Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Luke
I t was too early in the morning to deal with a bunch of bullies who thought five-on-one was a fair fight.
Luke had come off the first boat to cross to Copper Island with his duffle bag. Walking along the quayside, he saw two fishermen who ignored his nods.
“Aunt Cynthia, making friends again, I see,” he muttered.
He had a short walk to the high street before taking the private path to the Turner estate. He looked down the main street with the shops and saw five boys shoving another kid who wasn’t trying to defend himself or run away. He stood there, taking it. Then, dropping his duffle bag, Luke ran towards them. When he got to their scuffle, he saw they were young teens. He recognised the one being shoved. It was Ralph’s kid, Kenny.
“Kenny, back away, stand over there, and you lot,” he said, pointing at the group of five kids he’d put at fourteen, “come over here.”
It was too early for them to be up. They were teenagers. All of them should be in bed and not get up until midday.
“What’s going on?” Luke said to the five boys, but then got distracted.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Kenny edge away.
“You stay still,” he said to him.
The kid was so scared he froze mid-stride and stood legs apart outside the newsagents.
Luke turned back to the kids and glared at them. “Who is the leader?”
Four eyes looked at the boy in the middle, who stared at Luke like he was Lord of everything.
“You lead this chicken shit bunch of losers?” Luke asked.
“We’re not losers,” he called back, chin lifted, his lips scrunched together.
“You think five to one is brave?” Luke bellowed.
The shopkeeper came out of the newsagents. He nodded to Luke and then went back inside. Luke spotted Lucy come out of the greengrocers with a crate of apples.
“Hey, Luke. Good to see you home,” she called out.
At least one person was happy to see him back that wasn’t blood.
Turning back to the lead punk, he nodded for him to explain, crossing his arms.
“He hasn’t paid up this week. He knows his money is due on a Friday. It’s now Saturday, and he hasn’t paid.”
Luke didn’t think this happened any more in schools. What concerned him was that these kids weren’t hiding what they were doing.
“What does he owe you money for? ”
“Protection.”
“For what?” Luke said, laughing.
“Not getting picked on.”
“By whom?”
“Ooohh, fancy,” one of the kids said. “Whom,” he sang.
“Shut it,” Luke said in a low tone, making the boy’s bottom lip tremble.
Turning his attention back to the ring leader, he said, “What will his money buy him?”
“Our protection.”
“So you want him to pay you to not beat him up, is that right?”
“Yeah,” he replied, proud of his racketeering.
“It’s half six in the morning. You’re dedicated. I’ll give you that.”
“Unless he’s at school, this is the only place we can get to him. Kenny does a paper round. He spends most of his time at home with his dad or at the Turner estate.”
“He’s earning money, and you’re stealing it? You’re a pathetic waste of space. Are you going to charge me too?”
“No, the protection is just for the kids at school.”
“All of them?”
“No, just the kids in the lower years.”
“What happens if they don’t pay?”
“They get a reminder with a boot and a fist to make payment,” the kid said, attempting to look mean but not entirely pulling it off.
“I think I need to teach you a lesson. It goes like this. If you threaten anyone else from this moment, I will come and pay you a visit and give you a lasting reminder with my boot and my fist. Are we clear?”
The leader wasn’t so brave looking at Luke.
“You know who I am?” Luke asked .
The boy shook his head.
“I’m Luke Turner. My aunt is on the board of governors for your school. You heard of Cynthia Turner?”
He nodded his head so fast that Luke thought it would rock off.
“Good. Hopefully, Cynthia Turner’s name alone will make you think twice the next time you want to use extortion as a means to earn money.”
Luke knew the kid didn’t understand what extortion meant, but he didn’t care. He’d had enough of keeping these kids in line. Instead, Luke wanted to get to his cottage, shower, and see Freya.
“Get lost,” he said to the kids, and they sped off like their arses were on fire.
Luke turned to Kenny, who hadn’t moved and was wide-eyed, looking at them disappearing.
“You all right, Kenny?”
“Yeah. Thanks, Mr Turner.”
“It’s Luke. You better get inside to do your paper round. Does your dad know about what’s going on here?”
