Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Daisy
D aisy sat up in bed wondering when she should learn how to operate her heating. The mornings were getting cooler and her tank and PJ shorts weren’t keeping her warm like they had over the summer. The mug of tea sitting on her nightstand was steaming hot as she tapped away on her laptop. Her head snapped up when she heard her back door open and then shut.
She’d forgotten again to lock her back door. If that was Luke coming in, she was in for a telling off for not staying safe. The thud of feet told her it was Archer and Teddy.
Archer’s stray dog was home.
“You decent?” Archer called out from the hallway when he’d reached the top of the stairs.
Teddy clearly didn’t care if she was decent or not as he ran into her bedroom and jumped up at the side of the bed. Daisy looked at the clock on her screen and thought for a moment she was running late, but it said seven o’clock .
“Yeah, I’m decent,” she called out, putting her laptop to one side and patting the duvet for Teddy to jump up.
Archer came to the doorway and laughed at Teddy, trying and failing to get up. Daisy leaned forward and clutched him under her legs and yanked him up. He rewarded her with doggy kisses, which she tried to keep to her jaw and neck.
“You’re up early?” she said as she dodged Teddy left and right.
“Yeah, taking Teddy for his morning walk and thought I’d test out your back door. I wasn’t shocked to find that it wasn’t locked. You look like you’ve been up a while. Is that tea still warm?”
Daisy widened her eyes at Archer’s series of questions, choosing to acknowledge the last one.
“Yeah, I haven’t had any yet if you want it.”
Archer strolled over to the table, strode with his heavy boots and picked up the mug. He carried it back to the chair in the corner and flopped down. Leaning back, he balanced the ceramic mug on the arm and whistled for Teddy. The dog didn’t move from his warm spot under the covers but glanced at Archer, then Daisy. His ears pinned back slightly as he yanked his nose under the duvet and snuggled deeper into her bed.
Teddy broke his habit of getting over-excited and calmed down. After months of training with a handler, he was like a new and mature dog. Teddy had become well-behaved in how he acted around people, especially Archer and Erica’s baby.
Archer groaned as he eyed Teddy’s uncooperative behaviour. “I’ve only had him back one day, and he’s already defying me. ”
Daisy smiled warmly at Archer, looking amused by the situation. “The trainer said he’ll be okay with Isobel?”
“Yeah,” Archer answered, still watching the dog with a furrowed brow. “It was worth all those months being away to get him child friendly. I remember the dogs we had around the estate when we were little. I don’t even know whose they were. They were just Turner dogs, but I enjoyed having animals.”
Daisy’s expression shifted to longing, and she said dreamily, “I’d like a cat.”
Archer snorted in response. “Cats are arseholes, no loyalty,” he declared, before draining his cup of tea.
“Yeah, true, but I like their attitude.”
Archer barked out a laugh at Daisy’s comment.
“So, why are you up so early?” he asked.
“Doing Edward Hall stuff. Want to get a routine, so we’re shipshape for auditors and tax inspections. I’d rather get things sorted as we go than have to do them at the end of the tax year.”
“Do you really have to get up so early for that?”
“I guess the rigs have me in an early routine and then working at the accountant’s firm. It was long days while I was learning. Kinda used to it, plus there is not much else to do.”
“All right, but the point of us all working together is that we work together to make our lives easier, not harder. We’ve had enough of that.”
“If it gets too much, I’ll come and see my big brother,” Daisy said and grinned.
Teddy had inched himself to Daisy’s lap and had his head leaning on her thigh, which she scratched behind his ears.
“You do that, sis,” he said and stood .
Archer came over, kissed her head and left the empty tea mug on her nightstand.
“If I come by tomorrow on the morning walk and find your door open, I am ratting you out to Luke. Lock your door, Daisy.”
Archer let out a command, and Teddy leapt off the bed and joined Archer, sitting on his backside and thumping his tail. It impressed Daisy that a simple noise had the dog to heel.
