The Little Museum on Pumpkin Meadow

Chapter 1

Scarlet Maplewood pulled her scarf tighter around her as she walked down towards the duck pond at the end of the village. It was a week until Halloween and autumn had definitely arrived. The leaves on the trees were ruby, amber and gold. Acorns, conkers and chestnuts littered the ground and it was already getting a little bit frosty first thing in the mornings, it sparkled from the trees and made everywhere look magical.

Here at the end of the village, next to the pond, was Pumpkin Meadow, a whole field of pumpkins. The orange ones took up most of the field but there were also white, green, yellow and stripy ones too. There was a row near the front of the field that held pumpkins that were easily two or three foot high. People came from all over Cornwall to pick out their pumpkin for Halloween, or just have their photos taken there. A lot of influencers and bloggers would use the place as a brilliant autumn backdrop so later that day, when the field opened, it would be busy, but for now it was quiet. The place was beautiful, with the striking orange rows of pumpkins, the gold and crimson maple trees that lined the edges of the field, all set against a cornflower blue sky. It was no wonder the photos looked so good. But Scarlet would have been happy to never see another pumpkin again. She’d worked there for the last few weeks cleaning the pumpkins so they would look amazing in the photos.

She loved this time of year as everyone got ready for Halloween. She’d come to realise it was a big deal in the little seaside village of Lovegrove Bay as Halloween decorations had started appearing weeks ago with seemingly more being added to the town every day. Lights were strewn across the street, some of them simple white ones, some more elaborate ones like bats, cats, dancing skeletons and bubbling cauldrons. The shops were filled with various Halloween decorations, like witches on broomsticks and intricately carved pumpkins. There was even a Halloween market set up in the middle of the main street, selling spooky wares.

Scarlet paused as she spotted a new decoration outside the old museum, a six-foot T. rex skeleton wearing a garland of pumpkin lights.

She loved dinosaurs, always had. She had been fascinated by them as a child, read every book she could find about them and it was something she’d just never grown out of. Although that was something she felt compelled to keep quiet. It was silly for a grown adult to love dinosaurs; dinosaurs were for kids, or so her dad had told her. He’d told her he was embarrassed by her love of dinosaurs, which made her embarrassed by it as well. Every time she asked him for a new book on dinosaurs for her birthday or Halloween he would roll his eyes and ask why she hadn’t grown out of that childish phase yet. So she asked for clothes vouchers instead, which was much safer.

Her friends knew she loved dinosaurs and were forever buying her gifts with dinosaurs on, mugs, t-shirts, jumpers. But none of them knew that she would spend every night devouring every non-fiction book she could find about dinosaurs, prehistoric life and palaeontology. None of them knew that when she’d lived in London she would spend every lunch hour and even time after work wandering around the Natural History Museum looking at all the dinosaur exhibits, reading every information card she could see. It was safe to say she was a massive dinosaur geek and she was too embarrassed to tell anyone how deep her passion ran.

This Halloween themed T. rex made her smile because why not celebrate Halloween with dinosaurs? It was a skeleton, after all.

Scarlet looked up at the old museum, a cute little red-house-type building. It hadn’t been used in years but there had been a lot of activity in there lately. It had been bought a couple of months before by someone and for the first few weeks there had been a steady stream of carpenters, builders and decorators in and out of there on a daily basis. Although that seemed to have dried up now, there was still a lot of noise going on inside. No one knew what was happening or what the new owner was planning or even if it would still be a museum.

She walked past, listening to the bangs and bumps coming from inside, trying to catch a glimpse through the boarded-up windows but to no avail.

She approached the duck pond, which was partially frozen. The poor ducks and geese were limited to small unfrozen parts or they had to resort to sitting on the ice. They saw her, then they slipped and scuttered across the surface to get to her. She scattered the peas, sweetcorn and oats in front of her and the ducks gobbled them up. She couldn’t help smiling at them.

This had become her life now, feeding the ducks every morning before going to clean the pumpkins at work. It had been very different a few months before, living in London working as a lawyer for a high-powered law firm, owned by her dad.

That was until her dad had been arrested for embezzlement and the whole company had been shut down within days of it coming to light.

Scarlet remembered that day so clearly. She’d come into work as normal and found out what her dad had done. He’d been arrested and had walked out to the waiting police car in handcuffs. Then someone had mentioned that she was his daughter and the next thing she knew she was being arrested too. She was handcuffed and walked out in front of everyone, taken away in a police car, thrown in a cell, interrogated like she was a criminal. Scarlet had never put a foot wrong in all of her life, she’d never stolen anything – not even a strawberry when she went fruit-picking as a kid – so she was horrified to be treated like she’d committed a crime. They’d held her for twenty-four hours, asked her loads of questions and then released her while she was investigated. They’d taken her computer, her phone, emptied her desk and after a few days, it became clear to them that she’d had nothing to do with it. But that hadn’t stopped the looks of anger and suspicion from her work colleagues. It hadn’t stopped people talking about her in hushed whispers, or in many cases, not whispers at all. It had been horrible and so humiliating.

She had been horrified and ashamed that her dad could steal hundreds of thousands of pounds from the company he had worked so hard to build. He had conned clients out of money they didn’t need to pay. She hadn’t spoken to him since it had happened and she had no idea whether she could ever have any kind of relationship with him again.

It ruined her career as well. No other law firm would touch her once they found out who she had worked for, despite her having had nothing to do with it. It was bad enough that Scarlet had worked for that law firm, but being the daughter of the person who had stolen so much money had made her a person of suspicion as well. Without a job, money had started to dry up, rent had become difficult to pay and when her best friend, Tilly, offered her a sabbatical, staying in the annexe above her garage in Lovegrove Bay, Scarlet had jumped at the chance.

Everything about Lovegrove Bay was slower, quieter, more peaceful. She’d had no idea how much she needed time away from the frantic pace of London and away from the shame of what her dad had done. She was happy here, more content than she’d ever been.

She’d hated being a lawyer, something her dad had pushed her into doing when really she’d wanted to study palaeontology. When she arrived in Cornwall, she had briefly considered applying to local law firms but she honestly felt like that stage of her life was over. Just the thought of going back to London or practising law again made her feel anxious and stressed.

Admittedly she had no idea what she wanted to do with her life now. She’d had several jobs since she’d moved down here, none of which had filled her with joy, but maybe she didn’t need a job to make her happy, especially when she lived somewhere as beautiful and peaceful as Lovegrove Bay. She went for long walks on the beach every day and woke to the most amazing sunrises over the sea every morning. This was her happy place, she didn’t need her occupation to tick that box. As long as she had enough money coming in to pay her bills and put a little in savings towards an eventual deposit on her own house, she was happy. It didn’t matter what she was doing, even if that meant cleaning pumpkins.

There was still a little voice that said the whole point of the sabbatical was to find something she was passionate about, but she squashed that down. It wasn’t like a dinosaur-shaped job was going to suddenly fall from the skies.

