Page 23 of Reckless Kiss

“Can I help you find something?” Old man McKenzie said behind Archer.

“Hello, Mr McKenzie. How are you?”

“Archer Turner? I heard you were back up at the estate. What brings you into town?”

“I need to repair some bad wiring. Can you help with this list?”

Archer handed the list to Mr McKenzie. It would be faster than searching through the shelves. Mr McKenzie smiled wide. The wrinkles and well-worn skin brightened at the task.

“Give me five minutes, and I’ll have everything at the till. How’s Miss Turner these days? We don’t see her in town anymore.”

“She is no different from the last time I saw her,” Archer replied.

“I can’t believe it’s seven years since your dad left this earth.”

Mr McKenzie was the same age as his father and went to school with him. They were best friends even when his father went to work on the oil rigs.

“It’s a hard reality. The Hall is completely different without him there. I still think he will walk around the corner wearing a big grin.”

“I miss him too, but it’s good to see you back on the island. Are Jason, Luke, and Daisy coming back too?”

“We’ll see. Not sure at the moment if I’m staying. I’ve given myself three months. If everything isn’t sorted by then, I’ll leave, and the others will find jobs overseas.”

“I will send prayers it works out. The island needs you all back.”

“Thanks, Mr McKenzie.”

The man gave him a nod and set about getting the list ofitems Archer needed. He was soon walking back to the quayside and into the buggy. Ten minutes later, he was back at Erica’s cottage. She’d left the front door ajar, but he still rapped the door loudly and called out her name.

“I’m in here,” she said.

Archer followed her voice into the living room to find her crouched over her laptop.

“The Wi-Fi here is shocking,” she said, stretching back in the dining room chair she’d brought through. She’d made a table from a stool and a stack of books to put her laptop on.

“Interesting use of the furniture,” he said, pointing to her homemade desk.

“It’s the only spot that picks up the Wi-Fi in the house. The dining room table was too heavy to drag in here. If I sit in an armchair, I fall asleep within ten minutes, and I have work to do. I promised myself I wouldn’t turn on my internet access, but I’m addicted and not ready to go off-grid.”

“How’s your mobile signal?” he asked.

“Amazing, but I can’t do the work I need on the phone.”

“But you could tether your laptop to your phone signal.”

She pointed her pen in his direction. “I could, fantastic idea,” she said.

“I’ll leave you to it while I work upstairs. I need to turn off the electricity, so your work shouldn’t be interrupted if you switch to your phone.

He got to work as soon as Erica confirmed she’d switched over and fixed the wiring. He’d found the incorrect wires had been taped together at several points. Archer stripped it out and replaced the damaged section. When he returned downstairs, Erica had moved outside to the rattan chairs. She was on the phone again, so he didn’t interrupt her, leaving her a note that it was safe to have a shower.

He needed to repeat the work in all the cottages. He should’ve done the work when he first tripped out the shower switch a week ago, but he’d got distracted with the other tasks at Turner Hall. He didn’t imagine so much work would need to be done in the cottages. Surely the other guests would’ve used the shower and reported the problem?

Chapter 14

Erica

“Is it horrific?” Erica asked Yanny.

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