‘Maybe,’ he replied, not sounding worried about the prospect of that at all, which somehow made Anna feel better, and allowed her to relish the calm, even if it wasn’t going to last.

‘What are you going to do now?’

That was a very good question. She felt like anything was possible. She felt like a racehorse at the track, a creature that had been primed and trained, all amped up and ready to go, and finally the switch had been pulled and the gate had been opened. It was time to run. Forwards.

‘I don’t know,’ she replied honestly. ‘I’m at Camber Sands. I came to get away, clear my head, which is probably a good thing… I’ve had texts from my sister-in-law, but I’m not ready to read them yet, let alone answer them. Maybe tomorrow.’ She breathed out, and with it the last bit of tension drained from her limbs. Suddenly, after being so wired and unable to settle, she was ready for a long, deep sleep. ‘Thank you, Brody. Yet again. For listening.’

There was no smile this time in his voice when he replied. His tone was thick, gravelly. ‘Any time. Always.’

Anna yawned. She needed to get to bed but, at the same time, she didn’t want to end the call either. ‘I think I’m having what’s called a post-adrenaline crash, or something like that.’ She yawned again, and this time her eyelids became heavy. ‘This is going to sound a bit strange, but what the heck, seeing as I’m so far past my own boundaries today, I have no idea what I’m doing… Would you mind if I didn’t hang up, if I just carried my phone around with me for a bit, but didn’t actually say anything?’

He took a moment to reply. ‘If that’s what you want.’

‘Thank you, Brody. Until next time…’

Anna tucked her phone into one of her cardigan pockets, then jammed her hand into the other pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. She unfolded it and read it yet again. This was exactly what she needed to do to commemorate her husband’s birthday. It was a bit last-minute – so not her – but so very Spencer. She hoped they’d have space tomorrow, because he’d have loved to see her do this. It was the perfect way to remember him.

Yawning again, she stood and went back inside, closing the patio doors behind her. Before getting into the soft double bed, she pulled her phone out of her cardigan pocket and looked for somewhere to put it. The pillow next to hers always seemed empty these days, so she put it there to fill the space, then curled into the duvet and fell into a deep and restful sleep.

BRODY’S CHISEL SUNK into the wood he was holding in his left hand and he began deftly shaping the block, referring to a rough sketch in a notebook laid on the workbench. It had been weeks since he’d sat at his desk, held a pen in his hand and waited for words to come, but that was what he’d done when he’d got up before dawn this morning. He’d had a dream last night, the details of which were lost in his subconscious, but he’d woken energized. Inspired. He’d really thought today might have been the day. He’d been wrong.