Leanne wanted to say something nice about the other woman’s entry too, but she couldn’t find the words.
‘I’m not very good at being put on the spot,’ Dawn was saying. ‘I need time to think. I’m afraid my attempt was a bit too simplistic.’
‘It certainly stood out,’ Leanne said, and she wasn’t lying. Among all the elaborate displays, Dawn’s arrangement had actually looked quite inspired. Whether the judges liked it was a different matter, though.
Dawn stubbed out her cigarette and sighed. ‘I’m not sure I’m cut out for this,’ she said. ‘It wasn’t my idea to enter the competition, it was my mother’s. She’s always pushing me to do something, and this is her latest venture. She should have entered the damn thing herself if she was that keen. I think she just wants to boast to her friends that her daughter is on the telly.’
‘I’ve kept it really quiet,’ Leanne confided. ‘Only my family, a couple of close friends and…’ She hesitated, wondering how she should refer to Rex. She could hardly call him her boyfriend, unless by that she meant that he was both male and a friend.
She let it go and said instead, ‘I think everyone will know soon enough when the programme is shown on TV.’
The second half of the day passed much like the first had done, except everyone was now working from their own designs and knew what they were doing. Sort of. Judging by the frantic racing around, the muttering and the head-scratching, most of them, including Leanne, seemed to have forgotten everything.
When Rory called, ‘Put your secateurs down,’ Leanne obediently stopped primping her waterfall and stepped back from the bench.
Once again, a clean-up operation took place while the contestants had a well-deserved break, and then they were called back on set. A similar procedure took place, with the judges approaching each bench and the contestants explaining the thinking behind their designs.
Then came the part Leanne had been dreading – the verdict.
With the contestants lined up like a row of naughty schoolchildren in front of the head teacher, Rory played up to the cameras, stringing it out until she wanted to scream at him to get on with it.
Each judge would award each task a mark out of ten, and the contestant with the lowest mark would go home. In the case of a tie, it had been explained that the judges would cast a vote.
The highest score was awarded first, and although Leanne knew it couldn’t possibly be her, she still couldn’t help hoping it might be.
It wasn’t.
That accolade went to a scrawny little man with slicked-back hair and a goatee, wearing a dicky bow – he of the foliage cross with the single red rose. He’d been awarded the highest mark for the sight-unseen arrangement and the second highest for his aquarium design of coral and exotic flowery fish.
As the scores were read out in descending order, Leanne’s nerves started to get the better of her. She wanted this so badly that if she had to go home now, she’d be devastated.
‘Seventh with thirty-seven points is…’ Rory paused, and the camera panned across the remaining contestants who were yet to be informed of their fate. ‘Leanne Green! Congratulations, Leanne – the judges especially liked your waterfall arrangement. Jarred? I know you wanted to say a few words about this one.’
Jarred gave Leanne a professional, polished smile. ‘When you explained what you were designing, I had my doubts,’ he said. ‘I didn’t think a Welsh waterfall had any place in an aquarium, but the result convinced me. As did your passion.’
Did he just wink at her?
No, she must have imagined it, surely? And if he had, so what? She didn’t care, because she was through to the next round!
Chapter 15
According to his mother, it had been three months and five days since Rex had left Scotland for a new life in Tanglewood, so it really was about time he went back for a visit.
His mum had been nagging that she hadn’t seen her favourite son in months (ha, ha, very funny, he thought, considering she only had the one child!), and now his father had been badgered into nagging him as well.
‘Can’t you spare your mother a few days? Surely you can’t be that busy?’ he grumbled over the phone.
Rex could, and he wasn’t. He had a few days’ holiday he could take, but although he very much wanted to see his parents and he longed to return to the place where he’d grown up, he was reluctant to risk coming face to face with Jules. He wasn’t quite ready for that yet.
Jules hadn’t exactly broken his heart when she’d told him she was leaving – how could it break when the pair of them had been drifting apart for so long? – but the separation had been painful all the same.
‘I’ll see what I can do,’ he promised, hoping it would serve to placate his mother for a while.