She heard a noise behind her and turned to see a man coming out of the museum. He went to his car, grabbed a box and went back inside, leaving the door to the museum open behind him.

This was her chance to see what was going on inside. Would it be Egyptian mummies, some kind of Tudor exhibition, Ancient Greeks maybe? That would be cool, she loved the Ancient Greeks. But what if it was just being converted into a house? What if she peered round the door to see a sofa, TV and some garish open-plan kitchen done out in shades of orange? The little museum deserved more than that.

She quickly walked over to the open door and peered inside. She froze in shock. The small room and the gallery above, that overlooked the main part of the museum, were filled with dinosaur skeletons. Her feet carried her inside before she registered what she was doing. She stared around her like a kid entering a sweet shop. Most of the skeletons were scale replicas but some of the smaller dinosaurs were full-size. Up on the gallery there was a scale version of an Allosaurus, a Bambiraptor and a juvenile Diplodocus with its head leaning down over the banister. In the middle of the room was a marvellous-looking Spinosaurus. There were various dinosaur skulls, teeth and claws dotted around the room as well.

She let out a squeak of joy. Lovegrove Bay was getting its own dinosaur museum.

She suddenly realised the man was staring at her, obviously wondering what she was doing just wandering into his museum without an invitation.

‘This place is wonderful,’ she said in awe.

He looked at her strangely and she flushed with embarrassment. She always kept her passion for dinosaurs locked away from people she didn’t know. Her dad had told her for years how silly it was.

‘My nephew would love this,’ she quickly said, using the fictitious nephew lie she’d used many times when buying dinosaur books, toys or other dinosaur-themed things. But then she wondered why she’d said that. Why was she embarrassed about her love of dinosaurs when here was a man who was clearly as passionate as she was?

She stepped further in and looked around. The aged detail on the bones was incredible, as if they’d really been around for millions of years.

‘What are they made from?’

The man cleared his throat. ‘Some of them are made from clay or I use moulds and epoxy resin. I also use 3D printers.’

‘Oh wow, that’s amazing. They look so real.’

‘Thank you.’

‘I love the Diplodocus,’ she gestured upstairs.

He moved closer, a look of surprise on his face.

‘You know about dinosaurs?’

She smiled. ‘A little.’

‘OK, important question for you. What’s your favourite dinosaur?’

She laughed. ‘That’s how every introductory conversation should start. You can tell a lot about a person from their favourite dinosaur.’

‘Exactly,’ he said, and took another step towards her.

‘Job interviews, first dates, chatting to the shop assistant. If they all started with that question I think the world would be a better place.’

‘I totally agree. But it kind of feels like you’re delaying answering.’

‘Asking me that is like asking a parent to choose their favourite child.’

‘You’re still delaying.’

‘It’s not an easy question. What’s your favourite?’

‘It is a hard question, I’ll give you that. I’m partial to the Brontosaurus because I love that it was declassified as a dinosaur in its own right and then reinstated over a hundred years later. It’s a reminder that even scientists and palaeontologists get it wrong. But I think my absolute favourite is the Spicomellus, because who really needs that many spikes? It had hundreds of them all fused to its bones which is unlike any animal we’ve seen before. It was a remarkable creature.’

The man’s passion for dinosaurs was so obvious and it was incredibly attractive. It made Scarlet want to be proud about her love of dinosaurs too.

‘Yes, I’ve always thought that birthday parties must be tricky for a Spicomellus, all those balloons and spikes are a recipe for disaster.’

He burst out laughing and it was deep, throaty and really sexy.

‘I don’t think anyone in the palaeontology community has ever thought about that before.’

‘Well, they should. Palaeontologists do extensive research into what dinosaurs ate, how they hunted, walked, swam. But no one considers how hard it is for a Kentrosaurus or a Spicomellus to put on a sweater when you have that many spikes.’

He laughed again and shook his head. ‘I’m never going to be able to look at a Spicomellus in the same way now. But you’re still delaying.’

He moved closer and she realised how gorgeous he was. He had warm, kind chestnut-brown eyes, strong arms peeping out from rolled-up sleeves. He was broad and she noticed his massive muscular thighs almost bursting from his jeans. He had dark messed-up hair, the kind you could run your fingers through and it would still look just as messy and sexy. His clothes were tatty and stained with paint and clay but this dishevelled look only made him even more endearing. He had a lovely smile and looked the sort of man who would give amazing hugs.

She realised he was still waiting for an answer.

She cleared her throat. No one had ever asked her that question before but here was permission to go full dinosaur geek. ‘While pterosaurs are not dinosaurs, I do have a soft spot for them,’ Scarlet said, speaking of the group of flying reptiles most people referred to as pterodactyls. ‘And my favourite of those is the Quetzalcoatlus.’

His smile grew, his whole face lighting up as he moved over to her.

‘Hi,’ he said, softly.

‘Hello.’

He stared at her as if he was in awe of her.

‘I’m Archer Wild,’ he said.

‘Scarlet Maplewood.’

He offered out a hand to shake and she took it, feeling a spark of something the second they touched. His hands were slightly rough, which she would expect from any artist who worked with clay or resin. Up close she could see his eyes were flecked with gold.

He was still holding her hand as he continued to stare at her with the biggest smile on his face. ‘No one has ever answered that question like that before.’

‘Well that’s because pterosaurs aren’t dinosaurs so I kind of cheated.’

‘I’ll allow it. Besides, most people answer that question with their favourite Jurassic Park dinosaur so a Quetzalcoatlus is completely refreshing.’

He was still holding her hand and he suddenly seemed to notice that and he quickly let it go. ‘Sorry, I got a bit distracted.’

‘No need to apologise. I was distracted too.’

Oh god, was she flirting? Because if he was distracted by Quetzalcoatlus, what excuse could she give? In truth she’d been distracted by his beautiful eyes, dazzling smile and very muscular arms but she couldn’t tell him that.

‘So I’m guessing your earlier statement that you know a little about dinosaurs probably needs revising,’ Archer said.

She grinned. She hadn’t been able to speak about this with anyone before, she’d always played it down or kept it completely hidden, but she didn’t need to with Archer. ‘I know quite a bit. For example, I know the swimming ability of our Spinosaurus friend here is one of the most hotly debated topics in palaeontology. Some suggest he was more of a wader than a swimmer, but many disagree with the studies done to prove that theory.’

His smile got impossibly bigger. ‘Marry me.’

She laughed.

‘I’ll even make you a Quetzalcoatlus as a wedding gift.’

She laughed again. ‘Deal.’

She glanced around, taking a step to the side as she realised there was a T. rex standing right behind her, towering over her. As she moved to look at it, she bumped the leg and one of his tiny arms fell off. She quickly reached out to catch it but as it hit her hands it broke apart.

‘Oh god, I’m so sorry.’

