‘Coming on for twenty years.’

‘Wow. So, you’re a local then.’

She chuckled. ‘You can’t claim to be a local until you’ve lived here for thirty-seven years, but I’m well on my way.’

‘Thirty-seven years?’ My eyebrows rose as did the inflection in my voice. ‘Do you have family here?’

‘Nah. My mum’s from up north somewhere. Who knows about my dad?’

Her vague reply intrigued me, but I silently told myself not to pry—I didn’t want to come across as nosy. However, she continued unprompted.

‘My mum was part of the Stolen Generation,’ she explained. ‘She was taken from her family when she was very little and never remembered anything about them or their culture. Stuffed her up pretty badly—although she was raised in a really loving family, she never felt like she fit in. She got pregnant at sixteen, had me and then did a runner.’

‘Oh my goodness, what happened to you then?’ Jedda seemed so together, I’d never have imagined anything like this in her past.

‘Her adopted family took me in. They were good people and made sure I got a good education, but the moment I turned eighteen I left to backpack around Australia. I wanted to explore outside the city. I worked wherever I could—pubs, draft camps as a cook, picking fruit. You name it, I did it. Met some great people, but at twenty-two I got tired of being a gypsy. I decided to head back to Perth and get a proper job, but I stopped in the Point for one night and met the love of my life. One night turned to two, then to a week and before I knew it, I was pulling beers in the pub and shacked up with a rock lobster fisherman.’

I smiled at the way Jedda’s eyes lit up at this last bit. The nostalgia of young love made me think of Adrian.

‘Did you guys break up?’ I asked.

‘No.’ Jedda’s smile turned sad. ‘Jack drowned in an accident at sea.’

‘Oh my God. I’m so sorry.’ The words didn’t feel adequate at all. ‘How long ago was that?’

She took a deep breath and I could tell talking about him still hurt. ‘Seventeen years. We’d been together for three and had just got hitched. We were saving for a house and going to start a family.’

‘And you never left?’

‘Oh, I tried—but this place gets under your skin.’

I nodded, already understanding. I’d been here less than a week but, despite the anguish I carried about my marriage, it was like the Point had medicinal qualities. I couldn’t help but feel relaxed and slightly more hopeful when I looked out of the shack and saw the ocean.

‘I moved away a couple of times,’ Jedda continued, ‘but Jack’s family is still here, and they treat me as their own. And it sounds stupid, but he’s buried in the local cemetery and when I’m here, I can still feel his presence.’

‘That doesn’t sound stupid at all.’ I paused a moment. ‘So how long have you had this place?’