Read Online The Bones of You by Debbie Howells - Free Book Online Page B

else. “She loved horses. I would have mentioned it before. I always assumed you knew.”
    It’s easier to lie than to tell the truth. Even now, it would feel like a betrayal of Rosie’s trust.
    Jo nods very slowly. “I didn’t,” she says, adding tearfully, “I didn’t know about her friendship with Poppy, either, did I? It makes me wonder what else I didn’t know about.”
    Guilt washes over me for adding to her already backbreaking burden. “I should have told you—only there really wasn’t anything to tell, Jo. It was never a planned thing. More like walking down the street and stopping to talk to someone you weren’t expecting to see. That was all.”
    She dabs her face with a tissue. “I’m sorry, Kate. I overreact to everything.... I’m glad it was your horses she went to see. And you.”
    Slowly, she turns back to making the tea. Feeling awful, I try to change the subject to the daughter Jo still has, who must surely be suffering, too.
    “Does Delphine have many friends?”
    “One or two. There was this dreadful girl she was friendly with, but we’ve discouraged that. It wasn’t the right kind of friendship.”
    Another Poppy. It puts me in mind of the girl Grace befriended a few years ago. Cleo. Loud, in a too-short skirt, and reeking of cigarette smoke. I struggled with that one, wanting to steer Grace away from her. It was Angus who persuaded me not to and assured me that no harm would come to Grace if we watched her from the background, not too closely, but just closely enough. He was right.
    “There’s always one,” I say sympathetically. “Only you have to let them make their own mistakes, don’t you?”
    “Neal isn’t quite that forgiving,” she says. “He has such high standards. He always wants the best for them, for . . . her.”
    She fumbles with the unfamiliarity of the singular. And we all want the best for our children. But whatever Jo says, Delphine can’t be that strong if her parents decide who her friends are.
    “She misses Rosanna dreadfully.” Jo pours the tea and sits opposite me. “And the press coverage hasn’t helped.”
    I shake my head. “It must be dreadful, for all of you. Especially—” I break off. I can’t bring myself to mention the rumors that even now are still being whispered around our neighborhood.
    “What were you going to say?” Jo looks up from her mug.
    I’m awkward again, treading on eggshells. “Nothing, really.”
    Then I change my mind, because surely Jo should know.
    “Actually, Jo, it’s not nothing. I was thinking about the rumors that paper printed. About Rosie . . . Rosanna having some kind of secret life. It was disgraceful.”
    She freezes. “She really didn’t. She was a good girl who worked hard at school. They were just rumors, Kate. The papers are full of them.” She stirs her tea before looking up again. “You know what they’re like. Half the time, they print just for effect. You have to try not to let it get to you.”
    I’m not sure I could handle it as well as she appears to. “What about Neal? How is he coping?” Gently, not meaning to pry, but the loss of a child can destroy the closest of families. I watch as Jo’s eyes fill with sorrow.
    “He’s heartbroken. He just throws himself into his work. It’s what he does—to take his mind off things. We try to stay strong for each other, but underneath, he’s like I am. He just hides it better. He’s an amazing man, Kate.”
    “You all are, Jo. Strong. Amazing.”
    She shakes her head, but her eyes are shining. “Thank you. But I’m really not.”
     
    Two days later, just as I finish breakfast, there’s a knock on the door.
    Mildly irritated at the interruption when I’m rushing to get ready for work, I open it to find Laura standing there.
    “Kate! I hope you don’t mind me turning up like this, only I didn’t take your number. Beth Van Sutton told me where you live.”
    “Hi! I’m sorry. I’d ask you in, but I’m about to go off to