Diane Chamberlain - The Good Father

‘Emotional, complex and laced with suspense, this fascinating story is a brilliant read’

Closer

‘An excellent read’

The Sun

‘This complex tale will stick with you forever.’

Now

‘A hugely addictive twist in the tale makes this a sizzling sofa Read … a deeply compelling and moving new novel.’

Heat

‘This exquisite novel about love and friendship is written like a thriller … you won’t want to put it down.’

Bella

‘A bittersweet story about regret and hope’

Publishers Weekly

‘A brilliantly told thriller’

Woman

‘An engaging and absorbing story that’ll have you racing through pages to finish’

People’s Friend

‘This compelling mystery will have you on the edge of your seat.’

Inside Soap

‘A fabulous thriller with plenty of surprises’

Star

‘Essential reading for Jodi Picoult fans’

Daily Mail

‘Chamberlain skilfully … plumbs the nature of crimes of the heart’

Publishers Weekly

‘So full of unexpected twists you’ll find yourself wanting to finish it in one sitting. Fans of Jodi Picoult’s style will love how Diane Chamberlain writes.’

Candis

‘The plot is intriguing and haunting revelations will have you glued to the very end.’

Peterborough Evening Telegraph

‘I was drawn in from the first page and simply could not put it down until the last. I think I have found a new favourite author.’

Daily Echo

‘[A] gripping summer read that’s full of twists and turns—5 stars’

Woman’s Own

‘The compelling story of three friends who are forced to question what it is to be a friend, mother and a sister’

Sunday World

‘A gripping novel’

The Lady (online)

‘Diane Chamberlain is a marvellously gifted author. Every book she writes is a gem.’

Literary Times

‘A strong tale that deserves a comparison with Jodi Picoult for, as this builds, one does indeed wonder if all will come right in the end.’

lovereading.co.uk

‘I couldn’t put it down.’

Bookseller

Also by Diane Chamberlain

The Lost Daughter

The Bay at Midnight

Before the Storm

Secrets She Left Behind

The Lies We Told

Breaking the Silence

The Midwife’s Confession

Brass Ring

The Shadow Wife

Keeper of the Light

www.dianechamberlain.co.uk

For Nolan and Garrett, Claire and Olivia,

who are so lucky to have very good fathers!

Raleigh, North Carolina

October 2011

IT WAS NINE-FORTY WHEN I WOKE UP IN THE back of the van. Nine-forty! What if Erin had already left the coffee shop by the time we got there? What if she’s not there? That sentence kept running through my head as I got Bella up and moving. She’d had a dream about her stuffed lamb and wanted to tell me the whole thing, but all I could think about while I changed her into the cleanest clothes I had for her was, What if she’s not there?

On the phone yesterday, Roy had told me I was making the smart choice. “You can get rich doing this, bro,” he’d said.

I thought of the gold watch he wore. The red Mustang he drove. “I don’t care about getting rich,” I’d answered. “I just want enough money to keep me and Bella fed till I get a real job.” I felt smarmy just talking to him on the phone. The dude was a total cretin.

“You feel that way right now,” he said, “but wait till you get a taste of easy money.”

“Look,” I said, “just tell me where to meet you and when.”

“We’ll come to you about eleven tomorrow night,” he said. “You still hanging in the same place? The lot by the Target?”

“Yeah.”

“Just make sure you’ve got enough gas to get us to the Virginia border and back,” he said, and then he was gone from the line.

So, now I’d have all day to freak out about my decision and, if things went according to my plan, I wouldn’t have Bella with me. My chest tightened at the thought. I wasn’t sure I could do this. Erin was a good woman, though. I could tell. Plus, Bella knew her and liked her. The only thing was, she might be too good. The kind of person who’d call the cops on me. I just had to trust her not to.

My hands shook as I scratched a note on the back of a gas receipt and stuck it in Bella’s pants pocket, sneaking it in there so Bella wouldn’t ask me about it or try to pull it out. I remembered the tremor in my mother’s hands. “A fine tremor,” the doctor had called it and he’d said it was harmless and barely noticeable. Mine wasn’t so fine. I could hardly help Bella get her socks straight on her feet.

“I’m hungry, Daddy,” she said as she pulled on her shoes.

I opened some Tic Tacs and shook a couple into her hand. “We’ll get breakfast in a minute,” I said, as she popped the Tic Tacs into her mouth.

I pictured Erin finding the note. She would find it, wouldn’t she? If she didn’t, then what? I thought of all the things that could go wrong and my head hurt like a bitch. First things first , I told myself. First I had to get to JumpStart before Erin left or else the whole plan was going to cave in.

“I got to go potty,” Bella said.

“Yeah, baby, me too.” I ran a comb through her dark hair, which I really should have tried to wash in the Target restroom last night like I did once already this week. Last night, though, washing her hair had been the furthest thing from my mind. She needed a haircut, too, but it wasn’t like I’d thought of bringing scissors with me when we left Carolina Beach. Her bangs were almost long enough to put behind her ears now, and I tried that, but as soon as she hopped out of the van, her hair fell into her face again. Poor kid. She looked like an orphan nobody cared about. I prayed to God she didn’t become one tonight.

I held her hand as we walked toward the coffee shop.

“You’re hurting my hand, Daddy,” she said, and I realized I was holding on to her way too tight. How could I do this to my baby girl? I couldn’t even prepare her for what was going to happen. Bella, I’m sorry . I hoped she was so young that she’d never remember this. Never think of it as the day her daddy abandoned her.

Wildflowers filled the grassy strip of land next to the coffee shop and I had a sudden idea. They were nothing but weeds, but they’d do. “Look, Bella.” I pointed toward them. “Let’s pick some of these for Miss Erin.” We stepped onto the lawn and began picking the flowers and I hoped Bella’s bladder could hold out one more minute. The flowers were the only way I could think of to thank Erin for what I was going to ask her to do.

She was sitting in the brown leather chair where she always sat, reading something on her iPad, as usual, and brushing a strand of light brown hair out of her eyes. I felt a crazy rush of relief and a crazy rush of disappointment. If she hadn’t been there, I would have no way to do what I was going to do tonight, and that would have been a good thing. But she was there and she smiled like she’d been waiting for us.