‘Don’t worry, I hadn’t fixed that properly yet. I can put it back up there later.’

‘Let me do it,’ Scarlet said, picking up the bone pieces from the floor, which were thankfully still intact, even if they weren’t attached to each other.

‘Please don’t worry.’

‘It’s no hassle.’

The stepladder was already there as Archer had clearly been working on it before she came in. So she quickly climbed up the steps with the bones and carefully slotted them back in place. The T. rex arm was very similar to a human arm in many ways. It had a humerus in the top part of the arm, radius and ulna bones in the lower half, smaller wrist bones and two fingers that ended with a claw so it was easy to identify which bits went where.

‘There, all done,’ she said, stepping back down from the stepladder.

‘That was quick, do you want a job?’ Archer joked.

Her heart leapt. ‘Yes, I know you were only joking, but if you have a job going here, I would take it in a heartbeat.’

He looked at her in surprise. ‘Well I…’

‘It’s OK. You don’t have to offer me a job just because your T. rex nearly killed me. But if you ever needed any help—’

‘I need help. I absolutely need help.’

‘Really?’ Her heart soared with hope. ‘You’re not just saying that because we’re technically engaged?’

He laughed. ‘No, I really do need some help. I’ve been looking for someone for ages to come in and help me but you can’t just advertise for a palaeontologist in the local papers.’

Her heart sank. ‘I’m not a palaeontologist. I have no formal qualifications. I’m completely self-taught from books and the internet. If you’re looking for someone with a degree I can’t help you. Well I can, I have a degree in law but that’s probably not what you’re looking for.’

‘Law?’ Archer said in surprise.

‘Yeah, I was kind of pressured into becoming a lawyer by my dad. I wanted to study palaeontology but he made it very clear what he thought about that.’

‘I can imagine but I’m not a palaeontologist either. I’m an artist with a side order of palaeontology. I’m self-taught too in that regard. I’ve always loved dinosaurs though, but I’m willing to bet you know more about them than I do. So I don’t need anyone with qualifications, just someone with passion and knowledge.’

‘So what is it you do here?’

‘I make scientifically accurate skeleton replicas for museums, schools, universities and exhibitions all over the world. You can find my dinosaurs in the furthest reaches of the globe, in places I honestly had never heard of. Initially I made them for commercial use, museums, schools and exhibitions, But I’m now making just as many for private collectors, those that have a love of dinosaurs or wealthy parents who want to buy birthday presents for their dinosaur-obsessed kids. Some people want a dinosaur but don’t have the room or money for a full-size model so I make scale replicas too and they are very popular. I also make skulls, claws, teeth, eggs and they go down very well. It’s become so popular that I’m massively behind on my orders. But I bought this museum to hold an exhibition of my own and I’ve had so much interest from the palaeontology world that it has to go ahead and I’m massively behind on that too. So I definitely need your help.’

‘What would I be doing?’

‘Helping me put together the dinosaurs ready for the exhibition, accurately. Helping me with the 3D printers which I can teach you. If you’re artistic-minded you can help me with the sculpting of the bones, teeth and claws too, but no worries if not. There is so much more you can help me with that’s not really art-based. What do you say? Want to get caught up in this crazy world of palaeo-art?’

‘Yes, of course I do. I have a part-time job at the moment. It’s seasonal so I’ll be done once Halloween is out the way. And then I’m all yours but I can work here around the job, afternoons and evenings, weekends too. As much as you need.’

‘That would be great. And I can pay you. Dinosaur replicas pay quite well so I have money.’

‘I’d have done it for free.’

‘Oh god no, I could never take advantage of you like that. You’ll be paid, an hourly rate, for whatever hours you can give me. What hours are you currently working?’

‘Just ten till two so I can work here in the afternoons and evenings.’ Scarlet was so excited about this she would have agreed to work twenty-four hours a day if she could.

‘That’s great, where are you working?’

Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. ‘I’m working at the pumpkin meadow.’

‘Oh nice. My brother, Max, works there. Why are you embarrassed about that?’

‘Because I’m… the chief pumpkin polisher.’

He grinned. ‘Wow, I didn’t even know that kind of job existed.’

‘Well it does. I start work two hours before the field opens and I go round and clean all the pumpkins. When it rains the pumpkins get splattered with mud sometimes so I clean that off and then polish them with vegetable oil to make them look extra shiny.’

‘It’s a field of pumpkins, surely people expect a little dirt.’

‘Doesn’t look good in the photos apparently.’

‘Well, a job’s a job right?’

‘It is. It’s not something I ever envisaged doing with my life but it pays the bills. I have to wear the most ridiculous uniform. Tiny orange shorts, stripy tights, orange shoes and a tight-fitting orange waistcoat over an orange shirt. Although I can cope with that and I love watching the children come in and look at the place with so much wonder and excitement for Halloween. The adults too. It’s such a beautiful place. But I’d be glad to never see a pumpkin again once Halloween is out the way.’

‘Oh yes, I can imagine. Max is the manager there, is he the one who makes you polish the pumpkins? I didn’t think he was that petty.’

‘Oh no, the polishing edict comes from the owner, who thankfully only bothers to show his face once a week and tells me the pumpkins aren’t shiny enough. He expects to see his face in them, but they’re pumpkins, there’s only so much I can do. Max is lovely, not petty at all.’

‘He’s a good guy but annoyingly far better-looking than me.’

‘I wouldn’t say that,’ Scarlet said, without thinking, and Archer raised an eyebrow. ‘I mean, he is very good-looking but you…’ She swallowed because if there was a competition between him and Max, Archer would win hands down, he was ridiculously hot. ‘You’re nice-looking too. Let’s face it, you’re not going to crack any mirrors.’

He laughed. ‘I’ll take that compliment. But you and Max, you aren’t…’

‘Me and Max? A thing? No, definitely not.’

‘Oh good, wouldn’t want to step on any toes.’

‘In what way would you be stepping on anyone’s toes? You’re only offering me a job.’

‘Well, yes, and the engagement.’

She laughed. ‘No, I’m definitely single, well I was until about five minutes ago.’

‘Well, if you wanted to quit your pumpkin cleaning, I have a full-time job waiting for you here.’

‘I couldn’t. I’d feel bad letting Max down, I did promise I’d be with him until after Halloween. Besides, if you’re offering me a job, you want to know I’m hard-working, committed, will turn up when I say I will. Ditching my current job just because something better comes along isn’t the best look for me.’

‘That’s fair.’

Just then Scarlet saw movement behind Archer and she looked down to see a black cat stalking towards them.

Archer turned to see what she was looking at and smiled when he saw the cat. It suddenly jumped up into his arms and then climbed up him to perch on his shoulder.

‘This is Luna, the most beautiful cat in the world.’

‘She is, her green eyes are stunning.’

Scarlet reached out to stroke her.

‘Oh no, she doesn’t like strangers,’ Archer said but Luna was already leaning into Scarlet’s hand, purring softly. ‘Wow, I’ve never seen that before. She hates everyone.’

