‘Then there’s one other thing I want to be clear about,’ she said. ‘I’ve got my own reasons for wanting to find Casey’s secret transfer stage. With Nadia gone, there’s no damn reason for me to stick around here any more, because that girl was the one thing that made life here bearable for me. If Casey’s really got hold of all of our retirement coordinates, then I’m out of here, the moment I have them. Are we clear on that too?’

‘We are,’ I said.

She nodded and I settled back in my chair, fatigue numbing my senses. I figured it wouldn’t hurt if I closed my eyes, just for one . . .

‘Hey.’

I came to with a start. Chloe stood over me, her coat still wrapped around her shoulders like a blanket.

I blinked and looked around, realizing I must have fallen asleep without being aware of it. Early morning light seeped in through the window, and I saw the storm had passed.

I sat forward, feeling stiff and tired and sore. ‘Rozalia?’ I asked, looking around. ‘Where . . . ?’

‘She just left to go fishing.’ I gave her a look and she laughed. ‘Seriously. There’s hooks and tackle and everything here.’

I glanced at the stove. ‘Maybe we should get that fired back up.’

‘Already done,’ said Chloe. ‘Can’t you feel the heat?’

She took hold of my hand and pulled me upright, leading me over towards the stove. I passed my hands over the top of the stove, feeling the delicious warmth soak into my skin. I heard the pop of wood burning.

‘Now come on,’ she said, pulling me back in the direction of the cot. ‘I don’t know how long we have before Rozalia gets back.’

‘What are you . . . ?’

‘The thing we’ve both been thinking about from the first moment we saw each other,’ she said, her voice low. She looked suddenly uncertain. ‘Unless I’ve been reading you wrong . . . ?’

‘No,’ I said, my voice thick. ‘No, you haven’t.’ First that inexplicable kiss, then the photograph in her home, of the other Jerry with his arm around her. Chloe had never been far from my thoughts, and I realized I had been fooling myself by thinking this moment was anything other than inevitable.

I glanced towards the door. ‘But what if Rozalia walks in?’

Chloe shook her head. ‘She won’t.’

Something in the way she said this made me certain that Rozalia’s sudden absence had been arranged, and that she would be careful not to return from her fishing trip too quickly. It was strange: I had known Chloe for only a short while, but she had known me – the other me – for years.