Chapter 16
CHAPTER 16
JACK
‘ H ere you go, my boy, get that down you,’ said Brian, placing a pint of black, velvety Guinness down in front of Jack. ‘I’m betting you’ll need something to whet your whistle after all that singing!’
‘You’re not wrong there, cheers!’ said Jack, lifting the glass and taking a deep gulp.
The carolling had been far more fun than he’d expected. Instead of bowing out after a couple of token songs, he’d stayed with the little group until they were finished.
Jack had to hand it to them all, they had brilliant poker faces. Far from making a fuss about him joining them, he’d only received one or two astonished glances the first time he’d opened his mouth and his deep baritone had joined the other voices. After that, they just seemed to accept him as one of their own.
The collecting tin they’d had with them had filled up nicely, and they’d had to swap to a borrowed bucket from Milly’s flower stall in the end.
‘Right, let’s get this party started!’ said Brian excitedly, heading over to the dartboard and wiping off the old chalk scores with a rag.
Jack watched in amusement as the people standing close by hurriedly shuffled out of the way, leaving a nice clear bit of space around the board… no mean feat considering the fact that the Dolphin and Anchor was packed to the gunnels!
‘Heads up,’ said Jack, ‘you should probably know that I’m better at carols than darts – and that’s not saying much!’
‘Good,’ said Brian with a broad smile. ‘I like a nice, easy win, so not to worry. Besides, I’m sure you’ve had plenty of practice. Bet you’re a bit of a ringer…’
‘I’m really not!’ said Jack. ‘I mean. Other than a few games when I was a teenager, I think the closest I’ve come since is throwing a few rubber-tipped spears in a film.’
‘I don’t remember that one…?’ said Brian.
‘Mmm,’ said Jack. ‘Not surprised, it went straight to DVD – and my scene got cut!’
‘Too bad,’ said Brian.
‘Not really - I was rubbish!’
‘Well, let’s see how you get on, shall we?’ said Brian cheerfully, holding out the darts to him.
Jack took them and glanced around. No one was paying him the slightest bit of attention… and he loved it! His eyes landed on Caroline. She was perched on a stool by the bar, deep in conversation with the woman who owned the bakery… Helen… Hannah…? He wracked his brain, trying to remember her name. He’d met so many people over the last few hours that his head was spinning with them all.
‘Don’t worry, your date’s still happy over there with Heather,’ laughed Brian.
Heather – that was it!
‘Not my date,’ said Jack.
Sadly.
He still couldn’t tear his eyes away from Caroline, though. She’d taken off her big, puffy coat and was wearing a sparkly red dress. She still had her antlers on too…
‘Earth to Jack?’ said Brian. ‘Focus boy, or you’re going to have someone’s eye out. These darts don’t actually have rubber tips, you know!’
‘Right, right…’ said Jack vaguely, turning towards the board and hurling a dart at it without much thought.
Brian sniggered. ‘Okay, I stand corrected, you’re definitely not a ringer!’ He chalked up a great big number one on the board with a decided amount of glee.
Jack reined in the temptation to stick his tongue out at his friend – which was almost as strong as the temptation to look over at Caroline again.
Throw the dart, idiot!
‘Nine!’ said Brian. ‘Bit better…’
Jack celebrated with a glance at Caroline. She was still nattering away – now to the young girl behind the bar. He caught the gleam of a yellow plastic gem as she reached for her glass of wine. She was still wearing the ring!
Grinning and feeling more cheerful than was probably normal about a tacky plastic ring, Jack hurled his final dart. It went wide and bounced off the protective foam layer surrounding the board.
‘And that’s a big fat zero,’ laughed Brian.
Jack laughed and took a swig of his drink as he watched Brian score three beauties in quick succession.
‘You’re up!’ said Brian.
‘Mind if I team up with someone?’ said Jack, as Brian jotted down his score. ‘Just so that I stand a tiny chance here!’
