Chapter 38
38
SKYE
A few days later, Skye reread the message she had just received from her father. ‘He wants me to arrange for us to meet up with him and Sandra, if she’ll be willing to,’ she explained to Joe as they watched another trailer load of potatoes being driven away to the docks in St Helier for shipping to the UK. ‘Do you think she’ll be up for that?’
Joe shrugged. ‘I’ve no idea. I don’t see why not though. Why don’t you ask her and see what she says?’
Working out that Sandra would have returned from her holiday a couple of days before, Skye decided to contact her. She didn’t want to waste any time, so immediately began typing in a message and pressed send before she had a chance to talk herself out of it. ‘It’s still very early so she might not be up yet,’ Skye said, already prepared to brace herself for disappointment. If she could get Sandra to agree then hopefully the two of them would inspire each other’s memories as they reminisced and gave her more information about her mother. It was worth a try.
After the previous few days when the tension between her and Joe had been heightened after their intimacy during the storm, she was glad to have been kept busy and now she had this to focus on to stop her mind from tormenting her with constant thoughts about what might happen between them when their time on the farm was over.
‘Come along,’ Joe called, waving for her to join him in the larger barn. ‘Now the last of the lorries has left we should let the animals out into the fields. It’s going to be warm today and they’ve all probably been a bit disturbed by the voices and engine sounds going on for the past couple of hours while Lettie’s uncle and his staff harvested the Jersey Royals.’
‘Good idea.’ Happy to have something to distract her from constantly checking her phone for Sandra’s reply, Skye helped lead the alpacas while Joe sorted out the cows and took them to their field.
Her phone vibrated against her buttock and after closing the gate to ensure the alpacas were safely in the field, she withdrew her phone and checked the screen. ‘She’s responded,’ Skye yelled excitedly.
‘What does she say?’ he asked, exiting the next field. ‘Has she agreed to join us?’
Skye opened the message and squealed, causing the dogs’ heads to turn in her direction, ears pricked. ‘Sorry, boys. Yes, Sandra said to arrange whatever we like and she’ll fit in with us.’ She read on. ‘Apparently she has very little in her diary right now.’
She beamed at Joe, realising how excited she was coming across when he laughed. ‘Sorry. I’m a bit enthusiastic. I know so little about Mum’s life before I was born. Little more than what I’ve discovered in her notebook, to be honest. I’m desperate to discover anything I can about how she lived. I feel a little as if I’m trying to find all the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, hoping that once I’ve found all the bits I’ll have a much better understanding of why she made the decisions she did and how everything changed her.’
‘You don’t say,’ he teased, walking over to join her. ‘Well. When do you want to arrange this get-together?’
‘In five minutes’ time, if I could.’ She laughed. ‘Um, would you think it too impatient of me to ask them to join us tonight?’
Joe mulled over her question. ‘I think it’s a great idea. That way neither will have too much time to overthink meeting up after all these years. Yes, let’s make it this evening.’
Delighted that Joe was happy with her suggestion, Skye immediately sent both Carlos and Sandra messages, suggesting they all meet at the farm.
‘We can buy some bits to eat in the village.’
‘We can,’ Joe said, smiling, before returning to the barn to check on the goats.
‘I’ve told each of them to come with their sons. I thought that if they did they might feel a little less strange about meeting each other again after all these years.’
‘That sounds like a good plan. At least that way each of them will have someone to arrive and leave with.’
Hearing concern in his voice, Skye wondered if it might be too much for poor Sandra and Carlos. ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have arranged for them to come tonight. I don’t want to make things difficult for anyone and I have a feeling that me delving into their pasts could do just that.’
Joe came out of the barn following the goats. ‘Don’t worry about it. I’m sure they’re fascinated to discover what the other one has been up to.’ He pointed to the water trough. ‘Check those have enough water in them, will you? Unless you already have done.’
She hadn’t, so walked over to the first one and checked the pipes had automatically filled the trough at the field closest to her. ‘This one is fine.’
Giving Joe’s comment some thought, Skye reasoned that he was right. She would probably feel the same intrigue to have a reunion with an old friend from years before and felt much better. ‘Do you want me to go and buy the food, or should we go together?’ she asked, unsure what exactly to buy but not wanting to pressurise Joe into yet another job for her.
