Chapter 3
3
SKYE
Skye heard a familiar ringing from somewhere nearby. It took a couple of seconds for her to be awake enough to recognise the ringtone on her mobile. She peeled her eyes open but apart from the bright light of her phone screen everything else was in pitch-blackness.
She reached out to pick up her phone, and one look at the screen told her it was Melody and that it was nine-thirty. She answered the call.
‘You’re calling later than you usually do,’ Skye said, her voice gravelly from sleep. How long had she been sleeping, she wondered, to sound this bad?
‘Late? It’s the morning.’
‘Is it?’ She looked over to the curtains, realising they must be black-out ones. Skye sat up and rubbed her eyes lightly with her free hand. ‘Sorry. Is everything all right?’
‘Fine, thanks. I was wondering about you.’
Skye told Melody about the fire the previous evening. ‘I think the firefighter was annoyed with me for coming back to my room to fetch Mum’s notebook.’
‘Skye!’
She heard the disapproval in her friend’s voice. ‘What? Wouldn’t you have done the same?’
‘Maybe.’
‘Apart from that episode, I know I’ve only been here one evening, but I am loving it so far. I’ll be sad to leave.’
‘Really?’
Skye sensed there was something else Melody was calling about. ‘Yes. Melody, is there another reason you’re calling me?’
Skye listened as Melody explained about her friend Lettie who ran a farm, was pregnant and in dire need of someone to move in and take care of her animals for a few weeks.
‘How many animals?’
‘A few cows, some sheep, chickens and three rescue alpacas. Oh, and a dog called Spud. He’s adorable.’
‘Is this where you and Patsy stayed last summer?’
‘That’s right. Just like when we were there, the accommodation will be free. You’ll also have time to see the island and get to know the place. The farmhouse is a beautiful granite place and has loads of colourful hollyhocks growing either side of the front door and some of the windows every summer. Unfortunately you’ll be there too early to see those.’
Skye laughed. ‘You seem very confident that I’ll agree to go and look after this place.’
‘Why wouldn’t you?’ Melody asked. ‘Unless you’ve found a job already, or made plans since I spoke to you last.’
She hadn’t. ‘No, nothing new.’
‘Look, I know what you’re like when you’ve just woken up. I’ll leave you to have a think. Lettie is a wonderful person and I know she would be very grateful. I also know you’ll adore staying on the farm and spending time with the animals. I’d do it in a heartbeat if I didn’t already have commitments here.’
The idea did sound intriguing. Skye swallowed. ‘Let me have a cup of tea and I’ll get back to you with my answer.’
‘Great. Chat later.’
Skye threw back the duvet, got up and walked over to the window, and drew the curtains. She blinked as the bright sunshine flooded the room. When her eyes had adjusted, she opened the window and gazed out at the stunning blue sea. There was barely a cloud in the sky and she wondered what it would be like to spend more time on this pretty island.
She put on the kettle and took a shower while it boiled, then dressed and sat with her cup of tea to call her grandmother and see what she thought about Melody’s suggestion.
‘It would give you more time to search for your father, Skye,’ Gran said thoughtfully. ‘And you are already on the island, so that makes things easy. It’s not as if you have any other plans yet either, is it?’
‘No, Gran,’ she said, deciding that if her grandmother and best friend both thought it a good idea then it probably was the right thing for her to do. ‘I’m going to give Melody a call before I have a chance to talk myself out of it.’
‘That’s my girl. You go and enjoy yourself and tell me how it goes.’
Maybe this was just what she needed, Skye mused. Time spent somewhere new, doing something a little different. ‘Will do, Gran.’