‘That was… so special. I’ll never forget that as long as I… oh! Look!’ Next to the little red kayak, the dolphin rose, his beady eye meeting Hannah’s for a heart-stopping moment, and then he flipped onto his back and began swimming alongside them, the wide mouth beneath the bottleneck nose grinning at her and its flippers in the air. She smiled in delight, her mouth so wide she could feel the tautness of the skin on her cheeks. ‘Hello.’ The dolphin disappeared, reappearing a second later almost as if he were escorting her. ‘Aren’t you gorgeous?’ The silvery-grey skin, with water pouring off the surface, looked as smooth as glossed paintwork, the big unblinking eye trained on her. She was so fascinated she forgot to be afraid.

‘I didn’t even know there were dolphins in Ireland.’

‘We get the occasional sighting. And by the way, there are sharks.’

‘Conor Byrne, a dolphin I can accept but now I know you’re pulling my leg.’ She gave an anxious look into the water. ‘Aren’t you?’

At that moment the dolphin flipped back onto his front, circled in front of them and gave one final leap before skimming over the surface of the water towards a small boat heading out into the bay.

‘Someone new to play with,’ said Conor.

She watched as the dolphin disappeared from view. ‘Do you think he’s lonely?’

‘Who knows, but he’s certainly no wallflower, although I’ve not seen him swim alongside a kayak like that before.’

Hannah’s smile held a tiny hint of self-satisfaction. She was imagining it, but she liked to think that Fungie had known she’d been scared at first and had come to reassure her.

What would her parents have thought of this adventure? Would it have been too tame for them? She wasn’t sure she’d tell Aunt Miriam and Uncle Derek – at least not the full details; they’d be horrified.

Chapter Eighteen

When they gently beached the kayaks, Hannah tugged off the spray skirt she wore and wormed her way out of the fibreglass body, managing to step out of the boat without too much indignity. She yanked off her life vest and threw her arms around Conor, desperate to share the heady mix of gratitude, delight, and happiness that thrummed through her veins. ‘Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.’

From the expression on his face, it was clear she’d startled him but he responded immediately, snaking an arm round her and pulling her as close as his vest would allow. After a moment she pulled back and they both stared at each other, sombre for once. Hannah wondered what he was thinking.