‘I’m happy to come with you. I love food shopping.’
Skye laughed. ‘You love food.’
He threw his head back and laughed with her. ‘You’re not wrong about that.’
* * *
Later as they sat outside on the terrace for a few drinks with their guests, Skye was glad Joe had thought to light one of Gareth’s outdoor heaters. It was much better weather now the storm had passed but there was still a bit of a chill in the air.
She watched as Joe served the last of the drinks and joined her on the seat beside hers. Carlos and Sandra were in deep discussion and seemed to be enjoying each other’s company very much, she was relieved to note. Their sons began asking Joe about the rescue but in typical Joe fashion he didn’t seem to want to talk about it and turned the conversation to Dan and his broken arm.
Skye took a sip of her wine and watched the man who she now knew was her father. Her dad. How odd it felt to finally know who he was and discover she had an entire other side of her family and siblings that she had never expected to have. She was enormously relieved that not only did he seem like a genuinely kind man but also that he had a good relationship with his sons. As far as she was concerned that said a lot about him, as did his immediate acceptance of her and not holding whatever happened between him and her mother against her in any way.
She was also relieved that Bruno, Paul and Joe got along so well, which wasn’t too surprising as they all worked together. But it was an added bonus.
Although, she wondered, as she turned her attention to Joe and the thing that unexpectedly bothered her more than her new relationship with Carlos: what would happen when Lettie and Brodie returned and she and Joe were no longer needed at Hollyhock Farm? Skye supposed he would return to his bungalow and somehow find a way to make the dynamic work with his mother and stepfather, but what would she do? She couldn’t stay here, not unless she found somewhere to live and a job. Anyway, hadn’t she assumed she would spend a little time with Gran before going travelling again after this ended?
Joe laughed at something Bruno said and Skye’s heart ached to think that in a matter of days, she would have to part ways with the man who had brought so much into her life. Hell, he had found her father for her. It was a lot to be grateful for, let alone how it had felt to spend time in his muscular arms. The thought sent a familiar tingle through her body.
She shook her head, determined to focus on the matter in hand. Tonight was about her father and Sandra getting reacquainted, not her fretting about missing Joe.
Bruno and Paul were talking about something, and she realised Joe was watching her. ‘What?’ she asked, unsure why he had such a strange expression on his face.
His eyes shifted to the side and it took a moment for her to realise he was trying to get her to look at Carlos and Sandra. Confused, she did as he hoped and watched them silently as they spoke. Then it dawned on her why Joe had wanted her to look at them. Their mannerisms, the way they were looking at each other. Carlos’s fingers were tapping his knee and Sandra seemed to only be half listening to what he was saying.
She widened her eyes and looked at Joe. ‘Do you think they like each other?’ she whispered so only he could hear her question.
Joe’s mouth drew back in a satisfied smile. ‘I think they do.’
They both turned to watch the old friends and Skye recalled how Sandra had been divorced for many years and Carlos was a widower. She thought that maybe she had inadvertently started something exciting between the two people.
She wondered again about her earlier theory and it made her feel even less cheerful. She covered her mouth as she gasped. Could that be why her mother had left Jersey so suddenly? She must have had a good reason never to contact either the man she loved or her best friend ever again.
She felt Joe’s hand on hers. ‘Shall we go and check on the food?’
She was grateful for his interruption and suspected he might have heard her quiet intake of breath. She knew he would want to find out what it was that had made her react in that way.
‘Yes, that does make sense,’ he said after she finished telling him her thoughts about her mother’s sudden departure from the island when she was pregnant. He opened the oven, pushed his hand into an oven glove and pulled out one of the trays of food. ‘This looks about ready to me.’
Only half registering what he was saying, Skye thought for a moment. ‘I’m not sure whether we’ve done the right thing bringing Carlos and Sandra together now. What do you think?’
He shrugged. Then taking the food from the oven, placed it onto the top of the cooker. ‘It’s too late to do anything about it now. Maybe it’s fate and you were meant to meet them both and bring them together. Who knows? This could be how you find answers to questions you never even suspected having.’
She thought about his comment, then nodded. ‘Maybe.’
‘Right, let’s set this lot out in the dining room and call them in to eat.’