Page 141 of The Chalet Girl

‘There she is!’ Tristan said, happily cocooned in his large grey puffa coat.

‘Alpenglow!’ Emme marvelled. She turned to him in awe and looked back. ‘It’s beautiful!’

They watched, mesmerised as the dark peaks of the Swiss Alps ignited a stunning, warm hue of rosy pink across their entire universe. She pressed her body back into Tristan’s. She felt the strength of him pressing back. She felt entirely safe and nurtured for the first time in her life.

‘I love you Emmeline Eversley,’ Tristan whispered, before he kissed her.

She turned to face him.

‘I love you too.’

They stood for twenty minutes, soaking up the peace, the tranquillity. Savouring every second and drinking in how lucky they were to be alive. How lucky they were to have found each other. A year was coming to an end, and she couldn’t think of a better way to spend it than with him.

‘Let’s go home,’ she said.

Tristan nodded.

As they traversed the slope carefully back onto the Blocherpass, Tristan led the way and held Emme’s hand, checking the path was safe at every turn. The pink was fading now, and as the sun rose, a new light filled Emme’s world with warmth. As they rounded a corner they could see the form of another walker heading towards them on the trail. A man with walking poles and straggly hair. In the distance they heard their pilot returning in the chopper. The sound of it, the cold, reminded Emme of the rescue.Perhaps she had been aware of Tristan, holding her in the helicopter after he had plucked her out of the snow. Emme squeezed his hand, and then Tristan stopped abruptly as the walker’s face emerged from the shadows of the rock and into the morning sunlight.

His sudden halt caught Emme by surprise.

‘Tristan?’ she asked, squeezing his hand again.

But Tristan was staring straight in front of him. Paralysed in surprise.

‘Dad?’