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Reggie rolled his eyes theatrically and muttered to himself, something about grown-ups thinking they were funny, and ran ahead as they approached the den. Fox spotted the teepee of branches which had been positioned around a tree trunk. A classic construction, he remembered doing similar himself as a boy. Rubbing his hands together, eager to get involved, he went around to the front, where he stopped in his tracks.

Robyn was already there, threading bracken strands through the branches. Her cheeks were rosy with the wind, her hair wild and windswept over her shoulders. Willow was snug in her sling against Robyn’s chest. She looked surprised and then her face broke into a smile, leaving Fox winded for the second time that day.

‘Robyn!’ The boys danced in delight and immediately crowded in to see what she was doing.

‘Hi, boys.’ She ruffled their hair. ‘Hello,’ she said next, to Fox, her voice almost breathless, and then, clearing her throat, ‘Hi, nice to see you again,’ to Millie, stronger this time.

‘Nice to see you again too! Wow, I’ve heard all about this camp,’ Millie said. ‘Looks amazing.’ Robyn nodded. Fox saw a twig in her hair and fought the desire to pluck it free.

‘We’ve been having fun building it, haven’t we, boys?’ Robyn glowed as the boys jumped up and down, but then turned back to Millie. ‘I’m running a forest club at the boys’ school, so I thought we might get some good ideas for sessions.’

‘Anything so far?’ Millie asked, directing her question at Reggie.

‘We did a worm count! And we’re going to do a bird watch.’

‘And we made a swing!’ George added, pointing at a rope swing secured over an overhead branch at the edge of the clearing.

‘You have been busy!’ Millie said, eyeing their handiwork. ‘Who wants a go?’

The boys barrelled over to the rope swing, jostling over who would go first. Millie followed them and gave the rope a good tug to test its safety. She lifted George onto the stick seat and gave him a push start. He shouted in delight, ignoring Reggie who was demanding it was his turn already.

Fox turned his attention to Robyn and realised that Willow was watching him closely. She blinked her big eyes at him, waving her chubby arms in his direction. He wiggled his fingers back at her and she gave a gummy smile. She really was a gorgeous baby. But then, of course, she would be, with Robyn as her mum.

‘So . . .’ he said quietly, so that the boys couldn’t hear. ‘How are you this morning?’

Robyn bit her lip as she turned, observing him under her lashes before a smile crept across her face.

‘Fine, thanks, Fox,’ she said. Their gaze lengthened, lingered. He remembered the heat of her mouth under his.

‘Here, help me with this,’ she said, passing him a stem of bracken. He closed the distance between them and she showed him how to pass the stems between the sticks to form a wall.

‘Who taught you how to do this then?’ he asked, following her lead.

‘Conservation club at university. We went wild camping, swam in rivers, cooked over open fires. It was a blast.’

‘I think your uni experience was very different to mine,’ Fox said sheepishly. ‘Mine was all computer design club, late night gaming with the guys and pitching bad ideas to the university’s dragons’ den.’

Robyn laughed.

‘I made one of these at a festival too once and we slept under it. It was great for watching the stars.’

Fox immediately wondered who the ‘we’ was in that scenario, who she had been sleeping with that night, but swallowed the question. It was none of his business.

‘I’ve never been to one of those either,’ Fox said. He picked up another stem and got to work.

‘A festival?’ Robyn said. ‘You should definitely try. There’re all sorts these days, so there’d be one that would suit you.’

‘What, you mean one with comfy beds and flushing toilets where everyone gets a good night’s sleep?’ Fox suggested and was rewarded with her full-throated laugh.

‘No, ones for families, where there’s something for everyone. Music, art, food, immersive experiences . . .’ Robyn said. ‘There’s one I went to in South Africa – before Willow obviously – which had a music stage floating in a lake. We danced all night and then crashed out in a tent.’

Fox shuddered violently at the thought, and she laughed again.

‘What’s so funny over here?’ Millie asked, appearing beside them.

A loud crack rent the air. They all turned, and Fox’s blood went cold as he turned to see George on the forest floor down a small slope, the rope swing snapped in half and hanging from the branch, the stick seat still between George’s thighs.

‘George!’ Millie shouted.