Chapter 11
11
JOE
Joe drove straight back to the farm as soon as his shift was over. It had been a quiet night with no incidents and he was glad of it. At least he would have more energy to help Skye on the farm, although he sensed she was happy when he left her in peace to get on with things. He still wasn’t sure how the pair of them would be kept busy enough with just the animals to look after. There weren’t even that many of them. They were going to have to agree to certain jobs so that they didn’t get under each other’s feet. He sighed. He would have preferred to be kept busier and have less time to think. Maybe he could find some other way to keep himself occupied?
As he drove through St Peter’s Valley it occurred to him that he was looking forward to seeing Skye again, which was unexpected after his initial disappointment at discovering he wouldn’t be alone on the farm. During his shift, when he’d had time to reflect on the day’s happenings, Joe decided the only thing he could do was try to make the best of the situation.
After all it was a good feeling being able to do something for Lettie and Brodie, who really were two of the nicest people he knew. He also reasoned that it was hardly Skye’s fault that Melody and Zac had asked her to step in at the farm. She was clearly as disappointed as him to have to work alongside someone else and it would be easier all round if they could find a way to live at the farm and keep things going while Lettie was otherwise engaged with her pregnancy and new baby and recovery afterwards.
Thinking of Skye at Hollyhock Farm, Joe hoped her first night there alone had gone without a hitch.
He drove into the yard and parked his car, spotting Skye up in the top field with the alpacas. Then, reminding himself that now was as good a time as any to change how he behaved, Joe left his things by the front door and ran up to see her.
‘Hey there,’ he shouted, giving her a wave and hoping he came across as friendly as he intended. ‘I was going to do that?’
She looked over at him, frowned briefly. ‘I wasn’t sure what time you’d be back so thought I’d do it for you.’
He frowned and resisted the urge to say anything else about it. ‘Everything else OK?’
‘Fine, thanks. Just letting these three out before seeing to the girls.’
By ‘the girls’ he knew she meant the elderly cows Lettie’s father, Gareth, hadn’t wanted to part with when he sold on the herd a decade before to move his farm to grow organic crops instead.
Joe was glad that Skye seemed to be taking her cue from him. He was slightly out of puff when he reached her. ‘I thought I was fitter than that,’ he joked.
‘You’re still fitter than me, so I won’t tease you about it.’
She seemed refreshed and happier than she had the previous day, he was relieved to note. Maybe they could find a way to make their time here go smoothly? ‘Did you sleep well?’
Skye nodded. ‘Very, thanks. Although I’ve been wanting to ask you about something I heard.’
Intrigued to discover what, he asked, ‘Shall I guess what it might be?’
‘You can.’ She smiled and her face lit up. ‘But I’m not sure you’ll get it.’
‘Let me try.’ He tried to recall sounds that had seemed unusual to him when he first returned to live on the island. For a moment he was stumped, then it dawned on him. ‘Was it the waves?’
‘Sorry?’
‘Like a rumbling in the distance?’
She nodded. ‘That can’t have been the sea, could it? Surely it’s too far away.’
‘It’s about a five-minute drive from here, but that’s still close. And we’re high up here on the farm.’ He recalled his surprise on hearing this sound for the first time several years before. ‘I’m not sure how loud it was last night, but it can be very loud on occasion when you live on this side of the island.’
‘That’s amazing.’ She listened, looking disappointed. ‘I can’t hear it over the cars on the road.’ She cocked her head in the direction of tractors working the next-door farm. ‘It’s impossible to hear the sea when there’s noise.’
‘Don’t look so disappointed,’ he said. ‘You’ll more than likely hear it again tonight.’
‘I do hope so.’
Joe yawned. ‘I’m going to try and get a few hours’ sleep, then I’ll come and join you.’
‘No rush on my account,’ Skye said. ‘I’ve got loads to keep me busy and I’ll be fine. I’ll see you a bit later.’
* * *
Several hours later, showered and dressed, Joe made himself a piece of toast and a coffee and went to find Skye on the farm. He walked up to the fields and studied the potatoes. They looked almost ready, as far as he could tell. He had missed a call from Lettie while he was sleeping and, not wishing to disturb her, he messaged her to apologise for not picking up and saying he was free whenever she liked to call.
As he was studying the crops covering two fields, he heard Skye’s voice. Turning, Joe saw her coming towards him, smiling. She gave him a wave.
‘I hope you managed to get some sleep,’ she said, reaching him. ‘You’re up much sooner than I expected.’
