Page 32 of Coming Home to Crumbleton

‘Cool.’

Ruby wished her heart would calm down. She needed air. She needed space. She needed to get out of Crumbleton!

‘You know I don’t really need posh bottles of water, right?’ she said, feeling like she’d been painted as a bit of a knob by her team.

‘What about the chocolate-covered pretzels?’ said Oli raising an eyebrow. ‘Because I’ve bought in a hundredweight.’

‘You… you have?’ she gasped.

‘Nah - not really,’ said Oli, winking at her, ‘but I can get some if you still like them?’

Ruby shook her head. Damn him and his ridiculously good memory.

‘Okay… well that’s it really,’ he said. ‘Nice and simple - hopefully we’ll sell loads of books and have a blast. I’m really looking forward to it.’

‘Right,’ said Ruby, nodding on autopilot. ‘Right, it’ll be good. Well… I’ll see you there then?’ She got to her feet.

‘You’re leaving?’ he said. ‘Already?’

Ruby stared down at her half-eaten sausage roll, the ginger beer she’d taken just a sip or two from… and made up her mind.

‘Yeah. Sorry - I’m shattered.’

‘Oh,’ said Oli, looking crestfallen. ‘Okay - I get it.’

Ruby threw on her jacket and smiled at him. ‘Thanks, then.’ She cleared her throat awkwardly. ‘I’ll… see you.’

Making a dash for the main door with her head down, Ruby felt inexplicable tears prickling behind her eyes. Why couldn’t she just be a normal human being for once? Why couldn’t she have relaxed, chatted and reminisced – and maybe asked him some of the questions that had been prodding her in the back of her brain all day? But no - here she was - doing a runner yet again.

Pushing her way out of the bar into the evening air, Ruby marched towards the City Gates, taking the cobbles at a reckless pace. She didn’t slow down until she’d scooted under the archway – eventually coming to a halt a couple of steps outside of Crumbleton.

Taking a long, slow breath, she stared out across the surrounding marshland, willing her hot cheeks to cool down.

‘Rubes?!’

Oli’s voice made the hairs on the back of her neck tingle. There had been so many times over the years she’d dreamed about hearing his voice again.

Still - she really couldn’t handle talking anymore this evening. She was tired and over-emotional, and something told her she was a hair’s breadth away from doing something ridiculous if she got too close to him before she’d had the chance to have a good, long sleep.

‘Ruby?’ This time his voice was soft - and right behind her.

Hoping she’d managed to arrange her features into a vaguely normal expression, Ruby turned to look at him.

‘Yeah?’ she said. There was no heat in her voice. She just sounded exhausted.

‘You… you forgot these.’ Oli held the jug of yellow roses out towards her.

Ruby paused for a long moment before reaching out and taking them. Their sweet scent drifted up to her and suddenly, the tears she’d felt prickling behind her eyes felt dangerously close to falling.

‘Thanks,’ she said quietly. ‘They’re lovely.’

‘Rubes, will you…’ Oli cleared his throat and Ruby raised her eyebrows. ‘Actually, never mind.’

‘Never mind what?’ she said.

‘Well… I was wondering… would you spend tomorrow with me?’

‘What, in the shop?’ said Ruby in surprise. ‘I mean, I guess I could pop in and sign-’

---