Chapter 12
CHAPTER 12
ANDY
A ndy let out a long breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of one hand. He was almost finished, and to say he was chuffed with his hard work was the understatement of the century.
The grass had already had three goings over with the mower, and it was looking wonderful—thick and springy, complete with those quintessential stripes. He was going to give it a chance to recover a bit, then he’d give it one more trim with the lowest setting, just to get it looking tennis-court perfect.
After getting Fergus’s rather exuberant blessing to tidy up the rest of the garden too, Andy had gone to town with a spot of late summer pruning. The job had ended up being even more rewarding than he’d expected.
The greenery had been harbouring far more of the old wooden signs that Andy had realised. He’d spent some time uncovering them, then he’d braved the bushes and dragged them all out from their hidey-holes and stacked them up against a wall. There was something delightful about the old-fashioned sign writing.
No Drinking On The Court
Please Wear Suitable Shoes
The Umpire’s Decision Is Final
Don’t Abandon Your Balls In The Bushes
When he was finished with the garden, Andy wanted to give them a fresh lick of paint and a coat of varnish. He had a feeling they’d look fantastic dotted around the edges, somewhere they could be seen properly.
‘Right, next!’ he said, eyeballing the enormous pile of bush trimmings. He was going to stack them at the back of the compost heap, where they’d make a nice bit of habitat for the town’s burgeoning hedgehog population.
Several trips later, the trimmings were gone… and Andy was practically dripping with sweat. It had been hard work getting the garden this far in such a short amount of time, but he had to admit, he’d thoroughly enjoyed himself. He just wanted to go over the grass one more time… but first things first.
Un-popping the front of his overalls, Andy wriggled his arms free. He was far too hot to carry on wearing this many layers. Tying the sleeves around his waist, he revelled in the feel of fresh air on his bare arms. He could really do with a break and a drink in the shade.
‘Come on Andy, one more job to do!’ he muttered.
It was no good, though. He was still far too hot. Well, there was one easy way he could cool off a bit more while he worked…
Reaching for the hem of his t-shirt, Andy started to yank it up and over his head. It was sticky with sweat, which made the whole process a lot more tricky than it should have been, and he got stuck halfway. After a slightly panicked battle to free himself, he eventually managed to haul it off. Mopping his face with the damp cotton, he was about to toss it aside when Andy noticed he had an audience.
One stunned-looking spectator was staring at him from the entrance to the garden.
‘Cath!’ he said, feeling his face grow even hotter. ‘I’m sorry… I would never have… if I’d known you were there…’ he gestured uselessly at his bare chest.
Cath had a peculiar expression on her face that Andy couldn’t quite place. Blinking slowly at him, she seemed to be coming out of some kind of daze.
‘Hi!’ she said, a smile creeping onto her face. It grew wider… and wider. ‘Oh my… Andy! You’re a genius!’
Andy frowned, not quite sure what was going on… but he didn’t get much time to work on the riddle. Cath executed a funny little jump on the spot and then ran towards him. Wrapping her arms around his sweaty neck, she kissed him on the cheek.
Andy promptly lost the power of speech as Cath’s flowery scent washed over him. A line of fire spread outwards from the point where her lips had met his face… and the new heat that spread through him had nothing to do with the warmth of the day.
Cath pulled him even closer in the hug, and Andy’s arms wrapped around her waist of their own accord as she kissed his cheek again.
‘I… erm…’ stuttered Andy. ‘I’m all sweaty!’
‘Okay, so you’re a sweaty genius!’ laughed Cath, stepping back a little way and grinning up at him.
Andy raised a hand and ruffled his hair, completely confused.
‘It’s a tennis court!’ said Cath, pointing at the newly mown patch of grass.
‘Yep, it used to be,’ said Andy, not entirely sure why this had just earned him such an enthusiastic greeting. Not that he was complaining, of course! He rather liked getting hugged by Cath… even if he had no idea why he deserved it.
‘It’s perfect!’ said Cath.
‘Great!’ said Andy. ‘Erm… what for?’
‘Well, how about we sit over there in the shade,’ said Cath, grabbing his hand and tugging. ‘I’ll fill you in over a drink.’
‘I don’t think the bar’s open,’ said Andy faintly, looking at her slender hand wrapped around his big brown one… that he could really do with washing. Hell – he could really do with a shower… maybe a cold one!
‘Don’t worry!’ said Cath, blissfully unaware of the direction his thoughts were wandering in. ‘I came prepared.’
Andy followed Cath and watched as she sank down onto a patch of grass in the shade of the newly trimmed bushes.
‘I can’t believe this,’ she said, rummaging in her bag and pulling out two cans of coke.
She handed one to Andy. It was wonderfully cold and judging by the dewy sheen on the outside, it wasn’t long out of the fridge.
‘Thanks,’ he said, cracking it open and taking a grateful slurp of the ice-cold, sugary deliciousness. ‘Cheers!’ he added, coming up for air long enough to clank his can against the edge of Cath’s. ‘And… what exactly can’t you believe?’
‘That great minds think alike on something quite this weird!’ chuckled Cath, taking a far more dainty sip of her drink than he just had.
‘Okay—I might have had a bit too much sun, but I’m lost,’ said Andy.
‘The tennis court!’ said Cath. ‘I was coming to find you to ask if it might be possible to mow it and tidy it up… but you’ve already done it!’
‘Oh,’ said Andy. ‘Yeah, I have… but… why?’
‘It’s like this,’ said Cath, ‘I’ve had an idea!’
Andy listened as Cath laid out her plans for reinstating the tennis tournament and raising funds for the museum. In fact… he couldn’t take his eyes off her. She seemed to have come alive with excitement—her cheeks were pink and her eyes dancing with life as her words tripped over themselves in her haste to fill him in.
‘And I just can’t believe you’d had the same idea!’ she finished breathlessly.
‘Erm… not quite the same idea,’ hedged Andy, ‘but I’m glad it worked out!’
‘Glad? I could kiss you!’ she beamed at him before taking another swig of coke.
Andy said nothing. Mainly because he’d like nothing more than a kiss from Cath right now… even though he was all sweaty, still shirtless, and in desperate need of a shower.
‘Anyway,’ said Cath, ‘what do you think? Caroline seemed to like the idea, but she wanted me to run it past you. What do you think?’ she said again, clearly desperate for his seal of approval.
‘I… erm… I think it’s a great idea!’ said Andy. If he was being honest, he’d have agreed with pretty much anything she said right then, but luckily, he really did like the sound of this. ‘Anything that brings Crumbleton to life is good in my books. I can have a word with Fergus with you if you’d like?’
‘Would you?’ she said, her eyes going wide. ‘I mean, I really want to do it as soon as we can, while the weather’s still good.’
‘Of course,’ said Andy. ‘I think he’ll love it. Actually… I’m not sure why no one’s ever tried it before. I mean, apart from another cut of the grass and getting the lines painted… and maybe trying to rediscover the terrace… everything here’s pretty much good to go. And I could even get the signs finished if you give me a day or two.’
‘What signs?’ said Cath with interest.
Andy scrambled to his feet and held his hand out to help her up. ‘Here, I’ll show you.’
‘And then we’ll go and talk to Fergus?’ she said.
‘I think I’d better put my tee shirt back on first, don’t you?’ said Andy with a slightly embarrassed grin.
‘Depends,’ said Cath, cocking her head and staring at him.
‘On what?’ said Andy with a surprised laugh.
‘On whether the owner of the Dolphin and Anchor is a fan of a very nice view!’ she said, flashing him a cheeky grin.