‘Lettie was hoping you’d find a way to get a message to her parents on the ship. They’re not expecting anything to happen for a few weeks yet and were going to be back two weeks before Lettie was due, so they’ll have a bit of a shock.’ Skye wasn’t surprised. ‘We’ve messaged Zac and Melody and my family, but her parents are somewhere in the mid-Caribbean or somewhere else by now. Gareth told her they only turn their phones on every so often as the cost of Wi-Fi is high on the ships, but to be sure to send a message. We’ve emailed of course.’
‘No problem at all,’ Joe said. ‘Leave everything to us. And don’t worry about Derek, he’s snoozing in the kitchen with Spud. They’re perfectly happy together.’
‘Thank you.’
Skye pointed to the phone and Joe nodded. ‘Enjoy your quiet time with just the three of you.’
‘We will,’ Brodie assured her. She could hear amusement in his voice.
‘Right,’ Joe said. ‘We’ll let you get back to your new family.’
‘Ooh, wait!’ Skye took the phone from Joe. ‘Brodie, you didn’t tell us the baby’s name.’ She suspected Lindy and Gareth would ask and wanted to be able to pass on that much information.
‘Sorry, I should have said. It’s Isla.’
‘Isla? That’s a beautiful name,’ she said, smiling up at Joe.
‘Thank you. It was Lettie’s choice, but I love it too.’
She handed the phone back to Joe.
‘I’ll update you with anything I think you need to know. Otherwise, just leave everything with us; we’ve got it all in hand.’
Brodie thanked them and Joe ended the call. He looked at Skye. ‘That was unexpected, wasn’t it?’
‘It was.’
They stared at each other thoughtfully and she wondered whether Joe was thinking the same thing as her. Then unable to help herself, voiced her concerns aloud. ‘I wonder if this means our time here will end sooner than we had expected.’
Joe frowned. ‘I’ve no idea, but I hope it won’t.’
‘I’ve been working out the time difference,’ she said. ‘And I think we should try to make contact with the ship as soon as possible before it docks somewhere, and they go out seeing the sights for the day.’
‘That’s a good idea.’
21
JOE
Joe spent a few minutes searching for contact details for Lettie’s parents and then realising he would need to wait until the following morning, had a difficult night’s sleep worrying what it meant for him and Skye if Lindy and Gareth returned early as he presumed they would try to do.
Finally speaking to them the next morning, he assured them Lettie and baby Isla were fine and asked if there was anything they needed from him.
‘What did they say?’ Skye asked when he joined her outside with the alpacas.
‘They’re going to do their best to change their flights but don’t know yet whether there will be availability, or when they might be back.’
Skye smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. ‘That’s good. I’m sure Lettie will be happy having her parents back home again.’
‘Yes, she will.’ He watched the woman he had hoped to spend more time with and although he was happy for his friends that their baby had been born, he couldn’t help feeling sad that he and Skye would no doubt be parting ways even earlier than either had expected.
Hearing a car, Joe glanced out of the window. ‘Who’s that?’
They went to look outside.
He recognised the car immediately. It was his grandfather’s old Mazda that he had left for his mother and Roger to use. Joe’s mood plummeted further.
‘Isn’t that…?’
