“I’m allowed to worry. You’ve done a lot of driving in the last twenty-four hours and you’ve had a huge amount on your plate.”

“You needn’t have worried. I’m fine.”

A soft snort came from behind him.

“Where’s the milk?” he asked, as he turned another page of his paper.

“Pardon?”

“Didn’t you go out to get milk?”

“Oh…how silly of me. I got talking to the fellow down at the shop and forgot all about it.”

“Could have saved yourself the trouble, then.”

“What do you mean?”

Flynn grinned at her but she turned away quickly, snatched up a cloth and began wiping down the bench top.

“There’s a full carton in the door of the fridge. You must have missed it.”

He turned back to his paper and something soft and wet hit him on the back of the head.

Chapter 37

CHAPTER 37

Keely strolled along the beach in the late afternoon. At last she was heading north. The bus trip from Perth had been uneventful and she’d arrived in Cervantes the day before with plenty of time to check in to the backpackers’ accommodation and book herself a place on the sunset tour to the Pinnacles. It had been worth it. The strange limestone formations were spectacular and it was amazing to watch them change through a range of colours she’d never seen before as the sun went down. Now she was walking the beautiful white sand of Jurien Bay, a little further up the coast.

She stopped to watch the waves of the Indian Ocean pound in on the beach. Travelling alone, after the company she’d been keeping, was too quiet. Each day she was putting more kilometres between her and Margaret River and…She didn’t even want to think his name.

She’d stopped at Jurien Bay with no particular plan and she felt restless with nothing to do but wander. She had a strange sense of loss and, if she was honest, she knew she was lonely.

There weren’t many people on the beach. A family group stood together playing and chasing the waves at the water’s edge and a couple walked arm in arm further along. She turned to head back to the guesthouse. The wind was quite strong and whipped her hair onto her face. It was still long enough to wear up. Perhaps she’d try that tomorrow.

She brushed at the hair across her eyes and caught a glimpse of a tall figure striding in her direction. She stopped, held her hair firmly away from her face and stared. The walk was familiar. It couldn’t be Marty, he and his mates would be much further north. Just for a moment, she imagined the man walking towards her looked like Flynn. She’d have to take herself seriously in hand or she’d become miserable.