Chapter 49
49
JOE
‘You’re looking very pensive,’ Joe said the following evening as he and Skye walked the two dogs on the beach. ‘If you’re anything like me you’ll be pondering over what happens when you leave here?’
She picked up the dogs’ ball and threw it, laughing when both dogs raced across the sand to try and reach it first.
Skye sighed. ‘I am.’ She took his hand and looked up at him. ‘I’m just not ready for all this to end, even though I know we all need to get back to our lives and I want to spend some time with Gran again.’ She grimaced when another dog reached the ball first. ‘Oh dear, I think there might be a fight if we don’t go and rescue their ball,’ she said as Derek and Spud chased the smaller spaniel and he took off across the sand with the ball in his mouth.
‘Hey, boys!’ Joe bellowed. Neither dog took any notice of him, focusing only on chasing the smaller dog and retrieving their ball. ‘Blast.’
He let go of Skye’s hand and ran after them, aware of Skye laughing and calling for him to go faster as she followed.
‘Spud. Derek. Here!’
‘Boys,’ Skye shouted, her voice with a sing-song tone to it. ‘Who wants a gravy bone?’
She had barely said ‘who wants’ when both dogs’ ears pricked up and they turned and began running to her.
Impressed by her clever thinking, Joe slowed to a walk. ‘I hope you have some of those things in your pocket, because if you don’t they’ll never trust you again,’ he said, laughing as both dogs ran to her.
She pushed her hand into her jacket pocket and took out two of the bone-shaped treats. ‘Of course I do.’
She looked very proud of herself, Joe thought, impressed. ‘Well done.’
Once the dogs reached her, Joe hurried to join them and quickly clipped their leads to their collars. Skye took hold of Spud’s lead, and he kept Derek’s.
‘I think we’ve lost that ball,’ he said, watching as the spaniel followed its owner up the slipway towards the car park.
‘Never mind, they have loads back at the farm.’ She laughed. ‘You’re out of breath.’
‘No, I’m not,’ he argued, trying not to show how right she was. ‘Just a little maybe.’
Wanting to change the subject and relaxed now that both dogs were back under control, Joe said, ‘Are you still planning on returning to Edinburgh?’
She stopped walking and stared at him thoughtfully. ‘I was, because I want to see Gran and tell her face to face about everything, but I’m going to miss you.’ She looked at him without speaking for a moment, then clearing her throat continued. ‘I thought I’d go travelling again. I’m not sure where yet, but I’ll see what flights I can get when I’m back in Edinburgh.’
‘Your grandmother will be happy to see you again, won’t she?’
Skye smiled. ‘She will. She’ll be relieved Carlos and I get along and even though I’ve updated her with some of what’s happened while I’ve been here, I want to sit with her and go through Mum’s notebook and add in what I’ve learnt about her life and how it affects me and everyone else to the back of it.’
‘That sounds like a good idea.’ Joe was glad Skye was coming to terms with everything she had discovered and knew she was hoping that by telling her grandmother everything it might help her recover from the loss of Annie. He sighed. ‘I’m going to miss you.’ He opened her arms and Skye stepped into them, her free hand going around his waist.
Skye rested her head on his chest and he tried to set the sensation of having her holding him, her body against his, to memory.
Skye’s hands went to his chest. She pushed back from him and looked up, giving him a questioning look. ‘So what are we going to do about it then?’
Confused, Joe gazed down into her eyes. ‘I’m not sure I know what you mean.’ He thought quickly. ‘I’m not sure what yet, but we will come up with a plan.’
He saw something in her eyes. She was waiting for him to make a decision but he wasn’t sure what she was hoping for. He needed to think and fast. Something occurred to him and his heart raced as his mind did too. ‘You mentioned going travelling.’
‘That’s right.’
‘My mum and Roger still don’t seem to have any intention to leave the bungalow. I could go home, of course, but they’ll have settled into a routine now and I don’t think the three of us would work in the same house. I’d feel bad asking my mum to leave though.’
‘I can see how that would be awkward,’ Skye said thoughtfully. ‘So, have you got any ideas about what you intend doing next?’
As they spoke a plan began taking form in his mind. They might not have known each other for very long, but the amount of time they had spent together living in the same house and working side by side day after day must be similar to the time most couples spent dating for several months. Wasn’t it? He decided it was.
‘I’d love to travel more,’ he continued. ‘And…’ Unsure whether he was about to ruin things by making Skye feel pressurised to agree, he hesitated.
‘Go on.’ She gave him an encouraging smile. ‘What’s on your mind?’
He sighed. ‘Only that, if you’re happy for me to, I’d really love to join you.’
‘On my travels, you mean?’
He nodded. ‘Would that be something you’d consider? Because I can’t think of anything I’d rather do than spend the next few months—’ he gave her a gentle squeeze ‘—or years making memories with you. We could discover new places together. I think it would be amazing.’ Aware he was letting his enthusiasm get away from him, Joe forced himself to calm down. ‘What do you say?’
She gazed up into his eyes for a few seconds, unnerving him when she didn’t immediately answer his question.
‘Don’t feel you have to agree just to please me,’ he said hurriedly. ‘It’s only a thought. To be honest, this is the first time I’m thinking it through properly.’ He was rambling and wished he would stop talking and give her a chance to think. To respond.
Skye beamed at him suddenly. She flung her arms around his neck, surprising him and making him laugh. ‘I say let’s do it.’
‘You do?’
‘I said so, didn’t I?’ She laughed.
Barely able to believe what had happened, Joe wrapped his free arm around her waist and held her against him, kissing her, unable to believe that something that had begun as them both wanting to help out a friend could end up with them finding their perfect partner.
‘I have a feeling our story has just begun. What do you think?’ he asked, gazing into her eyes.
‘I had just come to the same conclusion.’
* * *
The following morning, he left Skye at the farm to go and tell his mother his plans.
‘You’re leaving? Why?’
‘Because I need time away from my job,’ he said, repeating what his supervisor had told him when he agreed that Joe was doing the right thing by taking time away to do something completely different. ‘You need this, Joe,’ he had said. ‘I’ve been worried about you since your grandfather died. You seemed to push yourself harder than ever rather than taking time to deal with your grief.’
‘I know that now,’ Joe said, finally willing to listen to the man who had tried his best to do the right thing by him. Now, though, he was facing his mother and she was another matter entirely.
‘Anyway, Mum, we both know this place is too small for the three of us and with my boss telling me I can return to work whenever I feel ready, I think this is the perfect time to do this.’
‘And are you really doing this for you, or for Skye?’
He didn’t like the way this was going. ‘I want to keep spending time with her and getting to know her. We both want to travel more, so why not just go for it?’
She shook her head grumpily. ‘I’ve only recently returned and you choose now to leave?’
Joe wasn’t sure what to say without being rude but checked himself. ‘Mum, I don’t judge when you follow your heart, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do by going away with Skye. I’ll be back at some point and we will stay in touch.’
He went to give her a hug. ‘I’ll say goodbye now,’ he said, hoping to leave before they ended up having a row. He loved his mother and didn’t want to leave things with bad feelings on either side.
She reluctantly hugged him back. ‘You must do as you wish, I suppose. I’m only your mother. Why should my feelings be considered?’
‘I love you, Mum,’ he said, refusing to be drawn into an argument, aware that was what she was trying to do to keep him there a bit longer. ‘I’ll keep in touch.’