That Night at the Beach

THAT NIGHT AT THE BEACH A TOTALLY UNFORGETTABLE, HEARTBREAKING AND SUSPENSEFUL NOVEL KATE HEWITT BOOKS BY KATE HEWITT Amherst Island Series The Orphan’s Island Dreams of the Island Return to the Island The Island We Left Behind An Island Far from Home Standalone Novels That Night at the Beach When We Were Innocent The Angel of Vienna The Child I Never Had My Daughter’s Mistake Beyond the Olive Grove The Edelweiss Sisters The Girl from Berlin When You Were Mine Into the Darkest Day A Hope for Emily No Time to Say Goodbye Not My Daughter The Secrets We Keep A Mother’s Goodbye The Other Mother And Then He Fell Rainy Day Sisters Now and Then Friends A Mother like Mine The Goswell Quartet The Wife’s Promise The Daughter’s Garden The Bride’s Sister The Widow’s Secret Far Horizons Trilogy The Heart Goes On Her Rebel Heart This Fragile Heart AVAILABLE IN AUDIO When We Were Innocent (Available in the UK and the US) The Angel of Vienna (Available in the UK and the US) The Child I Never Had (Available in the UK and the US) My Daughter’s Mistake (Available in the UK and the US) Beyond the Olive Grove (Available in the UK and the US) The Edelweiss Sisters (Available in the UK and the US) The Girl from Berlin (Available in the UK and the US) When You Were Mine (Available in the UK and the US) Into the Darkest Day (Available in the UK and the US) A Hope for Emily (Available in the UK and the US) No Time to Say Goodbye (Available in the UK and the US) Not My Daughter (Available in the UK and the US) The Secrets We Keep (Available in the UK and the US) A Mother’s Goodbye (Available in the UK and the US) Amherst Island Trilogy The Orphan’s Island (Available in the UK and the US) Dreams of the Island (Available in the UK and the US) Return to the Island (Available in the UK and the US) Far Horizons Trilogy The Heart Goes On (Available in the UK and the US) Her Rebel Heart (Available in the UK and the US) This Fragile Heart (Available in the UK and the US) CONTENTS Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Epilogue The Secrets We Keep Prologue Chapter One Chapter Two Hear More from Kate Books by Kate Hewitt A Letter from Kate The Orphan’s Island Dreams of the Island Return to the Island The Island We Left Behind An Island Far from Home When We Were Innocent The Angel of Vienna The Child I Never Had My Daughter’s Mistake Beyond the Olive Grove The Edelweiss Sisters The Girl from Berlin When You Were Mine Into the Darkest Day A Hope for Emily No Time to Say Goodbye Not My Daughter A Mother’s Goodbye The Wife’s Promise The Daughter’s Garden The Bride’s Sister The Widow’s Secret The Heart Goes On Her Rebel Heart This Fragile Heart Acknowledgements * To Isobel, of course. Thank you, thank you for everything. I’ll miss you! PROLOGUE I am in the place I never wanted to be. Never dreamed of being, because as mothers we never dare to delve too deeply into those nightmare scenarios, merely skirt their dark edges before quickly, gratefully, backing away. What if… we might murmur to each other over cups of coffee or glasses of wine, and then shake our heads, not daring to put it into words. Telling ourselves it could never happen to us, as if we can ward off tragedy if we simply don’t talk about it, or if we’re just careful enough. If we’re good enough mothers. CHAPTER 1 CARA FIVE WEEKS EARLIER “Do I have to go?” I look up from the bowl of potato salad I’ve been carefully covering with plastic wrap, surprised at my son’s sullen tone. He sounds like a sulky six-year-old, and he’s closing in on eighteen. “Do you have to go?” I repeat carefully as he shrugs, impatient, a bit dismissive. A memory flashes through my mind—Finn at four or five years old, jumping up and down in excitement, asking me to tell the time on the big clock above the stove. How many hours till we can go, Mommy? How