Was there? Natalie’s cheeks burned now. Gabe was often in her thoughts. She’d even imagined kissing him, wondered what it would be like to be held by him, but nothing more. It was flattering to think that another man might find her attractive. She shook her head. “He’s a good man but I refuse to feel guilty about the friendship we’ve developed.”

“Fair enough.” Rosie’s look was open, trusting. “Everyone needs friends.”

“Perhaps I feel selfish rather than guilty.”

“Why?”

“I think about what happened to your family and what you went through, and my neighbour Veronica and the battle she’s facing, and I feel such a fraud. What have I got to complain about?”

“This is your life, Natalie, not mine, not your neighbour’s. You have every right to question your own life and what you want from it. Don’t let anyone else tell you what you should do.” Rosie put her hand to her chest. “It has to come from inside you.”

Natalie felt a bubble of laughter rise within her. “Faye, the other woman I met in Broome, said don’t let anyone should you.”

Rosie nodded, drained her cup, placed it back on the table and stood up. “If you need more time, you take it. You know you’re welcome to stay but right now if we don’t get going Charlie will be getting tetchy. He wants to come fishing with us.”

“I’ll get my hat.” The weight of decisions to be made felt lighter on Natalie’s shoulders. “Thanks for the chat. I feel like I’ve become one of your lost boys.”

Rosie nodded. “Sometimes you have to lose yourself to find yourself.”

They weren’t out fishing for long. Charlie and Rosie caught a decent feed of fish in quick time and as usual Natalie had no luck. She hadn’t been focused on the fishing – her mind had wandered over the short conversation she’d had with Milt and then the conversation she’d had with Rosie before they’d set off. Both had stirred feelings of guilt and uncertainty she couldn’t shake.

She was relieved when they dropped her back at her cabin. Charlie had promised to bring her some fish once he’d cleaned them and Rosie had given her a perceptive look as Natalie had waved them off. Now her cabin was hot. She flicked on the aircon and wandered restlessly between the rooms. She picked up her current novel but put it down again, still not happy with the way the woman was dealing with her problems. Natalie didn’t believe anyone could be so resolute as to turn their back on their family.

The wind went out of her and she flopped to the bed. Hadn’t she done the very same thing? She stretched out and stared at the ceiling fan going around in lazy circles. It was old and greyed by the years.