‘Sixtieth? I wouldn’t have put you any older than fifty-four.’
Morgan laughed. ‘You old charmer you.’
‘Old? I’m only sixty-three myself.’
Morgan’s hand flew to her mouth. ‘I-I didn’t mean it like that.’
Ned threw his head back and laughed. ‘I know. Don’t take any notice of me, I’m anoldwind-up merchant.’
Morgan joined in with his laugh. ‘You had me going there for a moment Ned. I thought I’d offended you.’ Ned shook his head still chuckling. ‘You are coming to my party, aren’t you?’
Hie brow rose. ‘Is this an official invite?’
Morgan nodded with a smile. ‘It is and you are officially my first.’
‘Then I’m highly honoured. How are you getting back?’
Morgan grimaced and looked around. ‘I never thought about that. Pamela told me Mina’s uber service wouldn’t be available whilst the school run was on, so I suppose I’ll just call Oliver to come and collect me.’
‘I can take you back. I normally walk it here, but I brought equipment with me today, so I came in my car.’
‘Thank you, you are a life saver.'
‘Not anymore, but I’ve been known to save the odd life or two in the past at sea,' Ned winked.
Morgan looked blank for a moment until she realised what Ned meant. ‘Ohhh, when you were a coastguard? Of course.’
Ned laughed. ‘I have an odd sense of humour.’
Morgan shook her head. ‘No you don’t, we are actually on the same wavelength. I love a bit of banter. Especially with the locals when I do a shift behind the bar at the pub.’
Ned smiled and nodded. ‘Right I’m more or less finished here. Do you want to wait for me in my car whilst I gather up the rubbish bags and whatnot? I’m parked in front of the church. The car isn’t locked.’
Morgan nodded. ‘Yes, great. Thanks.’ She turned around and began to weave her way through two gravestones, but the ground was uneven with large clumps of grass covering it and her cane got stuck in between them. She pulled hard—a little too hard, and stumbled.
She could feel herself falling in slow motion.
Strong hands suddenly caught hold of her, and her legs lifted off the ground as she was swooped up into powerful arms. She turned her head and looked into violet eyes. ‘Have you hurt yourself Morgan?’
‘Er, no-no...I’m fine.’ Ned began to walk towards the front of the church with Morgan in his arms. She felt like a little rag doll against his powerful chest. ‘My cane! I dropped it.’
‘I’ll get it when I collect the other things.’
Morgan could feel her heart beating rapidly. She felt as if she was reading a scene from one of her romance books. She looked up into Ned’s face. ‘Are you sure you’re sixty-three? I’m no skinny teenager, you know.’
Ned laughed. ‘You were right about your sense of humour.’
He placed her down gently next to the passenger side door and opened it for her. ‘Thank you.’
He waited until she was safely inside before he closed the door. He held up his index finger and mouthed one minute. Morgan nodded and smiled. She watched him hurry away and took the moment to take stock of herself. She did a quick once over to make sure she hadn’t hurt herself now the shock of nearly falling had worn off. She sighed she was fine. No bruises. No twisted ankle.
Sitting patiently, Morgan looked curiously around Ned’s car. There were mints, a spearmint wrapper, and spare change in the middle console, and a tree-shaped air freshener hanging up, but other than that, there was no tell-tale objects which would reveal more about Ned’s personal life. The tailgate door opened and Morgan felt the weight of the car dip slightly as objects were deposited inside the car. The driver door opened, and Ned climbed in, his smile wide as he looked her way.
He handed over her cane. ‘Not a scratch.’
‘Aww good. This is my favourite.’
As soon as he closed his door, the car was filled with a fresh outside smell, and a subtle smell of soap and aftershave. It made Morgan’s pulse quicken.
