The girl at Castlerigg was big news in school, simply because everybody knew that Callum and Connor had been there. They were minor celebrities as a result. Connor embellished the events on the school bus in front of a captive audience, and Callum rolled his eyes. His mind was on other more pressing matters, such as the girl’s back and her perfect skin. All he’d seen was the creamy arch of her flesh, bending over behind one of the stones, before sanity returned and he called for his parents to help. He’d locked his eyes on the crease of her buttocks and the way her hair fell down to her waist. She was slender and delicate, and Callum had wanted to reach out and take her into his coat, to warm her and comfort her. He hadn’t seen her full face, just a glance at her eyes. They were blue and wide, and he’d ached to hold her, to make her feel safe, but his dad had waded in and taken over, making the stranger scared and rigid. He’d offered to help, but the expression of assistance had been brushed away, as Mum and Dad made a drama out of the whole thing. And now she was gone. It was no surprise really. If it had been handled differently, maybe they could have taken care of her and found out what was wrong.

She’d haunted his dreams and he’d imagined picking her up, wrapping his coat around her and carrying her to safety. He’d laid her gently on a smooth stone and she’d wanted him to lie on top of her and…

Callum blushed and looked out of the window at the passing hills. One day he’d leave this place and make his own decisions. It wasn’t that he didn’t like it here; far from it, he loved climbing with his dad and his brother. He enjoyed wild swimming in summer and going out with his dad to rescue trapped sheep high on deserted, rugged plateaus. He had no idea how the dumb animals got themselves trapped on precarious shelves, but his dad was just about the only person who knew how to get them down. He’d take his ropes and climb to where the idiot balls of white fluff had ended up, tie them off and winch them down to safety, to the immense relief of the farmer. Sheep were like gold up here. A dead one was lost profits.