A Fresh Start on Crumcarey (Crumcarey Island #5)

Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

LUKE

R olling his shoulders, Luke threw down the oily rag he’d been using to wipe his hands and yawned. He needed a break. He’d been on the go since the sun came up… and he wasn’t planning on stopping until it got dark. Not while there were people to help and jobs to do… and there were always plenty of jobs to keep him busy when he visited Crumcarey!

Still, a scalding-hot cup of coffee and a pastry or two were definitely in order right now. Luckily, working on Olive’s two hire cars out in the car park of The Tallyaff meant the tasty treats were in very easy reach.

Gently closing the bonnet of the car lovingly called the Cow Taxi by the locals – on account of the rather pungent scent that clung to its interior – Luke yawned again. He hadn’t stopped since he’d arrived on the island a little over three weeks ago. Not that he minded, of course. Luke liked to be busy.

First, he’d focused on helping Connor with the re-fit of the ferry during the day, while his evenings were taken up with settling into one of the barns up at the farm. The farmhouse was plenty big enough for him of course, but night times there were filled with terrifying grunts, groans and growls that drifted from his uncle’s bedroom. McGregor, his uncle’s scruffy little terrier, got all the blame, but Luke was pretty sure they were both involved.

Either way, Luke had commandeered one of the less decrepit outbuildings. It had a decent roof and power, and that was really all he needed. He’d worked to make himself as comfortable as possible and had managed to get hot and cold water installed as well as an old wood burner his uncle had been using to prop up one end of a workbench.

It was cosy, comfortable, and just what Luke needed - though perhaps he’d done too good a job on the place considering Uncle Harris kept threatening to move in with him!

He hadn’t quite managed to finish it off yet, though. Ray Young over at Crum House had asked him to take a look at the heating for the swimming pool, and there was no way Luke could say no to that considering his uncle was probably the pool’s most regular visitor. After that was fixed, he’d moved on to helping Ray with some modifications on the boat for the new dive school.

Now here he was, tinkering away with Olive’s hire car fleet. He wasn’t entirely sure two stinky old cars really warranted the word “fleet”, but Olive was adamant that it looked better on the island’s website.

‘Well, that’s you sorted, old thing!’ he muttered, giving the Cow Taxi a pat. Apparently, it had been stuck in second gear for months. Well – not anymore! Next, he needed to have a look underneath the other car – the aptly named Chicken Bus. He wanted to see if he could attach something to the bottom of the exhaust pipe to stop it clanking as it trundled around Crumcarey’s bumpy roads.

But first… coffee!

As he ambled towards the door of The Tallyaff, Luke made a mental note that he actually needed to spend some time with Uncle Harris while he was on the island. He’d been so busy since he’d arrived that the pair of them had been a bit like ships passing in the night. They’d always got on like a house on fire - sharing the naughty corner during the rare Harris family get-togethers, and spending time with him was a joy.

Not that Mr Harris was really Luke’s uncle in the strictest sense of the word. He was pretty sure there should be a “great” or two in there somewhere. The old man had always argued that the word great made him feel ancient though – so he’d adopted Uncle Harris as his official title – and that’s the way it had been ever since Luke had spent his school holidays on the farm as a young lad.

Luke had to admit that he was glad he hadn’t left this visit too much longer – the old place was looking decidedly worse for wear compared to the last time he’d stayed. Crumcarey’s weather was notoriously rough on houses and outbuildings – especially when routine maintenance wasn’t kept up with. His uncle’s age, combined with an ankle injury that had taken forever to improve, seemed to have contributed to his slowdown.

‘Slowdown my foot!’ chuckled Luke, letting himself into the little porch of the guesthouse and pausing to toe off his muddy boots.

The only concession his uncle seemed to have given his bad leg was to accept regular swimming sessions with Anna up at Crum House to work on strengthening it. Other than that, he’d been full of his usual madcap plans.

From what Ray had been telling him, they’d come very close to having a petting zoo on the island. But Uncle Harris preferred talking about his plans to putting them into action. In fact, it was one of his favourite topics of conversation – coming second only to complaining about the tourists clogging up the island’s roads.

‘Right… time for a sit-down,’ said Luke, preparing himself for Olive Martinelli’s bouncy brand of small talk. With one last yawn for good measure, he pushed his way into the gleaming golden bar room of The Tallyaff.

‘Good morning Luke! You look like you could do with a coffee… and maybe a pastry or two?’

Luke snapped his mouth shut mid-yawn and stared at the woman behind the bar. That was definitely not Olive Martinelli! In fact… he didn’t know who she was. She seemed to know him well enough, though!

