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“Quinn.” I whirled on my brother as he reached the top of the hill, still carrying the food for Mum. “You promised.”

My big brother winced. “I have to get this”—he lifted the carrier bag—“back to Mum.”

“What did you promise?” Forde asked.

Quinn sighed like a drama queen. “I stupidly agreed to take her quad biking with us if she let me walk Taran home alone until we move to the farm.”

The reminder that we’d soon be moving away from our home in the middle of Leth Sholas to Greg’s farm thirty minutes away from Forde and Taran made me want to chuck Mum’s special cheese for Greg into the Sound of Glenvulin. But I didn’t want anyone to think I was a whiny baby, so I never mentioned how much I did not want to move there.

Not that it would have mattered to Mum, anyway.

“Oh. I’ll take her if you need to get back,” Forde offered, making that fluttering in my belly go crazy.

I bounced excitedly on my toes. “Aye, aye, please, Quinn. Pleaseuh!”

My big brother looked between us, and I was worried he was about to say no, so I added another please. Finally, he glowered at Forde, “Anything happens to her and I’ll have to kill you.”

“Precious cargo,” Forde promised as he scooted forward on the bike to give me space to get on.

Giggling with delight, I hopped on and wrapped my arms around his slim waist. He was warm through his band T-shirt.

“Hold on tight,” he commanded over his shoulder, and I scooted closer, clinging on as he gunned the engine, and we raced off into the fields heading away from Leth Sholas. I whooped with joy as we bumped and swerved and skidded, knowing if it had been Quinn riding, he’d be going as fast as a granny. Forde treated me like I was old enough to enjoy all the things they did.

After a while we slowed before the fields turned to dunes that led down to a small cove and beach. The sea breeze blew my long hair around, so I snapped the band off my wrist and tied it up into a ponytail. Forde slid from the quad and reached out a hand to help me off it.

His hand was a bit sweaty and rough, but I had the stupid urge to curl mine around it. Forde let go too quickly, though, and turned to stare out at the water.

I wondered what he was thinking. “Will you get in trouble from your aunt for taking the bike?”

Forde flicked me a look. “Dunno. Maybe. I’m only living up to expectations.”

“What do you mean?”

He shook his head and changed the subject. “Looking forward to moving to the farm?”

Taran’s mum, Isla, had asked me the same thing a few days ago. Since Quinn was standing right beside me when she asked, I’d nodded.

Now, no one was around who might be mad at me for being honest. “Not really.”

Forde raised an eyebrow. “Aye?”

I shrugged. “I like living in Leth Sholas.”

“Do you like the bloke? Greg, is it?”

“He’s fine.” It was true. Greg was okay. He was nice enough to us. “He’s really into Mum. Sometimes … don’t tell Quinn I said this, but I think Greg would prefer it if Mum didn’t have kids.”

Forde frowned. “How come?”

“He’s better with Quinn, I suppose. But I think I annoy him. I think I ask too many questions and stuff. Now he doesn’t really talk to me at all. Which means Mum doesn’t really talk to me much now.”

“Well, that’s shite.”

“It’s okay.” I shrugged. “I’m fine.”

“You sure?”

Not wanting Forde to think I was a boring crybaby, I grinned. “Do you want to race back through Farmer McIntyre’s field?”