Chapter 11
CHAPTER 11
PETE
P ete pulled up outside Beachcomber Gifts just as his watch ticked over to seven o’clock. He’d made it. By the skin of his teeth, but he’d made it.
The afternoon had been a chaotic scramble of errands and last-minute panic, but somehow – miraculously – everything had fallen into place. His friend, Murray Eddington, had come up trumps with a spare suit he could borrow.
Luckily, Pete hadn’t even needed to row through the marshes to the grounded trawler where the eccentric marsh ranger lived to pick it up. Murray had been heading into town anyway, so they’d done a dodgy-suit-deal in the carpark just outside Crumbleton.
Of course, begging his friend for help had come at a high cost. Murray had held the suit hostage until Pete admitted that there was a very good reason he’d changed his mind about attending at the last minute… and her name was Scarlett.
Still, the interrogation had been worth it.
Pete checked his reflection in the rear-view mirror one last time. He had to admit—he looked pretty good. The midnight blue suit fit him better than he’d dared to hope. Murray was a good four inches taller than him, but other than that, they were the same build. He just hoped Scarlett liked it!
Pete let out a long breath, trying to steady his nerves. His brain had been at war with itself all afternoon. There had been several moments when he’d thoroughly regretted his rash decision to go back to the Big Dip Dance after all these years, but then his thoughts would turn to Scarlett, and the dread would turn to excitement… before swinging back around to dread again.
‘At least I’ll have some armour on,’ he muttered to himself, straightening his tie with fingers that weren’t quite steady.
The Dolphin and Anchor loomed large in his mind. His heart might have been broken on Crumbleton Sands’ golden beach, but it had received a further trampling at the dance that night. He hadn’t set foot in the place since, and part of him still couldn’t believe he was willingly going back.
But… the alternative was standing Scarlett up and letting Libby down in the process. Both options were infinitely worse than having to face a ghost he should have put to rest years ago.
Taking a deep breath, Pete stepped out of the van and circled around to the passenger side. His shoes—hastily polished with a tissue and a bit of board wax—felt horribly stiff and formal. If only he could have worn his flip-flops!
Pete eyeballed the van and let out a sigh. It wasn’t exactly a royal carriage, but it would have to do. At least it was a lot cleaner now. He’d dumped his makeshift bed in the Surf Club’s changing room to make space in the back for his sister. Then, while he was waiting for Murray to turn up with the suit, he’d managed to tackle the worst of the mess—gathering all the rubbish together and piling it into a public bin.
With that done, the van wasn’t half as scruffy. Even better, he’d discovered an ancient lunchbox in the process… which was probably the source of the mysterious smell that had been plaguing him for weeks.
Sliding the back door open with its customary screech, Pete sniffed cautiously. Yep… it was almost completely gone. Thank heavens for that!
Pete turned back towards the shop just in time to see Scarlett and Libby emerging from around the corner. He promptly felt like he’d been punched in the chest.
They both looked beautiful, but it was Scarlett who captured his gaze and refused to let go. She was wearing a floor-length dress in deep gold silk that reflected the dying sunlight. Her dark hair had been styled in loose waves that framed her face, with a few strands pinned up to reveal the graceful curve of her neck.
‘Wow,’ said Pete, the word escaping before he could catch it.
Scarlett’s eyes widened slightly as she took him in. ‘Wow yourself,’ she said, her voice soft but carrying in the quiet evening air.
Libby, resplendent in a midnight blue jumpsuit that made her look far older than her seventeen years, glanced between them with poorly concealed glee.
‘You two are worse than a pair of teenagers at their first school disco,’ she declared, breaking the spell. ‘Are we leaving, or are you just going to stand there gawping at each other all night?’
Pete felt his ears grow warm, but he couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face. ‘You both look beautiful.’
‘You don’t scrub up too badly yourself,’ Libby replied, giving him an appraising once-over. ‘Who did you swipe the suit from?’
Pete rolled his eyes. He should have known he’d have to drop any air of polished mystery with his little sister in tow. ‘Murray.’
‘But he’s about a foot taller than you!’ said Libby. ‘Have you been driving around hunting for a tailor all afternoon?’
Pete sighed and shook his head. She wasn’t that far from the truth, though he promptly decided not to reveal that the bottoms of his trouser legs were currently being held up by several strategically placed strips of gaffer tape. A man had to have some secrets!
Ignoring Libby’s question completely, Pete opened the van’s front passenger door with a flourish. ‘Your carriage, ladies.’
‘How very gallant,’ Scarlett laughed.
Libby hopped up into the back, leaving the front seat for Scarlett. Pete closed the doors behind them before circling back to the driver’s side and taking a moment to compose himself before sliding in behind the wheel.
‘You arrived in the dark, didn’t you?’ he said to Scarlett as he turned the key in the ignition and the van coughed to life with its usual reluctance.
Scarlett nodded. ‘Yep, I didn’t really see much, to be honest.’
‘Let me give you the grand tour on the way in, then,’ said Pete
* * *
‘On your right, left, front and back, you’ll see the famous Crumbleton salt marshes.’
‘Smooth,’ chuckled Libby.
