“So he doesn’t keep digging.”
“Yes.”
“Who’ll help him to stop?”
“There are groups and therapists he can go to. But it’s important that he asks for help. He has towantto stop digging, if that makes sense. Nobody else can make him.”
She kicks her legs, thinking.
“I hope I did the right thing telling you,” I say. “I’m worried that your mum and dad will be angry with me.”
“I won’t tell them that I know.”
I frown. “I don’t expect you to keep secrets from them. If they find out, that’s okay.”
She shakes her head. “I knew there was a hole. I just wanted to know where it was, so I don’t fall into it.”
My eyes sting with sudden tears. “You’re so smart,” I whisper. “You’re going to grow up into an amazing young woman.”
“I want to be a doctor,” she says.
My eyebrows rise. “Really?” Mark works for my dad, and Nina is a checkout operator at the local supermarket. Although my father runs his own business, he isn’t well educated, and my mother is a dinner lady at the local primary school. They’re all nice people, but they’re not professionals, so I’m surprised she’s aiming so high.
“I want to help people,” she continues. “Do you think I could do that?”
“Of course. You’d have to work hard at school, and then go to university.”
“Did you go to university?”
“No. When I left school I started working for Granddad.”
“Is university expensive?”
She’s already thinking about whether her parents will be able to afford to send her. I feel a fresh surge of frustration and fury toward my brother. I know he can’t help his addiction, butI also know he didn’t think about his wife and daughter—or the fact that our father has remortgaged his house and could well lose it—when he gambled, and I hate him a little for that.
“It does cost money,” I say carefully. “But you can have student loans from the government that would help.”
“I’m not having a loan,” she says fiercely.
“Student loans aren’t the same. The repayments are much smaller, and there’s hardly any interest.”
“I don’t care. I’ll get a job and work and save up the money until I can afford to pay for myself.” She sets her jaw, and her eyes gleam in the sunlight. I’m sure her parents think they’ve kept their arguments and misery hidden from her, but she’s obviously seen more than they’ve realized.
“I’ll help you,” I say softly. “If that’s what you want, we’ll get you there.”
“Hello!”
My head snaps around at the sound of a male voice, and my heart races. New Zealand is a safe country, and I’ve never felt in danger, even if I go for a walk late at night, but we’re alone in the middle of nowhere, and my first thought is of Thea.
Relief floods me though at the sight of Kingi Davis, strolling along the path from Midnight behind us, emerging from the trees like some kind of giant Green Man. He’s wearing jeans, and his greenstone pendant rests on top of a black tee. Oh my God, the muscles on the man. He looks delicious.
I press a hand over my heart. “You made me jump.”
“I’m sorry.” He doesn’t sound it. He smiles at Thea. “Hello.”
“This is Kingi,” I tell her. “He’s a very old friend of mine. Emphasis on the old.” That earns me a wry look. “And this is Thea,” I tell him. “My niece.”
“Mark’s girl?” He holds out his hand. “I used to be good friends with your dad when we were young.”