Page 2 of Reckless Kiss

“Fine, I’m in too, but I get to choose what I do,” Luke said.

“You only know how to do one thing,” Jason said.

“Annoy the hell out of me,” Daisy muttered.

The four siblings laughed. Archer stretched out an arm and put his hand flat on the metal table screwed to the floor. Jason added his hand, and then Luke and Daisy. Finally, Archer lifted his hand, and they all raised their hands together.

“Let’s go home,” Archer said.

Chapter2

Archer

It took longer to fly off the oil rig than expected. Long enough for Archer to secure a meeting with his aunt, who ran her life as if she lived in the early 1900s. They made appointments, tea was served, and he had to be in his best suit.

Archer did not own a suit.

Rectifying the situation, he then trekked the entire length of the UK. Their oil rig was in the North Sea, and his childhood home of Copper Island was fifty miles off the south coast of England. A unique island with white sands, palm trees, and clear waters. The tropical feel aided by the gulf stream made it exclusive and expensive to live on. His ancestors were the first to inhabit the small island—mining copper, in the late 1700s and early 1800s. He glossed over his ancestors, who won the island in a duel.

The Turners of Copper Island had money, land, and a grand old house called Turner Hall. Except the hereditary rulebook said, only one Turner could own the island andeverything on it at any time. Cynthia Turner was the current sole owner. Their aunt.

Archer hated the place with the ghosts of his ancestor’s past. But if it meant they could stay together, he would suck it up. Alongside Turner Hall was Edward Hall. The smaller of the two Palladian buildings used to be for guests visiting the family. For a guest house, it was vast, with twenty bedrooms. Two hundred years ago, decadence ruled the Turners, and minor royalty and dignitaries would often come to stay. A hundred years ago, luxury led the Turners where singers and actors would come. Fifty years ago, superiority ruled the Turners. You had to know someone to be invited to Edward Hall. Except fifty years ago, one Turner did not conform to expectations. The repercussions of one of the Turners saying no turned everything on its head, and not a single person was happy about the outcome.

Thirty years ago, something went very wrong, and their mother high-tailed it off the Island. And since their father died seven years ago, no one visited the Turners of Copper Island unless they were paying guests.

Archer returning was for the good of his siblings and nothing more. Some would tell him he was noble, but Archer couldn’t see any other route that would enable them to stay together. He couldn’t stand the thought of them splitting up. On the rigs, they worked three weeks on and three weeks off. Thanks to their dad, they were on the same shift cycle. During their three weeks off, their dad went back to Copper Island, but they explored a new country each time.

Except this time, when the four of them had made landfall after their final shift on the oil rig, they parted ways.

Jason, Luke, and Daisy went in different directions for thefirst time. Archer told them he’d call when he had an answer from their aunt.

He had to get her to say yes. Left to their own devices, he didn’t know if they’d all stay on the straight and narrow. They were all there the day their mother walked out on them, except they weren’t aware of what was happening twenty-nine years ago. Daisy was six months, Luke was two, Jason was four, and Archer was nearly seven.

They were all there the day their dad died. Two profound events that bonded them forever. It didn’t stop their bickering, but they were a tight group that no one could infiltrate.

Archer took the ferry to Copper Island, getting flashbacks to the numerous times he’d travelled back and forth to the mainland when studying for his electrician qualifications. As soon as the ferry docked in the small port, he was one of the first off, shoving his duffle bag further up his shoulder. It was a hike up to the old house. He wasn’t looking forward to it in a suit on a warm spring day.

Archer took the stone path along the quayside. There were inlets with rock pools and sandy patches of beach on that side of the island. He used to pick periwinkles as a kid in the rock pools and kiss girls on the sandy dunes. The pathway up to his ancestral home was private and only for Turner use.

A yapping sound attracted his attention. Archer looked over to the rock pools near the sea edge and saw a dog barking and running himself ragged in circles. Instinctively Archer knew the dog was in trouble, and the tide was coming in. Kicking off his shoes and socks, Archer picked his way across the rocks to the dog. It looked like a puppy, large brown eyes with a chocolate brown coat wet through. Archer didn’t know anything about dog breeds, but he knewthis one would grow big when it was an adult. A brown sack was nearby with a rope tied around the dog’s back leg.

“Son of a bitch,” Archer muttered. “It’s okay, buddy. I’ll get you to safety.”

The other end of the rope had snagged between two rocks, and the dog was trapped. Water lapped at Archer’s feet as he untied the rope on the dog’s leg and lifted him into his arms. The dog rewarded him by licking his face.

“All right, no need to get too excited. I’ve no idea who you belong to, but we need to get out of here before the sea sweeps us away, and I don’t get too wet.”

Hopping back across the rocks with the puppy, Archer put his socks and shoes back on, then wrung out the bottoms of his trousers as best he could. His aunt would have to accept he was less than perfect.

Chapter 3

Archer

Once Archer reached the gates to his ancestral home, he put the dog down on the ground. The puppy whined and sniffed his leg, looking up with doe eyes.

“Listen, you don’t belong to me. Go find your owner,” Archer said to the dog.

A sharp bark told him the dog was saying no. In his heart, Archer knew the puppy owner had abandoned the dog.

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