Page 20 of Secret Paths

“It is a very Peter thing to do.”

“That is unsettling.”

“You should try being less obvious.”

He smiles, but it fades when he looks towards the valley.

I watch him for a second. Not because I think he is about to fall apart on a footpath. Peter is not built that way. He will keep moving, keep making people laugh, keep telling himself that he has time to work it out.

But he looks tired.

Not physically. He has walked up the hill without slowing. It is something else. The kind of tiredness that comes from having a future taken away before you are ready to let it go.

“You will tell Alexandra,” I say.

Peter rubs a hand over the back of his neck. “I should. But she’ll worry.”

“She is your sister.”

“That is exactly the problem.”

I smile. “You say that as if it is a bad thing.”

“It is not bad. It is just… Lexi does not do anything halfway. She will have a plan by tea time. Three options, a spreadsheet and at least one person she has already contacted on my behalf.”

“That sounds useful.”

“It sounds exhausting.”

He glances sideways at me.

“I am changing the subject before you decide I need a wellbeing plan.”

“I am not writing you a wellbeing plan.”

“Good. I have a theory instead.”

“That is rarely reassuring.”

“Lexi did not get you here at all.”

I turn to look at him. “No?”

“No. She was convenient cover.”

“Cover for what?”

“For wanting to see me.”

I laugh. “Why would I want to see you?”

Peter’s mouth curves.

“My kitchen skills.”

“You did not demonstrate any kitchen skills.”

“I demonstrated plenty of skill in a kitchen.”