Chapter 12
It would have been easy to pretend I hadn’t heard the man and, instead, scuttled indoors. But ignoring the temptation, I put a smile on my face and spun round to see who the voice belonged to. “Yes, thank you,” I replied. “I’m settling in well.” Choosing to omit the fact that things could have been better, I took in the man before me. He wore a thick camouflage jacket, a woolly hat, and white trainers, while his massive grin and direct stare gave him an air of eccentricity. “Can I help you?” I asked.
“No,” he said. “I just thought I’d say hello. And welcome you to the village.” He stepped forward with his arm outstretched. “I’m Jason. Pleased to meet you.”
I cocked my head, as all thoughts of local gossip, hiding away, and work-related research vanished into the ether.
“Jason?” I asked. Shaking his hand, I hadn’t meant to sound surprised, but I was sure there couldn’t have been two people with that name in a village as small as Little Leatherington. I told myself there had to be, because the chap before me did not seem anything like the handsome bad boy Jules had talked about. “Sorry. Antonia,” I said, pulling myself together enough to give my name.
“I know. You’re the one who got stuck up Fotherghyll.”
I swallowed my embarrassment.
“I wouldn’t worry. You’re not the first person to need mountain rescue and you won’t be the last.”
I appreciated his matter-of-fact tone.
The man turned his attention to Frank, who dropped his stick in favour of the quick fuss he was getting. “Well you’re a funny looker,” Jason said, leaving me wondering if that was an observation or an insult. He looked my way again. “Did you know that San Fernando is the Christmas capital of the Philippines?”
“No,” I replied. “I didn’t know that.”
“They hold a giant lantern festival. Every year, on the Saturday before Christmas Eve. Villages compete against each other to build the biggest and best lantern. People travel from all over the country to see them.”
“Really?” As interesting as that all sounded, I couldn’t help but question why he was telling me.
“It’d be great if we did something like that around here.”
“I’m sure it would,” I said.
“We can’t, of course. Too much of a fire risk. Plus, lanterns would scare the sheep.”
“There is that I suppose.” My confusion continued.
“The cattle would be all right. They’re indoors at this time of year.”
Listening to him, I struggled to believe the man stood chatting and Jules’s schoolgirl crush were one and the same. Recalling her wistful discussion, I didn’t have a clue how to break the news to her that he hadn’t turned out quite as she’d anticipated. In Jules’s view, the Jason she knew was either a criminal overlord or running some billion-dollar tech firm. As far as she was concerned, he most certainly wasn’t still living in Little Leatherington, talking about lanterns, and calling her dog a funny looker.
An approaching Land Rover caught my attention when it began to slow, before the driver brought it to a halt opposite.
I cringed, humiliation washing over me, as I immediately recognised the driver.
He wound down his window. “Everything all right?” Barrowboy asked. He looked from me to Jason, his face serious.
“Fine,” I replied. Willing myself not to blush, I recalled him carrying me off the mountain in a giant baby carrier. “How are you?” I asked, trying to sound a lot more easy and breezy than I felt.
“Jason,” he called out, completely ignoring my question.
Jason turned, while I wondered if Barrowboy recognised me. To say less than twenty-four hours previous, he’d saved me from what had felt like near death, he certainly wasn’t acting like it.
“Time to go,” Barrowboy said.
While I stood there bewildered, Jason headed to the vehicle and happily climbed in. He put a hand up and waved my way as the Land Rover set off again. Unlike Barrowboy, I noted, who kept his hands on the wheel and his eyes forward.
I stood there, wondering what had just happened. “Where the hell are we, Frank?” I asked, watching them go.
