Joe did as she suggested and as soon as he did Skye snatched her hand from his and began laughing and running back towards the house.
Joe watched her go, wishing they had longer than a few short weeks together here. There was something about Skye, apart from the cute way she pursed her lips when she was cross with him, or her determined stance when she was refusing to give about something. He was happier than he could recall being in a very long time and he wished it didn’t need to end.
‘Hey,’ he shouted, enjoying every moment. ‘Wait for me.’
20
SKYE
Skye glanced over her shoulder, delighted to see Joe now following her. This was such fun. The freedom from having anything heavy to dwell on for a change was a welcome relief. How could she have ever thought Joe wasn’t fun. He was kind and made things fun and she wanted to make the most of every second staying on this amazing farm with these adorable animals and being the only other human apart from Joe.
As she neared the front door she heard the phone ringing. She wondered who it could be and hoped nothing was wrong with Lettie. She opened the door and, presuming Joe might be better answering the call as he knew people on the island, she picked up the phone and held it out to him.
He gave her a confused look before taking the receiver. ‘Hello?’
‘Joe?’
‘Yes, it’s me.’ Joe pressed the button so the voice was on loudspeaker and she could hear more clearly.
‘You are there,’ Brodie said, his voice sounding flustered.
Joe shot a concerned look at Skye and cleared his throat. ‘Is everything all right?’
Skye’s stomach tensed.
‘Yes, sorry. I’d tried yours and Skye’s mobiles and didn’t get an answer so called here. We’ve had a bit of a drama, but everything is fine now.’
She knew she should have remembered her phone, Skye thought guiltily.
‘Sorry, Brodie, we went for a walk and both inadvertently left our phones behind.’ Joe looked concerned. ‘Do you mean the baby has been born?’
Skye tensed and leant closer to the phone even though she could hear perfectly clearly without doing so.
‘She has, I’m relieved to say.’
She? ‘A little girl?’ Skye asked, delighted.
‘Yes. Sorry, didn’t I say? We found out during one of the scans but Lettie wanted to keep it a secret between the pair of us until she was born.’
Skye wasn’t surprised, having heard a little from Joe about how despite being a lovely lady, Lettie’s mother Lindy liked to take charge.
‘That’s understandable,’ Joe said, giving Skye a knowing smile. ‘And Lettie? How’s she doing? How are you coping with everything?’
‘Lettie is fine, thanks. Tired, of course. She had a shock when she went into labour and everything happened quickly after that, especially as we knew she would need to get to the hospital quickly in case anything went wrong.’
Skye was relieved to hear things had ended up being fine.
‘She looks more beautiful than I’ve ever seen her and insists she’s perfectly OK now the baby is here. The baby is perfect.’ Brodie sighed. ‘I feel so lucky.’
‘That’s because you are, mate.’
Skye heard a tone to Joe’s voice and wondered if having a wife and family was something he looked forward to.
‘Skye’s here and sends her love to you all, as do I. Remember, if there’s anything at all that any of you need, all you have to do is ask.’
‘Thanks, Joe. Oh, hang on a sec, Lettie’s trying to tell me something.’ Skye waited while there were mumblings in the background. Joe pointed to the phone and rolled his eyes. ‘Joe, you still there?’
‘Yup. What is it?’
