‘Before you go, I could use your help tomorrow. We are one short, unfortunately. Britt is taking the trip to visit her mother in Haugesund after the parade.’

‘Where do you need me?’ Ninni was happy for the distraction.

‘The ice cream stand and probably a lot of other places. And then there’s clean-up duty later. You know how it works.’

‘Yes, I do. And you’re lucky, you know. My bunad is here on the island.’ She smiled and picked up the bags of groceries. ‘These weigh a ton.’

‘You need to eat.’ Alma patted her cheek. ‘My door is always open. You can tell me all about your broken heart when you’re ready.’

‘I will.’ And her heart was broken. But Ninni couldn’t handle kindness. Not now.

She walked slowly up the narrow hill, eager to get home. Frikk was running in circles around her, thrilled to be back.

Inside the house it was dark and dusty. Ninni opened a few windows and hung the bedding over the windowsill to let it air out. She found food for Frikk, who wolfed it down in warp speed and then settled down on the outside doormat with a happy and heavy sigh.

She put on the kettle and made herself an instant coffee, not bothering with the coffee machine. It took ages, and then the coffee always got cold before she remembered to drink it.

With the warm mug in her hand, she went outside and sat down on the step to enjoy the silence and the wind – the smell of the island, she thought, and took a deep breath. Salty seawater and freshly cut grass, the sweet scent from the early blossoms on the old apple tree and the sharper scent from the juniper bushes by the road made her close her eyes for a moment. It was so good to be here, so safe. Perhaps she would never leave. Perhaps that would make her feel like herself again.

Then her thoughts turned to Karl and she burst into tears.

Chapter 2

The sound of a marching band woke Jack up. A really bad, out-of-tune band with more enthusiasm than talent. More than one band by the sound of it, and all of them playing different melodies.

For a second he tried to remember if he had drunk anything last night – some strange Norwegian brew that gave hallucinations and amnesia? The drive from Bergen to Haugesund had taken a lot more than the three hours the car rental firm had said and since he had a later start than expected, thanks to that crazy woman at the roundabout, he had missed the last boat to the island.

The rental firm in Bergen had exchanged the car for him and made him fill out a report on the incident, before informing him that he was lucky he had bought the extended insurance package. He didn’t feel lucky, he felt stupid after telling them that he had driven on the wrong side of the road.