‘Me, too,’ he admitted. ‘But once I woke I couldn’t fall back to sleep, so thought I’d be more useful if I got up.’ He explained about missing Lettie’s call. ‘I haven’t heard back from her so I presume she’s resting, which is a good thing.’
He had only just finished speaking when Skye grinned and pointed in the direction of the driveway. ‘Is that her, do you think?’
Looking at the car, Joe sighed. ‘It is. She’s probably come to check that we’re not at loggerheads and to make sure we haven’t mislaid any of her animals.’
‘I doubt that very much.’ Skye laughed. ‘She probably just wants to see how we’re getting on with the work and offer sage advice.’
‘We should save her walking up here and go to the yard to speak to her,’ he suggested, finishing his coffee. ‘Sorry, I should have thought to bring you one of these.’
Skye raised her hand. ‘I’m fine, thanks.’ She held up a metal bottle. ‘I usually carry this water bottle with me.’
‘You’re good,’ he said, impressed.
‘I do my best.’ She smiled. ‘I suppose I’m used to keeping hydrated in hot countries and just got into the habit of carrying water with me.’
‘Don’t come down,’ Lettie bellowed. ‘I’ll come to you.’
‘No, it’s fine,’ Joe argued, not wanting her to overexert herself.
‘I need to see the state of the crops,’ she replied. ‘Wait there for me.’
She reached them a few minutes later, slightly out of breath but seeming happy to be there. Joe and Skye accompanied Lettie as she walked along the top of the first and then the second field. They waited for her thoughts.
Lettie stopped and folded her arms. ‘I’ve just come from Uncle Leonard’s farm. He took me to visit another farmer’s field in the next parish. He’s also growing this crop and his look the same as these. He’s going to start harvesting the week after next, so I suggested he aim to do the same thing here as soon as his fields are finished.’
‘Shouldn’t they be done at the same time?’ Skye asked, presuming all crops took the same length of time to grow.
Lettie shook her head. ‘His fields were planted up a couple of weeks before mine.’
‘Was there a reason for that?’ Skye asked, looking intrigued.
‘Some of his fields are what we call cotils.’
Joe nodded. ‘Steep sloping fields facing south or west that get the winter sun. They are the tastiest ones.’ His mouth watered at the thought of those first Jersey Royals of the season.
Skye grinned. ‘That’s right. Also, Uncle Leonard’s team of farmworkers came straight here to help me after finishing planting his crop.’
‘That makes sense.’ Skye’s cheeks reddened and Joe sensed she felt embarrassed for asking the question.
Not wishing her to feel silly, Joe said, ‘I was wondering the same thing.’
He felt her look at him but kept his focus on Lettie. ‘How are you feeling?’
She shrugged. ‘I’m fine. Missing this place a bit, and Spud. I was thinking about taking him to the cottage but Brodie worried that Spud might find it a little restrictive after living on the farm.’
‘I promise you there’s no need to worry about him,’ Joe assured her. ‘We’re taking very good care of both dogs. Aren’t we, Skye?’
‘We certainly are.’
As if on cue, Spud and Derek raced outside, wagging their tails, and ran up to Lettie, nudging her thigh for a cuddle. She bent down to oblige.
‘You do look happy enough, boys,’ she said, kissing their furry heads.
Lettie stood upright and beamed at Joe and Skye. ‘I do hope you won’t be too bored with just the animals to take care of, but I couldn’t have left you to deal with the harvesting because that would be taking advantage. Anyway, I can’t tell you how grateful I am to the pair of you.’
‘I’m glad not to have to worry about the potatoes,’ Joe admitted, aware how important harvesting the crop was to island farmers.
Lettie hugged them both and thanked them again before leaving to return to Brodie’s cottage.
‘I’ve been thinking,’ he said to Skye as Lettie’s car disappeared down the drive. ‘We should prepare a rota rather than just agreeing who does what job.’
‘Good idea,’ she said as they began to walk back into the house. ‘I would hate for one of us to not do something presuming the other had carried out the work.’
‘Exactly. I’d never forgive myself if we forgot to feed any of the animals.’
Skye shuddered. ‘Oh, don’t say that. OK, let’s go and find some paper and a pen and sort this out straight away.’
Finally agreeing on who should do what around the farm, Skye put down the pen and pushed the piece of paper towards Joe. ‘Please check it and then if you’re happy I’ll stick it up on the fridge under one of the magnets Lindy has there. At least that way we won’t lose it.’
