Chapter 12
12
SKYE
Skye woke earlier than she had expected. It was still dark outside and the clocks weren’t due to go forward an hour until the end of March. She much preferred the lighter mornings after the clocks changed each spring, and summer couldn’t come soon enough. She sat up and stared out at the dusky pink and salmon coloured sky. She shouldn’t wish away the days, because when the summer did come she would be back in Edinburgh or somewhere else. Either way she would no longer be here.
She thought of Joe sleeping soundly in the next room. She wasn’t sure if it was because both their windows were open, or if his snoring was loud, but she rather liked hearing him peacefully sleeping nearby. He was a good man; she knew that much now. Kind too to offer to help Lettie so readily. Skye wondered if there had every been anything between the pair of them to make him want to help her so much. Or maybe Lettie was simply a good friend of his and he was determined to help out in a crisis.
Skye knew that she had her grandmother and of course her best friend, Melody, there for her whenever she needed them, and for that she was grateful. It was lonely only having Gran left as family. She wondered what it must be like to have a large, close family you could call upon whenever you needed them.
Enough. There was little point in wishing for something that was impossible. It was time to get up and go and start feeding the animals while Joe let the cows and alpacas into their paddocks. She needed to check the sheep and goats and make sure their water was fine. After that she had stalls to muck out and wanted to do some of it before returning to the farmhouse and eating breakfast with Joe.
Dressing and hurrying outside with Spud and Derek in tow, Skye heard Joe calling to the alpacas as he let them out of their stall and took them to the lower meadow. She recalled the dream she’d had the previous night. It had been odd, as most dreams were, but in this one she had kissed Joe. She cringed remembering how in her dream she had been the one to instigate the kiss by getting up from the sofa in the living room where they had been drinking and going to sit on his lap, taking his bottle of lager from his hand and placing it down on the table next to him before kissing him hard on the lips. A tingle ran through her, just as Joe called for the alpacas once more.
She went into the barn and lifted the lid of the chicken pellets, picking up the scoop.
‘What the hell?’ She shook her head, patting Spud when she noticed him tilting his head, trying to understand what she was going on about. ‘It’s OK, boy,’ she soothed. ‘I’m just embarrassing myself in my sleep now.’ She led the way to the back of the barn and opened the small storeroom. ‘Let’s get those chickens fed, shall we?’
‘You talking to me, or one of the dogs?’ Joe said, striding into the barn.
Hearing his voice, Skye jumped. ‘How are you here already?’
He frowned, looking confused. ‘I was on my way back to get the girls when I heard you talking. I’ve put the coffee on ready for us when we go back inside.’
Skye realised she was blushing and focused her attention on filling the scoop with pellets for the chickens, so Joe didn’t notice. It was bad enough having a dream about him without him finding out about it. They were starting to get along well, and she had no intention of ruining that.
‘It’s still early,’ she explained, hoping he would think her not quite awake yet. ‘I was in a world of my own then.’
‘Talking to Spud here.’
She turned to look at Joe, seeing him crouch down and cuddle the dog who – by the way his tail was wagging – clearly loved him.
‘He’s my buddy, aren’t you, mate?’ Joe straightened up. ‘Have you fed the dogs yet or would you like me to?’
Realising they had forgotten to add the dogs’ mealtimes to their list, Skye made a mental note to do so. ‘I was going to feed them when we went in to make breakfast but you can go feed them once you’ve finished taking the cows out and I’ll join you both soon.’
He stared at her for a moment before smiling. ‘Shall I make us a fry-up?’
His expectant look was so appealing that Skye thought her heart would leap out of her throat. ‘Great idea,’ she said, trying her best to sound cool. ‘I won’t be much longer.’
She watched him go to let out the cows with Spud and Derek running on ahead of him. How was that man single? Skye wondered. He was gorgeous to look at and once he let you in a bit was actually a nice bloke too. Maybe there was something untoward about him that she hadn’t discovered yet. She hoped not.
By the time she reached the kitchen the smell of bacon and eggs filled her nostrils. Her stomach grumbled noisily, no doubt to encourage her to sit and eat just in case she hadn’t been going to.
‘Take a seat,’ Joe said from the cooker. She did as she was told and watched him work, a tea towel slung lazily over his shoulder as he hummed something she couldn’t place, happily to himself.
‘You’re used to doing this by the looks of things.’ She wondered if she should make them both a drink while he was busy cooking.
‘Coffee’s ready,’ he said, making her wonder if she had shared her thoughts out loud. ‘Won’t be a second.’ He stepped back and indicated two pans, one with bacon sizzling in it and the other with four perfectly fried eggs. ‘There’s beans in there and I’ve also done us a tomato and some mushrooms. Anything you don’t want?’
She laughed and shook her head. ‘Nope. I can assure you I have a healthy appetite.’
He gave her a look she couldn’t decipher then began serving up their food onto two plates.
Once the toast popped up in the toaster and they were both seated and ready to start eating, he smiled.
‘This looks amazing,’ Skye said happily. ‘Thank you.’
‘My pleasure,’ Joe said, putting a forkful of food into his mouth and chewing. ‘I like to see people enjoying their food.’
‘Doesn’t everybody?’
He shrugged. ‘I think my mother’s been on a diet her entire adult life.’
Skye continued eating and wondered if maybe the look he had given her was more to do with relief that she wasn’t going to be a picky eater.
‘I was thinking,’ Joe said after drinking some coffee, ‘later, when we’ve done all we need to, I could take you for a drive.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes. You haven’t left the farm yet. It doesn’t seem fair, or right, that you shouldn’t get to enjoy all this island has to offer.’
‘I’d love that. Thanks.’
‘We might as well take whatever chance we have to visit some of the places I think you shouldn’t miss.’
‘Like where?’ she asked, intrigued.
‘Well, some of the beaches for a start. Then there’s the usual visitor haunts like Devil’s Hole, Jersey Zoo, um, the cliff paths. There are many historical sites to visit too – the castles, for instance, and there’s the museums.’
‘Crikey. For a small place there seems to be a lot to take in.’
Joe seemed pleased with her observation. ‘There is. I haven’t even mentioned the restaurants and bars yet, but I doubt we’ll get to see most of them. One of the things I do think you should see are the tides when they’re very high. Spring tides are impressive for the most part and you shouldn’t miss seeing one of those.’
She ate another mouthful of toast. ‘I’m happy to let you be my guide. Anything you show me will be interesting, I’m sure.’
Joe smiled at her from across the table, making her insides do a little flip. ‘I’d wait until I’ve shown you around before you say that. I might have a completely different idea to you about what’s interesting.’
‘Good point,’ Skye said, pulling a face and making him laugh.