‘Maybe she’s a good judge of character.’

He smiled. ‘Maybe. If she likes you, I must have chosen well.’

‘So when can I start?’

‘Whenever you want. This afternoon, if you like. As soon as you’ve finished polishing pumpkins.’

‘I’m not working today, just four days a week, but I have a dentist appointment this morning and an optician appointment late this afternoon, but I could come to you in between for a few hours and you can show me the ropes.’

‘Perfect.’

He grinned at her and she couldn’t help smiling back.

‘Well, I better go,’ Scarlet said when the smiling was starting to hurt her cheeks.

‘Wait. Before you do, we should make our engagement official,’ Archer said.

She looked at him in confusion as he rushed off to the workbench. After a moment he came back with a tiny dinosaur tail that had obviously been made with a 3D printer as it was clearly quite flexible.

‘Can I have your hand?’

She held it out for him and he wrapped the tail around her ring finger and then clicked the ends together so the pointy part of the tail looked like the centrepiece of the ring. The tiny spines on the tail wrapped around her finger perfectly.

‘There, it’s official. We’re engaged.’

She laughed. ‘The perfect engagement ring. Right, I’ll see you later.’

‘You absolutely will.’

She waved and walked out the door, but as she stepped outside she looked back to see Archer was standing there watching her go.

Chapter 2

‘I have a job,’ Scarlet said as she burst into the kitchen of her best friend Tilly’s house. Tilly was in the middle of making hot chocolates for her and her kids. She raised the jar at Scarlet as an offering. ‘Yes please.’

‘Another job selling double glazing? A job selling perfume? A job dressing up as a burger for the local fast-food restaurant?’ Tilly teased as she scooped her black braids into a ponytail and flashed Scarlet a smile. Although the teasing was completely justified as Scarlet had had one crap job after another since she’d come to stay with Tilly. It obviously hadn’t been what Tilly had had in mind when she’d offered Scarlet the chance to find herself.

‘No, nothing like that, an actual proper job, something I know I’m going to love. You offered me this sabbatical to find my niche in life and I know it’s taken a while but I’ve absolutely found it. I’m going to be making dinosaur skeleton replicas for museums and exhibitions.’

Tilly stopped what she was doing, a smile spreading on her face. ‘Really? That sounds perfect for you.’

‘It feels like it was made just for me. I’ll be working at the little museum by Pumpkin Meadow. It’s under new ownership and the man that owns it is in the middle of creating his own dinosaur exhibition. I’m going to be helping him to build the skeletons for the exhibition and for other venues around the world. I can’t tell you how excited I am.’

‘That’s amazing. Now you can quit that crappy job polishing pumpkins.’

Scarlet felt a twist of guilt in her stomach. ‘I thought I’d do both, at least until Halloween is out the way. I don’t want to let Max down. And the job itself isn’t crappy, just monotonous.’

‘You’re such a people pleaser. You trained to be a lawyer just to keep your dad happy. You were talked into playing basketball every week by your neighbour which you hated; your other neighbour would regularly get you to babysit her kids for free after you’d been at work all day, so she could go out clubbing; you let your ex-boyfriend convince you to put away all your beloved dinosaur paraphernalia in your house so he had room for all his Star Wars crap instead and you bought him the latest PlayStation because he wouldn’t shut up about wanting one.’

Scarlet held her hand up. ‘To be fair, I bought him the PlayStation so he wouldn’t want to have sex all the time. He played until the early hours of the morning, I got some peace to read my books.’

‘See, another thing: you never told him he was crap in bed. You let him pound away at you like he was working some pneumatic drill and never once said, hey babe, this doesn’t do it for me.’

‘It was always over very quickly.’

‘Yes for him, he never once satisfied you.’

‘Well, sex is overrated, I think. Women don’t really enjoy it, do they?’

‘I do. I love it. You find a partner that puts you first in the bedroom, you’ll never look back. Or be brave enough to show the man you’re with what you like or just say no if you don’t fancy it. In fact, you just need to get better at saying no in general. You need to be better at putting yourself first, doing what makes you happy for a change.’

‘I know, you’re right. I hated going to work as a lawyer every day. And there didn’t seem any way out. Every Sunday night I used to dread the thought of going to work in the morning. I was paid well, I had a nice house, but I was so frustrated and sad that that job was my lot in life. I never wanted to be a lawyer. My dad turning out to be a thief and the company closing down couldn’t have come at a better time. I suppose in some weird, twisted way I should thank him. You giving me this sabbatical opportunity was perfect timing. And now with this dinosaur job, it finally feels like I’m doing something for me.’

‘I’m so happy for you. Who are you working for?’

‘Archer Wild. He is brilliant, so talented and passionate about his job.’

Her eyes widened. ‘Another of the Wild brothers. Is he hot?’

‘Well yes, he’s gorgeous. But that doesn’t matter. He will be my boss, I’m not going to mess this up by getting romantically involved with him. The job means too much to me to do that. This is the kind of job I’ve wanted all my life so I’m not going to risk doing anything with him in case it all goes wrong.’

Scarlet looked down at the dinosaur tail engagement ring she was wearing and quickly covered it up with her other hand. That didn’t mean anything, they were just messing around and when she started work she would just draw a line under the silliness and keep things strictly professional between them. So why didn’t she want to take the silly ring off?

‘I think that’s very wise, they have a terrible reputation with women,’ Tilly said, turning her attention back to making the hot chocolates.

‘What does that mean?’

‘Just that they sleep around, never get serious with anyone and leave a trail of broken hearts behind them.’

‘I’m sure Archer isn’t like that, he seems lovely.’

‘I’m sure all of them can lay on the charm when they want to, until the woman succumbs to the temptation, they spend a night of wild passionate sex together, then they leave them broken and distraught.’

‘If they have such a terrible reputation why are women still signing up for it?’

Tilly grabbed her phone, swiped the screen a few times then showed her a photo of six men in suits. One of them was Archer, and Scarlet knew Max. She realised she recognised Xander too so the other three must be Archer’s other brothers.

‘Logan, Xander, Jared, Ryker, Max who you know and Archer,’ Tilly said, pointing out each brother. They were all devastatingly handsome. ‘What woman could turn down a night of passion with one of these?’ Tilly said. ‘They look like they’ve been carved by Michelangelo.’

‘Well, maybe these women know full well what they are letting themselves in for when they go to bed with a Wild brother. I’m sure they all know it’s just sex and won’t end in a happy ever after.’

‘Maybe they all naïvely hope they can be the woman that changes them.’

‘You never gave me this warning when I started working for Max.’

‘Max is different. Everyone knows he’s like a big puppy. He’s completely harmless.’

