He put his finger to her lips. ‘Don’t deny it, Sal – your love is too precious a gift. But it is not to be wasted on a man who is incapable of returning it.’

She could feel the hot tears rolling down her face as she silently pleaded with him to take back his rejection.

‘You are a beautiful, talented young woman with a great deal to give, Sal,’ he said as he rose from the table and drew her to her feet. ‘And a life that, as yet, is unfulfilled. Go back to Morgan’s Reach, take your leave of Bert and have the courage to find your destiny. It’s out there, waiting for you, Sal. You just have to believe it.’

She closed her eyes as his thumbs gently brushed away her tears. She felt the soft touch of his lips on her forehead, and leaned into him. ‘Please …’ she breathed. ‘Please don’t send me away.’

He moved from her and picked up his walking stick. ‘It’s time for both of us to face reality,’ he said. ‘I have work to do and you have a long drive ahead of you.’ He opened the door and, before he stepped outside, turned back momentarily. ‘I’ll never forget you, dearest Sal. Godspeed.’

Sal stood there for a long moment after he’d closed the door. She felt abandoned and bereft as her tears blinded her – but there was finality in his words and in his demeanour that she could not ignore. And, as she stood there, the silence enfolded her as her long-held dreams shattered like fine glass.

It was some time before she could summon up the strength to gather her few clothes and stuff them in her bag. The hardest part was going into the shed at the back and collecting the paintings she’d done over the years. Each one evoked a memory – a time when they’d laughed and talked – of long, companionable silences in the surrounding beauty of this forest glade.

There was no sign of Max or his dog as she loaded everything into the ute. She gave the last of the sugar to the ponies, her tears dampening their shaggy coats as she rested her cheek against theirs and said her last goodbye. Then she climbed into the ute and, after a final, yearning look at the little shack in the woods, she drove away.

*

Becky had been on the brink of sleep when she’d heard Terry quietly leave the house to take over from their mother. Glancing at the bedside clock she’d been surprised he’d left so soon, but as there had been no raised voices or sign of trouble, she assumed everything was all right.