Page 25 of Mark

I narrow my eyes. “Whose side are you on?”

“Yours. Always yours,” she states, amusement in her voice.

“What are the chances of a Hayes being on here though? I thought they never left their farm.”

“Have you seen your sister yet?”

“You don’t want to talk about it. Noted. But I thought we were best friends. We’re supposed to tell each other everything.”

“We do. And I will. One day. But right now, we hate him.”

“Okay, good enough for me,” I assure her. “What have you been up to?”

“I’ve been speaking to Malia. My cousins have inherited their grandparents’ land and are planning to move into the property. They are hoping to use the surrounding land to build a glamping site since none of them know how to farm. And guess what, it’s in Coldenshire. They are moving back.”

Malia is one of six siblings, all of who are crazy as hell. All six were raised to be tough. They had no choice given that their parents weren’t exactly upstanding citizens, and they hadenemies. Their parents died tragically six months ago in a car accident. Summer has been trying since then to get them to move back to Coldenshire.

“No way,” I gush. “I bet you are over the moon.”

“I am. I’ve missed them,” she replies, her voice filled with glee. “Malia wants us to move in with them. The house has eight bedrooms, but I’ve told her we like where we are.”

I smirk. “The house needs fixing up, doesn’t it, which is why you said no.”

She laughs. “Fuck yes. It’s not as bad as this place was, but with their inheritance, they’ll have enough to get people in to do it. Plus enough to cover the adjustments they need to make to the land.”

“Is it not weird that both their grandparents and parents died within months of each other?”

“Maybe if they were murdered, but their parents died in a car accident and their grandparents didn’t get their gas leak fixed,” she replies, like those two things are normal occurrences. “Which reminds me, I’m supposed to be meeting them soon.”

I glance at my watch. “I’d better go too. I promised Mum and Dad I would meet them all on deck for drinks before dinner.”

“Alright. When will you be able to call me next?”

“We’re at sea all day tomorrow, but once we get to the next island, I’ll Facetime you. It’s cheaper.”

“All right. I have transferred you some money to get the WIFI pass they have on board. Mum and Dad contributed so you might be able to get four days’ worth. So I would hold off buying it until mid-week.”

“Babe, you didn’t need to do that.”

“How else can I keep in touch with my favourite person?”

“Very true. Thank you. I was planning to steal Esther’s phone and run her bill up so this option is much safer,” I tease. “Tell Jill and Dean I said thank you too.”

“Will do. And don’t go braiding that hair of yours either.”

It’s scary how well she knows me because that is exactly what I had planned to do. “It’s a mess from the humidity.”

“Noo,” she strings out. “It will look sun-kissed, with a beach wave look. Don’t get me wrong, I love it when you take time to get the curls perfect, but when they drop and get that natural look to them, you are a knockout. Embrace the waves.”

I actually prefer leaving them, even if they do become almost staticky. I don’t like taming the curls. It takes way too much effort. But they do look neater, which is what I need for work.Always be presentable, Freya. That’s what my mum always said, and it stuck with me, so I always keep them perfect when I leave the house.

“All right. All right.”

“Go, and try to have some fun. Maybe with the hot neighbour.”

“Goodbye, Summer.”

I end the call on her laughter, and groan.

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