She felt tight with anger at her brother’s pig-headedness. Why did he always have to push the boundaries? What was he thinking, taking the boat out without permission? ‘Dad’s going to do his nut!’ she muttered, shaking her head again. She put her book down on the coffee table. It was no use. The words were just meaningless blurs of ink across the page. She had read the same paragraph at least five times and still couldn’t have said what it was about. She needed to do something to release the tension creeping through her shoulders and down her back. A swim was the obvious answer. She crossed the living area and slid open the glass door to the deck. As she left the pleasant air-conditioned environment, a wall of heavy heat mugged her. For an instant, it felt as though all the air had been stolen from her lungs. ‘Phew!’ she breathed, closing the door and sweeping her hair back from her forehead.
