‘Give me a list,’ he said, as he took the mug. ‘I’m going to do a supply run for anyone who doesn’t want to brave that road if it’s still raining. I’ll aim to come down tomorrow.’

‘You don’t have to do that,’ Anna told him. ‘You must have more than enough to worry about.’

‘I’ve got to come over for Dougie anyway. It’s no trouble.’

Anna thought that couldn’t possibly be true, but she wrote a list nonetheless. As she did they talked, the constant roar of rain a backdrop to their conversation.

‘Look,’ he said, as Anna passed him the piece of paper she’d scrawled on. ‘There’s always room at ours if you want to get out of Crovie for a while. Or I’m sure Rhona will offer you a bed at hers. I can take you back with me now.’

Anna looked at him over the rim of her mug. ‘Do you think it’s that bad?’

Robert shrugged. ‘I’ve never seen it like this before, and the forecast’s showing another storm blowing in behind this one.’

‘The council must have plans to evacuate if it gets really risky. Won’t they let us know if they think it’s time to go?’

‘Probably.’ He smiled, despite the trace of worry in his eyes. ‘You really don’t want to leave, do you?’

Anna smiled too, looking around her home. ‘I feel safe here. I think the Fishergirl’s Luck could withstand anything.’

‘Aye, well. Bren was the same.’ He took another mouthful of tea and once he’d swallowed it, said, ‘I’m glad to hear you say it. I wondered whether this would be the last straw and you’d leave us after all.’

‘What do you mean?’

He hitched one shoulder. ‘Liam’s made it known that he asked you to go home with him.’

‘Oh, he has, has he?’

‘I think he wanted to make it clear he wasn’t abandoning you in your time of need.’

Anna snorted. ‘My time of need?’

‘You know what I mean.’

‘I’m not going to New Zealand,’ Anna told him. ‘And I want to stay in Crovie if I can. But I have to get some kind of job. Especially now.’

‘Because of the weather?’

Anna laughed. ‘No! Because my savings will run out quickly now there’s a baby to provide for. What I’m hoping is that I can find something in the area, or close enough to it that will make it possible to commute. But if I can’t…’

He nodded silently as she left that thought to finish itself.

‘What I need is to win the lottery,’ she quipped. ‘Or for a fairy godmother to turn up with a pot of gold so I can buy the Crovie Inn.’