Page 12 of Your Carriage Awaits in Crumbleton
Her parents looked taken aback. They exchanged another look—this time full of concern. It got right under her skin.
‘Alright, love,’ said her mum, her voice gentle. ‘If that’s what you want.’
‘It is,’ said Michelle. ‘That’s why I left him in the first place. Can’t you just trust me on this?’
‘Of course,’ her dad said. ‘But if you change your mind?—’
‘Iwon’t.’ The words came out in a near-growl. She needed to get out of there before she said something she regretted. ‘Look, I’ll see you both later.’
Michelle practically fled the scene, grabbing her jacket from the hook by the front door and escaping into the grey morning.
It wasn’t their fault she’d been living a lie for so long…
It wasn’t their fault she had an appalling taste in men…
It wasn’t their fault she was the family Chaos Magnet…
Slamming the front door behind her, Michelle took two strides along the side of the house and slumped against the wall. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and did her best to let the cool air and the chill of the damp stones at her back calm her down a bit.
Michelle loved her parents, but the fact that they were so keen to see her crawl back to Lawrence really hurt. Of course, it wasn’t their fault, was it?! As far as her mum and dad were concerned, they’d watched their daughter go from deliriously happy to cold and stony in the space of just a few days… and they still didn’t know why. At some point, she was going to have to come clean.
‘One problem at a time!’ she breathed.
First, she needed to get to the Dalton Garage.
Michelle pushed away from the wall again and glanced around the small front garden, looking for inspiration. She might have told her parents she wanted some exercise, but it was at least an hour’s walk, and she didn’t fancy her chances of staying dry for that long.
She needed some kind of transport, but somehow, Michelle didn’t think her dad would be too pleased if she half-inched his taxi and drove it into enemy territory without his consent.
That’s when she spotted it. Her mum’s bike. It was in its usual spot, leaning against the side of the cottage and covered in the same motheaten tarpaulin as ever.
‘Could be a winner…’ muttered Michelle, pulling off the tarp and shuddering as a shower of woodlice cascaded onto the path.
Tossing it aside, Michelle started to give the bike a critical once-over. Other than a host of creepy crawlies, it looked fine. In fact, the tyres looked brand new, and the chain had clearly been oiled recently.
‘Helmet… helmet…?’ she muttered.
Michelle might be making a mad dash for it, but she wasn’t daft enough to risk her life without one. She flipped open one of the panniers, only to come face-to-face with her mum’s pink, sparkly helmet.
‘Bingo!’ she whisper-cheered. ‘Right then, Operation Car Rescue is a-go.’
CHAPTER 5
MICHELLE
The bike’s brakes let out a honking screech as Michelle ground to a halt. Panting, she clambered off the unforgiving saddle and propped the bike against the low wall that ran around the scruffy forecourt of the Dalton Garage.
‘Thank heavens that’s over!’ she sighed, reaching up to remove the slightly too-tight helmet. It hadn’t felt too bad when she’d set off, but about ten minutes into the ride, it had started to feel like her head was inside a vice.
Michelle popped the offending torture device back into one of the panniers before reaching up to finger-comb the flattened circle out of her hair.
Urgh!
It was all hot and damp… and she had a feeling that, for the second day running, she probably looked like something that had been dragged through a hedge backwards.
Michelle wasn’t that surprised, though. What would normally have been an easy ride over from Crumbleton had been surprisingly treacherous. It might not be raining right now, but the roads were muddy, and the puddles were deep. Once again, her mother had been right.
Not that Michelle would ever admit it!