‘Maybe Archer is harmless too. And isn’t Xander in a serious relationship with Immy from the sweet shop? They’ve just had a baby together,’ Scarlet said. Immy sold the most amazing chocolate-covered honeycomb. She’d been in the sweet shop quite a few times over the last few months to stock up on her supply and got chatting with Immy. She seemed deliriously happy in her relationship with Xander.

‘Well, I’m sure there might be one exception. But still, don’t get involved, don’t get attached, keep your heart intact.’

‘You’re preaching to the converted, nothing is going to happen between me and Archer. Besides, I’ll be too busy making dinosaur skeletons to start making gooey eyes at him.’

Tilly sprayed squirty cream on top of the hot chocolates and dusted the tops with chocolate sprinkles and baby marshmallows. She moved to the door and called to her children that they were ready. They had just broken up the day before for their half-term break and Scarlet knew Tilly was pulling her hair out already.

There was a thunder of feet as the kids arrived in the kitchen.

‘Sit down at the table and drink it carefully, it’s hot,’ Tilly instructed.

‘It’s a hot chocolate, Mum, of course it’s going to be hot, the clue is in the name,’ Zane said. He was an eleven-year-old football fanatic with the attitude of a surly teenager masking a heart of gold. Scarlet loved his style. When she was a kid, she liked to make herself small, blend into the background as much as possible. Zane styled his afro hair so it was big and curly and wore the brightest clothes, which probably weren’t the latest fashions but he had the confidence to wear what he liked and not worry about what other people thought.

‘Hey, less of the lip, or you’ll get a cup of hot water next time,’ Tilly said.

Zane smirked at the response and then scooped some of the cream off with his finger and sucked it.

His little sister, Blossom, copied him. She was nine years old, loved dance and complaining that her brother had something that she didn’t.

‘I don’t like the white marshmallows,’ Blossom said, picking them off the top of her drink and placing them on the table, where they oozed into a sort of goo that would be impossible to get out.

‘You ate them last time,’ Tilly said, quickly grabbing the abandoned marshmallows with a paper towel and throwing them in the bin.

‘That’s when I realised I didn’t like them,’ Blossom said.

‘They taste exactly the same as the pink ones, you weirdo,’ Zane said.

‘Mum! Zane called me a weirdo,’ Blossom moaned. ‘And now he has more marshmallows than I do.’

Tilly sighed. ‘When does this get easier?’ she said to Scarlet.

‘When they’re eighteen and they’ve left home.’

‘I’m never leaving home,’ Blossom declared. ‘Dad has already said I can live in the annexe when I’m older.’ She looked at Scarlet accusingly. ‘That was before you moved in.’

‘It’s not like I’ll be there forever. I plan to get my own place again soon.’

‘You’ve been there ages.’

‘Auntie Scarlet can stay as long as she wants,’ Tilly said. ‘She’s finding herself.’

Tilly had always tried to push her kids to call Scarlet ‘Auntie’ but they almost never did. Zane sometimes did in a condescending way, especially when Scarlet was having trouble doing something techy with her phone or computer.

‘She’s right there,’ Zane said. ‘It’s not hard to find her. If she was wearing a red and white top and glasses like Where’s Wally, I could understand it might be harder to find herself, but she can’t be trying very hard.’

Scarlet smiled. She loved these kids even though they weren’t exactly a great advert for having children of her own someday.

‘When you’re older and you both decide to go to college and university, it’s important you pursue something you love,’ Tilly said. ‘Something that will make you smile, something that will get you excited about getting up to go to work every day. You should never get a job that will make someone else happy.’

Scarlet smiled at the not-so-subtle career advice.

‘I’m going to get a job that pays me millions of pounds,’ Zane said. ‘And that will make me very happy.’

‘And me,’ Blossom said.

Zane gulped the last of his hot chocolate down. ‘Can we go and play now?’

Blossom hurriedly drank hers, getting cream over her top lip.

‘Yes, go.’

They ran from the room.

Tilly sighed. ‘Maybe it’s a bit early for career advice.’

‘Maybe,’ Scarlet said. ‘But I appreciated it even if they don’t. I’ve spent far too long trying to impress my dad, living my life for him not for me, but not anymore. After what he’s done I don’t owe him anything. He was always telling me how important reputation was and that’s why he was always angry about my love of dinosaurs because he said it was so embarrassing for a grown adult to like dinosaurs. Now he’s ruined his reputation, mine and everyone else’s who worked for his law firm. I’m done trying to please him anymore.’

‘Yes!’ Tilly said. ‘That’s what I want to see. I want this job to be so successful, he is forced to apologise for all the years he held you back.’

‘He won’t do that. And I don’t even want to hear from him anymore. I don’t want to get sucked into his life. He will tell me how stressed he is about the upcoming trial and I don’t want to hear it. He brought this on himself, he doesn’t deserve any sympathy.’

‘I know how tough this has been for you,’ Tilly said, taking her hand.

‘I feel so betrayed and let down. And most of all I feel so ashamed.’

‘You have nothing to be ashamed about, this was all him.’

‘I know, but I feel guilty by association. People look at me and think how could I not have known. The police have investigated me thoroughly and they know I’m not involved but people still look at me as if I was scum.’

‘Have you told Archer what happened?’

‘No, it didn’t really come up.’ Scarlet thought about it for a moment. ‘I’m not sure I’m ready to tell him yet. I don’t want him to look at me in the same way the other people do who find out about the embezzlement. I don’t want to feel shame for what my dad did when I’m with him. How can I even bring that up in conversation? Oh, by the way, my dad’s a thief, he stole hundreds of thousands of pounds. How can I tell him I was arrested too? What if Archer feels like he can’t trust me and takes this job away from me? I can’t risk that, not yet.’

‘I understand that. You had a lot of prejudice, negativity and abuse directed towards you once people found out who you were or what your dad did. Those that you worked with and complete strangers you’ve never met. I think you need to give it time to know you can trust him with this, it’s pretty big.’

‘I will tell him, just not yet. I don’t even know if this job will work out.’

They hadn’t discussed a salary yet, she had no idea what Archer planned to pay her. And was the job going to be long-term or did he just need her to help finish setting up the exhibition? She felt her excitement dim. She couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to work in her dream job for the next few weeks, only for him to say thanks and kindly show her the door once the exhibition was up and running.

‘Why would it not work out? This is the job of your dreams.’

‘And dreams don’t always come true.’

‘Whoa, don’t be so defeatist. You were so excited a few minutes ago.’

‘I am, I’m very excited, but you know that old adage. If something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. He’ll probably change his mind tomorrow.’

‘I’m guessing if he gave you that dinosaur engagement ring, then probably not.’

Scarlet flushed with embarrassment and tried to laugh it off. ‘That was just a joke.’

‘And yet you haven’t taken it off.’ Tilly stood back up to clear away the mugs.

‘I like it, it’s a nice ring; dinosaur bones, it seems fitting with my new job.’

‘You like him.’ Tilly put her hands on her hips.

