Rich Girls Don't Date King Thrushbeard: Part 5

Help is at hand...or is it?

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four

All around me was stillness. Birds sang the evening chorus, but other than that there was no sound at all. The thin road stretched on either side of me, shielded from the fields by rough hedgerows.

What was I going to do? Where was I? There could be miles between the bus stop and the nearest town.

I wasn’t going to cry. I wasn’t.

Wiping my cheeks free of a few tears, I exhaled sharply and checked my watch. It was past nine o’ clock. Which direction had the bus come from?

I checked the sign on the bus stop beside me. Apparently this stop was called The Hedge Path, and there was one after it called…wait, what? There was another stop after this?

“End of the line for you.”

That driver had dumped me here because he could. I had never complained to any company before – that was usually Mum’s job – but I would definitely be putting in a complaint about that man.

I studied the sign again. The next stop on the route was quarter of an hour away, and I didn’t recognise the area at all. The only thing for me to do was walk back the way I’d come and hope I came across a bed and breakfast or something. Maybe I could use their phone to call a taxi in the morning.

Luckily, both my suitcases were wheely ones. I gripped both handles – and winced. Some of the skin on my palms had been torn away from contact with the road.

There was nothing I could do about that now. It was getting cooler, and soon it would be completely dark, so I started walking.

Fifteen minutes later, my arms were almost falling out of their sockets. Sweat prickled under my arms and my breath was coming in gasps. I scanned the horizon for anything resembling a building, but there was nothing. I could hardly see in front of me at all.

Running away from home had been a stupid idea.

Wait. That was a vehicle coming up behind me. Could today get any worse?

I flattened myself into the prickly hedgerow, holding my suitcases beside me. The car approached, started to slow down, and stopped right beside me.

This was either my lucky break, or today really could get worse.

The passenger window rolled down, revealing a woman in her early fifties. “Are you all right?”

I wanted to say yes, but there was no point in lying. “Not really. Do you know if there’s a bed and breakfast nearby?”

“Not for at least half an hour, and that’s if you’re driving.” The woman spoke softly with the person in the driver’s seat, then turned back to me. “We’ve got a spare lodge for guests. I know you don’t know us, but would you like a place to spend the night? You could call someone where you’re safe?”

I could have cried. “Really? Thank you so much! I’d love to spend the night in the lodge, but…I don’t have my phone. It was stolen when I was on the bus, and I’m not exactly on speaking terms with my family right now.”

“OK.” The woman smiled and motioned with one hand. “Hop in the back.”

The driver, a huge and burly man in a green T-shirt, got out of the car. “I’ll get your suitcases.”

I opened the door and gratefully sank into the seat. I’d have to check my laptop hadn’t been damaged when the bus driver threw out my suitcases.

Scott put the suitcases into the boot, got back into the car and drove away. “I’m Scott Paston, and this is my wife Margaret, but we all call her Maggie. What’s your name?”

Don’t use your real name.

“I’m Brynn. Brynn Carson.” Mum’s maiden name was the first surname to come to mind. “Thank you so much for helping me.”

Then it hit me.

Scott and Margaret Paston.

It couldn’t be. No way.

“You said you had a farm,” I said casually. “That’s not Goldbriar Farm, is it?”

Scott laughed. “That’s the one! Heard of it, have you?”

I nodded, but inside I was screaming. Out of all the people in the world, I’d run into Tyler’s parents. And now I was going to spend the night at his place.

“You mean I can’t tell them my first name or my surname? Does that mean I can use my middle name if someone gets chatty?”

“You could, so long as they’ve never met you before.”

I was in big trouble.

“Are there buses from outside Goldbriar Farm?” I enquired, trying not to pick at the loose skin on my hands. The grazes were really starting to sting.

“Not until Monday, I’m afraid,” Maggie remarked. “Buses don’t run in Sunset Fields over the weekend. Why? Where were you trying to get to?”

Voice trembling a little, I told them about my original plan to get a bus and then a coach. “But then I was stupid enough to fall asleep and then the driver said I had to get out.” Now I was trying not to cry again.

Was I seriously going to be stranded here over the weekend?

“Don’t suppose you know of any taxi companies in Sunset Fields?”

