‘Oh.’ My heart sank, but there had to be something that could be done. Now that I’d seen the castle myself, I too believed it deserved to be made a landmark. Then an idea struck. ‘I know, why don’t you organise a big busy bee and get more locals involved in the clean-up than just the IPA? That will take care of the mess, which will make it easier to assess how bad the actual damage is to the buildings. And, once you know what you’re up for, you could organise a fundraiser.’

‘You sound like you know what you’re talking about.’

I laughed, thinking of all the school fetes, cake stalls, fun runs, golf days, quiz nights and even a ball I’d been involved in organising. Although I occasionally complained about always being roped in, I mostly enjoyed the experiences, which gave a thrill when successful. ‘I’ve organised a few.’

‘Don’t suppose you’d want to help with this one?’ He gave me a pleading smile. His mouth was lovely even when he wasn’t smiling, but when he did … My insides twisted and I chastised myself, quickly banishing that thought from my mind.

‘Don’t get me wrong,’ he added, ‘the members of the IPA are great but most of us are doers, not planners.’

I found myself tempted to say yes but couldn’t commit to something I wouldn’t be able to follow through on. Good fundraisers took months to organise and my trips to Ragged Point would soon come to an end. That thought made me sadder than I’d ever have imagined, but my family were my priority. Having us all back together would more than make up for missing my morning beach walks and my time spent with Jedda.

‘I’m sorry, but I … I think I might be getting back together with my husband soon, and then I won’t be coming up here anymore.’

‘Oh, I see.’ Dan shoved his hands into his pockets. ‘Never mind. I’m sure we’ll work something out. Come on, I’ll show you the rest and then we’d better be heading back.’

The rest included another hut, which he called the church—‘Bill was quite a religious man and had a great faith’—and a little memorial site where the town had put up a white cross and a special sign for him that had miraculously survived the storm.

‘We had a special celebration for him out here,’ Dan said. ‘Practically the whole town came over for it.’

‘Where’s Bill buried?’ I asked.