‘I get it.’ Charlie shook his head. ‘It’s easy to turn the world away. But once you do, there’s no turning back. No matter how you wish you could. And whatever romantic notion you might have about this kind of life,’ he spread his arms to encompass the boatshed, ‘this ain’t romantic at all and the pain never stops. Never. Running isn’t the answer.’

‘I can’t …’ Nicole ran up the path, casting long shadows in the dusk.

She returned home and curled up on the sofa. Pain throbbed at her temples. The evening was quiet bar a few possums scuttling about in the trees outside. The only light in the house came from the dim side lamp next to her.

She hadn’t turned the phone back on, hadn’t answered her door when Mandy dropped by, instead cowering in silence in the dark, pretending she wasn’t home.

Was Charlie right? Would her new friends stand by her?

If she ran, would Mark simply find her again?

Confusion, doubt and anger swirled around her head and she rubbed her temples. She jumped up from her seat and dashed around, gathering only the important things, throwing them into the suitcase she kept under her bed.

She rushed through the living room and stopped in front of the bookcases. Danny’s gift sat there, alone on the shelf.

‘You’ll know when the time is right.’ His words echoed in her mind.

She pulled at the ribbon.

A single tear fell as she looked at a brand-new copy of Anne of Green Gables.

She’d only mentioned it once in passing when he was building the shelves and he’d remembered. He’d remembered such a small detail. A detail so significant to her.

She slid to the floor and pulled her knees up in a tight hug.

Charlie bumped into the dusty box labelled ‘kitchen’ and rubbed his throbbing hip. Stupid old thing. He should have thrown it out years ago. Thrown all of them out years ago. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He’d always held out hope that one day these relics of a time so long ago would be useful once more, cherished once more. But today it seemed that hope was fading.

He’d seen the fear in Nicole’s eyes. The girl was going to run. He didn’t know what from, or where to, but he knew what that resolve looked like. He had his own selfish reasons for needing her to stick around. He had a promise to fulfil and he needed her to finish what she’d started with the cottage.

But there was something else. Something that surprised him. His heart broke for her when she sobbed like that, feelings welling inside him. He thought he was done with feelings, but all he wanted to do when she cried in his arms was protect her, make things right.