‘No offence, but it’s not a club I ever wanted to join,’ I said with a sigh.

‘No one does.’ He offered a sympathetic smile. ‘And, while I won’t pretend it’s anything like Scouts or Brownies—it’s totally shit in fact—there is light at the end of the tunnel.’

‘Is there?’

His existence didn’t seem very bright, living in a big house all by himself.

‘Yes. It’s better to be alone than in an unhappy marriage.’

‘What if I didn’t think my marriage was unhappy?’ I asked, wriggling my toes in the sand.

‘As I said, it’s tough, give yourself time to grieve, but then try and look upon this as an opportunity rather than a conclusion. Treat it as the end of an act, rather than the finale.’

‘Now I’m not sure whether you’re sounding like a marriage therapist or a musical theatre director,’ I derided.

He chuckled and shoved his hands in his pockets. ‘Sorry. And feel free to tell me to bugger off, but if you ever need someone to talk to, I’m a good listener. I work weird and wonderful hours, but you know where I live. Just give me a shout if you ever need an ear.’

‘Thank you,’ I said, although I had no intention of accepting his offer. I had Hayley, and now Jedda, if I needed to vent or cry or solicit advice, and at least being around them didn’t give me a funny feeling in my stomach.

‘No worries. By the way, I wanted to thank you for your article about the island. It was fantastic. I mean obviously the subject wasn’t great, but you provided the facts with a lot of heart and the writing was awesome.’

My heart swelled. ‘Oh, that’s great. I was so nervous, but I also really enjoyed it and it looks like there might be more of my articles to come.’

‘Really?’

I nodded, certainly hoping so—writing had given me a new purpose and felt like a lifeline all of a sudden.

‘I’m going to be here every second week at least until I finish renovating the shack, so I’ve offered to help Jedda with writing, editing and producing the paper.’

‘That’s great. You and Jedda will make a great team, I’m sure. She’s lucky to have you.’

‘I actually think it’s the other way around,’ I said with a smile.