Skye noticed Joe watching her.
‘It’s fine,’ he said. ‘No need to worry unduly. I’ve booked a bit of time off work, so I’ll be here with you. I’m sure we’ll manage.’
She realised he had misunderstood her concerns but decided not to correct him. ‘We will.’
They went over the list Lettie had written for them and, over another cup of tea, agreed that while Joe was on the farm he would take the lead in deciding things and do whatever manual labour needed to be carried out. Skye, on the other hand, would follow his directions, but when he was at work she could make whatever decisions she deemed necessary at the time. They both promised to call Lettie with any questions before Brodie insisted that he should be the first point of contact if those issues were to do with the animals.
‘You’re not to worry about anything here,’ Joe said, going to stand next to Skye’s side. ‘The two musketeers – that’s us.’
‘You see?’ Brodie said. ‘What did I tell you?’
Lettie laughed. ‘Good. That’s settled then.’ Lettie’s smile vanished. She winced and her hands flew to her rounded stomach.
Stifling a gasp, Skye tried not to show her concern. ‘Er, is everything all right?’
‘Lettie?’ Brodie moved in front of her, holding her by the shoulders. ‘What’s the matter?’
‘I’m fine.’ Lettie raised her hands in the air and gently pushed Brodie back a couple of steps. ‘Firstly, you can all stop fretting about me. The baby kicked,’ she said, directing her comment to Brodie. ‘It caught me unawares – that’s all.’
‘I think you’ve done enough for today though,’ Brodie insisted. ‘I think it’s time I took you back to the cottage to put your feet up for a few hours.’
Skye heard the insistence in his voice. Lettie nodded in agreement and Skye realised she mustn’t feel all that well.
‘Yes,’ Skye said. ‘You two go. Joe and I will be fine here now, won’t we, Joe?’ She gave him her sweetest smile.
Joe, clearly guessing what she was doing, reciprocated. ‘We certainly will, so no arguments from you, Lettie Torel. Off you go now and leave us to get to know each other better and start doing what we’re here to do.’
Looking relieved, Lettie stood. She went to pick up hers and Brodie’s mugs and plates, but Joe leant across the table and took them before she could do so.
‘No. I can tidy up.’ Joe waved Lettie away. ‘Please take her to your cottage, Brodie. She’s going to be insisting on digging the fields soon if we don’t get her away from here.’
Brodie laughed. ‘I know you’re joking but I don’t trust her not to do exactly that.’
Lettie puffed out her cheeks and rolled her eyes. Smiling at Skye, she said, ‘They don’t trust me at all, do they?’
Amused, Skye laughed. ‘Somehow, I suspect they have good reason not to. As Joe said, we’ll be fine. You go and rest while you can. From what friends tell me you’ll have little time on your hands to do that after the baby’s born.’
Lettie grimaced. ‘Don’t remind me.’ She shrugged. ‘Fine. I give in. Come along, Brodie, let’s leave the pair of them to get on with things.’ She made two steps towards the kitchen door before stopping and turning back to them. ‘But, if there is anything?—’
‘We’ll call you,’ Joe and Skye said in unison. They looked at each other and Skye saw Joe was as surprised as her that they had reacted in the same way. Then forcing her gaze from his, turned to Lettie.
‘We will. I promise.’
Skye and Joe followed Lettie and Brodie out to the yard. They waited while Brodie gave Derek a hug and took out his dog bowls, a bed and some blankets, handing them to Joe and Skye.
They waved as Lettie and Brodie got into the Land Rover and drove away. Skye stroked Spud’s head, concerned the dog might be upset to see Lettie leave, but he turned and walked back into the house.
‘Don’t worry about these dogs,’ Joe said, following them. ‘As long as they’re at the farm together they’ll be happy. I think he believes this is his place and that everyone who comes here, including the Torel family, are merely his guests.’
Skye laughed. ‘I like that idea. Good for Spud.’
Back in the kitchen she waited for Joe to clear the table and start washing up the crockery while she packed away the remaining couple of slices of chocolate sponge cake into a tin then back into the larder and then wiped the table.
That done, she leant back against the worktop, wondering what to do next. Deciding she could help by drying the dishes, she picked up a tea towel hanging from one of the drawer handles and began wiping.
‘I think we’ll be fine left to our own devices,’ Skye said thoughtfully.
Joe stopped what he was doing and looked at her. ‘I’m sure we’ll be fine.’
