The boy didn’t smile back, only nodded and pushed his glasses up his nose. His dad looked at his watch.

‘We’d better go or you’re going to be late for school. We’re cutting it fine as it is.’

‘I can’t be late again, Dad!’

Old Robbie laid a hand on his son’s shoulder, propelling the boy back towards the boat. ‘Well, whose idea was it to drag me out on dolphin patrol before breakfast, eh? I was all for pancakes, but no, it was all about the dolphins, wasn’t it?’

‘Hang on,’ Anna called after them. ‘Two seconds, I want to—’ she dashed over to the purslane, bending to snatch a few handfuls. It was easier said than done, the stiff stalks refusing to break easily. After a few seconds in which she waged a pathetic losing battle with the local flora, a shadow fell across her and a hand appeared over her shoulder, holding out an open utility knife. ‘Thanks,’ she said, taking it and cutting at the plant. She stood up and turned, closing the knife and holding it out. Robert was watching her with an amused expression. It crinkled the lines around his eyes like the ripples on a sea on its way to becoming unsettled.

‘Dad!’ Young Robbie called out, behind them. He was already in the dinghy. ‘Come on!’

Old Robbie helped her into the boat and then pushed off, hauling himself from the water and over the side without even seeming to lose a breath. Anna settled herself on one of the narrow benches and then they were off, the older MacKenzie manning the rudder with practised ease. Anna sat facing him, his son beside her, and watched as the boy pulled a rolled-up exercise book out of his pocket. The words ‘Dolphin Patrol Notes’ had been written with felt pen in haphazardly bold lettering on the front. Young Robbie retrieved a pen from the pocket of his yellow jacket and bent over a new page. After writing the date at the top he began diligently making notes.

‘Did you see any this morning?’ Anna asked him. When he nodded, she added, ‘That’s wonderful. I’ve never seen a dolphin.’

He looked up at that. ‘What, never?’

Anna shook her head. ‘Not in the wild. I’d love to, though.’

‘You will,’ the boy said confidently. ‘There’s a pod in the bay at the moment and I think they’re going to have at least one baby.’

‘A baby dolphin! Now that I would like to see.’

‘That’s why we came round to the cove,’ Young Robbie went on. ‘It’s on their route and we needed to check for nets.’ He chewed his pen for a minute, eyeing the bushy bunch of purslane in her hand. ‘What’s that?’ he asked.

Anna held up the leaves. ‘This? It’s called sea purslane. You can eat it.’

The boy wrinkled his nose. ‘Really?’