‘You’d better,’ his dad warned. ‘You’re not the one who has to listen to her complaining about it every five minutes.’ His tone softened. ‘She misses you, son. We both do.’
And he missed them too, but playing the guilt card simply wasn’t fair of them.
‘Let’s just settle on a date,’ his father was saying. ‘If she knows when she’s going to see you, she might stop whingeing.’
His mother never whinged, Rex knew. That was simply his dad’s way of saying that he wanted to see Rex too but wasn’t going to admit it. He never did, and Rex smiled fondly. It had always been the same – Dad blamed everything on Mum, but not in a mean way. ‘Your mum will go mad if you don’t tidy your room,’ he’d say, meaning ‘I want you to tidy your room.’ Or, ‘How about giving your mum a cuddle?’ knowing full well that Rex would hug him too.
Rex was quite surprised that his dad had actually admitted he missed him. He must really, really be missing him to say it out loud.
Feeling incredibly guilty for not making an effort sooner, he agreed to travel back to Glenshona in a couple of weeks.
‘I’m warning you, I won’t be on my own,’ he added.
But before he could explain what he meant, his dad jumped in with ‘You’ve got yourself a girlfriend?’
He sounded a little off, as if he was disappointed that Rex had found someone new. He knew his parents had liked Jules, but honestly, it wasn’t as though they’d been married. Besides, she’d left him, remember?
He was about to point that out when his dad continued, ‘Are we going to meet this new girl of yours, then? Are you bringing her with you?’
‘Er… yeah. But Dad—’
His father interrupted him. ‘I don’t think it’s a good idea, son. Your mum hasn’t seen you for ages, and it might be best if you came alone.’
‘I’ve got to bring her – her name is Nell and she’s a Border collie. I can’t leave her on her own. Is that OK?’
‘Oh, I see, of course it is,’ his father said, and Rex could have sworn the older man sounded relieved.
The thought of travelling almost five hundred miles with an excitable puppy in the car didn’t fill Rex with much enthusiasm, but he’d promised now, and he wasn’t going to go back on his word. Despite his misgivings about returning to the small town where he and Jules had lived together, he found he was actually looking forward to it.
It was just a pity he didn’t have a real girlfriend to take with him, and unbidden, the image of Leanne popped into his mind.
Chapter 16
‘Well?’ Stevie hissed in a loud whisper as she swept into the shop to collect her usual flowers.
‘I’m not supposed to talk about it,’ Leanne said, ‘under pain of death or something.’
‘Huh! We’ll know soon enough if you leave Mabel in charge for a couple of days next week,’ Stevie pointed out. ‘You may as well spill the beans now.’
‘I could be off enjoying a few days’ holiday, for all you know,’ Leanne protested.
‘Not on your life! You don’t do holidays. You haven’t had one since I moved to Tanglewood.’
‘That’s because I’ve never had anyone to look after the shop except Mum, and I didn’t like a
sking her all the time. Now that I’ve got Mabel, I might just decide to go to Barbados for three weeks.’
‘Not you, you’re a workaholic, except when you’re getting me too drunk to stand up. Remember the last time?’
‘The only time, you mean. You haven’t been out for a proper drink with me since.’
‘Can you blame me?’
Leanne giggled. ‘Not really, although you are a bit of a lightweight. You only had four glasses of wine.’ In fact, Leanne hadn’t had a proper drink since either. She was turning into a lightweight herself.
Stevie tutted. ‘You still haven’t answered my question,’ she said, and when Leanne’s face broke into a huge grin, despite her brain telling it not to, Stevie let out an ear-piercing scream.
‘I knew it! I bloody knew it! Well done, girlie.’ She threw herself at Leanne and gave her a massive hug. ‘I’m so proud of you.’
‘Anyone would think I’ve won the damned thing already,’ Leanne muttered, but she was delighted all the same. ‘Anyway, what about you? How are the wedding plans coming along?’
Stevie’s smile almost split her face in two. ‘I’ve found the most wonderful little wedding shop. It’s called Moira’s and I didn’t even know it existed until last week.’
