Chapter 22
22
SKYE
Joe walked up next to Skye and waited for her to finish her call.
She clicked the phone onto loudspeaker as he had done for her and mouthed Brodie’s name. Realising Brodie hadn’t said why he was phoning and suspecting he might be so filled with love for his fiancée and new baby that he might have forgotten, Skye thought she had better remind him.
‘You haven’t mentioned why you called, Brodie.’ Skye grinned at Joe to show she wasn’t bothered by his noisy entrance.
‘Yes, sorry. Lettie asked me to let you know she’s being discharged tomorrow, so we’ll be coming home to the farm tomorrow around midday.’
Skye saw Joe’s cheerful expression disappear and felt her own sadness that their happy bubble was about to be burst. Not that they hadn’t expected this moment to come, she reminded herself. And it was Lettie’s home after all and natural for her to want to return to the place where she lived as soon as possible.
‘She must want to get back to her own things as soon as she can,’ Skye said, trying her best to sound more cheerful than she felt. She looked forward to seeing Lettie again and couldn’t wait to give baby Isla a cuddle, and she felt mean wishing she and Joe could have just one more day alone together on the farm.
When Brodie hesitated, Skye wondered if there was something else he needed to tell them. Surely Lettie would still want her and Joe to keep running the place, for now at least?
Joe crossed his arms, then something seemed to occur to him. ‘Ask Brodie whether there’s anything you and I should be sorting out here before tomorrow, maybe.’
He was right. Why hadn’t she thought of that? Too selfish worrying about her time with Joe being cut short, she reminded herself guiltily.
‘Er, Brodie, was there something in particular you needed me—’ she saw Joe point to himself ‘—um, us, to do to prepare for their homecoming?’
‘That’s just it,’ Brodie replied, sounding a little odd.
‘Is something the matter?’ She pulled a face at Joe, wondering what Brodie was struggling to tell her.
Brodie groaned. ‘The thing is, Skye, I was hoping to persuade Lettie to bring Isla to my cottage for a few days.’ He went silent for a moment. ‘I don’t mean to be selfish, but with Lindy and Gareth still away, I was hoping to make the most of the opportunity to keep our little unit to ourselves. Just for a bit longer. Does that sound silly?’
Joe pressed his hand against his chest. ‘No, mate. That sounds lovely.’
‘Is that Joe?’ Brodie asked. ‘I hadn’t realised he was there.’
‘He’s just come in.’ Skye held the phone closer to Joe’s face.
‘Hi, mate.’
‘Hi, Joe.’
‘We’re fine here,’ Skye assured him, happy to think she and Joe might have more time alone themselves. ‘And what’s more, we think your idea is incredibly romantic.’
‘We do?’ Joe whispered.
Skye noticed the twinkle in his eyes and knew he was teasing her. She stared at him pointedly and mouthed a yes.
‘Brodie,’ she continued. ‘Joe and I think that’s a lovely idea and are more than happy to carry on as we are until the pair of you are ready to come back to the farm.’
‘We are,’ Joe said. ‘We’ll keep Derek here too, unless you’d rather he come home, and I can drop him off.’
‘No, I’ll pop over to see him. We both will and Lettie can fetch some things she might want for her and Isla. I haven’t broached the subject of her staying at the cottage with me yet, because I wanted to check with the pair of you first. I’m sure she only wants to return to the farm so that you two didn’t think she was taking advantage of your kindness.’
‘Not at all,’ Joe said. ‘We completely understand if you want to spent time quietly at the cottage.’
‘Thank you. I’ll go and speak to her now and assure her the pair of you are happy with my suggestion.’
Skye swapped glances with Joe and was surprised to see he seemed fine about the idea. ‘That’s great. Whatever you’re happy doing is fine with us. Isn’t it, Joe?’
‘It certainly is. We’ll see you tomorrow.’
‘Thanks, guys, I really appreciate this,’ Brodie said, sounding very happy as he ended the call.
Skye replaced the receiver back into the holder on the small hall table.
‘Is it wrong of me to be this happy about my close friend and her baby not coming home just yet?’
Skye studied Joe’s handsome face. He didn’t sound as if he felt guilty, but she now knew him well enough to believe that it didn’t sit right with him that he felt the way he did. She thought about the situation from Brodie and Lettie’s point of view. ‘No, it isn’t.’
‘You don’t think so?’
She shook her head. ‘How can it be wrong when we’re making Brodie and hopefully Lettie so happy? We’re giving them time alone together to get used to being a new family with the baby. There’s nothing bad about that.’
Overcome by a sudden rush of courage, Skye decided to be completely honest about her own feelings. ‘He’s also making the pair of us very happy.’
Joe stared at her intently. As the seconds passed, Skye wondered if she had taken a step too far and unnerved him. She opened her mouth to try and make what she had said seem less threatening to him. The last thing she wanted to do was ruin their relationship, as fun and as comfortable as it had become for her at least.
‘What I mean is…’ she began.
‘Please don’t try to explain,’ Joe interrupted. ‘I know exactly what you mean and I feel the same way.’
Surprised and enormously relieved, Skye exhaled sharply. ‘I’m glad to hear you say so. For a moment there I thought I’d said totally the wrong thing.’
He reached out and took her hands in his. ‘This time here with you has been exactly what I needed.’ Spud nudged his thigh, making them both laugh. Joe looked down at him. ‘Yes, and seeing you.’
Returning his gaze to Skye, he continued, ‘I feel carefree here. I can’t remember the last time I felt this relaxed. It’s felt like a breath of fresh air spending time here with you. So peaceful and—’ he stared at her for a few seconds ‘—getting to know you has been—’ he seemed to struggle to find the right words to explain himself ‘—joyful, refreshing? I’m not exactly sure what. You’re an amazing woman, do you know that, Skye?’
Touched by his words, Skye had to clear her throat to respond. ‘Thanks, Joe. I’ve loved being here with you too. I needed this and I don’t think I knew quite how much until now.’
He gave her hands a gentle squeeze. ‘Me, too.’