Chapter 25

25

‘Ready?' Jay held his hand out, indicating for Megan to go first.

In front of them stood a café, a gift shop and an ice-cream parlour. Stepping through the gates into Flambards Theme Park, Megan took in the sounds of excited shouting and laughter from children and adults alike mixed with loud fairground music. She grinned, memories of her teenage years coming back to her.

‘Where would you like to go first?' Jay looked up from the map he was holding. ‘We could check out the roller coaster, the log flume if you don't mind getting soaked, or maybe something more leisurely, such as the swings, to ease us in gently?'

‘Why don't we jump straight in and head for the log flume?' Megan grinned, the buzz in the air rubbing off on her.

Jay chuckled and pointed to their left. ‘Okay, getting soaked it is then.'

‘Great.' As they fell in step with each other, Megan glanced across at Jay. ‘You're not afraid of heights, are you?'

‘No. Not usually, anyway. I'm quite happy climbing a ladder or going on a plane. I'm more worried about getting covered in water.'

Megan grinned. ‘We might get a bit splashed.'

‘A bit? I think I remember getting completely drenched last time I went on the log flume here, but it has to be done when at a theme park, doesn't it?'

‘I guess so. I've not been to one since I was about sixteen, I don't think.' She took the map from him and pointed them in the right direction.

He whistled under his breath. ‘That's a long time ago, then.'

‘Oi!' Laughing, she swiped the map at him.

‘Ha ha, I didn't mean it that way! I used to go to theme parks quite a bit. I must have been to this one at least three times.'

‘Really?' She frowned. ‘Why did you need to come again to check it out then?'

He smiled. ‘It's been a couple of years, so things have bound to have changed. Besides, I thought it'd be nice to hang out with you.'

‘Aw, thanks.'

‘Here we go.' Jay pointed ahead, and they joined a short queue that had formed at the base of the tall log flume. ‘I guess there's no turning back now, then.'

‘We can turn back.' Megan indicated behind her.

‘No chance.' Grinning, Jay stepped up onto the platform surrounding the entrance to the log flume as the queue surged forward, and taking his hand, Megan stepped up onto the platform beside him.

‘Thanks.'

His hand felt warm in hers. She could still feel the callouses on his skin from the work he'd been doing at Wagging Tails.

Still with her hand in his, she kept her eyes focused on the person in front as the queue steadily inched forward. What would Lyle say if he could see her now? He'd certainly be disgusted that she was at a theme park. And he'd probably be equally disgusted that she was here with Jay. She laughed. Which would he hate more? What she was doing or who she was doing it with?

A man wearing a blue baseball cap waited until they'd taken their seats before checking the safety bars. ‘Morning! Are you all set to ride on the Colorado River Log Flume?'

‘Absolutely!'

As the log flume lurched upwards, the theme park opened up beneath them and Megan could see for miles around. It was bigger than she'd first thought it was.

‘Oops, I always forget about this bit,' Jay said as the cart came to an abrupt halt as it neared the top of the track, throwing them forward a little. He glanced down beneath them before looking at Megan. ‘It's this bit I hate when it slows right down, and we know what's coming.'

‘Ha ha, I used to love this bit! The anticipation.'

‘Umm, that's one way to think about it.'

Just as she turned back to face the front, the cart inched over the cusp of the track and began its descent. She could feel her hair flying out behind her and her cheeks being pushed back by the wind as they plummeted down towards the pool of water at the bottom.

In no time at all, the cart plunged into the pool, spraying water upwards and over them both before slowing down and meandering around a curve. ‘That was brilliant!'

Jay chuckled. ‘It was. I'm soaked now though.'

‘Yes, same here.'

Jay seemed to have come off the worst. He really was soaked. His light blue T-shirt had been turned navy with the water, and on his jeans it had fashioned huge wet patches.

Megan grinned, holding in her laughter. ‘Are you feeling refreshed?'

Shaking his head, Jay reached out to her, drawing her into a hug.

As she laughed against his shoulder, Megan could feel the water dripping from his hair onto hers and the liquid from his T-shirt soaking hers too. Pulling away and holding his hands at arm's length, she said, ‘I can't believe you've just done that!'

Jay shrugged, his lips twitching as he tried to stop himself from laughing. ‘I was being nice. Refreshing you too.'

Megan smiled. There was something about Jay – he made her feel comfortable, made her feel as though she could just be herself. She didn't feel the need to put on an act or try to behave in a certain way as she thought he'd expect her to. She hadn't felt that way with Lyle, or with the people they'd used to spend time with. She'd always felt as though she wasn't enough. Wasn't enough for Lyle, wasn't enough for their friends. That she didn't fit in. But with Jay, here, at Wagging Tails, even at his house, she was able to be herself. No airs or graces or second-guessing her actions and words.