‘Go for it,’ said Brian. ‘The more the merrier.’
Jack hurried towards the bar and reached Caroline’s side just as a couple approached her. There was something strangely dazed looking about the woman.
‘Wow, you’ve left your laptop!’ said Caroline, leaning in to give the woman a hug.
‘That’s because she’s finished,’ said the man, proudly. ‘And she wouldn’t rest until she’d come out to support you.’
‘Finished?’ said Jack, staring at the pair. He was sure he hadn’t seen them out and about during the festivities, and yet the woman looked familiar…
‘Sorry, where are my manners?!’ laughed Caroline. ‘Jack, this is Oli and—’
‘Oh my god!’ gasped Jack, cutting across her. ‘You’re Ruby Hutchinson! I’m a huge fan!’
He knew his voice had gone all high and squeaky, but right now he didn’t care. His favourite writer was standing right in front of him.
‘Can I have your autograph?’ he gasped. ‘Caroline, have you got a pen? Damn… I haven’t got any paper. Maybe I can get some from behind the bar…?’
‘Dork!’ chuckled Caroline.
‘Wait,’ said Ruby, blinking sleepily as she stared from Jack to Caroline, and then up at Oli, ‘am I hallucinating? I know I’m tired and a bit out of it… but is Jack Jones asking me for my autograph right now?’
‘Yep,’ laughed Oli, ‘he is. You’ve not completely lost it.’
‘But… why’s Jack Jones here?’ she said, blinking in confusion.
‘He’s here with Caroline,’ said Oli. ‘At least… I think he is?’
Jack answered with a tiny nod, and Caroline beamed at him.
‘How long was I writing that damn book?’ said Ruby, looking completely lost.
Oli grinned as Ruby frowned. Then she gave a little shrug and nestled her head against Oli’s shoulder, clearly half asleep.
‘Don’t worry, man,’ said Oli, reaching out to shake Jack’s hand. ‘I’ll make sure we sort that out for you… but maybe after she’s had some sleep.’
Caroline patted Ruby on the head and Jack gave them a little wave as Oli drew Ruby away – presumably back home so that she could get some much-needed rest.
‘Wow,’ said Jack shaking his head. ‘I can’t believe I got to meet her!’
‘Total fanboy!’ laughed Caroline. ‘So – have you finished your game with Brian?’
‘No… that’s why I came over!’ said Jack, suddenly remembering that he’d abandoned his friend mid-game. ‘I need help!’
‘Brian giving you a hard time?’ said Caroline.
‘Something like that,’ said Jack, not wanting to admit that it was actually the sight of her in her beautiful dress and antlers that had him on the back foot. ‘Pretty please come over and be on my team?’
‘Let me at him!’ said Caroline, hopping off her stool and grabbing Jack’s hand so that he could lead the way through the crowded bar back to Brian.
At the feel of her warm hand wrapped safely in his, Jack promptly lost the power of speech… but that didn’t matter.
‘Here we go!’ said Caroline, as Brian handed her the darts, a look of amused surprise on his face that she was Jack’s chosen teammate.
Caroline threw the three darts in quick succession.
‘Well,’ said Brian, his eyebrows shooting up. ‘There’s our ringer! Fifty-three. My goodness, you’ve been hiding your light under a bushel, Miss Cook!’
Caroline turned to Jack and shot him a cheeky wink.
‘Good game, good game!’ cheered Brian, positively beaming at the pair of them.
‘Only because you won,’ laughed Caroline.
‘My bad!’ said Jack with a sheepish smile.
Caroline’s stellar scores hadn’t quite been man enough to bring their team average up enough to beat Brian – not when Jack fumbled with nearly every turn he took. It turned out Caroline was even more of a distraction when she was standing close enough that he could smell her perfume.
‘I’d ask you guys for another game,’ said Brian, ‘but I think it’s getting a bit too full in here to be safe!’
