Pippa saw what Wolfie was getting at. “He can’t get to the town centre directly from here because the road has closed. He’d have to take the big diversion which means—”
“It means if we leave now, we could run down the hill and maybe catch him at the SPAR!” Wolfie looked down at his watch. “He won’t get there for at least another ten minutes by my estimation. We can intercept him in that time!”
“Can we really make it?” Pippa worried.
Wolfie pointed at her. “You and I can do anything, Pippa Munro.” He reached for her hand again and Pippa felt like she might burst with elation as his warm grip enveloped her fingers.
“You’re damn right we can,” she said, determinedly ignoring her ankle’s persistent twinging. They left the house and exited the main gate onto the road. Wolfie pointed north towards the moors.
“The courier will have had to go all the way up past Foxhouse, and then back to the A road so he can come back into the other side of town where the SPAR shop is.” He then indicated downhill, where just a few feet away the barriers closed off the road to traffic. A monitor in a high-viz jacket leaned against them, staring down the hill to where ant-sized wheelbarrow racers were beginning their ascent. “So if we go down this hill it takes us directly to the shop. Do it quickly enough, we just might beat the courier.”
Pippa looked down the cordoned-off hill. There was a little pavement that started further down it, but it was crowded with spectators. “But what about them?”
“Well, we’ll just go on the main road,” Wolfie said. “It’s closed to traffic, after all.”
“Yeah, no cars!” Pippa yelped, gesturing at the army of competitors advancing along the road towards them. “We just have to make sure we don’t get run over by that lot. That’s quite a spectacular way to die.”If my ankle doesn’t fall off first,she thought.
Wolfie shrugged. “I’ve had a good life.”
“Death by wheelbarrow.” Pippa laughed. “I’m all in then.”
Luckily, the race monitor was Mrs Allen’s son, who instantly recognised Pippa, and despite all his pre-race safety training, allowed her and Wolfie past the barricade and onto the road itself. Once through, Wolfie and Pippa took off as fast as they could down the hill. It wasn’t long however before the pain in Pippa’s ankle became overwhelming and soon the joint was alarmingly puffy. Pippa and Wolfie’s pace slowed, whilst the racers got closer and closer. Pippa tried to brazen it out, but her breathing became reduced to impatient hisses. Wolfie looked down at her and frowned. “Your ankle.”
“Yeah. It hurts.” Pippa gasped with frustration as their pace became a crawl. “I don’t want to slow you down. Go on without me.”
“And leave you on the road like an injured badger?” He shook his head. “No way! We need to find you a medic. They’re on the green, right?”
“Yes but— Oh GOD!” Pippa squealed as Wolfie swept her up in his arms, carrying her like a large baby. She frantically adjusted her dress for modesty as the first racers zoomed past them, more than one of them sending curious glances at the couple making their way downhill against the flow of the race. Although their initial pace was quick, it was hard for Wolfie to keep it up and their progress slowed down once more.
“Wolfie, you’ll never get to the SPAR in time,” Pippa groaned. “Seriously, leave me on the side of the road. Get to the contracts!”
“Sod the contracts.” Sweat beaded on Wolfie’s face. “Let’s get your ankle seen to. Sue can sort you out.”
“It’s just a sprain,” Pippa insisted. “I’ll survive. Let’s weigh the importance of that against getting the legal documents back, shall we?”
“Everything all right?”
Pippa blinked. A seven-foot neon-pink dinosaur skidded to a halt before them, speaking with Todd’s voice. Sure enough, Todd’s face peered out from the mesh window in the dinosaur’s neck. Sitting in his wheelbarrow was Pat, dressed in chef whites with a comically enormous fake moustache. “Um, no,” Pippa admitted. “Wolfie needs to get to the SPAR right away, but I’m slowing him down.” She pointed down to her ankle.
Todd’s little dinosaur arms waved anxiously. “Oh, love, are you okay?”
“I’ll be fine,” she said. “Thing is, we must get to the village and stop a courier van leaving. Like, now.”
“I’m trying to do a big romantic gesture,” Wolfie explained. “But she’s really hurt.”
“That ankle looks nasty.” Pat frowned. “I think there’s a medic station on the green if you—”
Todd attempted to clap his hands through his costume. “I bloody love a romantic gesture! Take the barrow!”
“What?” Pippa said faintly, hoping she’d heard him wrong.
Pat’s head tilted comically back to look up at his husband. “Hang on, what about the trophy?”
The dinosaur propped its arms on its hips. “Some things are more important than trophies, Pat.”
Pat sighed. “That’s not what you were saying over breakfast.” Then he slid out of the barrow. “But seeing as my darling can’t resist a romantic gesture, please, help yourselves.”
“Seriously.” Todd nodded at the sturdy and thankfully clean barrow. “Take it. This was bought especially for the race. No pig shit has graced it thus far.”
