A Pocket Full of Posies (Book 3)

Chapter Eighteen

We arrive in a small, charming seaside town in Pembrokeshire at around seven in the morning. I'd usually make some poor joke about how all the tiny, colourful houses remind me of a kid's programme, and how the cheerfulness of it all is hilarious given the fact we're on the run from a known murderer, but I'm too tired to even think. The car rolls down a steep hill, and practically nosedives into a caravan site at the bottom of it. Sadly, we don't nosedive straight into a brick wall.

Lina's voice scolds me inside my head, and it's jarring because she may well be the one to have sold me out, so I ignore it. Carmen directs Ava as she weaves the car around the site, and we come to a stop outside a large wooden gate. Beyond the closed gate is a sizeable cabin, which is way more impressive than the poky caravans we've driven past so far. There's a car parked on the gravel driveway.

"Are we here? Can I get out of this goddamn boot?" Annabel natters from behind us.

"Go wild," I call back to her.

"Shit," Carmen mumbles beside me as Ava puts her hand brake on. "My mum's here."

I lift my eyes to Carmen's face, who's chewing her bottom lip, then say, "will she be pissed?"

She sighs. "Nope. She'll love it."

Without another word, Carmen nudges my arm and motions for me to open the car door. I do as she says, and hop out of the car to let her pass. I'm grateful for the opportunity to stand up after sitting on my arse for as long as I have, and stretch my arms out as Carmen unlocks the wooden gate. It's kind of cold. Is Wales colder than England? I thought that was just Scotland. I really need to level up my geography expertise.

"This is cute," Annabel coos beside me. "Good inheritance points," she continues, to which I raise my eyebrows. "Y'know, for when you get married and all that. You'll inherit a lovely cabin in West Wales."

I ignore her. Once unlocked, Carmen pushes both parts of the gate wide open, and Ava drives on through.

"What's the bed situation?" I ask as I follow behind the car and start walking alongside Carmen. "Comfort levels are of utmost importance. Anything below an eight and we're in trouble."

"Piss off," is Carmen's response. Her tone is light, but her smile fails to meet her eyes.

I playfully bash my arm into hers. "You okay?" I ask, to which she nods her head a little too aggressively. "Yikes, and I thought I was a bad liar. Well, I mean, I used to think I was a good one. Not so sure now. I think it's fair to assume I'm horrific at absolutely everything."

"Shut up," Annabel mutters.

Finally, a laugh escapes Carmen's mouth, and she also tells me to shut up. She shakes her head as we stop beside Ava's parked car and wait for the others to start bumbling out of the thing.

"Just not in the mood for my mum right now," Carmen explains.

Before I have the chance to respond, the source of her qualms bursts into our lives with a questionable amount of energy for early Sunday morning. Immediately, I understand.

"Carmen!" Lily shoves the patio doors at the front of the cabin open as she shrieks her daughter's name. "You didn't tell me you were coming! Wonderful! I thought you reserved your surprise visits for that bloody father of yours!"

I feel Carmen cringe beside me as Tom, Jamie, and Ava exit the car. I'm not even sure a full second has passed, and Lily's already taken a shot at Carmen's dad. That's got to be a record of some kind. Then again, I guess that's more of a dig at Carmen than her father.

Before I can take the thought much further, the slender, dark-haired woman bounces down the wooden steps towards us. Her feet patter across the gravel as she approaches us with outspread arms, and I'm waiting to feel another cringe emanate from Carmen when suddenly, the woman's short arms are wrapped around me.