Page 49 of Your Carriage Awaits in Crumbleton
‘No buts, Brian. She wants to show it to you. To see what you think.’
It was Michelle’s turn to look poleaxed. ‘I… do?’
‘Yes,’ said Trish, widening her eyes. ‘You do!’
‘But Trish… your bike?’ said Brian.
‘I will deal with the bike,’ tutted Trish. ‘You will go with Michelle.’
‘I… well….’ Brian looked like someone had stuck a pin in him as all the bluster started to disappear. ‘You’ve really found somewhere for the diner?’ he said, turning to Michelle.
She nodded, forcing a smile and shooting another look at her mum. For one thing, how did she evenknowabout the old showroom? And for another… did she have any idea that she’d just rescued her from the frying pan only to dump her straight into the fire?!
‘There’s no time to waste with these things, is there?’ said Trish. ‘It would be a shame for Shelly to miss out on the venue of her dreams.’
‘You’re right, Trish,’ said Brian. ‘I’ll bring the cab round and we can head straight off if you’d like?’
‘No need for the cab,’ said Trish, sitting down again and removing the tinfoil from the first stack of pancakes. She picked up the maple syrup and serenely poured a stream of the stuff all over the plate. ‘Michelle’s going to drive.’
‘I am?’ said Michelle, suddenly wishing her mumwasn’ton her side.
‘You are,’ said Trish through a mouthful of bacon and pancakes. ‘You know… these really are good.’
‘My car’s in the town carpark,’ said Michelle.
‘Perfect,’ said Trish. ‘You walk over and get it, then drive back to pick your dad up. It’ll give him the chance to calm down a bit. You can call the owner of the building while you’re at it to let him know you’re on your way.’
The way her mum’s eyes widened again told Michelle everything she needed to know. Somehow, she knew about the showroom and about the Buick. Michelle had a sneaking suspicion she might even know about her and Danny, too.
‘Come on, Brian love, grab a fork,’ said Trish. ‘You’ve got plenty of time to help me with these pancakes before Michelle gets back.’
The minute she was safely away from the cottage, Michelle pulled up Danny’s number and called him. She needed to warn him that she was about to bring the human thundercloud that was Brian Singer right to his door.
Michelle felt awful. Sure, she’d wanted to get to the bottom of the feud… but not like this. Not when Keith was freshly out of hospital. What if it was all too much for him? Maybe there was a way she could stall…? Perhaps she should just drive her dad somewhere random instead of taking him to the Dalton Garage.
That wouldn’t explain the Buick, though, would it? She’d just have to lie. That would be better than risking making Keith ill again.
‘Hey!’ said Danny, picking up on the second ring. ‘I was just about to call you.’
‘Really?’ said Michelle, her voice high and squeaky. ‘Everything okay?’
‘Yeah… hey, why do you sound like you’ve got wolves after you?’
‘Because my morning’s gone sideways,’ she said. ‘Mum just landed me right in it… I’m not sure how, but she knows.’
‘Knows?’ said Danny.
‘About the showroom… about the Buick… maybe even about us,’ said Michelle, her mind racing. ‘Dad spotted you with the bike when you were dropping it off. He came in ranting and wanting to call the police, but Mum distracted him.’
‘Remind me to thank her,’ said Danny with a little laugh.
‘Why are you so calm right now?!’ demanded Michelle. ‘I’m on my way to grab the Buick to bring Dad over to view the old showroom!’
‘Brian agreed? Just like that?’ said Danny, ignoring her question
‘Only because he doesn’t have a clue we’re coming to your place,’ said Michelle. ‘What am I going to do?’
‘Just… bring him over,’ said Danny. ‘We’ll take it from there.’