‘Don’t interrupt my tour,’ said Pete with a pretend huff that made Libby giggle harder. ‘The marshes are home to a diverse array of birdlife and one slightly eccentric marsh ranger and his equally nutty girlfriend.’
‘Wait, someone actually lives out here?’ said Scarlett.
‘Yup. See that trawler over there?’ said Libby, leaning forward between the seats to gesture at a hulking ship sitting at an odd angle in the distance.
‘How on earth did he coax his girlfriend to live on that thing with him?’ laughed Scarlett.
‘Don’t let the outside fool you,’ said Pete. ‘It’s amazing inside.’
‘Plus, the story’s kind of romantic,’ said Libby. ‘Milly’s the local florist. They got together after Murray was knocked unconscious by a bridal bouquet she made.’
Scarlett’s eyebrows shot up. ‘I’m sorry, what?’
‘It’s a long story,’ said Pete, catching her eye and grinning. ‘Remind me to tell you over a drink later.’
The promise of “later” hung between them, a tantalising suggestion that the evening stretched ahead, full of possibilities.
‘OMG big brother, will you keep your eyes on the road for two seconds?!’ squeaked Libby. ‘I mean… I know Scarlett’s literally stunning in that dress, but don’t make me regret lending it to her by killing us all before the dance!’
Pete muttered an apology under his breath, trying to ignore the fact that his face suddenly felt like it was on fire. He made a mental note to get Libby back. He didn’t care how long it took… maybe he’d wait for her wedding…
‘So, that’s Crumbleton in the daylight?’ said Scarlett, her eyes on the steep hill that rose dramatically from the surrounding marshland.
Pete nodded. ‘Yep, basically a sore thumb that can be seen for miles.’
‘It’s beautiful,’ said Scarlett, her voice soft with genuine appreciation as she took in the weathered stone buildings that clung to Crumbleton’s steep slopes.
They were approaching the outskirts of town now, the road narrowing as it wound its way towards the old stone archway that marked the entrance to Crumbleton.
‘I’ll have to park out here,’ said Pete, pulling into the patch of marshland that had been designated as the town carpark. ‘Sorry it’s not a door-to-door service. We’ll have to walk the rest of the way.’
‘Let me guess,’ said Libby. ‘The van can’t handle the cobbles?’
‘Got it in one,’ Pete nodded. ‘And there won’t be anywhere to park, anyway. I meant to say, sorry your carriage isn’t a bit more glamorous.’
‘I think it’s got character,’ said Scarlett, patting the van’s worn dashboard affectionately. ‘It suits you.’
‘Not sure if that’s a compliment or not,’ Pete chuckled, drawing to a stop and killing the engine.
All three of them piled out.
‘At least the Dolphin and Anchor’s at the bottom of the hill,’ said Scarlett. ‘We don’t have too far to go.’
‘Yeah, thank goodness,’ said Libby. ‘Imagine if it was up at the castle!’
Pete winced. ‘You’d never make it in those shoes.’
‘You’d have to give me a piggyback like when I was little,’ she said, taking his outstretched arm.
‘Scarlett?’ he said, offering her his other arm and fighting the urge to cross his fingers that she would take it.
‘What a gent!’ said Scarlett with an easy smile, as she tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow.
Pete swallowed, doing his best to ignore his sister’s waggling eyebrows as the three of them set off towards the town.
‘I love this archway,’ said Scarlett. ‘Very grand!’
‘It’s called the City Gates,’ said Pete as they passed underneath. ‘The place has always been a bit too big for its boots.’
‘Still, it does have a castle,’ said Libby fairly.
The cobbled high street stretched before them, winding its way up the steep hill. But instead of turning up towards the town centre, they veered left, following the road around the bottom of the hill towards the Dolphin and Anchor.
The place was already ablaze with lights, and as they approached, they could hear the sounds of music and laughter spilling out from its open windows.
Pete felt his steps falter slightly. The last time he’d walked through those doors, he’d been nursing a broken heart and still clutching a small velvet box in his pocket. The memory hit him with unexpected force, and he found himself hesitating.
‘Pete?’ Scarlett’s voice was soft with concern. ‘Everything alright?’
He looked down at her, at those dark eyes full of warmth and a question she was too polite to ask.
‘Everything’s grand,’ he assured her, squeezing her hand where it rested on his arm. ‘Just... memories.’
‘Bad ones?’ she asked, and in that moment Pete knew Libby had blabbed at least part of his story.
‘Old ones,’ he corrected. ‘Time to make some new ones, don’t you think?’
‘Definitely,’ Scarlett nodded, her smile returning.
Libby, mercifully, had the good sense to pretend she wasn’t listening to their exchange. She was peering ahead at the entrance to the hotel, where guests in their finery were already arriving.
‘There’s Jo!’ she said. ‘I want to say hi – meet you inside?’
Before either of them could respond, she was gone, darting through the crowd. Pete watched her go, then turned back to Scarlett with a rueful smile.
‘And then there were two,’ he said, not bothering to hide his pleasure at this turn of events. ‘Shall we?’
Scarlett nodded, and together they made their way towards the Dolphin and Anchor’s brightly lit entrance, where the sounds of celebration beckoned.