He didn’t answer straightaway and we all twisted around to look at him.

‘Almost,’ he eventually said, ‘it’s definitely better than yesterday anyway.’

Hope looked concerned and I guessed that my hunch in the pub earlier had been right. There was still something between him and Sam.

‘Do you think we should tell them?’ Joe then asked, leaning forward so he could see Sam.

‘That’s entirely up to you,’ Sam answered. ‘It’s your call, mate.’

Joe took a long swig from his bottle and then stuck it in the sand.

‘What is it, Joe?’ Hope asked. ‘Is it something to do with the crash?’

I had a feeling she was on the right path and when Sam’s eyes met mine and he nodded, I felt sure.

‘Yes,’ Joe said heavily, ‘it’s everything to do with the crash. Sam and I talked about it earlier and we were going to just keep it between ourselves, but now we’re a foursome, and I get the feeling that we always will be, I want to tell you and Tess too.’

I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall during this earlier meeting between the two men. They hadn’t had all that long to talk, but it was obvious they hadn’t wasted a single second and I was glad about that. They should have had the conversation years ago of course but I did understand that what was often obvious for someone to see and easy to say from the outside, could be hidden on the inside.

‘I always wanted to believe that Sam’s memories of that night were hazy,’ Joe began. ‘I told myself that the length of time he was in a coma and the trauma of the surgery and the fact that he never said anything, meant certain things were never quite as clear in his mind as they were in mine. But,’ he added, his lip trembling, ‘I did sometimes wonder if he suspected . . .’

‘Suspected what?’ I asked, looking between the two of them.

‘That he wasn’t the person driving,’ Joe said quietly. ‘If he knew that it had been Jack.’

My hand flew up to my chest and Hope looked like she might faint.

‘Are you sure it was him?’ she whispered. ‘Are you sure it was Jack behind the wheel?’

‘Yes,’ Joe continued, ‘completely sure and it was all my fault.’

‘Why?’ Hope and I asked together.

‘Because I was the idiot who took him out drinking,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘Even though he was ridiculously underage. I thought it would be a laugh. I thought it would be fun to have my little brother bending the rules I was always so determined to break, but it all backfired because I was also the one who couldn’t stop him jumping into the driving seat when Sam came to pick us up.’