Page 64 of Always Be My Pumpkin

I ignore Barty and fix my eyes on Moll. ‘Jamie,’ I say. ‘Jamie told you to do this, to vandalise Pat’s shop and smash up our pumpkins.’

Moll gulps. ‘Well, no, not exactly.’ She throws Barty a vexed side-eye. ‘He was cross about them pumpkins. They weren’t in the plan.’

Barty stares down at his mucky boots. ‘I might have got a bit carried away,’ he mutters. ‘Had all that paint left over . . . He only told us to do the side wall, as a warning like, and leave it at that.’

‘Oh, good for Jamie,’ I snarl. ‘Only one wall. How noble of him. And no pumpkins.’ Barty lifts his face and I glare at him. ‘But you couldn’t help yourself, could you?’

‘Go home, for God’s sake, the pair of you.’ Finbarr climbs out and ushers a grumbling Moll and Barty towards the door. ‘We’ll give you our decision in the morning.’ He pulls the door wide and waves them through. I turn to watch them go, and spot Sarah and Scott ordering drinks at the bar.

‘It’s time we were heading home too, before this rain gets heavier.’ Gertrude zips her padded coat, then glances towards the bar and gives Sarah a small wave. ‘You should stay and have a drink with your friends. Take your mind off things.’ She sighs. ‘I never warmed to that Roche boy, but I am shocked he would resort to this.’

‘I’ve a good mind to call over to his father and have a word.’ Finbarr pushes up the cuffs of his shirt sleeves as though he’s readying himself for a scuffle.

‘Finbarr, you do realise Jamie’s twenty-seven?’ And you’re not his school principal any more. I take a gulp of the second glass of wine Audrey evidently knew I needed and carry on. ‘There’s no point upsetting Seamus. He and Pat are friends and he’d be horrified if he knew.’ I shake my head. ‘Let everyone enjoy the festival and we’ll tackle Jamie afterwards.’

Gertrude nods her agreement. But Finbarr grunts crossly. ‘We will tackle him though. He’s not getting away with this.’

‘Yes, we will. Or at least, I will.’ I ignore Finbarr’s head jerk. I’m as close to Pat as Finbarr is, and Jamie needs to learn that I won’t tolerate his bad behaviour any more.

30

‘Tough day?’ Scott asks as he drops onto the bench opposite me. I’ve moved across to the couch and Sarah’s still chatting to Audrey at the bar.

‘The day was great.’ I sigh. ‘But it went downhill about fifteen minutes ago.’

‘I presume you mean Moll and Barty. We saw them leaving as we were coming in.’ He leans forward, cradling his pint. I’m still nursing my half-full glass of Malbec. ‘Take no notice of that pair.’ He rolls his eyes. ‘They love to cause trouble.’

Take no notice. What does he mean, take no notice? Is Scott covering for Jamie again? ‘Do you know?’ I frown across at him. ‘Do you know it was Jamie?’

‘What was Jamie?’ Sarah stows her golf umbrella under the bench and nudges in beside Scott. She takes a sip of her gin and tonic. ‘What’s he done now?’

‘I’ve no idea.’ Scott shakes his head, bewildered. ‘I thought we were talking about Moll and Barty. He scratches his forehead. ‘What are we talking about, Gracie?’

‘It’s okay. Never mind.’ If he really doesn’t know, maybe it’s better to keep it that way, at least until after the weekend.

‘Yeah, never mind about Jamie.’ Sarah taps her fingers on the table, eyes bright. ‘What about Flynn? Will he be joining us or are you going to sneak off early to meet him?’

I stare at her blankly. ‘Flynn’s not back until tomorrow.’ And I’ve already told her that I’ve written him goodbye.

‘Nice try.’ She winks at me. ‘I saw him in the passenger seat of Pat’s truck about twenty minutes ago. They drove by our house as we were leaving and turned down for Hazel Cottage.’ She grins. ‘I guess he couldn’t stay away. But your secret’s safe with us. And we won’t be offended if you want to knock back that wine and dash off to your man.’

I sag back in my seat. ‘He’s not due back until tomorrow.’ And you know he’s not my man. But I am confused. How can she have seen him? Surely, Flynn would have texted to let me know he’d be back early. Unless Natalie asked him to keep his distance.

Sarah frowns. ‘Did he not call you, or text?’

‘No. Although, I’ve barely looked at my phone all day, it’s been so hectic.’ I pull it from my jacket pocket, and stare at the screen. ‘Oh, brilliant, it’s dead.’ I press my forehead into my palm. ‘I meant to charge it at lunchtime but I forgot.’

‘Well, there you go.’ Sarah grins. ‘There’ll be a dozen missed calls and messages.’ She waves her hand. ‘You go ahead. Go track him down.’

‘That’s okay. I’ll stay a bit longer.’ I take a gulp of wine and ignore Sarah’s puzzled stare. I’ve told her often enough about Natalie. She really should get it by now.

‘I might nip out to the back bar for a pint when I finish this.’ Scott takes another gulp of his Guinness.

‘You got a fancy woman back there?’ Sarah ruffles his hair.

‘Eh, no.’ Scott looks down at his half-empty glass, then at Sarah, before he turns to me. He clears his throat. ‘Jamie texted earlier, asked if I’d have a pint with him.’ He hesitates. ‘Are you sure you don’t want to tell me what it was you meant, Gracie? If it’s still Olivia you’re upset about, he honestly does feel terrible about the way that happened.’

I screw up my face in frustration. I don’t give a damn about Olivia but I’m tired of Scott making excuses for Jamie.