Their first test climb was to be a small rock face at the foot of Blencathra’s Sharp Edge. It sounded more daring than it was; she’d seen the pictures. They would be under instruction the whole time. Both she and Callum had applied for the basic level exam, and that would be tested at Woden’s Face on Friday. Woden’s Face was a rock face in the middle of a forest, supposedly in the Borrowdale Valley, wherever that was. Her dad was thrilled that she was doing something physical. She knew it irritated the hell out of him that he was this super fit guy, but had a daughter who spent her days on social media. She didn’t see the point of working out; surely you only did it if you wanted to date someone at the gym. Plenty of her girlfriends did, and had boyfriends with bulky shoulders that made their legs look spindly and stupid. It wasn’t her thing.

Callum had told her about the girl at the stone circle and it freaked her out. She knew that Kelly had handled the case but the girl had disappeared. It was weird, but then everything her dad’s girlfriend did was weird. But cool too. Kelly was a kick-ass woman and Josie hoped to be as confident and no-bullshit as her one day. Every time she saw Kelly, she watched her father swoon just a little bit more, but it was a good thing because Kelly mellowed him. She remembered arguments at home between her mum and dad and the night he left them. At first, she had hated him for walking out, but since meeting Kelly and living with him, she’d begun to love him like she used to.

Her dad and Kelly were getting pretty old and Josie had told him last weekend that she’d love a baby sister or brother, if that’s what they were thinking about. Her dad didn’t answer.

‘You don’t need to get married. I’ll babysit, and change nappies, and play with her, or him.’

‘Thanks,’ he’d said. He’d had an odd look on his face after that and Josie wondered if she’d said something wrong. Maybe Kelly couldn’t have kids? That thought had made her regret her words so badly. She decided not to bring it up again.

Her thoughts turned to Ted. He’d promised to buy her a skiing outfit for her birthday. Her dad was paying for her to go on the school trip. She’d asked him when she found out that Callum was going.

‘But you don’t ski,’ he’d said.

‘That’s why I want to go.’