Kenny shook his head and looked like he didn’t want Luke to tell Ralph about this incident.
“I’ll keep my mouth shut, but if I see it happening again, I’ll go with you to tell him.”
Kenny’s shoulders sagged like it was inevitable that would happen. Luke nodded for him to get to his job. He walked down the high street and lifted his duffle to make the journey home.
Home.
Luke didn’t think he would ever consider Turner Hall his home. Still, there he was, fresh out of college with his qualification in pencil-pushing for event organising. He didn’t want the job, but there wasn’t much call for medics hosting weddings, so he’d chosen to organise the conference and banqueting business for Edward Hall. Stan Meyers and his daughter, Opaline, were still responsible for weddings. They dealt with the lead-up with the mother of the bride issues. Stan and Opaline looked after the sales side and then handed over the reins once everything was booked.
“Kill me now,” he muttered as he trudged up the gravel path towards the Turner estate.
Walking along the path, he looked over the other side of the harbour to see if Freya’s house was visible. There was a point on the trail where he could see right up her street. He stared when he reached that point, but there was no life on the quiet road. It was probably too early on a Saturday morning to be up. Unless you were bullies who wanted to terrorise a young kid. Luke made a mental note to ask Freya if she had taught them, especially the one leading the motley crew.
Strolling along the path in front of his sibling’s cottages, he was surprised to see Jason and Heidi on the doorstep, letting themselves in.
“Hey,” Luke called out and turned left to walk up their path.
“Dude, you’re home. I thought you’d be in later,” Jason said, striding down the path to meet him and wrapping him in a hug.
Heidi came too and gave him a cuddle and a kiss on the cheek.
“You’ve just missed Freya,” Heidi said.
“What is she doing here so early, or did she stay over?” Luke asked as he followed them up the path and into their cottage.
He dropped his duffle just inside the door and toed off his shoes. Heidi had made the place so cosy he didn’t want to mark anything with his dirty shoes from walking up from the harbour.
“She came to see our new guests. Once they headed to the sea to do their, well, whatever they needed to do,” she said, waving her hand as she walked, “she declared it was time for a nap.”
“It’s half seven in the morning,” Luke said.
“I know, but I made her come for six, or she would miss them,” Heidi replied, heading to their kitchen. “You want some coffee?”
“Yeah, love one,” Luke said, sitting at the kitchen island. “Who are the new guests at Edward Hall?”
“Some elite team, here for endurance training in the sea. We’re not allowed to know anything about them. They’ve paid for everything upfront, and they’re not doing anything illegal here, so we signed the NDA,” Jason said, sitting next to him.
“Sounds intriguing,” Luke said.
“They have bodies to die for,” Heidi said with a sigh.
“Hey, I’m just here,” Jason said, pressing his abs.
“Obviously, if you’re into a rock-hard body. I like a little more softness,” Heidi said.
“I don’t know if I should be appeased or aggrieved,” Jason muttered, still prodding his flat.
Heidi swept over and gave him a long kiss, and Luke had to look away. She was teasing Jason to get a reaction, and it was sweet how they got over what could have made other couples get pissed off.
“Is Freya going back to her place?” Luke asked.
“Yeah, not that she’s happy about that, with my place empty. She’s still grumpy I’ve moved into the cottage with Jason.”
“You’re married, though. She’d have to let you go at some stage. It’s not like you’ve moved off the island,” Luke said.
“It is weird for me too. We’ve always lived next door to each other. I used to see Freya every day. I know it’s just a five-minute buggy ride away, but we can go two days in a row without talking, and I miss my best friend.”
Jason looked at me like I had the answer but didn’t know how to solve best friend issues. My brothers and sister were my best friends.
“You’ll work it out. Then, get into a new routine,” Luke offered as a lame suggestion.
Jason laughed at my offering and poured Luke a coffee. They chatted for a while. Jason made him a breakfast burrito, and then Luke went to his cottage to shower. Heidi might have missed her best friend, but Freya was his best friend too, and he could guarantee he’d missed her more with the years he’d been away.