“Your parents will be worried, being so far away and no way to contact you. I should have taken you to Maggie’s to ring them.”

“What they don’t know won’t hurt them.” She looked away from him towards the sea. “I’ll ring them tomorrow.”

“Will you go home once you’re feeling better?”

“Oh, no. I couldn’t bear…I don’t want to miss this opportunity. I’ll be fine in a few days. The doctor said a week to ten days and I’d be almost back to normal.”

They both watched in silence as the little tourist train began its journey out along the jetty and Euan wondered what it was that Keely was running away from. Not that he could criticise. Avoidance was his middle name. Stretching out his return home by showing her the sights was enjoyable but Keely was starting to look uncomfortable again and he couldn’t stall forever. He should have rung Flynn and warned him they would have a guest but Euan was putting off the inevitable battle that was to come. Perhaps Keely’s presence would distract Flynn and give them a chance to settle back to normal, before they tackled the issues that needed to be discussed.

Euan glanced at his guest. Was that why he’d been so glad to bring her home? With someone else in the house Flynn would have to be polite. Maybe Keely’s path had crossed Euan’s for a reason. The strengthening sea breeze flicked her hair back from her face and she shivered.

He looked at his watch. “We should get going. There’s still a beautiful drive ahead.”

* * *

They took so many twists and turns that Keely no longer had any sense of direction. Magnificent trees lined the roads, thick shrubs linked branches underneath and patches of colour from the clumps of wildflowers spread below them. Every now and then a gap would allow her a view of vines or open fields where cattle grazed, only to be quickly replaced by the thick walls of trees.

“Spring is the best time to visit the south-west. Everything is fresh and flowering,” Euan said. “I avoid the highway when I can. It only adds a few extra minutes to the journey to take the alternate route and you see more of the country.”

Keely took in the excitement in his face. He was enthusiastic about his part of Australia.

He slowed down as they meandered through a tuart forest.

“Oh, the lilies are beautiful.” Keely gazed at the thick spread of white flowers below the ancient trees. She half expected to see a princess emerge from the bush, dressed in a flowing white gown on the back of a glossy black horse.

“A beautiful pest,” Euan said, bursting her dream. “Tourists love them but they’re a nuisance and spread everywhere.”