‘How are you this morning?’ he asked, coming towards her as she got out and locked the door.
‘Good – and you?’
‘Looking forward to this.’ He turned away and indicated the path. ‘It’s not as challenging as the Fellmere route, since there’s not many gradients. But running alongside the tarn with the mountains in the background is just beautiful, especially at this time of day.’
‘I used to come here a lot with my parents,’ she told him as they went into a few warm-ups, and she followed his lead self-consciously.
‘Ah, so you know this place better than I do.’ They concentrated on a few more exercises, then as he released the stretch in his arms he asked, ‘Are you ready?’
‘Yep.’
‘Let’s go, then.’ He turned towards the path.
At the beginning of the run she felt shy, but Leo slipped easily into conversation. He asked her whether she lived in Ambleside – ‘Just outside, in Fellmere’ – and how long she had worked at the cafe – ‘A couple of years now.’ She had the impression he thought she was a bit older than seventeen. She wondered how old he was – she guessed early twenties, and it was strange that in just a few years the difference between Leo and the boys she hung out with was so apparent. Most of her classmates still showed traces of puberty in their wispy stubble and soft skin. Leo’s jawline was shaded this morning, his physique strong and his movements confident. His cruising speed was also considerably faster than hers, and once they got into a rhythm and their breathing quickened, the conversation began to tail off. Georgia kept falling behind. She was aware that every few minutes Leo had to slow down a little to help her keep up, and he turned around a few times to check she was okay. It began to get embarrassing, although the one distinct advantage of running a few steps behind him was that she could enjoy watching the muscles ripple through his shoulders as he pumped his arms and let her eyes stray regularly down his body.
The route was familiar. The Turners had done plenty of family walks here over the years. Georgia remembered bringing bikes, and Zac racing around their parents, who were holding hands and laughing and telling Zac off for deliberately riding into their legs. They had been holding hands. How long had it been since she had seen her mum and dad do that? Normally the way they were with one another just annoyed her, yet today she was scared. It dawned on her for the first time that the careless words and thoughtless actions she had witnessed for a long time were a sign of something much deeper and more troubling.
She had pushed these thoughts away – no way was she going to let her parents’ problems intrude on this time alone with Leo. It was a beautiful stretch of pathway, dense woodland on one side and a few sporadic trees against the glistening waterline. Her eyes were continually drawn across the reflections of the tarn to the majestic row of knotty peaks in the distance. Before she knew it, they were reaching the end of the circular route, heading towards the car park.
Leo stopped, bending over to rest his hands on his knees. ‘Do you want to do another lap?’
On coming to a halt, Georgia realised how tired and strained her muscles felt from trying to keep up with him. ‘Of course,’ she said, doing her best to hide how much she was hurting. To her relief, once they set off again, Leo slowed his pace and she began to regain her breath.
‘This is one of my family’s favourite spots,’ she said as they ran. ‘We’ve been here so many times. My uncle says it’s the only flat place he loves as much as the fells. He’s a champion fell-runner – have you heard of that?’
‘Yes,’ Leo replied. ‘But I’ve never done it. There weren’t many hills where I used to live. I’ll definitely give it a try now I’m here, although it sounds tough.’
‘It’s a bit crazy. I’ve watched my uncle in competitions, and I’ve done quite a lot of runs myself. It’s very different to running on the flat. I think Uncle Liam is counting on me to keep the tradition going in our family – my cousins have zero interest and my brother is more of an indoor type.’
‘So, you have a brother? I always wanted a brother. I’m surrounded by sisters – two older, one younger, and they all like to tell me what to do.’
Georgia had laughed. ‘Sounds like my mother. In my family everyone reveres my uncle for his running antics, because he’s done the Bob Graham Round twice. Do you know about that?’
‘No . . .’
‘You run forty-two peaks in twenty-four hours.’