Chapter 8
8
SKYE
‘This is the larger barn,’ Lettie said as they stood outside a huge granite barn with metal double doors that were open, letting the sunlight stream inside. ‘We stable most of the animals here at night, or during bad weather.’
Skye followed her inside. It was empty of animals but she could see where most of them would be brought at the end of each day.
‘Over there is where we keep the food,’ Lettie continued. ‘As you can see, I’ve written up a list for when Melody and Patsy stayed here last year as to who gets fed what and how often.’ She indicated the large bins. ‘Each one has been labelled and the scoops are hanging from the side.’
‘It seems very straightforward,’ Skye said, relieved. She followed Lettie, listening as she explained about the bedding, pointed out the halters for the alpacas if needed and various other pieces of equipment.
‘I think that’s everything for in here,’ Lettie said. ‘I’ll show you how I bring them all in at the end of the day.’
‘I look forward to it.’ She couldn’t wait to get started. She had been home from her travels for a few weeks and was desperate to work again. As they walked out of the barn, the sun glinted on the front windows of the farmhouse. ‘You’re incredibly lucky living in such a beautiful home,’ Skye said half to herself. ‘Melody mentioned the hollyhocks either side of the front door and I’m sorry I won’t be here long enough to see those.’
‘You can always come back for a visit,’ Lettie said, smiling. ‘And I can send you photos, if you like.’
‘I’d love to come back again,’ she said without hesitating. ‘But photos would be wonderful.’
After showing Skye the smaller barn and outbuildings, Lettie led her out of the yard. ‘This is the lower paddock where the retired Jerseys are today.’
Skye looked a little way in the distance and saw four cows. ‘Oh, they’re so pretty,’ she said, loving the dished faces and smiling as they slowly ambled towards the gate as Lettie and Skye walked through it into the field.
Lettie laughed. ‘They think they’re going to be fed.’ She called out to them, ‘It’s not time for your food yet, ladies.’ Then to Skye she said, ‘We’ll go this way and climb between the fence rails. I want to show you the wild meadow and the stream; it’s my favourite place here on the farm. Then I’ll introduce you to the alpacas.’
As they walked, Skye breathed in the scent of fresh earth, flowers and something else. It took a moment but she realised it must be the sea air. ‘It’s so peaceful here, as well as beautiful,’ she said.
‘Thank you, I’m glad you think so. This place means the world to me.’ They reached the stream, which Skye noticed was running quickly. Lettie stopped and rested both hands on the top of her rounded stomach. ‘I’m sorry about the mix-up.’ When Skye didn’t reply, not quite sure what to say, Lettie added, ‘About you and Joe being here at the same time. I hope it’s not going to be difficult for you.’
‘Not at all,’ Skye assured her. ‘I’m sure we’ll soon get to know each other a bit better and we’ll both settle in.’
Lettie sighed. ‘You don’t know what a relief it is for me and Brodie to know I can take a step back, at least until this little one has made an entrance.’
‘You mustn’t worry about a thing. We’ll be fine, and as you said, we can always call you, and Brodie is close and will come if ever we need him to.’
‘Thank you.’
Lettie went to say something else then hesitated. ‘What is it?’ Skye asked, concerned.
Lettie pressed her lips together briefly before speaking. ‘As I mentioned before, Brodie feels the only way I’m going to truly rest is to move into the cottage with him where he can keep a close eye on me.’ She grimaced. ‘Would you be happy being left alone in the house with Joe?’
Skye shook her head. ‘I think it’s lovely that he wants to make sure you take things easy.’ She grinned. ‘I’ve spent the past six months travelling, and most of it was by myself. Please don’t worry about me – I’ll be fine. Anyway, Joe seems like a nice bloke.’
‘He is, otherwise I’d never even consider leaving you here.’
‘Then that’s settled,’ Skye said. She pictured the tall, handsome and clearly fit guy and wondered whether they would find a way to work comfortably side by side.
Too bad if he wasn’t as pleased about having her around. The feeling was mutual, especially if he was going to be difficult. Anyway, she mused, just because he looked like he had stepped from a movie set didn’t mean she was going to fall for any of his charms. If he had any, that was. So far, all she could see was a moody misery who had been rebuffed by Lettie. Maybe he still had hidden feelings for her, Skye thought.
