They must have thought of me though: did they wonder if I was married, had kids? I’d never really thought far enough ahead to consider that. It was always in the back of my mind that one day I’d come to the point in my life where I’d settle down, but that point hadn’t arrived yet. I hoped they’d be proud of me though, of what I’d achieved. Of course there were times when I wanted to reach out but I was so scared. What if they rejected me again?

I noticed Cole watching me.

‘Oh, Julia’s a mother hen,’ I said. ‘I’m just tired, that’s all.’

We got back into the car and sat in silence as Cole drove. Then he leant forward, eyes excited. ‘I knew it had to be here somewhere!’ he said.

‘What?’

He pointed towards a large building on the horizon. ‘A lodge we built a few years ago. I knew it was near here. That client I mentioned? He owns it. Shall we take a look?’

I recalled Mairi mentioning something about a beautiful lodge Dylan built. I can’t deny I’d thought of it a few times during my time in Iceland, wondering if I’d passed it without knowing. I was curious to see what it would look like so I nodded. Cole turned down a narrow driveway and we headed towards the lodge. As we drew closer, I could see it was a modern version of the McCluskys’ lodge, and much larger too. Made from lighter wood, it was all contemporary angles and vast triangular windows. There were no other buildings around it, just fields of ice. It was stunning and it astounded me that Dylan had made something so beautiful.

‘Do you think it would be rude to knock on the door?’ Cole asked. ‘I’d love to see how it looks inside. I could even take some photos for our next brochure.’

‘It’s your client. Anyway, haven’t you made an appointment to meet with him or were you just turning up in the hope he’d be around?’

He laughed. ‘Of course I made an appointment but that’s at Asher’s offices in Reykjavik tomorrow. I wouldn’t get the chance to see the building.’

I shrugged. ‘I’m sure he’d be okay with it. I bet he loves showing it off, it’s so impressive.’

We both got out of the car and walked up to the door. As we got closer, I could hear the sound of music and laughter ringing out from inside, and from the fields behind the house the smell of ashes raced towards us. It brought back heady memories of the previous Christmas with Dylan’s family.

‘Looks like they have guests,’ Cole said, grimacing.