Chapter 2
Great.
Slamming her brakes on, Scarlett narrowly avoided colliding with the delivery van which had halted in front of her.
Winding the window of her camper down, she hollered towards the driver.
‘Oi! A little notice wouldn’t go amiss before stopping.
Use that little stick thing by your steering wheel next time, would you? It’s called an indicator.’
As the driver, blatantly ignoring her, proceeded to walk behind his van and pull open the door, Scarlett hit her own indicator and manoeuvred around him.
Some people…
‘Scarlett, are you still there?’ A tinny voice sounded through the speakers on the dashboard.
‘Yes, sorry, Devon. Just a close call with an idiot driver.’ Scarlett wound her window back up before turning up the heater, a weak breeze of tepid heat blowing from the vents.
‘You’re not seriously quitting? Please tell me you’re not.’
Scarlett tapped her fingers against the steering wheel. ‘I am. And I’m sorry I’ve not given you any notice. I just… Circumstances have changed.’
‘You’re supposed to be on a shift in less than two hours. I’ve got the Jarvis twins booked in for a table.’ Devon’s tone lowered, his voice verging on desperation with a glint of irritation.
‘I know, but…’ Scarlett gripped the wheel.
Devon had been the one person who had stuck by her during all of this, all of the rubbish Tyler had thrown her way.
He’d even stuck up for her when Donna had stormed into his wine bar whilst Scarlett had been working, and thrown a glass of champagne over her as she’d been serving.
She hated herself for doing this, for letting him down, especially knowing the Jarvis twins were bringing their group of pompous, ignorant eejits into the bar tonight.
‘Tyler.’ Devon let out a long sigh. ‘This has something to do with Tyler. When I see him, I’ll…’
‘No, don’t. I don’t need you to do anything.
’ Scarlett spoke quickly. If Devon and her ex ever got into an altercation, it would be the huge teddy bear of a boss who would be walking away unscathed.
She’d seen how quickly he could turn and Tyler, although deserving of a broken rib or three, would likely sue Devon to kingdom come and back. ‘I just needed to get away.’
The line went quiet, and Scarlett glanced down at her mobile perching in its holder. The screen was still lit. ‘Devon?’
‘Sorry, darling. It just makes me so mad, thinking of you on your own and that waste of space who…’ His voice trailed off.
‘Thank you for caring, Devon. You’ve been like a dad to me ever since you gave me the waitressing job, and I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me. That’s why doing this is so hard.’ She paused as she swiped a tear from her eye. ‘The last thing I want to do is let you down.’
‘Don’t even think like that, Scarlett. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do, and I wish you well. You’re a strong woman, and you’ll come back from this. You’ll build your life again and, hey, maybe it is a good idea for you to run off and start afresh. No Tyler, no Cruella.’
A strangled laugh escaped Scarlett’s throat.
It was the way Devon called Donna Cruella.
With her fake fur jackets and impossibly high heels and the vape hanging from her painted lips, it was quite the comparison.
Not to even start on the similarities in personality.
It was true, Donna had had absolutely no idea her so-called husband had pretended to be single and had been stringing Scarlett along for the past three years, but Devon was right, she wasn’t a particularly nice person. ‘I rescued Stinky.’
‘You did?’ Devon’s voice hitched a whole octave higher. ‘Well done to you. How did you pull that off?’
Scarlett glanced over towards the passenger seat and the impossibly small cage strapped to it.
Little Stinky, the guinea pig Cruella had bought for her daughter and left neglected in the back of their spare room once the novelty had worn off, had buried herself in a heap of bedding from the moment Scarlett had stolen her and, after her little escape, had once again hidden herself.
‘I scrambled over the back fence and climbed in through an open back window.’
‘Well, good on you. This is what I mean, you’re strong. What will you do with her?’
Scarlett shrugged. ‘Beyond changing her name and getting her a bigger cage, I’ve not given it much thought. I guess we’ll go with the flow and rebuild our lives together.’
Devon chuckled. ‘The true story of Thelma and Louise. Two friends with an adventure ahead. Just don’t go driving off into the Grand Canyon.’
Scarlett smiled. ‘I won’t.’
Devon’s voice became muffled, as though he’d covered the mouthpiece to talk to someone else. A few seconds later, his voice came back on the line. ‘I’m sorry, darling. I’m going to have to love you and leave you, the delivery has just arrived. Promise me one thing, though, won’t you?’
‘What’s that?’
‘If you ever come back to my neck of the woods, pop in and say hello. You know there’ll always be a job waiting here for you, ten hours away from now, or ten years down the line.’
‘Thank you, and thank you for being a great boss and friend.’ Scarlett scrubbed at her face with the back of her hand again. Those damn tears.
