Page 47 of Your Carriage Awaits in Crumbleton
‘Yeah,’ said Danny, still grinning. ‘I think so too.’
CHAPTER 13
MICHELLE
Michelle attacked the second batch of pancake batter like it had personally insulted her. She had to be the only person in history to feel this dreadful the morning after the best kiss of her life.
Closing her eyes for a second, she tried to bring back those magical few minutes. The feeling of Danny’s lips on hers had taken her breath away, her toes had curled in delight at the touch of his hands on her waist… on her face… in her hair.
Nope… it was no good.All she could focus on right now was the leaden blanket of dread draped around her shoulders. The feud. Even after all these years, it was still standing between her and real happiness.
It wasn’t just her own happiness she was talking about, either, was it? Keith might have been joking last night, but he was right. Until this issue with her dad was resolved once and for all, Michelle could forget about going into business with the Daltons.
The idea of giving up on her dream again was enough to break her heart. Sure, the old showroom might look like a boarded-up, unloved heap at the moment, but the minute Michelle had first set eyes on it, she’d felt like she’d been gifteda glimpse of the future. A snippet of light and colour filled with chattering customers, the sound of a jukebox, and the delicious scent of freshly cooked breakfast wafting in the air.
But… if she couldn’t get to the bottom of things and figure out a way to reconcile her dad and Mr Dalton, she’d have to kiss the whole thing goodbye.
‘Damn, the bacon!’ she muttered, bending low to check the grill. Sure enough, it needed turning over.
Abandoning her whisk, Michelle pulled the grill pan out from the heat, rested it carefully on the counter, and started to flip the sizzling rashers of streaky.
She’d had woken up that morning with a clear plan in mind. She’d cook her dad’s favourite dish from the diner menu to soften him up a bit… and then ask him about what had happened between him and Keith. Outright. No nonsense.
‘Urgh!’ she muttered as a shiver of dread ran down her back.
It had seemed like such a great plan to start with! Her dad had certainly been enthusiastic about the bacon pancakes… but then things had started to go sideways. Michelle had just been about to dish up when Brian received a call for a quick, local taxi pickup. He’d dashed off, promising to be back in less than a quarter of an hour.
‘And that was… twenty-three minutes ago and counting,’ said Michelle, checking her watch before popping the bacon back under the grill to finish it off.
The first pile of bacon and pancakes was sitting on the kitchen table under a piece of silver foil. If her dad didn’t come back soon, this second batch would be cold before he got to it, too.
The sound of the front door slamming brought a smile to Michelle’s face, even as her nerves ramped up a notch. She straightened up, ready to greet her dad… only to do a double take when her mum appeared instead.
‘That smells good!’ she said, carefully placing a Crumbleton Bakery box onto the kitchen table before stripping off her coat. ‘Doing some menu testing?’
‘Yes… and no,’ said Michelle. ‘Kind of?’
‘Okay, I’m intrigued,’ her mum laughed, sliding into one of the wooden chairs.
‘Well… yes, itisa dish from the diner menu,’ said Michelle. ‘But I’m not doing it to test the recipe. If I’m honest, I was hoping it might help soften Dad up a bit.’
‘What on earth for?!’ said her mum.
Michelle frowned. Was it her imagination, or was there something slightly off about her mum’s voice?! She raised an eyebrow, but her mum just smiled at her blandly.
‘Where is Brian, anyway?’
‘He got called out,’ said Michelle. ‘It was only a local fare. He should be back any second.’
‘And the softening him up bit?’ prodded her mum. ‘What’s that about?’
Michelle paused, wondering how much she should say. What if her mum tried to talk her out of the whole thing? Well… it was too late for that. She was determined to get to the bottom of things.
‘Well,’ said Michelle, ‘I’d really like to find out what started the whole thing between Dad and Keith Dalton.’
‘Oh,’ said her mum.
Michelle stared at her. That hadn’t been the reaction she’d been expecting. At all. There was no shock… no surprise whatsoever. Plus, her mum was now avoiding her eye like it was an Olympic sport.
