Page 27 of Your Carriage Awaits in Crumbleton
‘Yeah,’ said Michelle, suddenly looking at the whole thing in a different light. ‘It’s one way of keeping the link between them alive, isn’t it?!’
Caroline nodded. ‘Hey, maybe if you can get to the bottom of what happened, you can help them mend things.’
‘That might be pushing things a bit far!’ said Michelle, raising an eyebrow. ‘I’ll do my best to get to the bottom of what started it all, though.’
‘Anyway,’ said Caroline, ‘enough ancient history. What I want to know is how long you’re planning on staying in Crumbleton this time.’
‘I…’ Michelle paused. ‘I honestly don’t know. I need to figure out what I’m doing with my life. I definitely need to sort out some work.’
‘What kind of work?’ Caroline asked. ‘You’re not thinking of begging for that soul-sucking job back, are you?’
‘Definitely not. That place was slowly killing me.’
‘So if you could do anything, what would it be?’
It was such a simple question, but Michelle found herself hesitating. When was the last time anyone asked her what she actually wanted, rather than what made sense or what paid well?
‘This is going to sound completely mad,’ she said slowly.
‘The best ideas usually do,’ said Caroline, looking intrigued. ‘Come on, out with it.’
Michelle took a deep breath. ‘I’ve always had this stupid fantasy about opening an American-style diner. You know, proper fifties vibe. Red vinyl booths, checkered floors, milkshakes and burgers. Completely impractical, of course, but…’
She trailed off, expecting Caroline to laugh or point out all the reasons why it would never work. Instead, her friend was staring at her with growing excitement.
‘Michelle, that’s brilliant! You’ve been obsessed with feeding people for as long as I’ve known you, and Crumbleton couldabsolutelyuse something like that. The locals would go mad for it, and tourists would love it too!’
‘You think?’ Michelle felt a flutter of something that felt suspiciously like hope.
‘Iknow. But where, though? You’d need somewhere with plenty of space, and parking if you can get it… not an easy task in Crumbleton.’ Caroline paused, studying Michelle’s face. ‘Why are you looking at me like that?’
‘I… well, there’s this empty building. Near the Dalton Garage. I think it’s an old showroom. It just… I don’t know, it felt right somehow.’
Caroline’s eyebrows shot up. ‘I know it. Ooh, that would be perfect. There’s possibly just one little hiccup, though…’
‘What’s that?’
‘He might have rented it out to various people over the years,’ said Caroline, ‘but I’m pretty sure it still belongs to Keith Dalton.
‘Oh.’ Michelle’s heart sank a little. It made sense. Itwasright next to the garage, after all. ‘Right. Well, that probably rules that out then.’
‘Not necessarily,’ said Caroline slowly. ‘Think about it. You could set up in business right next to Danny’s garage… yourdiner dream and his mechanical skills… it’s all very Grease Lightning!’
‘Caroline, you’re getting carried away?—’
‘Am I? Or am I seeing the bigger picture?’ Caroline leaned forward, her eyes bright with possibility. ‘You could be the one to fix this, Michelle. All of it. The feud between families, the business opportunity of your dreams… maybe you’ll find your own happy ever after there, too.’
Michelle stared at her friend, feeling like she was standing on the edge of a cliff, looking down at either the most wonderful adventure of her life or the most spectacular crash.
‘You really think I could do it?’
‘Michelle Singer,’ said Caroline, her grin wide and excited, ‘I think you’re exactly what this town’s been waiting for.’
CHAPTER 9
DANNY
Danny hurried down the hospital corridor, his heart pounding. His dad wasn’t prone to drama, so when the text message arrived just as he’d been about to load up Michelle’s bike, he’d dropped everything and hightailed it straight for the hospital.
