Chapter 6
6
SKYE
Skye stepped out of the hotel entrance and immediately spotted a woman about her own age, maybe a couple of years older, with light brown hair, blue eyes and a spattering of freckles over her nose, waving at her next to a car.
‘Sorry, there aren’t any more parking spaces otherwise I would have come in to greet you,’ she said proffering her right hand. ‘I’m Lettie, if you hadn’t already guessed, and I’m delighted you’ve agreed to come and look after Hollyhock Farm for the next four weeks or so.’
Skye shifted her bag onto her left shoulder and shook Lettie’s hand. ‘I’m happy to be able to help out.’ She glanced at the woman’s rounded stomach. ‘How are you feeling?’
Lettie shook her head and indicated the passenger door. ‘I’m fine, thanks, but we’d better get going. I can see a member of staff coming our way.’
As they drove, Skye recalled her plane journey as she flew over the sunny island. She remembered looking out of the plane window and seeing what looked like a long breakwater, then soon after passing over an impressive castle on a hill, and she wondered whether they would be passing either of those locations now. She hoped so. It would be exciting to see either of them close up. She already knew she was going to like it here. Before the plane had even landed, she’d already fallen in love with several beaches covered with golden sand.
She waited for Lettie to join a row of cars before a roundabout and thought how amazing would it be if her father still lived on the island. Although realistically there was probably little chance of that being the case. She didn’t even know where he was from. He could be Australian and enjoy travelling, which may be where she got her urge to travel from. Or he could come from somewhere in Europe. She wished she had some idea. Even a small clue would be nice.
If only her mother had thought to tell her something in case she ever did want to track him down. She wondered, not for the first time, if her mother kept everything from Skye for a reason. If that was the case, then she would have to face whatever it was that had bothered her mother when she got to it. She was an adult and, as far as she was concerned, fairly worldly. Skye was confident she could handle anything that came her way in this quest to track down the man whose genes she carried.
‘That’s better,’ Lettie said as the car picked up speed along a dual carriageway. ‘This is the Esplanade, and that,’ she said, pointing to their left, ‘is the bay you probably saw from your hotel room.’
‘It’s so beautiful,’ Skye said dreamily, barely able to quell her rising excitement about what the next few weeks might have in store for her.
‘I’m glad you think so. I hope you’ll be happy at the farm, too.’
‘I’m sure I will. I can’t wait to see it. Melody and Patsy have both raved about the place since they stayed there last year.’
‘I’ll show you around as soon as we get you settled. We should be there in fifteen minutes.’
Skye loved that the island was so small and everything seemed close by.
‘Is this your first time to the island?’
‘It is. I love it and I’m really excited to have an excuse to extend my stay.’
‘Well, it’s very kind of you to offer your help.’
Skye laughed. ‘Not that kind. I don’t exactly have anything else planned.’
‘That works well for both of us then.’
Skye gazed out of the window as they drove through a small village and relaxed further. She was looking forward to getting to know everyone. Lettie soon turned into an entrance off a lane, and Skye noticed a small sign saying, ‘Hollyhock Farm’. On the opposite side of the entrance was a stall displaying brown bags in which Skye presumed must be vegetables they grew at the farm.
‘That’s our honesty stall,’ Lettie explained. ‘I know I said to Melody that I only need you to look after the animals, but I was wondering if you could add another job to that.’
‘No problem at all. You mean to pick vegetables and pack them up?’
‘Yes. It shouldn’t take too long. I’ll show you what I do. Basically choose the veg, bag it up and weigh each one to check they’re about right.’ She laughed. ‘And collect the money each night before you close it.’
Before Skye had a chance to answer, Lettie pointed through the windscreen. ‘Oh look, there’s Brodie. I hadn’t expected him to come to the farm this early.’
Skye peered at the tall sandy-haired man. ‘He’s a vet, I seem to recall Melody saying during one of her chats about her time at the farm.’
‘That’s right. His practice is in the village we passed through a couple of minutes ago, so if you’re ever worried about any of the animals and I’m not around, he’ll be the one to call. He can be here in no time.’
‘That’s good to know.’
Skye noticed a dark-haired man get out of the passenger’s side of the old Land Rover. He looked as if he had stepped out of a Wuthering Heights movie. ‘Who’s that?’ she asked, wishing her voice hadn’t sounded quite so breathless.
Lettie grinned. ‘That’s Joe. He’s a good friend of ours.’ She didn’t speak for a moment as she turned her car into the driveway and parked. ‘Although I’m not sure why he’s here.’
