Finn was already out of the car and running to Michael in the doorway. Mary Kate stopped and watched as Michael enveloped him in a hug. Her heart filled with joy. He’d done the same thing to her so many times.

Joe placed his hand in the small of her back. ‘Life goes on and it is good,’ he said.

‘It is,’ she replied, and felt the warmth of his hand on her waist. She looked up to his face, the clean-shaven face she had despised until just a couple of days ago, and she met in his eyes a softness, an understanding and something more that she couldn’t place.

‘Do you think you’ll be back in Tarabeg any day soon or will I have to come to Liverpool to find you?’ he asked. He amazed himself. He had thought her a stroppy stuck-up madam, but now, since he’d rescued her, he felt fiercely protective.

She frowned. Her emotions were all over the place: she felt sad one moment, uplifted the next, now that she had made her decision to become a nurse, and her feelings towards Joe were surprising her. ‘Joe—’ she said as he gently turned her towards the house.

‘I know, I know, you don’t have to explain. You’re grieving – Rosie’s told me all about it. And you’re off to be a nurse and that’s a great thing to be doing. I’m not one to try and change your mind, but please remember that I’m here. I have a feeling I’ll be waiting.’

‘I will. I’ll be back soon, but not to stay. My life is different now.’ They both walked towards the grinning Michael.

In the kitchen, Nola and Seamus were sitting expectantly at the table. Mary Kate did a double-take and gasped when she saw what was in front of them. Michael gave her a little push and Joe pulled out the chair next to Nola for her.

With a huge smile on his face, Seamus gestured at the pile of rolled-up dollars. ‘This is for you, Mary Kate.’

She stared, trying to find her voice. ‘How much is it?’ she whispered.

‘It’s three thousand dollars,’ said Michael.

‘Three thousand dollars?’ Mary Kate had never thought about money when she was with Nicholas. She’d never needed to. Nicholas had provided her with everything she’d wanted. It wasn’t until he died that she’d realised how little she had of her own. At the moment of his passing, she’d been left with just the clothes on her back and a few pounds in her purse. It was only recently it had become a worry and yet, despite the very poor money she would be paid as a nurse, it had never once crossed her mind to refuse the offer Matron had made to her.

‘I’ll be able to pay Mrs O’Keefe back,’ was the first thing she said.

‘You owe her money?’ Michael looked less than pleased.

‘No, not really, but she has kept me and done so much for me. I’d like to do something to repay that.’