like Libby, Dan only ever did things with a confidence Alice envied. She’d grown up with him and although they’d never hung out in the same group at school, their parents’ friendship meant they knew bits and pieces of each other’s adult lives.
“Slacking off there, Twin Two,” Dan said, using his childhood name for her. “At this rate, I’ll lap you.”
She resisted an eye roll. “Totally what I intended, Danny Boy. I wouldn’t want to upset your need to be faster or fitter.”
“You look pretty fit to me. You should come on our next walk.”
Her body gave an involuntary shudder. “Does it involve me carrying my bed on my back?”
“Only if you want to.”
“I will never want to,” she said emphatically then laughed despite the memory of driving rain, mud and a pack that had almost toppled her off the side of a mountain when she was sixteen. “I’m surprised you’d want to invite me.”
“Who can forget the Alice Hunter Hoadley Hide hike meltdown?” He laughed at the memory, but then his face became almost serious—for Dan. “Back then your pack was too big for you. The right gear makes all the difference.”
“Exactly and my camera, lunch, water bottle and a light rain jacket constitutes the right gear.”
“It’s a day walk at Cape Conran so it’s a perfect match. I’m hoping to see sea eagles.”
Dan treated life as a competition and she could just imagine the pace he’d set, practically jogging through the bush. “Are there some slow walkers in the group?”
“Youngest is twenty and oldest is eighty so we cover all speeds.”
The idea of walking in the bush appealed and for all Dan’s faults, he was good company. “I’ll think about it.”
Fergus McLean called out from the side lines, “Change over, Dan.”
“Gotta go, Twin Two. Call me if you’re coming and I’ll get you a seat in the car pool.” With a grin and a wave, Dan was off and Alice had no doubt that by 7:00 a.m., he’d have invited another ten women.
When Alice passed the medical practice’s team tent, Penny called out, “All good, Alice?”
She gave a double thumbs-up and kept walking. Alice was filling in for Libby and she was happy to do so but that didn’t stop the anxiety for her twin grinding in her gut. Her usually confident and indomitable sister had placed herself in voluntary isolation from the town. Alice tried reassuring herself that it was only a week since all hell had broken loose and perhaps Libby was wise to avoid the gossip burning around the bay like a firestorm. Not that Alice expected it to die down anytime soon.
The situation had all the elements of a solid-gold scandal: a betrayed and devastated wife, a well-respected man’s massive fall from grace, the other woman, illicit sex and a child. It had been years since something this sensational had electrified the town and it would grease the rumor mill for months until someone else made a spectacular mess of their life worthy of frantic feasting by the gossip vultures. Libby and Nick had each taken a week’s leave from their jobs, but their return to work on Monday would give fresh oxygen to the fire of chatter.
When Libby