‘Oh yes, I keep forgetting about it too. It’s because it’s so out of the way.’ The shop was situated under a cobbled archway between two buildings, just off the high street, and really was quite unassuming. It didn’t help that there wasn’t any signage for it either. Unless you already knew about it, the odds of discovering it on your own were quite slim.
‘It’s a wonder they do any business at all, and that Moira woman who owns it is a bit stuck up, but they’ve got the most gorgeous dresses I’ve ever seen,’ Stevie said. ‘You’re going to have to come and have a look, especially since you’re going to be wearing one of her bridesmaid dresses. I know it’s not for ages yet, and there’s Tia and William’s wedding first, but you have you plan these things well in advance. Will you come with me when I try a few gowns on?’ she added. ‘I’d really value your opinion.’
‘When were you thinking of?’
‘Whenever you’re free and whenever Karen can make it. I’ll get back to you with some dates, if that’s OK?’
It certainly was. Leanne had never been a bridesmaid before, and she was really looking forward to it. She loved weddings! She knew that both Stevie and Tia would make the most beautiful brides.
She was sure she’d have no trouble getting Mabel to manage the shop for her when the time came. The older woman was doing a grand job as it was, filling in for her when she went to London.
She still couldn’t believe she’d got through to the next round. She also couldn’t believe she only had a week – less than that now; six days, to be exact – before she was expected to do it all over again. The next theme was ‘The Office’. What on earth was she supposed to make of that? When she thought of offices, the only planty image to come to mind was a huge pot with a dusty palm or ficus in it, maybe with a scattering of pebbles on the surface of the soil for a bit of added interest as well as to keep the moisture in.
With Mabel having today off, Leanne didn’t have much time to worry about the task until she closed the door on her final customer of the day and sank against the glass, weary to the bone.
The thought of having to go home and spend the evening frantically coming up with an arrangement that was good enough to keep her in the competition filled her with dread. She’d not had a minute to herself since this whole thing started, and what was worse, she had no one else to blame. She’d got herself in this position; it was up to her to deal with it. The ancient Chinese proverb of being careful what you wished for came to mind.
She was walking slowly back to her car when she heard her name being called, followed by, ‘No, Nell! Come here!’
Looking over her shoulder, she was just in time to see an overexcited Border collie racing across the road.
Without stopping to think about the consequences, she launched herself towards the dog in a mad dive. She hardly heard the squeal of brakes, or Rex’s horrified cry, before she was knocked off her feet.
Stunned, she lay on her side, not daring to move. She wasn’t dead – at least she didn’t think she was – and nothing seemed to hurt. Yet. That was a good thing, wasn’t it? Or maybe she was in shock, and the pain would hit her like a train in a minute or so.
The blasted dog licked her face, practically lying on her head, and all Leanne could think about was that Nell was safe. Thankfully, the car had hit her instead of the puppy.
‘Oh my God, are you all right? Leanne, speak to me. Are you hurt?’
‘She stepped out right in front of me!’ a man cried. ‘I didn’t stand a chance. I’ve killed her, haven’t I? I’ve killed her!’
Leanne saw a pair of anxious faces peering down at her as she tried to squint around a blanket of excited dog.
Someone else said, ‘I saw it all, mate. There was nothing you could have done. Has anyone called an ambulance? And the police?’
‘Oh shit, that’s Leanne Green. Her mother will be devastated,’ another person said.
‘Lea, Lea, speak to me.’ Rex sounded frantic.
Leanne made a feeble attempt to push Nell away. She couldn’t breathe with all that fur on her face. When she felt the dog being dragged off her, she blinked owlishly.
‘She moved. Her eyes moved. Did you see that? She’s not dead.’
Leanne thought it was Sid the butcher who had spoken, but she couldn’t be certain, because from this angle all she could see was legs. Except for Rex. She could see him all right, because he was on his hands and knees in the middle of the road, his face inches from hers, and horror was written across every inch of it.
‘I’m not dead,’ she croaked, but it came out as a wheeze as she tried to catch her breath.
‘If anyone’s to blame, it’s that dog of yours,’ someone said. ‘It should be on a bloody lead, it should.’
