Maria had always been surprised that David didn’t understand her closeness to Annie. Surely anyone who knew their whole story would have realised why she’d become so dependent on her. After all, Annie was the only one who knew the truth about why they’d come to Evergreen. Well, not the only one, but Maria tried not to contemplate the others.

Yet over the years David had become almost irritated by their friendship, as if he were jealous of the way she often turned to the older woman rather than him.

‘You know he’s up there, don’t you?’ Annie said and Maria turned back.

‘Who?’

‘Danny.’ Annie gestured to a tree and Maria eventually spotted her son’s sandalled feet dangling between its branches. His feet were bigger than hers now, the size of a man’s, which didn’t seem right. He’d had another growth spurt that spring and was only two inches shorter than David. He looked like a man but he was still a child, and Maria couldn’t think of a time when he’d be ready to leave home.

She shook her head and sighed. She knew what Annie would be thinking, but what did she expect her to do? She couldn’t ask Danny to stop hanging around in trees when it was the only place he seemed happy.

Maria hadn’t known then how much that summer would change them. By the end of it the island that she had once loved, her safe place, would become one that none of her family could ever return to.

Danny knew they had spotted him, but it wasn’t as if he was hiding. He just wanted to see what all the fuss was about. His parents had been talking about the newcomers for the last few nights and he knew his mum was nervous about their arrival though he really didn’t get it. She was so friendly to everyone, it didn’t make sense that she wasn’t happy to meet new people.

Contrary to what they suspected, Danny didn’t mind strangers arriving because it gave him others to watch. It got boring when the same old people did the same old things. Hardly any of the islanders did much out of character. He hoped this lot would be interesting and would make the summer pass quicker. He liked it when Stella sat in the treehouse with him, but already he worried that she would be off with Jill all the time.

Everyone else thought he didn’t like talking to anyone and sometimes it meant mealtimes could pass and they’d completely ignore him. Stella was the only one in the family who didn’t either hate him, like Bonnie, or talk for him as his mum did. Actually his dad was pretty good, but he was always working.