Downstairs, the baby murbled as Anna slipped her into the carry sling on her chest before pulling a tiny hat over her daughter’s downy hair. ‘I know, you don’t like it,’ she said, kissing the little forehead under her chin, ‘but if the wind’s up, you’ll need it.’

She opened the Inn’s back door and stepped out onto the path. The wind was brisk, but the day was warm with it, the sun bathing the coastline in gold and turning the grasses to a russet blush. She turned and waved to the digger driver up on the landslide and saw him wave back from his cab, the noise of the vehicle joining the sound of the waves and the screech of the gulls overhead. It had only been a matter of days since the work had progressed enough to be seen from the village. Speculation was rife about how much longer it would be until the road was clear, and then how long after that it would be useable for the villagers. It had taken months to get to this point as it was.

‘Anna!’ a voice shouted as she turned away. It was Young Robbie, making his way along the path from Gamrie with his ubiquitous binoculars strung around his neck.

‘What are you doing here?’ Anna asked as the boy ran towards her, tugging her down so he could kiss the baby soundly on the cheek. ‘You didn’t come over on your own?’

‘Nah, Rhona’s behind me,’ Robbie said. ‘She’s got something to show you. Dad said he couldn’t go out with me today because he’s so close to finishing the Fishergirl’s Luck but I needed to do dolphin patrol, so I said I’d come. From the path is better than nothing.’

Anna rubbed a hand through his hair – so like his father’s – and looked up again to see Rhona appear along the snook path.

‘Ach, hen,’ her friend said, when she got close enough. ‘Where are you off to on this fine day?’

‘I’ve been struggling with the cookbook proofs all morning. Thought I’d take a break and see how Robert’s doing at the bothy.’

Rhona cooed at the baby. ‘Aye, fair enough. I’ve got a couple of new glazes for you to look at though, in case you want to add them to the comparison test next week. And I want a cuddle of the bairn, so not too much canoodling, eh?’

‘Yuk!’ Young Robbie screwed up his face. ‘I don’t need to know about that!’

Rhona flicked the boy’s cheek gently. ‘Come on, then. Let’s you and me go and make Pat and Susan a brew.’

‘They’re upstairs, sorting the curtains out,’ Anna said, as Rhona steered Robbie towards the Inn. ‘They could probably use a break. And help yourself to lunch – the bread’s still warm.’