Sweetly Isolated (The Swallow Barn Cottage Series, Book 1)

Tina's Tree

Author's Note:

And we're back to double updates since it's a weekend, and I've overdosed on chocolate :D People keep giving them to me, and I'm weeeeeeeeaaaaak.

Here's part 1 out of 2.

Love,

K. xx

***

It was the distinct signal of an incoming Skype call that shook Tina out of her randy craze.

"Mmm... John... Mmm... Skype! There's– Oh God... John!"

"I don't have a Skype," he mumbled and bunched up her tee.

That sobered her up! He was going to see her squishy freckly stomach! No matter how intoxicating the man was, she wasn't out of it enough to face the stress of him seeing her starkers in the middle of her well-lit kitchen. Also, she kept banging her knee to the table leg, while straddling him, and maybe she'd rather have a mattress under her for such activities.

"But I do!" she said and pulled away from him. "I need to take it, it's my family. They always call Saturday morning!"

He groaned, but let her go - and she clumsily slid off him and tumbled a few steps backwards. He caught her hand and steadied her.

"Um– It's– It's my laptop," she said in an unsure voice. "Right, it's Skype, so it's a laptop. Where is it?"

Her head felt like a well-shaken snow globe: fluffy snowflakes and glitter swirling around. He looked her over and grinned.

"In the bedroom."

"Right, right... Um– Ah, right, upstairs," she mumbled.

She stumbled twice while going to the first floor. Cursing under her breath, she finally found the gizmo and jerked the lid open.

The cacophony of voices burst out of the Mac, and she plopped on her backside in front of it.

"Hiya!" she greeted the five smiling faces on the screen.

"Auntie, we're calling to see your friend!" Orla yelled, and Lyn laughed in the background.

Tina was going to kill him!

"I don't have any friends! I'm a Grinch, didn't you know?" Tina said in a screechy voice and made her best Grinch grimace.

The girls started to laugh, and Gwen leaned to the camera, so all Tina could see for a moment was the girl's turn up freckled nose and two green slanted eyes, the same shape as Tina's.

"Do you live in a cave, Auntie?" Gwen sounded worried.

"Don't be daft." Orla's voice was exasperated. "Auntie lives in a cottage, we visited last year."

"She's too small to remember," Charlotte said. "Hi, Aunt Tina."

"Hello!" Tina gave the four girls a wave.

A loud series of hi's followed, Bernie, Gwen's twin, being the loudest. She was the only blonde out of Lyn's biological children, the rest of them were as carrot-headed as Lyn and Tina. Charlotte had her biological father's straight black hair.

"How are you all doing?" Tina asked, and they all started answering at the same time - except for Charlotte who was fourteen, so she was looking down, clearly hiding her mobile on her lap.

"Charlie, talk to your Aunt," Lyn's voice came from behind them.

"Leave her alone," Tina said. "I'm old and boring, and she has better things to do."