Page 27 of The Summer Swap

“Judging from the blood on your shirt and the champagne in your hair, I’m guessing this parting of ways wasn’t mutual.”

“Your guess would be correct.”

Hannah patted her brother on his shoulder. “You’re not all bad.”

He shrugged. “Amelie would disagree.”

Kristen watched him, unsure whether to be relieved or concerned. Relieved. Definitely relieved.

“Why is her mother calling me?”

“No doubt to inform you of my deficiencies as a human being.” He removed the cap from the beer and drank. “Apologies if I’ve embarrassed you.”

“I’m not embarrassed,” she said. “But if you didn’t want to get married, why did you propose?”

Todd put his beer down on the table. “It’s a long story. We can talk about it another time. Why is everyone gathered in here anyway? Where’s Nanna?” He glanced around him for the first time.

“We were hoping you might know.” Hannah handed him the note and he scanned it quickly.

“Why would I know?”

“Because you’re the top grandchild.” Hannah poured herself a glass of sparkling water. “You’re the one who sets up her phone, fixes the Wi-Fi on her laptop and tops up the oil in her car. You call in for tea when you’re passing.”

Todd gave the note back to her. “You are welcome to do any, or all, of those things.”

“I’m too busy working and living up to parental expectation.”

What was that supposed to mean? Kristen glanced at Hannah and then at Theo, but he was staring out of the window with a distant look in his eyes.

Her heart ached for him. He’d watched his closest friend die. He hadn’t been able to save him.

That would rip Theo apart. She was surprised he hadn’t told the kids, but maybe the only way he could hold it together was by not talking about it.

When she’d had to appear in public after her father died, she’d done the same. She’d told everyone she was fine and changed the subject, while inside she’d been terrified that she might fall apart in the middle of a crowd.

Was that how her mother had felt today? Had she been afraid of breaking down in the middle of the crowd?

“Let’s focus for two minutes. Does anyone have any idea where Mom—Nanna—might have gone?”

Hannah shrugged. “I assume you’ve tried calling her?”

“I tried three times,” Winston said. “It goes to voice mail. I left messages.”

“Maybe she doesn’t know how to pick up her voice mail.”

“She does,” Todd said. “I showed her.”

Kristen felt a surge of anxiety. “I didn’t think she was herself earlier. Did something happen? Did she say anything to any of you? Anything at all that might give us a clue as to what she was thinking and where she is now? She didn’t want to give a speech, but I immediately said I’d do it so it can’t have been that.”

Todd shrugged. “Maybe she just didn’t want to go to the party.”

“Yeah.” Hannah nodded. “Maybe it was all too much seeing Gramps’s paintings everywhere. I mean, it must hurt, right? All those reminders in one place. We know she doesn’t have any in her bedroom and presumably it’s because they make her sad. Maybe the whole party made her sad.”

Kristen felt a twist of guilt. If she could put the clock back, she wouldn’t have organized the party. She’d thought it was the right thing to do, but now she wasn’t so sure.

“Maybe it was the mention of journalists,” Winston said. “She doesn’t like them. Never has. She finds their questions intrusive, although I don’t know why. It’s not as if she has secrets.”

Maybe she did have secrets, Kristen thought. Maybe there was something they were all missing.

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