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‘Everyone from around here knows Elsie and her bakery. She serves the best doughnuts this side end of Cornwall.’ Chuckling, he held his hands up. ‘That’s a joke. Surprisingly, I’m a rare breed of police officer who doesn’t like doughnuts. Give me a cupcake any day of the week though...’
Jessie laughed, glad of the distraction. Even if it was rather a rubbish joke. ‘Thank you for stopping.’
‘We wouldn’t have been doing our jobs if we hadn’t stopped.’ He glanced back at the car. ‘It was an accident waiting to happen.’
‘I know. Still, thank you.’
‘No problem.’ Standing up, he flagged down a rescue truck coming towards them on the opposite side of the road. ‘It’s Scott. I wondered if he’d get the job. He runs the garage in Penworth Bay and we’re not too far away.’
‘Oh, right.’ Jessie pushed herself to standing as the truck put its hazard warning lights on and came to a stop beside them.
‘Afternoon, Scott. Thanks for coming out.’
‘No problem, Simon. Glad to help.’ Jumping out of the truck, Scott shook Simon’s hand before turning to Jessie. ‘All right?’
‘Hi.’
‘This is Jessie. She was driving Elsie’s car when the tyre burst. I’m not sure if there’s a bit more damage underneath after going up the verge.’
Walking around towards the back of the car, Scott whistled. ‘It looks as though it must have burst suddenly. You’re lucky you kept control.’
‘Umm, I didn’t. Not to begin with, anyway.’
Scott shrugged as he walked back towards them. ‘Looks as though you did a pretty good job. Simon’s right, they’ll likely be some damage underneath from mounting the verge at speed, but it could have been a lot worse. I’ll take it back to the garage and give Elsie a call when I know what we’re dealing with.’
‘Thank you.’
‘As I said, no problem. So, you’re volunteering at the bakery then?’
‘Yes.’ She glanced down at her shoes. Or she had been. Whether Elsie would still want her now was something she’d likely find out soon enough.
‘Good, good. My partner, Olivia, volunteered there for a while. She enjoyed it. Elsie runs a great team. A family.’ Scott nodded. ‘I’m sure you’ll enjoy your time there.’
‘She does seem lovely. I messed up though and turned up a week early and now...’ She indicated the car.
Scott shook his head. ‘You’ll have to do a lot more than this to get in Elsie’s bad books. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever known her to be anything but kind and understanding.’
‘He’s right.’ Simon passed the keys to Scott. ‘Thanks, mate.’
‘Do you need a lift back to the bay? You’re welcome to hang around until I get this hooked up.’ Scott looked at Jessie and nodded towards the car.
‘Don’t worry, mate. We can drop her by. We’re heading that way, anyway.’
‘Trouble in the bay?’
‘No. A fun day at the park in Trestow. We promised to pop by.’
‘Fair enough. See you around, Jessie.’
‘Yes. Thank you.’ She turned to Simon. ‘Are you sure you don’t mind dropping me off? I can get a bus.’
‘You’ll be waiting ages. We’re going that way. It makes sense if we drop you off.’
‘Okay. Thank you.’
