Chapter 26
26
SKYE
‘Let me carry those bags for you,’ Joe said, coming up to join Skye and Lettie in the bedroom where Skye had packed up a few of Lettie’s clothes while her friend packed up her baby’s things ready to take to the cottage.
Lettie waited for him to pick up the bags containing her clothes then took the two she had been holding with spare nappies, bottles and various other bits and pieces she had no idea what were used for and followed Joe and Lettie downstairs to where Brodie was cuddling a tetchy baby Isla.
‘Is she OK?’ Skye asked, wondering why the baby was unhappy again.
‘She’s tired, I expect,’ Brodie suggested.
Lettie took the baby from him. ‘We may as well get going. The sooner we’re at the cottage and settled the sooner we can relax,’ she said as Brodie got to his feet.
Skye joined Joe carrying the bags out to the Land Rover, handing them to Brodie when he unlocked the door.
‘It’s been good to see you both again,’ Brodie said.
‘It has,’ Lettie agreed. ‘And thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you’re doing for me and this place.’
‘Don’t give it another thought,’ Joe said. ‘We’re coping just fine. Aren’t we, Skye?’
‘We are.’
Brodie whistled for Derek, surprising Skye.
She looked at Joe. ‘I thought we were keeping him for a bit?’
‘I’d presumed the same thing.’ Joe turned his attention to Brodie. ‘You’re more than welcome to leave Derek here for a bit longer, you know?’
Brodie shrugged. ‘I had wondered if it was the best thing to do but…’
Lettie interrupted. ‘I know how much Brodie’s missed his dog and after discussing it we both feel it’s better to get the dog used to having Isla around as soon as possible.’
‘I suppose you’re right,’ Joe agreed.
Skye agreed but noticing Spud’s tail drop felt sorry for the dog that his friend was leaving. She patted her thigh and Spud slunk over to her side. ‘It’s OK, boy. He’ll be back to visit you again soon.’
‘He will,’ Brodie assured them, shutting the back door of the vehicle as soon as Derek had jumped inside.
Skye stood next to Joe as they waited for the couple to strap the baby into her car seat and get into the vehicle. She couldn’t help thinking how wonderful it had been to finally be able to cuddle baby Isla. It was also an enormous relief to know Lettie was satisfied with the way she and Joe had been caring for the animals and the crops.
She and Joe waved them off as Brodie drove out of the yard and down the long driveway.
‘That went well,’ Joe said sounding as relieved as Skye felt. ‘At least we now know we’re doing everything as we should be.’
‘I agree.’
Joe rested his hands on his hips. ‘I suppose we should get on with the rest of our work now they’ve gone.’
‘We should.’
They walked over to the barn to fetch barrows and spades.
‘Seeing them pair of them here reminded me that our time on the farm is limited,’ Skye admitted miserably. ‘I’ve loved being here, and to think I’ll soon be leaving all this makes me sad.’
Joe stopped walking. ‘I was thinking the same thing.’ He reached out and took her hand in his. ‘I’m going to miss working here with you, do you know that?’
Skye was delighted to hear it. ‘I’ll miss being here with you, too. We’ve made rather a good team, despite everything.’
Joe laughed and, letting go of her hand, folded his arms. ‘And what exactly do you mean by that?’
She could tell he was teasing her and was happy to tell him. ‘Let’s face it we didn’t exactly start off as friends now, did we?’
He shook his head. ‘Maybe not.’
‘And you can’t deny you were unimpressed to discover you wouldn’t be living here alone.’
‘That bit is definitely true.’ She went to speak but he grinned and raised his hand to speak. ‘However, I soon realised that running somewhere like this needs two inexperienced people working together if they are to keep on top of everything.’
‘You have experience though – you said so.’
‘Only a bit and always focusing on the heavy work lifting and shifting for my uncle. Never running anything, or having to keep an eye on stocks running low, reordering stuff, that sort of thing.’
‘Makes sense, I suppose.’
His cheerful expression vanished. ‘If this is coming to an end, we really need to make the most of every second we still have here.’
She liked his sentiment. ‘I agree. And that’s what we’ll do.’
They walked on again but despite her agreement to Joe’s comment, Skye was at a loss as to how he supposed they would do that. She already enjoyed waking each morning in her beautiful room, gazing out of her bedroom window as the sun rose or set, and never failed to be cheered up by seeing all the animals and walking in the fields relishing the glorious views over the pretty landscape and out to sea on one side of the farm. She knew that whatever happened in her life this part of it was something she would always be grateful for and would never forget. Especially getting to know Joe and spending so much time alone with him.