Maggie must have heard the tears in my voice, because she said: “There is one, but…they’re a bit pricey, and it sounds like you want to go quite a long way.”

I sighed. “I’ll figure something out in the morning.” My laptop was still in my suitcase – assuming it hadn’t been broken or damaged.

***

“We’re here.” Scott pulled into a long, gravel driveway that reminded me of the one that led to Greenfield Farm. “I don’t know about you, but I could do with an iced tea.”

Maggie sighed loudly. “Sounds divine. Would you like one, Brynn?”

It would have been rude to refuse. “I’d love one.”

“How about we get you settled into the lodge, and then you can join us in the kitchen? I always have a spare key on me just in case.”

Scott parked beside a stone building with light spilling out of the windows. As we walked towards the lodge (Scott insisted on carrying my suitcases), I glanced at the house and saw a kitchen through the windows.

Tyler sat at the table, eating what looked like a sandwich.

I gulped, turning my gaze away. Jocelyn hadn’t said he would recognise me…had she?

“Here we are.”

In front of us was another, smaller building. This one was wooden, but had a more modern look to it than the farmhouse did, with a glass door and white windowframes that almost seemed to glow in the dim light.

Maggie unlocked the door and turned on a switch by the door. “It may be a little warm, but there is air conditioning.”

“Thank you.” I stepped inside, and Scott followed with my suitcases.

“I’ll get that ice tea, and tell the boys we’ve got a guest for tonight,” he said. “See you both later.”

“How much for tonight?” I asked.

Maggie waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, don’t worry about that. We make a policy not to charge people who need help.”

“That’s very kind. Thanks.”

Maggie raised an eyebrow at me. “But what?”

“You said there were no buses at the weekend, and the taxis are expensive. Could I…could I stay for the weekend and help around the place? There must be lots of chores here, right?”

Assuming Tyler didn’t recognise me, this farm looked like the perfect place to lie low. My parents would never think to look for me here, and I had until Monday evening until the disguise spell wore off.

A tiny frown appeared on Maggie’s forehead. “I’m going to be honest, Brynn: we could use some help. We have a lot of things to do this weekend, and we’re supposed to be helping at an event on Monday. My niece hasn’t been able to make time because of her business, so we’re a hand down. Are you sure you’d be willing to stay?”

“Yeah, if you’ll have me!”

What was I doing? I’d never done a day of work in my life. OK, I’d arranged that party on the beach and I always cleaned up after myself at home so our housekeeper wouldn’t have to, but this was different.

Maggie’s smile was brighter than the sun. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am for that. Come on, let’s get that ice tea; we’ll introduce you to the boys.”

Tyler was still sitting at the kitchen table when we walked in; in another chair was his friend in the black T-shirt.

“Tyler, Kurt, this is Brynn. She’s generously offered to help with the farm this weekend,” Maggie announced.

The boy in the black T-shirt – Kurt – nodded at me. But Tyler got up and walked over, holding out a hand. I put on the polite smile I usually gave to the people I knew insulted my family behind our backs.

“Hi, I’m Tyler.” As he shook my hand, his eyes suddenly widened in alarm. “What happened to your hands?”

Oh. The scrapes. I hadn’t washed them clean. “I kind of got those getting off the bus.”

The left side of Kurt’s mouth tilted into a mocking smile. “You tripped and fell while getting off the bus?”

“No, the driver literally pushed me out.” I hadn’t been going to say that, but something about Kurt’s smirk made me feel edgy and defensive.

Tyler frowned sharply. “Did he have short dark hair and a mole above his left eye?”

“That was him.”

“Oh, not again,” Maggie groaned. “How many times will that driver receive a warning before his employers decide to actually do something?”

“Can I wash my hands in the sink?” I asked. “Sorry, I should have done that before coming over here.”

Maggie gestured towards the sink. “By all means. I’ll get the first-aid kit just in case.”

The cool water felt sharp on the scrapes; I winced, but kept the water running until the blood was gone and only raw skin was left.

“Hey.”

I almost jumped; Tyler was standing a little way behind me.

“This is gonna sound strange,” he said, “but…haven’t I met you somewhere? I can’t shake the feeling I’ve seen you before.”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so. At least, I’m certain I’d remember if I ever met you.”