Scarlet sighed. ‘I really do, we just sort of clicked, but as I’ve already said, I’m not going to do anything with him.’

Tilly didn’t look convinced and frustratingly Scarlet wasn’t convinced either.

Archer had just finished with the tail of the T. rex when Logan stepped through the door. His brother had clearly been out for a run as he was sweaty despite the cold weather outside. Logan pushed his hood back on his black hoodie and pulled out his earphones.

‘Hey, how’s it going?’ Logan asked, gesturing around.

Archer came down the stepladder. ‘Good, I think.’

‘This place is looking amazing, you’ve done so much since the last time I was here.’

‘It’s been so much hard work, but it’s all been worth it. And hopefully it’s going to get a bit easier, I’ve just hired someone.’

‘Oh excellent, a palaeontologist?’

‘No, but someone who knows a lot about dinosaurs.’

‘OK, and what experience do they have doing a job like this?’

‘Well, none, I don’t think, she used to be a lawyer. But she obviously knows her stuff.’

Logan rubbed his jaw, a frown appearing on his face. ‘Well, did you get references from her previous job?’

‘No, but I guess I could ask for that. I only hired her this morning.’

Logan pulled his phone out his pocket. ‘What’s her name? I’ll look her up.’

‘Scarlet, but I don’t think that’s necessary.’

‘I do. You don’t know anything about her. She could be anyone.’

Logan really knew how to rain on someone’s parade.

‘She’s someone who is passionate about dinosaurs, that was enough for me.’

Logan rolled his eyes. ‘And she just happened to turn up here on your doorstep. That’s a bit convenient, isn’t it?’

‘She was walking past and saw the dinosaurs. She popped in and we had a chat. She’s lovely. I’ve seen her for the last few weeks feeding the ducks on the pond, so she obviously lives locally. What big conspiracy are you seeing here?’

‘She might be here to steal your ideas.’

Archer nearly laughed except it was obvious Logan was deadly serious.

‘The palaeontology community isn’t really like that. Everyone is very supportive and friendly. Besides, I’m not doing anything special here. 3D mapping and scans are done on the genuine bones by researchers and palaeontologists all over the world who then upload these scans on websites for anyone to access or buy. Then I either make detailed clay models based on these scans, which is what I sometimes do when making skulls. I use the clay model as a mould to make rubber casts to then make my own bones from resin. Or I upload the 3D mapping on digital 3D printers and print out the bone. Once the bones are made I paint them to make them look authentic. This kind of thing is done the world over by palaeo-artists who supply museums and schools for education purposes. There really isn’t anything here to steal.’

‘I still think when you get her to sign a contract, it should include non-disclosure elements. That way she is legally bound to protect your methods and your art.’ Archer was about to protest but Logan pressed on. ‘Your art is incredible and I’d hate to see you exploited or taken advantage of because of it.’

Archer swallowed down his protests because he knew how protective Logan was over his brothers. Their parents had practically abandoned them growing up, leaving their round-the-clock care to nannies, who were all very nice, but obviously didn’t love them. Logan, being the eldest of the six, had kind of taken it upon himself to step into that paternal role, whether Archer and his brothers wanted him to or not.

‘OK, we can do that,’ Archer said. It was easier sometimes to just agree with him. He’d just have to explain to Scarlet that his brother was very overprotective and hope she wasn’t offended by it.

‘I’ll draw something up for you. Now, if you’re going to employ people you need to sort out employers’ liability insurance in case she injures herself while working here and then sues you. You’ll probably need some public liability insurance too for when you open this place up to the public but we can sort that out later. You’ll need to set up National Insurance and pension contributions for a workplace pension for her, so you’ll need her National Insurance number. You’ll have to set up a payroll system too.’

Archer shoved a hand through his hair. ‘I hadn’t thought about any of that. I just assumed I’d hire her on a freelance basis, makes things easier.’

‘For you maybe, not for her. If you’re the only company she will do this for then she is your employee and you need to protect her as such. She needs to get a proper regular salary, pension, National Insurance, paid sick and holiday leave.’

Archer felt like a dick for not having thought of these things. He had worked on his own doing art and sculpture for his entire working life. But this dinosaur gig had got so much bigger than he’d ever expected and if he was going to hire employees to help him he needed to do it all properly.

‘You’re right, I certainly don’t want to take advantage of her.’

‘I’ll come round tomorrow and help you sort it all out.’ Logan paused before he spoke. ‘I get the feeling this employment is something a bit more than just dinosaur-based.’

Archer frowned in confusion. ‘What do you mean? She’s helping me put together the dinosaurs.’

‘I mean you light up when you talk about her, you know next to nothing about her and you’ve hired her on the spot. I think this is not a decision of the head, more a decision of your…’ Logan glanced down towards Archer’s groin. ‘Heart.’

Archer folded his arms across his chest. ‘She’s a beautiful woman, I’m not going to deny that, but I’m not going to hire someone just because she’s pretty. Scarlet is smart, she knows a lot about dinosaurs, she knew all about the swimming controversy with the Spinosaurus, she was able to put the T. rex arm together in seconds. She is going to be a great help to me.’

‘I don’t doubt she can do the job, but I worry you’re attracted to her. You’re her boss, you can’t hire her and then sleep with her. That’s messy, awkward and entirely inappropriate.’

‘That sounds like something you would do rather than me,’ Archer said, but he couldn’t help feeling disappointment at what Logan was saying, because damn it if his brother wasn’t right. ‘Don’t you have a string of broken hearts left in your wake?’

Logan pulled his hood back up; clearly the conversation was over. ‘Just be careful. If you want her here, don’t cock it up.’

With that Logan stepped back outside and started running in the direction of his house.

Archer watched him go, knowing he had probably crossed the line a little bit calling his brother out for his own love life. But it frustrated him when Logan interfered in his life like that.

Archer wasn’t like his brothers, he didn’t sleep around with multiple women. He was looking for something much more than that. But being a man who’d spent the last three years making dinosaur skeletons, he knew he wasn’t exactly ticking that box of sex appeal for most women. When he was an artist making animal sculptures, he used to get some interest from women, although not much, but dinosaurs were apparently a big turn-off. He’d go on dates, the subject would eventually turn to his work, and he’d start talking passionately about how he created scientifically accurate dinosaur skeleton replicas and he could see the light in his dates’ eyes go out. He was obviously too nerdy for most women.

But with Scarlet they’d just… clicked in a way he’d never felt before. And it was more than just a love of dinosaurs. There was something else there too. He’d felt it. But Logan was right, he couldn’t let anything happen between them. She’d been so excited about the job he didn’t want to ruin that for her. If things started between them and they came to an end, it would make things so awkward for her to continue working there and he didn’t want that.

He would have to keep things strictly professional between them, even if his heart broke a little at that thought.

Chapter 3

Scarlet practically bounced into the museum later that day and it warmed her heart to see Archer’s face light up when he saw her.

‘I came back.’

