Fear darts through Amber. When she was found outside in the snow as a child, she was drowsy and kept talking about going swimming in a puddle, of all things. Confusion and drowsiness, severe shivering too … all symptoms of hypothermia. Of course, Jasper will know that as a doctor but won’t say it outright for fear of scaring Amber. She can hear the worry in his voice though.

‘I’m coming to get you,’ Amber says, holding her phone between her chin and shoulder as she grabs her coat from the peg. Lumin’s eyes widen with alarm and Rosa shakes her head.

‘N-n-n-no, it’s too dangerous out here,’ Jasper says.

‘Jesus, Jasper, it’s just a bit of snow,’ Amber says.

They’re both silent, knowing how dangerous a bit of snow can be. But this is Jasper, she can’t risk losing him.

‘Can you see anything? Some kind of landmark so I know what to head for?’ she asks as she hops about, pulling on her boots.

‘You can’t go, Amber, look at it out there,’ Lumin whispers.

‘L-l-letterbox,’ Jasper says.

‘He says it’s near a letterbox,’ Amber tells Rosa, ignoring Lumin.

Realisation dawns on Rosa’s face. ‘I know where he is. He’s even closer than I thought.’ She stares out at the snowy lake. ‘Still a good thirty-minute walk around the loch, mind.’

‘How long if I walk across the loch?’

Rosa vehemently shakes her head. ‘No way.’

‘But I have to. You’d have crossed that icy lake for your daughter, wouldn’t you?’

‘My daughter, yes,’ Rosa agrees. ‘God, yes, if I’d only looked out of the bloody window that day. But who is this man to you? You said he was your ex.’

‘She loves him,’ Lumin says simply.

As Lumin says that, Amber realises just how much she loves Jasper, always has. Katy’s death eclipsed the feelings she had for him; belittled them so she felt she could leave it all behind. But now she realises how much of a fool she was to do so. And now Jasper was in harm’s way, she would not allow him to be taken from her. She was going to fight for him.

‘Yes, I do love him,’ she admits. ‘So I’m going to get him. Jasper,’ she says down the phone. ‘I’m coming for you. Just sit tight.’

She puts the phone down before he has a chance to protest.

‘I’m coming with you,’ Lumin says, grabbing her coat.

‘No way,’ Amber replies. ‘I didn’t risk everything to bring you here to freeze out there.’

‘But what if you freeze?’ Lumin says in a whiny voice. ‘Hypothermia kills, you know.’

‘It won’t kill me. It didn’t when I was five years old, it sure as hell won’t now. This,’ she says, holding up her bad hand, ‘this is proof I can survive conditions like this.’