Jay tilted his head. ‘You look as though you're thinking about something deep.'

Shaking herself from her thoughts, she took hold of his hands again and met his gaze. ‘I was just thinking that I can be me around you.'

Jay frowned. ‘Of course you can.'

‘I couldn't always be me, be just me, but with you I can.' She wasn't explaining herself very well, she knew that, but she hoped he knew what she was trying to say.

‘Well, I'm glad to hear that.' He smiled, his dimple deepening in his cheek.

With her hands still in his, she leaned forward and touched his lips with hers. What was she doing? Leaning back again quickly, she dropped his hands and held her palms against her cheeks, trying to cool the hot rush across her skin. ‘I'm so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking.'

Jay looked into her eyes again, the lines around his creased with kindness. ‘Don't be sorry.' He leaned forward, pausing a mere inch away from her. ‘Is this okay?'

Megan nodded. It was more than okay. It was what she'd been hoping for since he'd kissed her that day at Wagging Tails. She leaned forward, meeting his lips as he wrapped his arms around her.

‘This looks nice. Just what I need after all those rides.' Jay lowered the tray of sandwiches and drinks to the table and sat down.

‘Me too! Although I felt that sick after going on the Sky Force ride I didn't think I'd be able to stomach lunch.' Megan laughed as she took the plates and mugs from the tray before slipping it onto a spare chair next to her.

‘Ooh yes, that one was brutal. I think I might be a little old for rides like that.' Jay chuckled.

‘You're not too old, you just don't have an iron stomach any more.' Megan bit into her sandwich and then held it up slightly. ‘Thank you for this.'

‘You're very welcome.'

‘I'll pay you back when I have a job. If anyone ever wants to employ someone with zero experience in the last ten years, that is.' Shifting in her chair, she pulled her mobile from her back pocket and looked at the screen. Still nothing. ‘They don't seem to be in a hurry to contact me.'

‘You'll get one. Just you wait and see.'

Megan smiled and nodded. She wished she had his confidence.

‘You will.' He took her hand and grinned at her. ‘So, are we like official now then?'

Bursting out laughing, Megan wiped her mouth with a napkin. ‘Official? What are we, teenagers?'

Jay shrugged as he chuckled at himself. ‘I'll say it again, but I did warn you I'm not used to this sort of stuff.'

‘Yes, you did.' She met his eyes. ‘I'm not either though, remember?'

‘True.' He nodded.

‘But, yes, I'd like that. Let's call ourselves official.' She grinned. It felt right, here with him. It had felt right before too, but hopefully this time Lyle wouldn't get in the way.

‘Great.'

Standing up slightly, Jay leaned across the table and kissed her.

Megan kissed him back, laughing as he sat back down, causing Jay to hold his hand against his chest, his eyebrows raised, and pull a face of mock-shock.

‘Charmed.'

‘Ha ha, no, I was just thinking how much my life has changed in the past few months. Before this whole thing with Wagging Tails, I'd never have imagined, dreamed, that I'd be in this position. Here, at a theme park, with you, someone I really care about. For once, I'm excited about the future.'

She was. When she'd been with Lyle, her future had been laid out in front of her. She had known what to expect – dinner parties, silent evenings, rambling around that big house alone. Now, she felt as though she didn't really know what her future held. She hadn't foreseen falling into another relationship – she hadn't even thought about it – but it was exciting.

‘Cheers to Wagging Tails then.' Raising his mug, he waited for Megan to do the same before they clinked ceramic to ceramic.

‘To Wagging Tails.'

As she lowered her mug again, she accidentally knocked it against her plate and watched as a splash of coffee covered the table. ‘Oops.'

Jay stood up. ‘I'll go and get some napkins.'

‘No, don't worry. I'll go. I want to grab some mayo for my sandwich anyway.' Pushing her chair back, Megan got up, turned and headed towards the corner of the till where the cutlery, condiments and napkins were displayed. As she stood in the short queue, Megan glanced back at Jay, who was eating his sandwich and looking out of the large window. He was a good man, kind. And cute too. Even though they'd only just started their relationship, there was no denying that she'd grown close to him. They had a real connection and, hopefully, a future, too.

Megan picked up the napkins and mayo before heading back to the table.

‘You had a message ping through.' Jay nodded towards her mobile and lowered his sandwich.

‘Thanks.' She sat down and wiped up the spilt drink before bunching the napkins into a ball and picking up her mobile.

Hope you're happy being skint. Your fault. If you hadn't been with HIM I would never have stopped your cards. My solicitor will be in touch. Lyle.

