Chapter 24
It was one of those sparkling mornings of early summer, diamond-bright, just past daybreak. Zoe couldn’t get out of the habit of rising early, even though there were no horses waiting for her anymore, shifting like shadows in the dawn light. She pushed down the longing in her heart. How she missed them.
She carried her tea and toast out onto the little balcony, filled with melancholy, still dressed in her cotton nightie. A deep breath. These days she took every opportunity to confront her aversion to heights. Staying at the shack made that easy, and this self-imposed desensitisation program seemed to be working. The fear she used to feel sitting out on the deck had turned into a half-giddy kind of delight.
And she needed all the happiness she could muster this morning, becaus
