Page 79 of Lipstick Kiss

“Excellent idea. Buys us more time. I’m all for that,” Archer replied.

“Okay, who wants apple pie?” Erica asked. “I want apple pie, but don’t feel you have to have some. Don’t feel pressurised at all,” she said.

She began getting up, struggling, unable to bend. Archer shifted his hands under her bottom and helped her up.

“I could’ve done with that at the check-up the other day. No one tells you that you can’t do much when you have a big belly when trying to bend. I’m grateful it’s warmer. I can wear slip-on shoes,” Erica said.

Erica grinned at everyone.

Heidi went to help her in the kitchen, leaving Luke alone with his brothers. Jason looked at Archer, and then Archer looked at Luke.

“What?” Luke said.

“How unhappy are you? With the job, I mean. Although I am slightly concerned, Freya isn’t here.”

“I seem to have pushed Freya away. I’d forgotten she knows me so well, so when I got distant, she knew.”

“Why did you get distant?”

“I don’t really know where I fit in. The meeting with Cynthia has really rattled me. Have we got to wait on tenterhooks to see what stunt she’s going to pull next? When you came home, Archer, she was clear you needed to get a wife to carry on the Turner name. Now we find out she has an heir. What if he is as calculating as her?”

“I got the lawyers to check over the contract I signed for Edward Hall, and it is all legit. No one can take it away from us, not even Cynthia Turner. So if she can’t take it away, whoever is her child can’t either,” Jason cut in.

“That makes me feel a little better,” Luke said.

“I have an idea for a role you might want to consider. It might involve online courses to get a refresher and maybe learn some new stuff.”

“I just spent six months learning how to push paper around,” Luke said.

He’d learned much more than paperwork but wanted to behave like a sullen teenager.

Archer chuckled, and Jason moved to the edge of his seat, no humour in him at all.

“We think this might be a better fit for you. I have to say you rock the C&B stuff, though. Everyone raves about the service you give for each residential we have here. The brides gush about Stan, but then he’s a big romantic.”

“Hey, I can be romantic,” Luke said.

“You might want to search for those skills when you try to win back Freya,” Jason said.

“Okay, what’s the idea?”

Archer spoke next, clearing his throat. “I think we could offer mass-event medic training. More crowds were here than I ever remember when the gig racing was on, but there were very few stewards. It’s a peaceful competition, but if anyone got into trouble in the water or on land, there weren’t many around that were trained to help. If it’s down to Daisy and us to get the island busy with tourism, then we’ll need to set up more than gig racing. That means more tourists, which means more support staff. We can ask for volunteers, but if they don’t know their arse from their elbow or panic in a crisis, it won’t help and will have a knock-on effect on tourism. So I thought maybe we could have regular courses at Edward Hall for the events we hold on the island. We could expand and offer the same training to towns on the mainland. It’s a huge surfer’s paradise, with loads of competitions, which means loads of spectators. They could send their first aiders over here to be trained for mass events.”

Luke was overwhelmed by the idea. It sounded perfect for what he’d spent years training for. It was gratifying to know his brothers had faith in his medical abilities.

“I love that idea. Do you think it would bring in revenue?”

“I think in the beginning, the knock-on effect of having more events on the island will help the town get busy again rather than money in the bank. Our other courses and weddings are more than keeping us afloat. But I also thought this would be where you would need some specialised training. You could do one-on-one physiotherapy courses for athletes that have been injured. I’m thinking of ligament damage, and they need to get match fit again. Marathon runners, it could be anyone. But I’mthinking Olympians, those who want seclusion while they get back on their feet and not in the gym where anyone can see them get back to where they once were. You have the medical training, but you’d need to get the physio training. You could do the theory online and then go across to classes. I had a quick look, and it’s like a day a fortnight in a classroom environment for practical lessons.”

Luke was silent for a long minute and then slumped back on the couch.

“That sounds phenomenal. And you two would support me to do that?”

“If it’s what you want, and it makes you want to stay on Copper Island with us, we’d do pretty much anything,” Archer said.

“I have the best brothers,” I said.

“Daisy did the course research, so she gets kudos too. Plus, she worked out the financials so we could float the idea to you.”

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