Lucy had a gentle smile and dark hair cropped around her ears. She held up a portrait and Nicole could just make out the hint of mischief in the eyes of the subject. Was this Fabricio? Nicole smiled.

Ivy’s smile was broad and her hair was wild and whipped around her face and neck. Her painting, a landscape, was lopsided with the perspective completely askew.

The two women looked so happy.

Nicole’s phone pinged to life, echoing in the silence.

The same Sydney number as before? Damn call centres. Maybe, if she answered it she could tell them, in no uncertain terms, to leave her alone. She looked at the flashing screen. Should she?

No.

She picked up the handset and pushed the green button.

‘Hello.’

‘Nicky, princess?’

His voice shot through her ear and her heart leaped against her chest. She hung up, threw the phone across the room and ran out the front door.

Behind her she could hear the phone ring again as she ran down the path as fast as she could.

By the time she saw Charlie it was too late and as she tried to stop from colliding with him she slipped on the loose dirt beneath her bare feet and crashed to the ground.

‘What the hell?’ Charlie shouted at her. ‘Are you deliberately trying to run me down, you lunatic?’

Nicole didn’t answer. Her torso heaved, her sobbing becoming louder.

Charlie knelt beside her and softly put his arms round her.

‘Come on, now. This is no place to burst into hysterics.’ He gently rose, pulled her to standing, and led her to the side of the boatshed where the deckchairs were.

‘Sit.’

Nicole obeyed and took a tissue to blow her nose. Her nose always ran excessively when she cried. ‘Nicky’s Niagara Nose’, Mark called it.

Mark! She sobbed again.

Charlie sat beside her in silence.

‘I should’ve gone overseas.’ Nicole spluttered through sobs.

Her hands were shaking. ‘What’s this about?’ Charlie asked.

Nicole shook her head. ‘I have to leave.’ She couldn’t face him. Not after everything that had happened.

‘What?’

‘I have to go. I have to leave town.’ If he’d found her number, it was only a matter of time before he tracked her down. One thing Mark wasn’t lacking in was cunning and determination.

Charlie put his hand on Nicole’s shoulder as she tried to stand up. ‘Stop. Breathe.’

She shook her head, more vigorously. He didn’t understand. ‘I can’t. I have to …’

‘Stop.’ Charlie looked her in the eye. ‘I know a little about running. It isn’t the answer.’

‘But …’ Nicole sucked in deep breaths.

‘You have friends here. Whatever this is about, they can help you.’

No. They couldn’t. They wouldn’t. Friends she’d known for life had abandoned her. Why would friends she’d known five minutes stand by her?