‘Only tonight.’ She laughed, determined that their evening wouldn’t be ruined by any unfortunate misunderstandings.
Joe looked at her gratefully for a moment before he walked over to the fridge and pulled open the door.
‘Good plan. I’m sure there’ll be more than enough topics for us to fall out over and argue about during the coming weeks. We need to choose our battles with each other if both of us are going to come out of this with any energy left at all.’
Skye laughed. ‘My sentiments exactly.’ Her stomach rumbled loudly and she went to stand next to Joe at the fridge door, staring into the compartments just like he was doing. ‘Do hurry up and choose,’ she moaned. ‘I don’t know how much longer I can wait and we still have to cook whatever it is we decide to eat.’
They finally settled on steak and chips for Joe and salmon fillet with chips and peas for Skye. As they ate Skye continued to reason whether or not to share her situation with Joe. On the one hand, he was bound to know people who remembered the summer seasons in the nineties – probably through his grandfather’s friends or contacts through other locals. It was a small island after all, so a lot of people must know each other. On the other hand, by telling him about her father, she was opening herself up to him more than she had ever done with anyone else other than her grandmother and Melody, and she wasn’t sure she was ready to do that.
But if she didn’t accept Joe’s offer to help her, then she might waste these next few weeks. How would she feel to return home never having such a good opportunity again to search for her long-lost father?
However unused to allowing others to see her vulnerability Skye might be, she was beginning to think that she needed to be brave and open herself up to him.
If Joe did turn out to be the man she suspected he might be and help her find her father, then surely that would be worth any embarrassment. And, if he didn’t end up being someone worth trusting, then she would have learnt another valuable lesson. Not one she wanted to have to go through, but she had faced difficulties before and if there was one thing Skye knew about herself it was that she was resilient. Hadn’t she needed to learn to be when she lost her mum, then her gran when she was younger?
She caught him looking over at her thoughtfully and could tell he was worried about her. Skye finished her last mouthful and set her cutlery down on her plate. Taking a sip of her tea, she swallowed. It was now or never before she lost her nerve.
‘Joe, I have something I’d like to share with you.’
‘I’m so pleased,’ he said, his hands becoming still. ‘I was hoping you’d decide to trust me with whatever has been bothering you.’
Skye sat back in her chair and folded her arms. This being vulnerable thing wasn’t to her liking at all, but she had decided to give it one last go. ‘It’s about who my parents are.’
17
JOE
Joe listened enraptured as Skye told him about her parents working the summer season on the island in 1998.
‘And you want to trace him, is that right?’
‘That’s the plan, but I don’t know his name and Gran only had a vague idea about where the pair of them might have worked. Mum was obviously very secretive, so you can probably see why I’m not really sure where to start my search.’
He pondered her problem for a moment. ‘You could put something on social media. Lots of people join Facebook groups for those who worked summer seasons here, especially in the seventies, eighties and nineties. I’ve come across them a few times and there’s usually someone sharing a photo and asking if anyone has information on that person. Others are simply hoping to reconnect with old workmates or reminisce.’
‘That is a good idea,’ she said. Then pulling a face, added, ‘But I don’t have a photo of him or even his name, which is a little embarrassing, so I’m not sure how I could ask for information about him.’
He sighed. ‘That does make things rather difficult.’
‘Anyway, I’m still getting used to the thought of looking for him. I thought about doing a DNA test but the results might take weeks to come through. I was also concerned that if my father doesn’t know I exist then I would hate for him or his family to find out about me from an online database.’
‘I understand.’ He would feel the same way about strangers online delving into his private family matters. Joe wasn’t sure how she could possibly find her father with so little information though, especially if she also didn’t put the feelers out for any snippets about him. ‘Islanders are always happy to help though, if you do change your mind.’
‘Thanks, I’ll bear that in mind.’
‘I love a good mystery,’ Joe admitted. ‘And I’m only too happy to help you wherever I can.’ He cocked an eyebrow. ‘It would help me feel better about what I did too.’ The image of her perfect naked body stepping out of the shower sprang into his mind. He realised she was staring at him, eyes narrowed. ‘What?’
‘Did you see me naked?’
‘Wh—?’
He barely had a chance to answer before she gasped. ‘You did!’
‘I didn’t mean to.’
She glared at him as if trying to make up her mind whether to believe him or not.
‘Anyway,’ he added, trying not to panic. ‘I thought you were fine about it.’
