He was probably the type who thought every woman of a certain age was on the lookout for love, and in her case nothing could be further from the truth. It was a casual assumption so often made by society, that you needed to be with someone in order to be happy (in much the same way as people assumed that everyone of childbearing age would be having children if they could). She’d experienced it after Milly’s father had walked out. Within months of him leaving, people had tried to match her with single men, until she’d announced that she was happier by herself. And it was true. It wasn’t an excuse or a way of fending people off.

What most people didn’t understand was that she wasn’t looking for love. She didn’t want, or need, to be in love because she was entirely content with her life just the way it was, and she had no wish to risk destabilizing what she’d built with such care.

Brian, whatever might be going on in his head, had nothing to fear from her.

They set off along the trail and straight onto the fells, winding their way upward along a track with views across the lake. The mountains rose, the lower slopes overgrown with ferns, the upper ones rocky as the terrain grew steeper.

Connie felt herself relax. People said you got used to a place if you lived there, that you no longer appreciated the charms that drew people from around the world, but that wasn’t true for her. She loved this place. She loved the vast skies, the shimmering lakes and the craggy horizons, and there was no better place to appreciate the scenery than from the back of a horse.

They rode in silence, and after a while Janice, who was in the lead, turned in her saddle. “Ready to canter?”

They took off along the track, and Connie forgot that she was still aching from the day before, and she forgot that she was annoyed to be sharing the ride with one other person.

Her only focus was the rhythmic thud of hooves and the sheer exhilaration of being on a horse while enjoying exquisite views. Far beneath her the lake sparkled in the sunshine, stretching along the valley floor like a silver ribbon. A smile spread across her face.

She experienced the same sense of elation and happiness that she’d felt the day before. Here, on Harley’s back, there was no past or future. There was only this moment.

Eventually they slowed to a walk, and Connie reached forward and patted him gently, watching as his ears moved in response to her soft words of praise and appreciation.

They reached a viewpoint on the trail and stopped to take in the vista and give the horses a brief rest.