Instead of Rowan’s address, Ewan has sent Stuart a screenshot of an Instagram post, five aubergine emojis, and a message:You’re welcome, grandpa.
I grab the phone and zoom in. “Is this what I think it is?”
I know that loch. I know that campsite. Rowan isn’t in London. She’shere.
In the chaos of the sale, I’ve lost track of time. But it’s the second week of May. The first day of the walk. Rowan knows I do it every year. My heart skips a beat. Has she really come all this way? Could she… But no. It’s too much to hope that she’s here for me.
Still…
She’s so close. She’shere. And I love her.
“I have to go.” I can barely keep my feet still.
“Wait, what?” Stuart’s face is a picture of confusion.
“I have to find her.”
“Right now?”
“Yes.”
“Well, fuck.”
But I’m already running. Out of the courtyard, down the rutted track, away from the farm. Now that I’ve made the decision, now that I know, there isn’t another second to waste.
In the distance, I can hear Stuart on the phone.
“Babe. You’ll never guess what Angus is about to do…”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Rowan
I stand at the bottom of the Devil’s Staircase and stare upwards, bracing myself.
“Ah, that doesn’t look so bad,” Joan says, pausing next to me.
“Wait until you start walking,” Bolly comments darkly.
Joan arches a brow. “And when did you last do this hike?”
“Oh, twenty years ago? I did have a life before we met, you know.”
“I don’t much care for it.”
“Ladies.” Marnie lays a hand on each of their shoulders. “Shall we do this?”
“I suppose we should.” I sigh. I resettle my bag on my back. I remember all too well the pain of last time. My stabbing calves. My short, sharp breaths.
And Angus. The deep burr of his voice urging me on. The warmth of his smile when I reached the top. How did it feel?Fucking fantastic.
Energy surges through me. I take the first step.
“Let’s go!” I shout, and laugh when Priya runs past me, yodelling her enthusiasm.
The climb is both better than I remember and worse. Better because I’m more experienced, and fitter. Worse because I’mnot that much fitter, and with a loaded bag on my back, it’s still tiring, and hard.
But life is hard. Angus was right about that. I have to keep going, no matter how hard it gets. That’s the only way I’ll get to the top.