Whatever his issues, she had no way of letting someone’s resentment ruin this golden opportunity for her.
Skye had no intention of letting her guard down with Joe or any other man for that matter. She had learnt her lesson the hard way, not to put all her trust in another person before she was aware of what it meant. If it hadn’t been for her grandmother being there for her after her mother had died, she didn’t know what she would have done. It wasn’t even that tragedy that had taught her to be self-sufficient. Her mother was beautiful and charismatic but life hadn’t been easy for her – that much Skye did know. Having spent most of her childhood with her mother going away for long periods of time and suffering from long bouts of depression, Skye knew to make the most of the happy times when they did come along, and being here at Hollyhock Farm was, she was sure, going to be one of those times.
She thought of her ex. The last time she had let her guard down had been for him, believing him when he told her how important she was to him. She sighed. She had believed him only too readily until she had discovered what a liar he was. But she had learnt a lot since then, she reminded herself. She had travelled a lot and visited many places and had made a living as a travel writer for a magazine until it closed down a couple of months before. She knew better now. No one would make a fool of her again – of that she was certain.
Hearing a car arriving, Lettie looked up. ‘I’m going to see who that is,’ she said. ‘You take your time and join me in the kitchen for a cuppa when you’re ready.’
Happy to be left alone to enjoy her beautiful surroundings, Skye agreed.
‘I won’t be long.’
Ten minutes later, Skye walked back into the farmhouse and heard laughter coming from the kitchen.
‘There you are,’ Lettie said, her friendly smile welcoming her. ‘Come and join us. We were just trying to work out how best to split the workload here between you and Joe. Weren’t we, Joe?’
‘Really?’ How typical of his type to get in there first and grab the best jobs for himself, Skye mused, trying to hide her annoyance.
‘We were, but you and I can always adapt things, so nothing’s set in stone.’
Slightly appeased, Skye nodded. Maybe she had been too hasty to think the worst of him. Although as far as she could tell there wasn’t too much for them to split between them. She doubted she would get bored though, especially if she made the most of her time off to start the search for her father.
Joe poured milk into a mug and stirred it, then, turning, brought two mugs of coffee over to the table and placed one down in front of Skye. ‘I hope that’s OK. If not, I can always make you another one.’ He pushed a sugar bowl towards her. ‘In case you need sweetening up.’
She stared at him, taken aback for a moment, then, gathering her thoughts, she saw the glint in his dark blue eyes and realised he was joking. ‘I’m sweet enough, thanks,’ Skye said, smiling.
Lettie laughed. ‘I can see you’ll both get on fine.’
Skye was glad Lettie had misinterpreted her reaction to Joe and she suspected his to her. She might have an issue with this man, but most importantly she was here to take the pressure off Lettie, not cause more stress for the poor woman.
‘I’m sure we will,’ Joe said, catching Skye’s eye and waiting for her to break their stare.
Skye wasn’t sure whether he was trying to reassure Lettie, or send her some subliminal message that whatever Skye assumed, she was the interloper here. She looked forward to getting to know him better, so it would be easier to read him.
Having eaten slices of cake, drinking another cup of coffee and much discussion, Lettie made a list of all the jobs they needed to carry out each day, and others that had to be done once or several times a week.
‘I know there’s another list in the barn, but this one is broken down in more detail.’ She chewed the top of the pen. ‘There are a few things that need seeing to, if you don’t mind. Like the broken gate to the middle paddock, Joe. If you could do that first, I’d be grateful. The rest of the extras down here—’ she pointed to the lower half of the list ‘—are for when you have time to fit them in. None of them are too urgent though, so mostly it’s the day-to-day work you’ll need to keep on top of.’
‘No problem at all,’ Joe said. ‘We’ll soon get our bearings.’
Skye noticed Joe watching her.
‘It’s fine,’ he said. ‘No need to worry unduly. I’ve booked a bit of time off work, so I’ll be here with you. I’m sure we’ll manage.’
She realised he had misunderstood her concerns but decided not to correct him. ‘We will.’