Skye saw the men look over at them. Joe smiled and waved. Brodie frowned briefly before smiling. They walked over to the car as Lettie and Skye got out.
‘Who have we here?’ Brodie asked, reaching out to shake Skye’s hand as a shabby black dog jumped out of his vehicle.
She looked at Joe and wondered the same thing. She was sure she recognised him from somewhere, but where? This was only her second day on the island and she hadn’t been to that many places.
‘This is Skye,’ Lettie said.
Brodie’s smile faltered and Skye wondered why. He seemed bothered about something but was trying to hide it. Why?
Joe stepped forward and she realised he was staring intently at her. What was going on? she wondered. There was definitely an undercurrent but she wasn’t sure whether it was between Brodie and Lettie, or because of her being at the farm. Very odd.
Lettie put an arm around Skye’s waist. ‘Skye is from Edinburgh. She’s a good friend of Melody’s and has agreed to come and stay at the farm to look after the animals for me.’
Brodie’s eyes widened slightly and slid sideways to Joe. Skye was trying to work out why the men exchanged confused glances, then noticed Joe had a large bag with him.
‘You going somewhere, Joe?’ Lettie asked.
‘Er, no,’ Joe replied, scowling at Skye as it dawned on her there had been a mix-up.
Brodie gave an awkward grimace. ‘Joe’s come here to look after the place too.’
‘You have?’
Skye was starting to feel awkward. At least Lettie seemed to know Joe. ‘I can, er, always go back to the hotel if you don’t need me.’ She hoped her disappointment didn’t show as much as she felt it might.
Lettie shook her head. ‘No, I’ve promised you four weeks here.’ Lettie bit her lower lip and frowned thoughtfully. ‘That’s so sweet of you, Joe. Thank you.’
Skye saw Joe’s disappointment straight away and wondered why it meant so much to him to step in to look after the place. Then he gave her a look and she instantly knew where she had seen those eyes. He was the firefighter from the night before. She clenched her teeth. Why, of all the people, did she have to end up sharing the farm with him? She saw recognition in his eyes and understood why he had seemed so grumpy with her.
‘Joe’s taken four weeks off work,’ Brodie explained.
Skye saw Lettie open her mouth to answer but before she had the chance, Brodie gave her a pointed look Skye didn’t understand and added, ‘He’s finally taking that time off from last year.’
‘Last year?’ Lettie seemed confused, then her eyebrows shot up and she covered her mouth. ‘Oh, Joe, that was careless of me. I’m so sorry.’
‘Hey, don’t be silly. I’m fine, Lettie.’ His entire demeanour changed when he addressed Lettie, and Skye wondered if the pair of them had some sort of romantic history. ‘There won’t be enough work for two people if your uncle is taking care of the produce. I’ll go home.’
If he had a home, Skye wondered, then why was the mix-up such a problem?
‘You OK?’ Joe asked Skye without smiling.
‘I am. It just took me a while to recognise you without your uniform on.’
Lettie raised a hand. ‘You two know each other?’
‘There was a small fire at the hotel Skye was staying in last night,’ he explained.
‘Yes,’ Skye said without taking her eyes off him. ‘And he wasn’t impressed when I returned to my room to fetch something.’
‘I see,’ Brodie said, looking as if he understood Joe’s reason for being unhappy with her. ‘I’m sure once you get to know each other you’ll be fine.’
Lettie nodded, a look of determination on her face; she had obviously come to a decision. ‘You both have reasons for being here,’ she said calmly. ‘It’s Skye’s first time on the island, and you need time away from Faye and Roger, Joe. You also need this break from your job. Anyway, with the pair of you here I’ll feel happier leaving the farm in your capable hands, so I can sit out the rest of this pregnancy at the cottage with Brodie.’
Brodie put his arm around her shoulders and gave Lettie a kiss. Skye couldn’t miss the delight on his face. ‘Perfect.’ He looked at Skye and then Joe, smiling. ‘I’m sure the pair of you will figure out who should do what chore, won’t you?’
‘Of course we will,’ Skye said quickly before she had a chance to panic over having to share the farm with the grumpy firefighter.
Joe glanced at her before adding, ‘Don’t worry about a thing.’ Joe gave Skye a smile that made her stomach flip over until she remembered he was probably doing this for the benefit of his friends. ‘We’ll work something out between us.’
Lettie sighed. ‘That’s a relief. OK, so why don’t we begin with me showing you both up to your rooms? Then I’ll give Skye a tour of the farm and go through the animals’ needs with each of you.’