‘Hi!’ he said, desperately trying to place her… while doing his best not to stare. A long dark rope of hair lay over one shoulder and she had him pinned with a pair of soft, caramel eyes.

‘Hi!’ he said again, clearing his throat and feeling more than a little bit stupid.

He didn’t know this person… he was sure of it. He would have definitely remembered meeting her… considering that the look she was giving him was making his knees turn to jelly.

It was strange – he thought he knew everyone on Crumcarey. After all, the island wasn’t exactly large. Of course, there was no keeping up with the steady stream of visitors… but this woman clearly wasn’t a tourist. For one thing, she was standing behind the bar wearing one of Olive’s aprons.

‘Hi!’ she laughed, shaking her hair out of the way as her eyes danced with humour. ‘Your uncle’s not in yet… but I’m guessing he’ll be here soon.’

‘Uh huh?’ said Luke, willing his brain to kick into gear. He might not know her , but she definitely knew who he was.

‘Why don’t you go clean up a bit while I make your cappuccino? Triple shot, no sugar, extra chocolate - right?’

‘Erm… right?’ said Luke, now feeling totally lost. ‘I’ll just… bathroom!’ he muttered, glancing down at his hands and wrinkling his nose.

Yuck!

There was no telling what might be hiding under his fingernails after tending to the Chicken Bus and the Cow Taxi! Luke scurried away from the bar feeling decidedly discombobulated.

Shoving his way into the bathroom without touching anything with his hands, he turned on the tap… and smiled as the steaming water distracted him for a moment. It had been one of the first jobs he’d done when he’d arrived. He’d barely stepped off the replacement ferry when Olive had roped him in for a little light maintenance.

Luke didn’t mind one bit, of course. He adored Olive and loved the fact that he could lend a hand whenever he reappeared on the island. It hadn’t taken long to get the hot water flowing again. He’d also fixed a couple of dripping taps in the guest rooms while he’d been at it. Of course, he’d arrived without his tools, so Olive had told him to grab anything he needed from the little shop and then just pop them back when he was done.

Luke took his time to dry his hands, buying himself a few moments to get his head together before heading back out into the bar. He wanted to find out about the mystery woman with the dancing eyes… but he’d prefer not to make a total prat out of himself while he was at it.

‘What’s your problem?’ he muttered, eyeballing his reflection in the mirror over the sinks. He never usually had any problems nattering away.

Taking a deep breath, he quickly inspected his face for any flecks of grossness from beneath the bonnets of Olive’s hire cars… but it looked like he was in the clear. His overalls were covered with who-knew-what still, but it would look a bit odd if he climbed out of them, wouldn’t it?!

‘Get a grip!’ he tutted, turning and heading straight back out into the bar before he could think himself into a hole.

‘Your coffee…’ said the woman, gesturing at a steaming cup.

Luke raised his eyebrows as he sat down. Next to the cup was a plate bearing two pastries. There wasn’t any butter – just a small pot of tawny marmalade and a knife instead of a spoon.

It was perfect. Breakfast just the way he would have ordered it… except…

‘Double espresso?’ queried Luke.

‘For your uncle,’ said the woman.

‘But he’s not—’ he started.

‘Behind you!’ she said with a grin.

Luke peered over his shoulder just as a scruffy little dog came scurrying into the room – all wagging tail and wiry hair and twitching whiskers.

‘You old scruffbag!’ said Luke, leaning down to give the little dog’s ears a ruffle.

‘That’s not a very nice way to greet your Uncle!’ puffed Mr Harris, bringing up the rear.

Luke grinned at the old man. ‘Well… if the shoe fits…!’

‘Cheeky so-and-so!’ huffed Mr Harris, sinking onto the stool next to him and picking up the espresso seamlessly, as though he’d ordered it in advance. ‘Thanks Maggie, just what I need!’

Huh, so his Uncle clearly knew the mysterious Maggie. Excellent – that meant he’d be able to get all the info from him without having to make an idiot out of himself in front of her.

‘You look done in!’ said Luke, grabbing the marmalade and smothering his first croissant with the entire contents of the tiny pot.

‘It’s these blasted tourists!’ huffed Mr Harris. ‘Who’d have thought we’d have rush hour traffic on Crumcarey?!’

‘Really?’ said Luke with a grin. ‘You got stuck in a traffic jam?’

‘Two of those idiotic campers in a row, nonetheless,’ said Mr Harris, bristling. ‘Just a shame I didn’t put my foot down and get that petting zoo off the ground. I’d be raking it in by now!’

Luke glanced at Maggie just as she popped a fresh pot of marmalade in front of him. She smiled at him again, her eyes dancing with humour, and Luke felt the bottom fall out of his world.

Who was this woman?!