The Butterfly Cove Collection. Sarah Bennett

me find the right answer.’

      She looked so forlorn, like a little girl lost in her striped pyjamas and her hair all tousled from the bath. He took her hand, rubbing her fingers, marvelling at the contrast between the softness in their skin. ‘And what’s the question?’

      Dropping her head forward so it rested on his chest, she heaved a huge sigh. ‘You’re the question.’

      He dropped a kiss on the top of her head, then took a step back before he did something foolish like tug her down onto the bed with him. ‘Maybe you should sleep on it and see if the answer’s any clearer in the morning.’ God, he hoped so.

      She gave him a nod. Opened her mouth to say something and ended up smothering a huge yawn instead. That was his cue to leave her in peace. He placed a kiss on the top of her nose and lifted the bedcovers. ‘Let’s get you tucked in.’

      Mia climbed into bed and settled onto her side. She stared up at him. ‘I won’t keep you dangling for ever. I just need to be sure.’

      ‘Don’t rush. I’m not going anywhere, love. If, and when, you’re ready, I’ll be around.’ He hoped she understood he meant every word.

Chapter Fifteen

      Mia was alone in the house when the phone rang. She had baking to catch up on and it was nice to take a breather from the men and have a bit of quiet time to herself. This constant indecision over Daniel was driving her to distraction. Goodness knows what he must think of her blowing hot and cold, but every time she thought she’d made up her mind some little chink from the past cropped up to unsettle her again. She dusted her hands clean on a tea towel and tucked the phone beneath her chin.

      ‘’Lo,’ she said into the mouthpiece, looking down and brushing ineffectually at the flour on the front of her T-shirt.

      ‘Mimi,’ the voice on the other end of the phone quavered.

      ‘Kiki-Dee? What is it, darling? Are you all right?’ Mia’s voice was sharp with concern at how sad her sister sounded.

      ‘Oh, Mia, can you come up please? I think Mother’s really ill this time. Dad is totally useless, refusing to see how bad things are. Neil is at the end of his tether and the kids have got some hideous D&V bug Matty picked up at school. And trying to organise this bloody dinner is the last thing I need. I’m… God, I’m just… Can you come? I need you, Mimi.’ The sobs choked off the end of her entreaty.

      ‘Hush, darling. Hush. Of course, I’ll come. I was waiting for Mother to be released from hospital. Hang on, what dinner are you talking about? Dad said he would cancel it.’ She couldn’t believe he was going ahead with it and expecting Kiki to help him.

      ‘He was going to, but Neil was so cross about it because he was banking on dad to help him secure funding for his next grant.’ Kiki’s voice broke again and Mia tamped down the anger building, knowing exactly how much pressure that bastard Neil would have heaped on his wife. It had been the same since he’d stuck a ring on her finger.

      He seemed to resent anything that took her time away from him, including his own children, which was something that Mia had never understood. They were two of the sweetest little souls it had ever been her delight to meet and she hated that she didn’t see them as much as she wanted to.

      Neil made every visit so unpleasant and Mia hadn’t been in a fit state since Jamie had died to spend proper time with them without risking getting upset and upsetting them in return. Matty had not understood why Uncle Jamie was suddenly no longer around and it had broken her heart anew when she realised little Charlie was too young to remember him at all.

      She pressed her forehead against the cold wall and listened to her sister sob into the phone. Kiki had always been the softest of them, the one who’d taken most to heart their dad’s inability to care for them and their mother’s drunken scorn. Neil had seemed a good match at first. Calm and seemingly enamoured, his flattering attention had been a balm to Kiki and she had soaked it up and slaked her desperate need to love and be loved with him. Mia had become concerned and then outright opposed to their relationship as Kiki slowly subsumed what little bit of herself was left and moulded herself into the image of the perfect wife that Neil demanded.

      Sadly, it was soon apparent no matter what Kiki did, it was not quite good enough. How many times had she tried to explain to Mia why it was her own fault that Neil wasn’t happy with this or that minor thing? Mia had begged her not to marry him but by that stage, her sister was so far under his thumb she wouldn’t listen.

      Then there had been the awful dinner party that Jamie and Mia had been invited to as a celebration of their engagement. It was clear from the moment they arrived that Neil hadn’t wanted to host them and he had picked at and criticised Kiki until Mia was ready to climb over the table and throttle him. Only Jamie’s hard grip on her thigh under the table had held her in her seat, but she hadn’t been able to keep her mouth shut and had eventually told Neil not to fucking speak to her sister like that.

      Neil had stormed out and Mia and Jamie had been ushered to the door soon after by a frantic Kiki who kept telling them over and over that it wasn’t his fault. He was tired and so busy at work and it had been Kiki’s selfishness for insisting on holding the meal that was to blame. Poor Neil was under pressure from the grant committee who were a bunch of short-sighted fools because they had rejected his latest project for funding.

      She had been in tears as she practically shoved them out the door and ran to soothe Neil’s pathetic ego. Mia had cried all the way home, the only way she could relieve the pressure of her frustration at the mess of her sister’s life. Jamie had been the voice of reason, calming Mia and reminding her that her behaviour wouldn’t have helped Kiki and that he was sure her sister understood why Mia was upset but that she was in such a low place that she couldn’t see a way to get herself free of it.

      Mia had taken a bouquet around the next day and been utterly horrified at the bruise on her sister’s face. Kiki had trotted out some excuse about slipping on the stairs and catching her face on the bannister but Mia had known that Neil had punished Kiki because of her own outburst. She had left her sister’s house in a rage and had stormed straight over to the university and into Neil’s office.

      She’d warned Neil that if she ever saw another mark on her sister it wouldn’t be the police he would have to worry about because she would do for him. She had been completely serious and from then she saw no evidence of violence on her sister, although the verbal abuse had continued. She wondered now if he’d just made sure to hit Kiki where the bruises wouldn’t show. It didn’t bear thinking about.

      Mia made soothing sounds into the phone as the thoughts and memories swirled in her head. Eventually the storm of weeping subsided and she had a chance of being heard. ‘Listen, Kiki Dee, I’m sorry I’ve left you in the lurch. I spoke to Dad and thought everything was under control. Can you hold on for twenty-four hours so I can sort something out?’ She’d swallow her doubts and stay at her parents’ place if she had to, but it would be a last resort.

      There was a pause from the other end as Kiki drew in a few sniffling breaths and then she asked the obvious question. The one Mia had been avoiding. ‘What about Bill and Pat? Can’t you stay with them? I’m sure they’d be glad to see you.’

      The mention of Jamie’s parents froze her blood. Not because they had been awful to her since their son’s death, the complete opposite. They had given her the love and support that her own parents had frequently failed to offer. They would understand and probably be happy to help with the kids for a couple of days as they had always been pleased to spend time with them before.

      But now there was Daniel, and Mia didn’t feel right about asking them for help when she was starting to move on. ‘I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Kiki. Things are a bit complicated at my end these days. I’ll talk to you about it when I get there. Just hang on a little bit longer and I’ll be there to help you, I promise.’ Kiki hiccupped as she tried to keep her control