Skye laughed. ‘I think it’s far scarier than that, Gran.’
‘But you’ll do it anyway?’
‘You know me, Gran. I’m a sucker for a challenge.’
‘Good girl.’
‘Right,’ Skye said, staring out of her bedroom window at a couple of small boats, their white sails the same colour as the few clouds in the blue sky. ‘I’d better give Lettie a call.’
6
SKYE
Skye stepped out of the hotel entrance and immediately spotted a woman about her own age, maybe a couple of years older, with light brown hair, blue eyes and a spattering of freckles over her nose, waving at her next to a car.
‘Sorry, there aren’t any more parking spaces otherwise I would have come in to greet you,’ she said proffering her right hand. ‘I’m Lettie, if you hadn’t already guessed, and I’m delighted you’ve agreed to come and look after Hollyhock Farm for the next four weeks or so.’
Skye shifted her bag onto her left shoulder and shook Lettie’s hand. ‘I’m happy to be able to help out.’ She glanced at the woman’s rounded stomach. ‘How are you feeling?’
Lettie shook her head and indicated the passenger door. ‘I’m fine, thanks, but we’d better get going. I can see a member of staff coming our way.’
As they drove, Skye recalled her plane journey as she flew over the sunny island. She remembered looking out of the plane window and seeing what looked like a long breakwater, then soon after passing over an impressive castle on a hill, and she wondered whether they would be passing either of those locations now. She hoped so. It would be exciting to see either of them close up. She already knew she was going to like it here. Before the plane had even landed, she’d already fallen in love with several beaches covered with golden sand.
She waited for Lettie to join a row of cars before a roundabout and thought how amazing would it be if her father still lived on the island. Although realistically there was probably little chance of that being the case. She didn’t even know where he was from. He could be Australian and enjoy travelling, which may be where she got her urge to travel from. Or he could come from somewhere in Europe. She wished she had some idea. Even a small clue would be nice.
If only her mother had thought to tell her something in case she ever did want to track him down. She wondered, not for the first time, if her mother kept everything from Skye for a reason. If that was the case, then she would have to face whatever it was that had bothered her mother when she got to it. She was an adult and, as far as she was concerned, fairly worldly. Skye was confident she could handle anything that came her way in this quest to track down the man whose genes she carried.
‘That’s better,’ Lettie said as the car picked up speed along a dual carriageway. ‘This is the Esplanade, and that,’ she said, pointing to their left, ‘is the bay you probably saw from your hotel room.’
‘It’s so beautiful,’ Skye said dreamily, barely able to quell her rising excitement about what the next few weeks might have in store for her.
‘I’m glad you think so. I hope you’ll be happy at the farm, too.’
‘I’m sure I will. I can’t wait to see it. Melody and Patsy have both raved about the place since they stayed there last year.’
‘I’ll show you around as soon as we get you settled. We should be there in fifteen minutes.’
Skye loved that the island was so small and everything seemed close by.
‘Is this your first time to the island?’
‘It is. I love it and I’m really excited to have an excuse to extend my stay.’
‘Well, it’s very kind of you to offer your help.’
Skye laughed. ‘Not that kind. I don’t exactly have anything else planned.’
‘That works well for both of us then.’
Skye gazed out of the window as they drove through a small village and relaxed further. She was looking forward to getting to know everyone. Lettie soon turned into an entrance off a lane, and Skye noticed a small sign saying, ‘Hollyhock Farm’. On the opposite side of the entrance was a stall displaying brown bags in which Skye presumed must be vegetables they grew at the farm.
‘That’s our honesty stall,’ Lettie explained. ‘I know I said to Melody that I only need you to look after the animals, but I was wondering if you could add another job to that.’
‘No problem at all. You mean to pick vegetables and pack them up?’
‘Yes. It shouldn’t take too long. I’ll show you what I do. Basically choose the veg, bag it up and weigh each one to check they’re about right.’ She laughed. ‘And collect the money each night before you close it.’
Before Skye had a chance to answer, Lettie pointed through the windscreen. ‘Oh look, there’s Brodie. I hadn’t expected him to come to the farm this early.’