Sure enough, the minute they’d come to the end of their game, the no-man’s land around the board had instantly started to fill up with festive revellers again.
‘You’re right. Plus, it’s getting hot in here,’ said Caroline, fanning her face.
‘Fancy a breath of fresh air?’ said Jack.
He still needed to tell her his news, but somehow, he didn’t think the crowded bar of the Dolphin and Anchor was quite the place.
Caroline nodded, smiling up at him.
‘Thanks for the game, Brian!’ said Jack.
‘Anytime,’ said Brian, grinning at him as Trish sidled over. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. ‘I hope you hang around these parts long enough for a rematch!’
Jack was about to answer when he felt Caroline’s fingers lace through his own and tug him towards the door. He just had long enough to register the look of delight on Trish’s face before he found himself being pulled through the crowd by Caroline. They didn’t stop until they were through the door and standing on the cobbled street.
‘That’s better!’ sighed Caroline, dropping Jack’s hand so that she could stretch her bare arms out wide. She sucked in a deep lungful of chilly air before letting it out in a long plume of foggy breath.
‘You’re going to freeze!’ said Jack, rubbing his palms together.
‘Hardly!’ said Caroline, turning her flushed face towards him, her red dress sparkling under the Christmas lights. ‘But if you feel cold, you could always put your Christmas tree bonnet back on.’
‘Good call!’ said Jack, and with a broad smile, he pulled the monstrosity back out of his pocket and pulled it onto his head, making Caroline giggle.
‘There he is, ladies and gents,’ Caroline announced to the empty street. ‘Jack Jones – international heartthrob!’
‘Oh… so you think I’m a heartthrob, huh?’ said Jack, with a sly smile.
‘There he goes again, fishing for compliments,’ giggled Caroline, still playing up to an invisible crowd. ‘So… were you hounded for your autograph the whole time you were carolling?’
‘Hardly!’ laughed Jack. ‘Just a couple of times… and one of them was Milly’s assistant.’
‘Jo?’ said Caroline.
‘That’s the one,’ said Jack. ‘I think she just wanted an excuse to ask me if the pair of us were seeing each other.’
Caroline snorted in amusement. ‘And how did you get out of that one?’
‘I told her… we hadn’t got to that bit of the story yet,’ said Jack, unable to take his eyes off her.
‘You did, huh?’ said Caroline. ‘Smooth. What’s that, a line from one of your films?’
‘Nope,’ said Jack, his voice going quiet. He took a step towards her and reached for her hand again. When she took it, he raised her fingers to his lips and kissed them before staring for a long moment at the yellow plastic ring. ‘Just me… being hopeful.’
Caroline held his eye for a long moment before looking away to stare out across the velvet darkness of the marshes.
‘So…’ she said, ‘when do you leave?’
‘What, tonight?’ said Jack.
Caroline shook her head, still not looking at him. ‘For New Zealand, I mean. When do you start filming?’
‘I don’t,’ said Jack.
Finally, it was time to tell her his news.
‘You don’t?’ she said.
‘I turned it down,’ he said.
Caroline turned to him so quickly that he’d be surprised if she hadn’t just cricked her neck.
‘What? But why?!’ she gasped, her eyes going wide.
‘I… erm…’
Because of you. Because I like you.
‘Because…’ Jack took a deep breath. ‘Because I like this story better… and I want to see where it goes.’
‘Aww, what a line!’ chuckled Caroline.
‘What?’ said Jack, starting to tug her towards him. ‘Too wooden for you?’
‘Nope,’ she said, glancing up at his ridiculous hat as he looped his arms around her waist. Then she met his eye with a smile that rendered him completely speechless. ‘Nope,’ she said again. ‘That was just about perfect! Hey – are you cold? You’re shaking!’
Jack simply shook his head. Then he wrapped her a little tighter in his arms and bent to kiss Caroline Cook under Crumbleton’s twinkling Christmas lights.