They went over the list Lettie had written for them and, over another cup of tea, agreed that while Joe was on the farm he would take the lead in deciding things and do whatever manual labour needed to be carried out. Skye, on the other hand, would follow his directions, but when he was at work she could make whatever decisions she deemed necessary at the time. They both promised to call Lettie with any questions before Brodie insisted that he should be the first point of contact if those issues were to do with the animals.
‘You’re not to worry about anything here,’ Joe said, going to stand next to Skye’s side. ‘The two musketeers – that’s us.’
‘You see?’ Brodie said. ‘What did I tell you?’
Lettie laughed. ‘Good. That’s settled then.’ Lettie’s smile vanished. She winced and her hands flew to her rounded stomach.
Stifling a gasp, Skye tried not to show her concern. ‘Er, is everything all right?’
‘Lettie?’ Brodie moved in front of her, holding her by the shoulders. ‘What’s the matter?’
‘I’m fine.’ Lettie raised her hands in the air and gently pushed Brodie back a couple of steps. ‘Firstly, you can all stop fretting about me. The baby kicked,’ she said, directing her comment to Brodie. ‘It caught me unawares – that’s all.’
‘I think you’ve done enough for today though,’ Brodie insisted. ‘I think it’s time I took you back to the cottage to put your feet up for a few hours.’
Skye heard the insistence in his voice. Lettie nodded in agreement and Skye realised she mustn’t feel all that well.
‘Yes,’ Skye said. ‘You two go. Joe and I will be fine here now, won’t we, Joe?’ She gave him her sweetest smile.
Joe, clearly guessing what she was doing, reciprocated. ‘We certainly will, so no arguments from you, Lettie Torel. Off you go now and leave us to get to know each other better and start doing what we’re here to do.’
Looking relieved, Lettie stood. She went to pick up hers and Brodie’s mugs and plates, but Joe leant across the table and took them before she could do so.
‘No. I can tidy up.’ Joe waved Lettie away. ‘Please take her to your cottage, Brodie. She’s going to be insisting on digging the fields soon if we don’t get her away from here.’
Brodie laughed. ‘I know you’re joking but I don’t trust her not to do exactly that.’
Lettie puffed out her cheeks and rolled her eyes. Smiling at Skye, she said, ‘They don’t trust me at all, do they?’
Amused, Skye laughed. ‘Somehow, I suspect they have good reason not to. As Joe said, we’ll be fine. You go and rest while you can. From what friends tell me you’ll have little time on your hands to do that after the baby’s born.’
Lettie grimaced. ‘Don’t remind me.’ She shrugged. ‘Fine. I give in. Come along, Brodie, let’s leave the pair of them to get on with things.’ She made two steps towards the kitchen door before stopping and turning back to them. ‘But, if there is anything?—’
‘We’ll call you,’ Joe and Skye said in unison. They looked at each other and Skye saw Joe was as surprised as her that they had reacted in the same way. Then forcing her gaze from his, turned to Lettie.
‘We will. I promise.’
Skye and Joe followed Lettie and Brodie out to the yard. They waited while Brodie gave Derek a hug and took out his dog bowls, a bed and some blankets, handing them to Joe and Skye.
They waved as Lettie and Brodie got into the Land Rover and drove away. Skye stroked Spud’s head, concerned the dog might be upset to see Lettie leave, but he turned and walked back into the house.
‘Don’t worry about these dogs,’ Joe said, following them. ‘As long as they’re at the farm together they’ll be happy. I think he believes this is his place and that everyone who comes here, including the Torel family, are merely his guests.’
Skye laughed. ‘I like that idea. Good for Spud.’
Back in the kitchen she waited for Joe to clear the table and start washing up the crockery while she packed away the remaining couple of slices of chocolate sponge cake into a tin then back into the larder and then wiped the table.
That done, she leant back against the worktop, wondering what to do next. Deciding she could help by drying the dishes, she picked up a tea towel hanging from one of the drawer handles and began wiping.
‘I think we’ll be fine left to our own devices,’ Skye said thoughtfully.
Joe stopped what he was doing and looked at her. ‘I’m sure we’ll be fine.’
His words were perfectly neutral, but Skye was certain she sensed a tone in his voice that belied his words. Whether he admitted it or not, she believed Joe was unimpressed about sharing the farm and duties with her. Well, she mused, that was just too bad.