‘I hoped you would. Now listen, I wanted to talk to you about something.’

Her heart sank. Had he changed his mind about the job, or maybe he was only going to offer part-time after all? Or worse, was he going to say she could work here only until the exhibition was up and running? She knew her heart would break if that was the case.

Archer looked awkward and she felt her hope slipping away.

‘I spoke to my brother about employing you and he said I need to do things properly, make sure we have a National Insurance number from you, sort out insurance, pension contributions, holiday pay, sick pay, et cetera. So he’s going to draw up an employment contract that covers all that.’

‘OK,’ Scarlet said, slowly, waiting for the bad news. All of this sounded very positive so far. It sounded like this was definitely going to be a long-term thing.

‘He, umm… also wants you to sign an NDA.’

She frowned. ‘A non-disclosure agreement?’

‘Yes. Listen, Logan is my eldest brother and because our parents were basically rubbish, he kind of stepped into that paternal role and he’s very overprotective of us – me probably more than the others as I’m the youngest. Ryker and Jared largely get a pass because they are never here and Xander is happy now with Immy so most of Logan’s attention is on me. He thinks you’re going to steal my art or my ideas or something like that. I don’t think that,’ Archer said hastily. ‘There’s nothing to steal anyway: the digital scans I use to make the bones are freely available on most museum websites across the world. Sometimes I have to pay to use them, but mostly not. And I’ve explained all this to Logan but honestly it’s just easier to go along with him sometimes than argue against it. His concern comes from a good place even if it’s over the top.’

‘I don’t mind signing an NDA. I’ve signed enough of them in my time as a lawyer, or got clients to sign them. If it makes you or your brother happy, of course I’ll sign it.’

He sighed in relief. ‘Oh good. Thank you for understanding.’

‘Is there anything else?’

‘Yes, Max isn’t the only one who has the monopoly on bad uniforms…’ He grabbed a bag.

‘Well to be fair, it isn’t Max who makes me wear bright orange hot pants, it’s the owner. And Max has to wear bright orange trousers and a waistcoat too. But if you have a pair of dinosaur-themed hot pants in that bag, me and you are going to have words.’

‘Oh.’ He looked deflated.

‘Really?’ Scarlet said, folding her arms across her chest.

‘No, I’m only kidding, I got you a t-shirt.’ He pulled a green t-shirt out of the bag and passed it to her.

Embroidered onto the chest were the words: ‘The Little Museum of Dinosaurs’.

‘Catchy,’ Scarlet laughed.

‘Hey, it does what it says.’

Underneath the name was an embroidered picture of a T. rex skull and underneath that was her name embroidered in gold. And for some reason that made a small lump stick in her throat. She ran her finger across the thread. This job suddenly felt a lot more permanent than it had a few hours ago. Archer was going to sort out pension contributions, holiday pay, and now she had a uniform.

‘Thank you.’

‘I wasn’t sure what size to get, so I got a medium, but I’ll get you a few more so you have some to wear while others are in the wash and I can always get a small or whatever size you prefer for the others. Have you seen the back?’

She shook the t-shirt out and turned it round. Embroidered across the back were the words: ‘Anything is fossible!’

She laughed, but now it suddenly felt like it was.

Archer stood up from where he’d been working on the floor and stretched his back. He had spent a while showing Scarlet round, and specifically giving her a whistlestop tour on how to use the 3D printers. After that they had worked together on a Triceratops, laying all the finished bones on the floor to get them in the right order and then slotting them onto the steel armature that held all the bones together. Normally he would create the dinosaur in a dynamic pose, perhaps looking like it was about to pounce. It was a bit trickier to portray that with the Triceratops. Although it was an animal thought to be quite savage when it needed to defend it territory or during mating season, locking horns with another Triceratops, it looked like an oversized heavy rhino. It had been a large, slow creature, so didn’t really have that pouncing ability. Perhaps if Archer was to create another Triceratops, he could create a battle scene between the two of them. But that was an idea for another day.

He glanced over at Scarlet, who was studying some of the replica claws and teeth he’d made. She had fitted in here as if she had been working here all her life. They moved around each other seamlessly, passing each other the correct bones or tools as needed. He’d thought he was hiring an assistant but he’d clearly hired himself a partner. Despite being someone who had never worked on dinosaur skeletons before, she instinctively knew her way around building one. And they got on so well. They just sort of clicked in a way that he’d never had with any woman, or even any of his friends. It was going to be a joy working with her every day.

‘Right, I better go to my appointment,’ Scarlet said, pulling her coat back on.

‘Thank you so much for today, you’ve been a massive help. I got so much more done with you than I could have done on my own.’

‘My pleasure, I’ve loved it. I’ll be back tomorrow straight after my shift in the pumpkin meadow. I’ll probably drop some clothes off before I go, so I don’t have to work here in silly little hot pants.’

Archer tried not to imagine what that would look like.

‘Yes, by all means.’

She hovered as if wanting to say something and he suddenly realised he didn’t want her to go. Not because she was an extra pair of hands but because he enjoyed spending time with her so much. He wanted to ask her if she wanted to get dinner tonight, not as a date but because he just really liked her company. It was on the tip of his tongue but he couldn’t do it. Whether in his mind it was a date or not, it could easily be misconstrued as such. He was her boss, not her friend – taking her for dinner was crossing a line. And he’d made a promise to Logan, and himself, that nothing was going to happen between them, he stood by that.

He cleared his throat. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’ He moved over to the door and opened it for her. She paused and then followed him over. ‘Any exciting plans tonight?’

Why was he asking that? He was her boss, was it weird to ask her questions about her personal life? More importantly, would she think it was weird? Though he was sure work colleagues would ask things like that. Why was he suddenly overthinking everything?

‘Oh yes, I have an exciting date with a bag of fish and chips after my optician appointment. And then a new book about ankylosaurs which I’m enjoying. I’ll sit on the village green, eat my chips, watch the world go by as I love a bit of people watching and then read my book.’

He smiled at how enthusiastic she seemed about such a simple evening.

‘That sounds pretty perfect.’

‘Yeah, I think so.’

She hovered again, really looking like she wanted to say something, but then she stepped outside, pulling her scarf tighter around her as the wind gusted over the pumpkin meadow and swirled in circles over the cobbled streets.

‘Goodnight, Archer.’

He waved goodbye and couldn’t help standing and watching her go as she walked off towards the town.

Scarlet stepped out of the opticians and walked along the street towards the fish and chip shop. Every shop on the high street was decorated for autumn and Halloween, and although there were a lot of pumpkins, courtesy of Pumpkin Meadow, as well as skeletons and ghosts, there was a large number of witchy-themed elements in most shops: cauldrons, potion bottles, witches’ hats, broomsticks. It all looked spectacular. A low mist hung in the air, making the street lights glow even more and adding a spooky air to the proceedings.

