Page 115 of All Wrapped Up
‘More supplies,’ she said, then added before she dashed out again, ‘and don’t forget to cover the tables. It will save time on cleaning up at the end of the day.’
‘Already on it,’ I told her. ‘Right, I’m going to check everything’s ready outside.’
It was another cloudy, but thankfully dry day. It would have been wonderful if the sun put in an appearance, but I’d rather have had the cloud than the rain we’d previously been subjected to. Not that I wanted to get sidetracked again thinking about the tumult the earlier weather had unleashed.
‘So,’ Jason, who was inspecting the large variety of pumpkins available to buy and carve in the competition, said expectantly, as he sidled up.
‘So…’ I said, drawing the word out and looking confused.
‘The vet,’ he said, a little too loudly for my liking. ‘What did he say?’
‘Oh, Ash,’ I said, moving away from where we could be overheard. ‘Nothing.’
‘You mean, he denied it?’ Jason frowned, as he followed me. ‘He actually told you he doesn’t have more than friendly feelings for you?’
‘I mean, I haven’t had the opportunity to talk to him yet, Jason. And actually, I’ve decided I’m not going to.’
‘You’re not?’ He sounded disappointed.
‘I’m not,’ I confirmed. ‘Because I know for a fact that your deductions about his feelings for me are entirely wrong and I would hate to ruin a beautiful friendship by bringing them up.’
‘How do you work that out?’
‘Because he’s seeing someone else,’ I said, grinding the words out. ‘And he can’t be in love with me if he’s seeing someone else, can he? Or if he is in love with me and still seeing someone else, then he’s certainly not the guy for me.’
‘I thought he wasn’t the guy for you, no matter what he felt?’ Jason said cleverly.
‘You know what I mean,’ I tutted. ‘Now, let me get on. Why don’t you go and select your prize-winning pumpkin? The competition is going to start as soon as the dogs have been judged.’
Pixie and I stood and watched the parading pooches in their array of autumn themed outfits. There were dogs of all sizes, including Bella’s spaniel, Tink, strutting their stuff and, for the most part, not looking too mortified. That said, the whippet dressed as a witch didn’t look overly impressed with life.
‘And the winner is,’ shouted the head of the yarn bombing squad, who had counted the show of hands from the large and laughing crowd who had gathered to watch, ‘the Yorkshire terrier dressed as a pumpkin!’
‘There, Pixie,’ I tutted, as the owner claimed their prize. ‘That could have been you.’
She didn’t look as though she cared either way and scratched at the bandana in another attempt to pull it off.
‘I’ve seen it all now,’ Jason said with a wry smile, before he went to claim the pumpkin he wanted to carve.
I watched him walk away thinking that at least the sight of the dogs dressed up had stopped him thinking about the man who looked after a lot of them.
I could then see that Jake and Amber, who were in charge of the pumpkin carving, were getting ready to call everyone together to explain the rules and make a start.
‘You haven’t seen my deputy, have you?’ I asked Joanne, who took Jason’s place next to me, once he’d gone off.
I still didn’t really want to see Ash, but there was plenty for us to do and we wouldn’t have to be together while we did it.
‘Jason wasn’t giving you a hard time, was he?’ Joanne scowled in his direction.
‘Absolutely not,’ I told her. ‘Did you not know he’s turned over a new autumn leaf?’
Not only had I still not told Ash that Jemma had found a note about the missing ballot box, I hadn’t spread the word about Jason now being a good guy either. My brain, since the night I’d realised I’d fallen for Ash, had been completely distracted and it was time I got it properly back on track.
‘Yeah, right!’ Joanne snorted, then seeing the look on my face, added, ‘You’re kidding?’
‘I am not.’
‘Really?’ She was agog.