‘Lea.’ Rex’s voice was more controlled. ‘Stay with us. An ambulance is on its way.’
Leanne had absolutely no intention whatsoever of staying there. She had to go home and find some ideas for the next task. Besides, she’d only had a sandwich all day and she was starving. Cautiously she tried to push herself into a sitting position, but a firm, strong hand held her down.
‘Don’t try to move. Goodness knows what you might have broken. Oh God, if anything happens to you, I’ll never forgive myself,’ Rex groaned.
She tried to speak again, this time with more success. ‘I’m fine,’ she croaked. ‘Winded, but fine. Nothing is broken either, see?’ She wiggled her fingers and toes.
She guessed the car must have almost been at a standstill when it clipped her, knocking her off her feet rather than smashing into her. She might have a bruise or two come the morning, but she suspected the main injury was to her pride. How could she have been so stupid?
‘Is Nell OK?’ she asked, once again struggling to sit up. This time, instead of forcing her back down, Rex helped her.
‘She’s fine, thanks to you. But you’re not,’ he said.
‘I am,’ she insisted. ‘Honestly. You can stop fussing, and could someone please let the ambulance know it’s not needed?’ She felt such a fraud; although to be fair, if the driver hadn’t reacted so quickly, things might have been very different.
She got to her feet with a little help from Rex and stood, wobbling slightly, flexing first one leg, then the other. Her hip was rather sore where it had collided with the road, but apart from that, everything seemed to be working just fine.
‘Are you sure you’re OK?’ Rex demanded, the anxious expression still on his face.
‘Stop fussing. Nothing is broken. I’m just glad Nell wasn’t hurt.’
They both looked down at the dog, whose tongue was lolling out and whose tail was wagging, and burst into laughter.
‘It’s not bloody funny,’ the driver said. He’d gone from worr
ied to irked in the space of a minute, and Leanne didn’t blame him. He must have had one hell of a fright.
‘No, you’re right, it isn’t,’ she said, suddenly contrite. ‘Let me give you my details. If there’s any damage to the car, call me and I’ll pay for it.’
She rooted around in her handbag, which had miraculously managed to stay on her shoulder, found one of her business cards and handed it over.
‘This is you, is it?’ the man demanded, squinting at her suspiciously.
‘It’s me,’ she confirmed. ‘I own the flower shop around the corner.’
‘She does,’ Rex tried to reassure him. ‘I can vouch for her.’
‘And who might you be?’
‘Rex McMillan. That’s my house over there.’
With some muttering and a couple of dark looks, the driver was eventually persuaded that Leanne wasn’t trying to rip him off, and got back in his car. She watched his incredibly slow progress to the junction, and gave a sigh of relief when the car turned the corner and was finally out of sight.
‘I’ll drive you home,’ Rex offered.
‘Thanks, but I’ll need my car to get to work tomorrow, and anyway, I’m fine.’ If she had to say she was fine one more time, she thought she might scream.
‘I’ll follow behind you,’ Rex insisted.
Although there was absolutely no need for him to do so, Leanne was quite touched. He really was very sweet and thoughtful. She gave in, realising he probably felt guilty, and phoned ahead to warn her mother that he would be joining them for tea again.
When they arrived at the farmhouse, Rex tried to reverse out of the yard, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer, insisting that he stay to eat with them.
‘Anyway, I want to pick your brains.’
‘Oh?’
‘Let’s talk about it after tea,’ she suggested.
Thankfully, he only had to put up with Murray this time, because Saul had found himself another victim (Leanne really should stop referring to his girlfriends like that, but her brother was so much fun to tease), and Murray, being the quieter of her siblings, actually behaved himself without Saul’s bad influence. Her father had raised an eyebrow and given her a pointed look when she’d strolled into the kitchen with Rex, but apart from that, no one made any comment. She could tell that her mother was itching to say something, though, which was why Leanne hurried Rex out of the house as soon as they’d finished eating, and was now leading him past the vegetable garden and into the field behind the farm.
The Tanglewood Flower Shop Page 9