Peaceful Island (A Greek Island Romance Book 3) by Bill Kitson

Author:Bill Kitson [Kitson, Bill]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Independent
Published: 2021-05-30T04:00:00+00:00

The rock shifting operation was completed on schedule, after they put in a Herculean effort on the final day. Next morning Andreas examined the block and tackle. ‘We need to have this ready for when the topsoil arrives. First, we have to fix it in place.’

Andreas drilled holes in the rock, ready to drive the bolts home. This in itself had been a task and a half. Now, having sleeved the holes with a silicone bonding agent, he was ready to drive the bolts home that would secure the equipment.

‘OK, I want you to hold the bolt steady whilst I tap it with the hammer. I’ll tell you when I’m ready to strike.’

Lois smiled at him, perfectly confident. ‘Sort of, when I nod my head, you hit it?’

Andreas laughed. ‘A bit like that, yes.’

‘What now?’ she asked when the block was in place.

‘We wait until it is ready to use. Then we start hauling the sacks up.’

‘Oh good, something to look forward to.’

As promised in Andreas’s phone call to Acropoli, the ferry duly unloaded the cargo of topsoil and the rope the following morning. Watching the operation from the cliff top, Lois was struck by the change in the sea. Only a week or so back, the ferry couldn’t even risk entering Agios Demetrius bay, let alone approach the needle-sharp rocks of Peaceful Island. Andreas had attempted to teach her the Greek pronunciation of the name, but she hadn’t yet mastered it.

Her daydream was disrupted when she saw the volume of bags, closely confined in shrink-wrapped pallets that had been offloaded onto the landing stage. She groaned, as her muscles, already protesting from the rock removal, anticipated the work yet to come. She hoped and prayed the block and tackle would prove effective.

They soon developed a system. Lois was on the cliff top, watching carefully as Andreas secured each bag and hoisted it up. When it was within reach, Lois pulled it onto level ground and set the rope free for Andreas to start on the next one. Then she hauled the sack across to the growing pile she was creating. ‘Bloody topsoil,’ she muttered. ‘Andreas, I’d have bought you a bloody helicopter to winch the bloody things in if I’d known it was going to be like this.’ It took them the rest of the day and half the next to get the sacks up the cliff, even with the help of the equipment Lois had provided. When it was done, they surveyed the small mountain of bags that had yet to be carried to the vegetable garden. ‘That’s the hardest bit over with,’ Andreas said, with confidence Lois didn’t share.

‘You think so? Have you seen how many there are? And have you seen how far we have to carry them?’

He took her in his arms, their sweat and odour mingling. ‘You have been wonderful, my darling Lois. And even now, after all that hard work, you look truly magnificent. I don’t know how to thank you.’

One touch from him, one whispered endearment; that was all it took to set her senses on fire, her pulse racing.

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