He sensed her watching him as he lowered his head and read her notes. ‘Looks fine to me.’
She smiled, then stood and took the sheet and pinned it up on the fridge, looking satisfied with their work. Skye seemed unsure about something. ‘I think I’ll go to my room and read for a bit,’ she said, pushing in her chair and taking her mug to the sink. ‘I’ll see you in a couple of hours?’
Relieved to be left alone and not having to think what to say next, Joe nodded. ‘Sounds good to me.’
Joe was beginning to feel a little more comfortable being at the farm. Even though they still had awkward silences, Joe sensed Skye had resolved to do her best for Lettie, just like he had. She was diligent and, like him, wanted to do the work well. Most of all, she seemed to enjoy spending time in her own company. He supposed it was because she had spent six months travelling solo and only having herself to rely on in different situations.
Deciding to try and get to know her better, Joe decided to make supper and, hoping she liked lasagne and salad, drove to the village to do some shopping.
‘Thanks for supper,’ Skye said later as he carried through their drinks and joined her in the living room after they had tidied the kitchen. ‘It was delicious.’
He was glad she thought so. ‘It wasn’t too bad, was it?’
‘Ooh, thanks,’ Skye said, taking the glass from him and having a sip. ‘I could do with this.’
‘It’s been a long day, hasn’t it.’ Maybe if he had spent more than three hours catching up on his sleep earlier he wouldn’t feel so tired.
‘No shift tonight?’ Skye drank a little more.
He shook his head. ‘No. I’m now off work for four weeks.’ He still needed to find a way to keep himself busy.
‘You must be looking forward to having some time off work.’
‘Yes, I suppose so, although I’m used to keeping busy and with the pair of us taking care of the animals that isn’t going to happen unless I find some other way to keep myself occupied.’ Even as he spoke he knew he could fill a lot of that time helping his mother redecorate the bungalow, but removing wallpaper that reminded him so much of his grandfather was not something he felt he could cope with just yet. Maybe he would feel differently after his time off work?
They chatted for a bit longer but Joe was finding it more and more difficult to keep his eyes open. He yawned, covering his mouth with his free hand. ‘Sorry, I don’t mean to be rude.’
‘No problem.’ Skye frowned. ‘You must be shattered after not getting any sleep after your shift.’
‘I am a bit,’ he admitted.
They finished their drinks and went up to their rooms.
‘Sleep well,’ Skye said. ‘I’ll see you in the morning.’
‘You, too.’
Half an hour later Joe lay in his bed staring out of the window at the almost black sky. The stars were out in force tonight and the sea was louder than usual. He wondered if maybe that was what could be keeping him awake. He might live as close to the sea in St Brelade but the sound of the waves wasn’t nearly as loud as it was from St Ouen’s Bay, probably because it was a bit wilder on this part of the island.
Intrigued as to whether Skye might be awake listening to the sound, Joe got out of bed and walked over to his window. Looking to the right, he saw that her window was open too and was about to go back to bed when he spotted her hand resting on the window frame.
‘Listening to the waves?’ he asked.
Skye laughed. ‘How did you guess?’
‘Because I’m doing the same.’
‘You should be sleeping.’
He heard the amusement in her voice and realised he was enjoying their banter. ‘The sound of your waves is keeping me awake.’
She laughed again. ‘My waves? You can’t blame your insomnia on me. I’m not even from here.’
‘I suppose not.’ Stifling a yawn, he added, ‘Maybe I should give it another go.’
‘Good idea,’ Skye said. ‘We have a lot to do tomorrow and you won’t have time to stop and take a nap if you’re tired.’
‘Yes, ma’am.’ Feeling happy but sleepy finally, he stared out at the stars and listened to the waves, aware he was starting to enjoy being at the farm much more. ‘I’ll see you in the morning then. Night.’
‘Goodnight, Joe. Sleep well.’
He walked back to his bed and got in. He hoped the experience of doing something completely different would satisfy his need to feel like he had achieved something, and helping Lettie out at such an important time could be the answer.
He closed his eyes, imagining Skye still staring out at the window and wondered what had really brought her here. There was a loneliness about her that he couldn’t help noticing. He turned on his side and moved his pillow until it was perfect. Could it be that he recognised the loneliness in her because he felt like he was missing out on something, or that perfect someone too? It was a bit presumptuous of him to think of her feeling lost, but what if he was right?
What if he was wrong though? He decided not to think about it any longer and cleared his mind. He was overtired and needed to sleep, otherwise he would be no help to Skye or Lettie tomorrow.