“He’s obedient,” Daisy remarked.
“He is. No feeding him any treats.”
“Would I?” she said in mock affront, with her palm on her chest.
“I fully expect there to be a glass jar with a flip-top lid with doggy treats within days somewhere in this house.”
“Aww Archer, how am I supposed to spoil him?”
“Buy a cat,” he said, laughing as he left her alone.
Daisy waited for her back to close and then sank back onto her pillows. She didn’t display any mementoes or personal items she’d collected over the years. They were still in boxes in the spare bedroom. She mused when the time would come that she didn’t want to bolt. Telling Archer that she was all in was one thing. Telling her addled mind was another.
“I’m totally getting a cat,” Daisy muttered.
She reached for her mug of tea and forgot her brother had drunk it. Thumping the empty mug down, she threw back the duvet and headed for the bathroom. She might as well start her day.
Once she showered and dressed, Daisy grabbed her laptop bag and headed to Edward Hall. Only Erica was at home reading a pile of papers that looked like lines for a movie with Isobel at her feet in her carry cot. Daisy didn’t have time for baby cuddles, and Erica looked deep in thought, so she carried on walking to Edward Hall.
They didn’t have any groups staying at the hall that week, so the place was eerily quiet. Heading for her office on the ground floor, she entered the building through the front door. The enormous wooden doors creaked as she shouldered her way in. If they had paying groups, the main doors were wedged open. But she tended to go through the kitchens if there were residential groups. That morning she wanted to avoid pastries and bacon if she wanted to stay fit. After six months in London and three months at Edward Hall, she noticed she wasn’t as toned as before. She needed to get back out on her surf board. The sea was getting more turbulent as the season wore on, so there weren’t many weeks left she could go out. The perfect solution would be to swim laps in the pool at Turner Hall, but being watched by her aunt sent shivers down her back. There had to be another way to stay fit.
Daisy pushed down the handle of her office door and shouldered it open. It was a decent size, and like all rooms in Edward Hall, it had tall ceilings with windows overlooking the grounds. Her office was across the foyer, down a short hall on the ground floor. She had the perfect view when groups would work out on the lawns. Freya would sneak in and gawp once she’d found out where Daisy’s office was positioned. Freya was now engaged to Luke, so it was a moot point, or so Freya let Luke think. There were times when Daisy got an unexpected visit from Freya for no reason at all that coincided with a session on the lawns with half-dressed men.
Daisy hadn’t made it homely yet, but she had dragged in a plant from outside to the left of the window that allowed her to spy the outside without being seen. Other than the tall potted plant, there was a desk that had seen better days and was older than her aunt. A squeaky chair on wheels that was around the same date as the desk, a blue rug that ran to an inch of all four walls and two functional chairs on the opposite side of the desk. She had a fancy monitor to which she could hook her laptop and a chipped mug filled with pens and pencils.
That was the sum total of her office. No pictures, no filing cabinets, and nothing to give it any personality.
She vowed to add more things as the months wore on. One item on her list was a kettle, a small fridge for milk and a jar for her tea bags. But for now, she wandered down to the kitchens with her travel mug and stole Jason’s stash. She rounded the desk, put her laptop back on the floor, and grinned at the round foil-covered dome in the centre of her desk.
“So much for giving up bacon,” she said aloud, picking up what she knew was a bacon bap.
Jason arranged for breakfast to be waiting for her on her desk before she arrived every day. She loved her brother for it. He recognised she worked long hours for the greater good of all four of them. When he’d quizzed her a couple of weeks into her permanent position, when she came skulking for food, he said he would feed her breakfast and lunch while at Edward Hall. She could join his table for dinner if she didn’t feel like cooking.
Daisy worked through the whole day, only stopping when Jason brought her a sandwich for lunch, and then she was on her way home. All the cottages for her brothers had lights on, but no one was outside. So she carried on to her place, thinking of the bath she’d promised herself if she’d got her to-do list done.
