‘I’ll remember not to fall for that one again,’ he grumbled, attempting to frown but failing miserably.
Skye went to her bedroom, unable to stop grinning. She sat on the bed getting her breath back. It really had been a pleasurable day and she hoped there would be several more before her time here at the farm came to an end in a little under four weeks. She heard Joe singing something to himself and tried to work out what it was. Unable to recognise the song, she walked over to her window, opened it and leant on the sill, gazing out at the glorious view of the fields with the animals grazing happily. She really loved it here and was grateful to Melody and Zac for thinking of her and arranging for her to come to Hollyhock Farm.
Hearing Joe leave his room, Skye thought she had better hurry and change to go and help him with the rest of their chores. As she slipped off her jeans and replaced them with an old pair of cargo pants she had brought with her, Skye wondered whether she would get to meet Lettie’s parents, Lindy and Gareth, before she left. She would love to know the people who had spent their lives building up this beautiful place. How lucky they were to have spent their working life on land as beautiful as this.
She heard Joe calling her name. Smiling, she went back to the window and peered down to the yard, her heart fluttering to see him looking up at her, Spud standing next to him.
‘Are you going to come and help, or should I do your bit too?’
She knew he was teasing but, pressing a forefinger up to her lips, pretended to give his question some thought. ‘Let me see. Would I rather recline on my bed in my boudoir and read the latest book by my favourite author, or come and help you muck out stinky stalls in the barn?’
Joe laughed. ‘I know I lost our unplanned race but you did make up the rules.’
‘So I did. I suppose it was a little mean catching you unawares. Fine, I’ll be down in a minute.’
‘We’ll get started while we wait.’
Skye watched amused as he and Spud ambled over to the barn. Joe hummed something and Skye couldn’t help but watch him, admiring the way his sweatshirt, as loose as it was, still somehow accentuated his muscular arms. She sighed as he disappeared into the barn and turned away from the window. If only her time here was for longer than four measly weeks.
‘Behave yourself,’ she murmured, remembering she was trying to stay upbeat. Anyway she was here to work not drool after Joe, and as far as she knew he might have a girlfriend somewhere who would not appreciate the latest farmhand at Hollyhock Farm following her boyfriend around the place like a lost sheep.
Anyway, the last thing she needed to do was fall for him and end up having a fling and going home pregnant like her mother had done. Skye shivered at the thought. Not that she had any intention of sleeping with him or anyone else while she was here, and if she did she would ensure they used protection.
Why hadn’t her mother been more careful about not falling pregnant? From what she’d gathered from the odd comment her mother had made, the relationship with Skye’s dad had been brief, even though the one thing her mother had said about him was that she had loved him very much. Poor Mum, Skye thought, wishing she could spend just one day with her to hug her and ask a few questions about him. She didn’t know all the facts about what had happened between her parents. Hell, she knew barely any at all. She had no intention of judging her mum for her choices, Skye just wished she had left some indication about who her dad was.
15
JOE
They had been working on the barn for a few minutes, when Joe looked over at the pretty dark-haired woman with the even darker eyes. Skye was a bit of an enigma, he decided. There was something mysterious about her and he couldn’t help being intrigued and wanting to know more. Was he just being nosy? Probably, and he hated nosiness. There was something bothering her though; he was sure of it. But what? He noticed her lost in thought quite a few times that day and wondered if it would be rude of him to ask if anything was wrong.
She suddenly looked up at him. ‘What’s the matter? Am I doing something wrong?’
Shocked to have been spotted staring at her, Joe went to say no, then thought now might be the perfect opportunity to discover what was on Skye’s mind.
‘You’ve seemed a little out of sorts today, I noticed.’ Damn, that wasn’t what he had meant to say. He saw a look of annoyance cross her face and struggled to find the words he was searching for. ‘Sorry, that came out wrong. More…’
‘What do you mean? I’ve really enjoyed today actually.’
Wanting to rescue the moment, he shook his head and crossed the barn to where she was standing scowling at him.
‘No. Nothing like that.’ He winced. ‘All I meant was that sometimes you seem thoughtful, sad sort of, as if you have a lot on your mind. I just wondered if there’s anything I could to do help if there was something wrong.’
She stared into his eyes with such an intensity he wasn’t sure if she was angry or simply trying to process his comment and decide how to answer.
Eventually Skye shrugged. ‘I found out information about my parents before coming here. I haven’t had time to decide what to do about it yet and it’s thrown me slightly.’
So that was it. ‘Ah, parents. I’ve had a few issues in that department too. Any new family information that changes your life always takes some getting used to.’
Skye frowned, seeming surprised. ‘How do you know it was big news?’
Had he guessed wrong? ‘Sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed.’
She shrugged and leant back against the stall wall, folding her arms. ‘You’re right though. It was a little surprising and unexpected.’
He knew Skye didn’t have anyone here to confide in and although they hadn’t known each other long wanted her to feel she had someone to turn to should she need to.
‘Do you want to tell me about it? I hope you know I’d always keep anything you tell me to myself.’
