Page 43 of The Village Inn of Secret Dream

Even Keith, the dog, had wandered back to see what was going on and had settled down underneath the table so that he could warm himself next to the fire.

‘I still don’t believe I was mugged like this,’ said Del, lighting the next one to watch it go out almost immediately.

‘One born every minute,’ said Grandma Tilly, giving him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

‘Good job you’re not organising the village bonfire night fireworks this year,’ said Tom.

With a heavy sigh, Del brought out the last firework which was a different shape to all others. It looked like a small, fat tube which he stood upright on the surface.

‘Oh well,’ he said, holding out his lighter to the firework. ‘Let’s hope I’ve saved the best until last.’

Once lit, the tube immediately started to glow brightly. The air was then filled simultaneously with both dark smoke and a large bang which made everyone jump. Suddenly there were huge flares of bright sparks going in all directions and everyone was ducking for cover.

Keith, the dog, immediately shot out from underneath the table in alarm, cannoning Pete into Belle’s arms as he ran away.

Such was the force of Keith’s doggy muscle, Pete fell over and Belle found herself lying on the floor underneath Pete. She quickly glanced over his shoulder to see that Josh had dragged Grandma Tilly out of the way in time and nobody appeared to be hurt.

She looked up at Pete and blushed, suddenly realising that they were touching from shoulder to feet, every muscle of his blended with hers. His face was inches away and they stared into each other’s eyes for a moment.

‘You okay?’ he asked.

She nodded, feeling somewhat breathless.

He looked at her for a moment longer before lifting his body away from hers. Belle sat up to join him in looking around the lounge. Everyone appeared to be all right, thankfully. Keith, the dog, was hiding underneath Lucy’s legs but some crisps were helping keep the shock at bay.

Only Del looked somewhat worse for wear as his face was black from the smoke. In front of him, the small wooden table had completely disintegrated.

There was a stunned silence as everyone stared at Del who finally broke into a wide smile, his teeth white against his blackened face.

‘Good job I didn’t buy the Catherine wheel instead, eh?’ he said, with a grin.

At which point everyone burst into laughter and the birthday party carried on until Pete called for last orders later in the evening.

24

Pete stood at the doorway and peered out through the driving wind and rain that was hammering against the front door that evening. He could hear the tarpaulin on the roof flapping away in the gusts of wind. At least his bedroom was now finally leakproof thanks to some new tiles.

‘I don’t think anyone else is going to venture out in this tonight,’ he said, turning around to look at Belle, who was wiping down a nearby table of yet more dust. ‘Shall we call it a night?’

She frowned. ‘It’s only half past nine,’ she told him, glancing up at the clock.

‘Yeah, but this weather is going to keep away any customers, I reckon,’ he said, hopeful of an early night.

He closed the front door behind him, grateful to shut out the heavy wind and rain that evening.

It had been a full-on couple of days since the builders had begun work. Thankfully they had already completed the majority of the work on the roof so hopefully it would withstand the autumn storm raging outside.

The builders were both competent and friendly. Perhaps too friendly, he had decided. He didn’t like the way a couple of them had been leering at Belle and making her laugh with their dirty jokes. They were supposed to be professionals, after all. He would have a word with Mr Reynolds.

But the real battle was with Belle herself. She questioned every idea that he had, every choice he had made, when all he was trying to do was make the inn a better place to live and work in.

But even that argument didn’t seem to settle her down. She was desperate to keep the interior of the inn lounge cosy whilst he wanted to make it more modern and brighter.

She seemed determined to disagree with everything that he was trying to do with the place. And, to be honest, the constant arguing was getting him down. Sometimes, he found himself wishing that he had never got involved.

Which begged the question, why had he?

The answer was something that he had yet to figure out.