Turning the handle on her back door, she huffed when it wouldn’t open. She cursed Luke and rooted around in her laptop bag for her keys. She cursed some more when she found them, and an errant paperclip dug in under her nail. Daisy simmered instantly, thankful she had brothers who cared about her safety. Leaving the laptop back on her dining table, she kicked off her shoes into the cupboard under the stairs and then ran up to the first floor taking the stairs two at a time. Daisy had about an hour before she needed to get online for her volunteer work. She was one of many accountants that helped start-ups with basic accounting questions. A lot of them were sole traders. She wanted to set one up for Copper Island but wasn’t sure how that would go down as the Turner siblings hadn’t received open house invitations from many of the residents since they’d returned home.
Still, it was on her list of things to accomplish to give back to the island, to balance out the damage Cynthia had done over the years.
After a while, Daisy got out of the bath and wrapped herself in a towel before sitting down with her laptop. She pulled on her headset, dialled into the network, and waited for her calls to come through. It didn’t take long before one came connected. Daisy took a deep breath and answered.
“Hi, this is Daisy. How can I help?”
“Uh, hi. I wondered if you could give me some advice?”
The caller’s voice was deep and rumbly. She found listening to those few words enough to want to know everything about him. He sounded intense but knew exactly what he wanted.
Daisy cleared her throat and waited a moment before speaking.
“Sure, I’ll help where I can, and if I can’t, I’ll find someone who can. What is the problem?” Daisy asked, her voice gentle yet professional.
“My business has been running well for several years, but this last couple of years has seen a massive downturn, and I wondered if I could get out of paying the extra 50% in advance tax.”
“Sure, you can appeal to HMRC, but you need to be careful it’s not a temporary blip because if your business does have an upturn, HMRC will think you’re trying to pull a fast one.”
The man’s voice sighed long and hard. “I doubt that’s going to happen if the last six years are anything to go by. Ever since old man Turner died, this island has gone to ruin.”
Daisy’s heart stilled. She was talking to an islander, and he was referring to her grandfather.
“What kind of business do you run?”
“I’m a boat mechanic. My Dad moved off the island and said I could go with him, but I stayed and took over the family business while he went to the mainland and started fresh. He’s doing well, but there aren’t many boats that need fixing where I live. Fewer boats are coming to the island, meaning fewer boats need fixing. With fewer people coming to visit the island, there are fewer mouths to feed. With fewer mouths to feed, fewer boat trawlers needing fixing as they’re not going out to catch fish.”
“Right, it sounds like a spiral. Can you diversify?”
“Not really. I only know about boats.”
“Well, I hope the new generation can turn things around if the… what did you call him?”
“Old Man Turner. He wasn’t a nice guy, which probably accounts for his not very nice daughter, who hides away and has no interest in the island. It’s like having a CEO of a company who doesn’t give a shit. The thing is, I love living on this island, but there’ll be a time when I’ll have to move to the mainland too. Maybe my father had it right.”
A silence fell between them. Daisy wondered if he remembered her name at the beginning of the call. Not many did, and she hoped he hadn’t too. There wasn’t much she could say without revealing she knew which island he was talking about or who she was. He filled the silence for them.
“You don’t need to hear about my issues. I’m sure you hear all the sob stories on this line. I’ll let you go. Thanks for the advice. I’ll give it some thought before I call the tax man.”
“Okay, well, we’re here if you need more advice.”
“Thanks.” She could hear the smile in his voice. “Have a great evening. I’m off to get some fish and chips.”
“Sounds like a perfect evening,” she replied.
The call ended, but not before she heard his laugh. It was deep and rumbly, and what she wouldn’t give to feel that rumble wrapped up in his arms.
Daisy was keen to look up the boat mechanics on the island and search out fish and chip shops. She could take a walk into town and wander about.
Looking at the clock on her screen, she had another two hours of hotline calls, and then it would be too late to eat. She’d save her sleuthing for another evening. She wanted to hear his laugh in person.
Even if he hated the Turners.