Page 51 of Plot Twist

I was breathing heavily by the time we made it to the top. I turned to Riley, expecting him to be the same, but his breathing seemed steady.

‘Wow,’ I said, eventually. ‘That view is. . . amazing.’

The town was still visible in the distance but the surrounding greenery seemed to stretch for miles, with an array of different shades of green. The clouds above us threatened heavier rain, but the view was so majestic I didn’t even care.

‘Yup,’ he agreed, taking a seat on a rock. ‘This is my favourite place, right here. I come here anytime I need to clear my head.’

‘My dad used to take me on mountain walks when we came to Ireland,’ I said, the memory filling me with warmth. ‘But I don’t think I’ve ever seen a view as beautiful as this.’

We took a seat, perching on the spiky grass, and stayed silent, surveying the scene in front of us.

‘What was it like for you, growing up without a mum around?’ Riley broke the silence.

I took a moment, unsure what to say.

The truth was, it had been lonely. Actually, it was worse than lonely. But how could I tell that to a man who was trying to raise his daughter single-handedly?

‘It was different for me,’ I said, picking up a stray stone and turning it around in my hands. ‘My mum died when I was young. My dad struggled to get over it. To be honest, I’m still not sure he is over it. He still won’t go anywhere near a hospital. And he’s never been with anyone else. Not seriously, anyway. I guess that was the hardest bit, seeing him struggle so much.’

The words tumbled out of my mouth and he listened carefully.

‘I worry for Ivy,’ he said. ‘She misses her mum so much. I feel so helpless sometimes. I wish I could just fix it all for her.’

Sighing, his broad shoulders slumped, and I realised he was carrying the weight of the world on them, too.

It was the first time he had actively brought Jackie up and I held my breath, desperate for more information, but it looked like that was all I was getting.

‘Ivy’s pretty amazing, you know. Plus, it’s not like she’s lacking in female role models. I can’t think of two better women to show her how it’s all done than Bridget and Ellie. Hip flasks and all.’

‘I guess you’re right,’ he said. ‘I just wonder if she’s going to be traumatised by my lack of knowledge of, you know, lady life. Despite what you first thought about me.’

He expected me to say something smart back, but I knew this was important to him. No laughing matter.

‘I’ve worked with kids who are traumatised, Riley. And I know that Ivy misses her mum, but honestly, she seems to be coping well from what I’ve seen. I think you’re doing a pretty awesome job, too.’

Riley sighed.

‘Thank you. I hope you’re right. Sorry, I brought you up here to cheer you up and now I’m offloading all my worries on you.’

‘Offload away, my friend. It’s actually helping me to talk,’ I said, realising it was true. ‘One thing that really helped me was having Rae. I never had any siblings so I guess I kind of clung on to her a bit when we first met. She became like a sister to me. Rae was the one who told me about periods and sex and all that jazz. And I guess her mum was kind of like a surrogate mum to me, too.’

‘I am not looking forward to those kind of conversations with Ivy,’ he said.

‘Only because she’ll know more than you,’ I teased.

‘She’s a smart girl.’ Riley nodded.

‘She is,’ I replied. ‘She’s already keeping you right.’

I reached out for Riley’s hand and patted it gently. To my surprise, he placed his hand on top of mine and curled it into his. We sat there, silent, holding hands for a few moments.

‘Shall we?’ he said, standing up.

He turned around and pulled me to my feet.

A gorgeous double rainbow was in view somewhere towards the bottom of the hill. I pointed at it and Riley grinned.

‘There must be a pot of gold at the end!’ he declared, grabbing my hand. ‘Let’s go!’