Just because she’d had to ask for help on this occasion, didn’t mean she wasn’t good with her sister, and it didn’t mean she wasn’t needed.

She gave a tentative smile. “Thanks.” Why had she built Flora up into a monster? She was just another person doing her best to handle what life threw at her. And life seemed to have thrown plenty. She’d lost her mother, too, and she’d had no dad and no big sister. “You were brilliant.”

“You’re welcome. As I was the one who caused the meltdown, it was the least I could do.” Flora paused. “Are you aching after the riding?”

Izzy pulled a face. “Like I’ve been kicked down the road by a pair of heavy boots. Or even a horse.”

Flora grinned back and for a moment they were just two bruised and aching people who had shared a similar experience.

“Better move. I’m on lifeguard duty.” Flora waved a hand and headed toward the water.

“No need to come any closer than that.” Izzy dragged one of the garden chairs a safe distance from the water. “And don’t worry. I’ve got a lifesaving certificate. You’re just there for show.”

“I hope so, because there is no way I could help anyone in trouble in the water. Thanks, Izzy.”

Feeling confident and a little more sure of her place in the world, Izzy slid into the lake and joined her sister.

17

Flora

The days passed in a blur of fresh air and sweaty, breathless fun. They hiked to the tops of fells, scrambling up twisty trails and over rocky outcrops, gasping as they finally collapsed at the top, lungs heaving and skin stinging from the heat. They gorged on Clare’s delicious picnics and the incredible views, devouring chunks of fresh bread and local cheese while drinking in the valleys and mountain ridges spread before them.

“That’s Windermere,” Clare would say, pointing to the long ribbon of silvery water stretching into the distance, or she’d point at a rocky ridge, “That’s Crinkle Crags and next to it Bowfell.” She was able to recognize every mountain from its shape and Flora was impressed by her local knowledge.

“You’ve climbed all of them?”

“Yes. My father and I used to go every weekend.”

She and Clare had slid into an easy friendship, and Flora was surprised by how easy it was to be with her. Any traces of awkwardness were long gone. It had taken only a few conversations for Flora to work out that Clare’s occasional reserve masked shyness. She wasn’t good with strangers and the more time she and Flora spent together, the more she opened up, particularly when it came to sharing this corner of the world she loved so much.