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terrified youngsters in equal measure at the fun park. Memories of her own childhood with her parents came flooding back, and momentarily she felt nostalgic.
    “You look sad; what’s wrong, Maeve?” Larry asked.
    “Ach, nothing, I’m just remembering being here with my parents. Every now and then something triggers a memory and I really miss them.” She tried to make light of the moment, but she could feel the unbidden tears stinging her eyes. She avoided looking at him, but he gently placed his hand on her chin and turned her face towards him.
    “My mom died when I was twenty, but I still had my dad. I can’t imagine what it was like for you to lose them both when you were so young. I know your grandma loves you, but it’s not the same thing.”
    “It was my fault, the accident… we were supposed to go away and in the end I wouldn’t go. So they cut short their trip; they wouldn’t have been on the road that day if it wasn’t for me. I was a spoiled brat and as good as killed them,” she said, spilling her guilty secret.
    Larry didn’t give her the usual platitudes that everyone else gave her, the if your time’s up, your time’s up crap. Somehow she knew he wouldn’t. She knew he would understand her guilt. The relief of being able to just say it, to verbalise her culpability without being told she was stupid, was immeasurable. All he did was pull her into a firm embrace, giving her physical comfort. They stood like that for a while, as Maeve emotionally told him about the unexpected storm that her parents had been caught in travelling home a day early because of her, and how a tree had been hit by lightning and had freakishly fallen on their moving car, killing them both outright.
    “How awful, to think that you’ve been carrying that for all these years. Promise me you’ll go to see a therapist; it’s not too late. You need to deal with this,” he finally answered when it was clear she was finished talking.
    “Ach, don’t mind me, I’m grand, it was good to even be able to say it. Most people won’t let me; they tell me I’m talking rubbish. Thank you.” Maeve pulled away from his embrace, embarrassed now at having told him so much.
    “Is it time for food yet? The fresh air and confessions are making me famished,” she said, resolutely changing the subject.
    “Just on cue,” he agreed, checking his watch. He took her by the hand and headed towards the hotel. While Maeve felt unsure of this arrangement, she tried to accept it as the comforting gesture he was obviously offering in response to her distress of the moment.
    Afternoon tea was one of those decadent affairs where it was too early to be really hungry, but the food was so tantalisingly tasty that one simply couldn’t resist it. A multi-layered cake stand arrived: delicate little triangles of sandwiches with the crusts removed filled the bottom tray; crackers with caviar and crabmeat and cream cheeses filled the second layer. On the third there was a tray of bite-sized, cream-filled pastries. And on top, a small circle of handmade pralines. And of course the obligatory pot of tea to go along with it all, a veritable feast. Maeve made it clear that the earlier topic had ended by studiously talking only of the food in front of them.
    “So, what have you seen today that you can take with you to your place, or what do you think you do better?” Larry asked her as they tucked in.
    “You’re always working, aren’t you, even on a day off?” Maeve commented.
    “When you run your own business, Maeve, you are always on duty, as you will soon learn. You don’t turn it off just because you’re not physically there. I have countless calls with my ranch manager daily, just to keep in touch and make sure everything is doing fine. Not to mention the emails. I don’t know how people managed before Smartphones. And while we’re on that subject, you need to get one so I can keep in touch wherever you are.”
    “I can email you from the