She sighed. Really? Did he really have to text that? Now? Today, whilst she was trying to enjoy herself and forget about everything? Of course, he didn't know that.

She automatically glanced around the café, half expecting to see him. She wouldn't put anything past him after the way he'd tracked her down through her bank statements.

‘I… umm…' Jay indicated Megan's phone.

Looking up, she frowned. ‘What?'

‘I didn't mean to, but when it pinged up, I saw the message.' He squirmed in his chair. ‘Is it my fault your ex cut you out of the money?'

Megan picked up the wet napkin ball, gently pulling it from its scrunched-up state and smoothing it over the tabletop.

She shook her head. ‘No, it's not your fault. It was me that signed a prenup before we married. And if he hadn't spotted us kissing at Wagging Tails, he would have found another reason. He would have thought of something else I'd seemingly done wrong in order to justify his actions.'

‘He saw us kissing? When we were digging up the foundations?'

She nodded. ‘Yep. He tracked me down here using the bank statements from my card and put two and two together.'

‘That's how he knew where you'd gone? From your bank statements?'

‘Yep.' Megan shook her head. ‘You couldn't make it up, could you?'

‘Ha, no, you couldn't. I'm sorry, I feel awful that he's using me against you and I'm sorry about seeing your message.' Leaning back in his chair, he rubbed the back of his neck.

‘Don't be. Lyle is just being Lyle. I filed for divorce, but he's ripped up the papers and is adamant he's going to file for it instead.' She shrugged. ‘Is that even possible? For someone to counter file? Is that the right word? I was going to check on the internet if what he's done is legal but completely forgot.' She grimaced. There had just been so much going on, what with the sleeping in the car, then moving into Flora's, it had slipped her mind.

‘Really? Why?'

‘Because he wants me to be the reason the marriage is over, not him.' She shrugged. ‘It doesn't matter, anyway. Not really. As long as I get a divorce, that's all that really matters. It's not as though I stand to gain anything from the years I was with him, not with the prenup anyway.'

‘That's awful. Are you going to contest it?'

‘Maybe. Probably.'

She should do, shouldn't she? Although part of her wanted to make this new part of her life her own, she wanted to start over and would she be able to do that if she had court hearings and meetings with the solicitor which, knowing Lyle, would go on for years?

‘I don't know. I'm trying to focus on building my life again and if I eventually receive anything from the divorce, then great, but if I don't, then at least I'll have my new life.'

‘That sounds sensible.'

‘Yes, the only thing I can rely on Lyle for is that he'll make it as difficult as possible for me to get my share of anything.' She looked up from where she was playing with the napkin. ‘Although it feels almost just as impossible to find a job as it is.'

‘Don't say that. Any employee will be lucky to have you onboard.' He reached out and took her hand.

‘Yep, they'll be lucky to have someone clueless who hasn't worked for a decade.' She scrunched up her nose and shook herself. ‘Nope, you're right. I need to think positively about this. As soon as I find a job which pays me enough to pay Flora something for rent and food, then I'll invest the rest of my wages in an accountancy course and refresh my skills.'

‘That's more like it.' Jay squeezed her hand.

She nodded and squeezed his back. ‘Then I can become a freelance accountant, build my own hours, work from home and still have enough time to help out at Wagging Tails. I can dream, right?'

‘I think that's more than a dream.' Jay smiled. ‘That's a plan.'

‘Yes, maybe you're right. Okay, that's my plan.' She smiled at him. ‘How about you? Any luck on the job front yet?'

‘Maybe.' He grinned. ‘I got a letter this morning asking me for an interview over at the nature reserve by Penworth Bay.'

‘Really? Why didn't you say anything?' She'd been so engrossed in her own problems that she hadn't thought to ask him.

He shrugged. ‘I didn't want to jinx it.'

‘But you're telling me now?'

He shrugged. ‘I just thought I'd take my own advice.'

‘Turn your dreams into a plan?'

‘Exactly and so, now that I've told you, hopefully, it'll be a plan rather than a dream.'

‘I like your way of thinking.' Megan rubbed the pad of her thumb across the top of his hand. ‘Good luck with your interview.'

Jay glanced out of the window. ‘Where do you want to go now? Do you fancy another ride? Or we could take a look around the Victorian Village?'

‘Umm, maybe the Victorian Village? Let our lunch go down first before we venture back onto the rides?'

‘Sounds sensible.' Jay piled their empty crockery and used napkins onto the tray.

Pushing her chair back, Megan stood up and pocketed her phone. She wasn't even going to give Lyle the satisfaction of replying. He was trying to bait her into a conversation. Well, he could wait.