‘And another thing?’
‘What’s that?’ Scarlett glanced towards the phone.
‘Don’t give up on your dreams. Keep drawing, keep selling your beautiful creations. I’ve got a good feeling about you.’
‘I won’t.’ She shook her head as she ended the call. She’d come close a thousand times before to throwing her sketchbook in the bin and giving up on her aspirations and dreams, but she wouldn’t. If for no other reason than to prove certain people wrong. She’d show them.
She’d miss Devon too. Out of all the so-called friends she’d left behind, it would be Devon she’d miss the most. She couldn’t remember the number of jobs she’d had over the years to supplement her painting, but she’d stayed working at Devon’s for far longer than any of the others, and it certainly wasn’t because of the customers.
Devon was like a dad to her, and she felt guilty for leaving him in the lurch, but that was life, wasn’t it?
And she’d learned long ago not to be surprised by the number of people willing to let others down.
She just hadn’t thought she’d end up being one of them.
Taking a deep breath in, she straightened her back and set her jaw in an attempt to silence the uneasy feeling of guilt.
She glanced across at the small cage strapped into the passenger seat. ‘Almost there now, Stinky… Sorry, Thelma. Yes, Thelma. Not long now.’
As she passed the welcome sign into Meadowfield, she slowed, allowing a dog walker to hurry across the road in front of her, his little dachshund trying desperately to keep up with him.
Traditional Cotswold stone cottages lined the street, each with a small understated but beautiful Christmas tree attached to its first-floor wall, the warm yellow lights bringing back memories of childhood.
She couldn’t wait to see Laura again, and Jackson too.
The last and only time she’d visited Meadowfield and Pennycress Inn had been for their wedding, and that had been almost four months ago now.
Just after she’d discovered Tyler had been leading a double life.
It would be nice to have a catch up and see how married life was treating them.
And there it was, the large yellow Cotswold stone inn.
Slowing, she pulled up alongside the kerb and yanked up the handbrake before pulling the sun visor down.
Tugging a napkin from beneath the cardboard takeaway coffee cup she’d bought about fifty miles back after turning the camper upside down to find Thelma, she rubbed at the stain of black mascara that had settled in the creases at the corners of her eyes.
Trust Devon to make her cry. Well, no more.
She was here to heal. Here to find herself again, to unearth that independent woman she’d been before falling under Tyler’s charming spell.
Twisting in her seat, she held her arms out towards the still-hidden Thelma. ‘Ta-da! What do you think? Do you think I can get away with the I’m-just-passing-through-and-my-life-is-fabulous look?’
The bedding in the corner of the small cage rustled to life, and Thelma’s head appeared, her little beady eyes looking around as if to ask where she was.
‘Oh, there you are, Thelma.’ Leaning over, Scarlett opened the little wire door and reached in, frowning as Thelma buried herself again.
‘Oh, sweetie, I know this must seem super weird to you. You’ve been living in the back of the spare room for however long with no human interaction and now you’re travelling hundreds of miles in a camper. ’
Again, the soft, fluffy bedding moved a little, but still, Thelma remained hidden from view.
Sighing, Scarlett closed the door again. ‘Do you know what, though? Tomorrow I’m going to get you a bigger cage, something fit for a guinea pig and not a hamster, but now I need to pop in and see Laura and Jackson. You’ll be okay, won’t you?’
Scarlett glanced out of the window. Dusk had well and truly set in, bringing with it a drop in temperature.
She looked back at Thelma’s cage. She should be okay for a while, though.
Scarlett had had the heating blaring out for the entire journey, so the camper was as warm and cosy as it would get and would stay that way for some time at least.
‘Okay, I’m going to go now.’ Reaching behind her through the curtain dividing the cab of the camper from the back of it, she grabbed her coat before slipping it on.
Jumping out of the camper, Scarlett shut the door before bending and glancing at her reflection in the wing mirror. Yep, she was fine, and if she kept smiling, not even the best interrogator would guess she’d been crying only minutes earlier.
She pushed the wrought-iron gate open and took a deep breath as she walked down the path between the flower beds.
It was strange to think she was last here in the midst of summer, but despite the cold winter weather the garden was still bursting with life, hellebores the colour of rich plums were blooming between the sleeping lavender and winter jasmines surrounding the doorway, their white petals illuminated by the streetlight.
Scarlett climbed the short steps up to the decking surrounding the front door and glanced back towards the camper before pressing the doorbell.
As she listened to the dainty tune ringing out, she tucked her hair behind her ears, reminding herself she needed to pretend everything was fine.
There was no way she was going to put a dampener on Laura and Jackson’s first Christmas as a married couple.
Besides, the longer she could pretend her life was great, the easier it would be to believe it were true.