Page 15 of Your Carriage Awaits in Crumbleton
‘Oh,’ said Michelle, her heart sinking. ‘Well… that’s not good.’
Danny cocked his head. ‘You’re welcome to leave it here, and we can see what we can do. I can’t promise anything, though.’
‘Right,’ said Michelle.
Damn. Her plan had officially gone sideways.
‘Did you get a lift over?’ he said.
Michelle shook her head. ‘I borrowed Mum’s bike.’
‘Ah. That explains it,’ said Danny. He looked like he was biting back a grin again.
‘Explains what?’ said Michelle, the growl still evident in her voice.
‘The splatter pattern up your… erm… back?’
Nooooo!
Instinctively, Michelle twisted around in an attempt to get a view of her behind. Sure enough, she could just about see a soggy stripe of muddy splatters right up her legs and across her bum.
Clapping her hands to it in an attempt to rub it off, her palms came into contact with sticky, gooey mud.
Gross!
‘Here,’ said Danny, grabbing the rag again and holding it out to her.
‘Thanks,’ she muttered, wishing he’d wipe that grin off his face. She took the rag and scrubbed at her hands, instantly swapping some of the mud for engine oil.
‘So… I’m guessing you’d prefer not to cycle back to town?’ he said. By this point, his shoulders were shaking with suppressed mirth.
‘Not sure I’ve got much of a choice,’ huffed Michelle.
‘Maybe we can lend you a car until we’ve got a better idea what we’re dealing with here?’ said Danny, patting the roof ofher old banger. It answered with the faint sound of showering rust.
Michelle winced.
Still… borrow a car? From the Daltons? Her dad would have an absolute fit. Maybe she should just hightail it out of there with her heap of rust and be done with it? She could drive away and pretend last night never happened.
Or… she could leave the car with Danny and accept a temporary replacement. At least that way, she’d have a built-in excuse to see him again.
‘I’m not sure what we have around the back at the moment,’ said Danny, apparently oblivious to her internal conundrum. ‘Our usual loaner’s already out until the end of the week, but I’m sure we’ve got something else you could borrow. You can come and have a look if you want?’
‘Okay… yes please,’ she said with a little nod.
Whatever it was, she could probably hide it from her dad for a few days, couldn’t she? Maybe she could leave it parked in the town carpark… or something. She’d just have to cross that bridge when she came to it.
‘Coming?’ said Danny with a broad grin.
Elvis glanced up at her, his tail swishing from side to side.
‘Lead the way.’
CHAPTER 6
DANNY
This was totally bizarre!
