Page 22 of Reckless Kiss

“And no one sneaks up in the dead of night to go down to the beach?”

“No, for two reasons. One, they wouldn’t risk the wrath of my aunt, and two, everyone living on an island knows not to mess about near the sea when it’s dark.”

“Sounds like you talk from experience.”

“Yes, I do, on both counts,” he said, chuckling. “I’ll be back in an hour or so.”

Archer walked away from Erica, thinking about the parts he needed to fix the wiring issues in the cottages. He’d thoroughly checked over the rest of the cottage he stayed in and found no other issues. He hoped that was the same for all five of them. Vowing to check over Erica’shouse again, he marched faster to the back of Turner Hall to find Ralph. He found him in his shed, sorting through spanners.

“Hey, Ralph, can I borrow the buggy to go into town?”

“Sure. Did you sort the problem at Erica Taylor’s cottage?”

“You know her name?”

“I think we all know her name,” Ralph replied.

Shrugging, he assumed they ran a tight ship renting out the cottages and running the hotel wedding venue at Edward Hall.

“Someone has wired up the on-off shower switch incorrectly. Do you know how long ago it was done?”

“A few months ago, I think. Your aunt got someone from the mainland to update the bathrooms in all the cottages. She’d got it into her head that bathrooms are the selling point of any holiday cottage.”

Archer followed the logic. There was nothing better than a hot shower with a powerful shower head.

“Have they been paid? We need to get a refund on shoddy work if they have.”

“I don’t know about any of that side of things. I meet them at the quay, take them to wherever they need to go, and then get on with the never-ending job of mowing these lawns.”

“But you have a tractor mower. What more could you want?” Archer said in good humour.

“There are small mercies, not that I thought the Mistress would ever agree to such an extravagance. It turns out her hatred for spending money comes below her hatred for unkempt grounds.”

“Lucky you,” Archer said. “I’ll be about an hour.”

“No problem. If I’m not here, just hang the keys backup on that hook.” He said and pointed to where Archer needed to get the keys for the buggy.

Snatching them up off the hook, he jumped into the buggy and drove into town. Parking at the dockside, he spied Nathaniel at the far end, coming out of the small warehouse. He started the ignition and moved towards where he was rolling a tyre.

“Hey, Nate,” Archer called out.

“Archer?” Nate called back. “Is that you? I heard you were back in town.”

“Sure am. Can I leave the buggy here while I go and get some supplies?”

“Sure. What do you need?”

“Wiring and a few tools to fix a botch job. Is McKenzie’s still open?”

“Yeah. Old man McKenzie is still at the helm. Selling screws individually.”

“I used to love that shop as a kid. He sold everything you could need.”

“Still does, mate. Come into town one night. We can have a drink and catch up.”

“Will do.”

Archer strode away, aiming for the ironmongers. He nodded to people he didn’t know, and then pushed open the door. It was dark but inviting. High shelving units with every possible nut, bolt, or anything you could need for a household. He passed the plastic door numbers on hooks, still swinging where someone had turned the moveable stand. Everything was in the same place as when he was last in the shop. Heading to the back left, Archer stood in front of the trellis-style wall with metal hangers and dozens of different wire types.

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