She couldn’t stop thinking about Archer, they’d got on as well as if they’d known each other for years. She’d had to stop herself asking him to join her tonight to eat. She had to remind herself that he was her boss and that it wouldn’t be appropriate but she felt like she’d found a new best friend and she was so happy about it. It wasn’t just working with dinosaurs, it was working with him that she loved. She just had to keep reminding herself that he was her boss and they had to keep things professional between them.

She stepped up into the fish and chip shop just as someone walked out and she slammed straight into them. ‘Oh, I’m sorry.’ She looked up against the bright lights of the fish shop and realised it was Archer carrying a bag of food.

‘Oh hey,’ Archer said. He held up his bag of chips. ‘You talking about fish and chips earlier made me want some of my own. I haven’t been here for ages and the food is so good.’

‘It is amazing,’ Scarlet said.

He moved to one side to let her in and she placed her order from the doorway before turning back to speak to Archer who was still waiting for her outside.

‘We can… eat together if you want,’ Archer said. ‘Seems a bit silly for us both to sit on separate benches, eating alone. Unless you’d prefer that. I know sometimes I just want to be alone, so if you want some quiet time to decompress or whatever, that’s fine.’

She smiled. ‘We can eat together, I’d like that.’

His smile lit up his face, but then he frowned. ‘Good, just two work colleagues eating together.’

‘Yes, strictly professional. No-strings-attached chips.’

He laughed. ‘That sounds good.’

She collected and paid for her order and then stepped back outside to join Archer. The smell of the chips was divine and her stomach gurgled appreciatively.

‘Shall we go and sit on the village green?’ Scarlet said.

He nodded and followed her over towards the green, stepping over a carpet of crunchy leaves and spiky conker cases that had already been stripped of its fruit by the local kids wanting to play conkers. They sat on a bench underneath a Victorian streetlamp, surrounded by golden and red trees slowly shedding their leaves. The green was decorated to the max with pumpkins, skeletons and loads of witches everywhere.

‘This town really embraces Halloween, doesn’t it. I’ve never seen anything like this anywhere else before,’ Scarlet said.

‘It’s because of where the town got its name, or so the story goes. The Lovegrove sisters were witches that lived here. Back then this place was just farms, vegetables and fruits mainly and we had one hell of a summer with no rain so the farmers looked set to lose everything, which not only meant they’d have no crops to sell but they wouldn’t have anything to eat themselves. So the sisters apparently cast a spell to make it rain every night over the village. The crops flourished and, whereas other villages and towns were struggling when it was time for harvest, we had fruit and vegetables in abundance. We had enough to feed ourselves over the winter and more than enough to share with other towns and villages too. That’s why we named the town after them and we celebrate their gift to us every year with our own festivities. I mean, at least that’s the story they tell round here. I’m not sure I believe any of it.’

‘I think it’s OK to believe in a little magic now and again. Fate, destiny, guardian angels, wishes on a star, faith, witches casting a spell to save a whole village, whatever helps you get through the day.’

‘I don’t believe in fairytales.’

‘Well you should. Magic is all around us, if you know where to look. It’s a pretty cool story. Are there any Lovegrove descendants left in the town?’

‘Just one. Twilight Lovegrove. You’ll see her walking around town wearing a spectacular cloak. She owns a witchcraft shop in town called The Lovegrove Witches. She sells herbs, potions, candles, crystals, Tarot cards, the most beautiful potion bottles, cauldrons, spell books. The shop is always very popular, but especially at this time of year. Well, she says she’s a relative of the Lovegrove witches, she changed her name a few years ago after she supposedly found out she was a direct descendant. She used to be an accountant called Jane.’

Scarlet snorted. ‘Oh, I’m all for reinventing yourself, or finding yourself. We go through life and our parents or society say we need a good, high-paying job and most of us try to conform to that. We go to university to study a career we don’t really want and then we all end up in jobs we hate. If you find something that makes you smile every damn day, then why the hell not? Even if that means becoming Twilight Lovegrove and donning a fancy cloak.’

‘I agree. As long as she’s happy who cares what anyone else thinks.’

They ate in companionable silence for a while and Scarlet watched the people hurrying about the shops and around the Halloween market. There was a slight fog in the air, which gave the whole town a spooky feel.

‘So people watching, eh, that’s your thing,’ Archer said, popping another chip in his mouth.

She grinned. ‘I love people watching. I always think we miss so much about what is going on around us when we keep our heads down or our eyes on our phones. You can tell a lot about what is happening in someone’s life just by looking. This couple here, for example. I think they’re having an affair. She keeps looking around hoping no one will see, but he doesn’t care, so she’s the married one, not him.’ Scarlet spotted the white line around the woman’s wedding finger where the wedding ring used to be. But then she spotted another gold band on a chain around the woman’s neck. ‘No wait, her husband has died and this is her new boyfriend, but she’s scared of what her husband’s family will think if they see them together.’

‘That’s very good. What about this family?’ Archer pointed to a couple with a little boy.

‘The man isn’t the boy’s dad, but he desperately wants the job if the woman was to offer it to him. He loves her and the boy, but I’m not sure if she feels the same, or maybe it’s just she’s been hurt so badly in the past that she is guarding her heart.’

‘This is all very thorough.’

‘Oh, I can make up whole life stories for the people I meet.’

‘What would people say about us, if they were watching us right now?’

‘I think they would say we were friends, good friends, based on how close we are sitting together and how we’re smiling while chatting to each other.’

‘Friends,’ Archer said. ‘I like that.’

Scarlet watched him for a moment as she ate a piece of fish. If someone was watching really closely, they might see that at least one of them wanted that friendship to be something more.

‘I do too,’ she said.

They stared at each other for a moment before she made herself look away. She finished her fish and chips and threw the rubbish into a nearby bin.

‘So, are you going to show me this book?’ Archer said, as he balled up his chip shop wrapper and threw it in the bin.

Scarlet pulled a wipe out of her bag because there was no way she was ever getting greasy fingerprints on her books. Then she pulled out the book.

‘It’s a good one, the author really knows her stuff. Your Spicomellus is in here.’ She flicked through to the relevant page. ‘They’ve never found a head, so they are assuming that his head is like that of the other ankylosaurs, but it could be something else entirely. It could be an elephant or unicorn head for all we know.’

‘Now that’s something I’d love to see. Tell me some facts about him.’

‘I’m sure you already know everything about the Spicomellus.’

‘I know quite a bit about most dinosaurs but I’m definitely no expert. I love to learn new facts about them.’

So she did. She picked out her favourite snippets from the book and every time she looked at him he was hanging off her every word. It made her want to lean her head on his shoulder and cuddle up to him as she read.

A car horn suddenly sounded and she looked up to see Tilly in her car.

‘Do you want a lift home?’ Tilly said, sounding friendly and casual while scowling at Archer at the same time.

‘I better go,’ Scarlet said to Archer. ‘That’s my mum.’

‘Really?’

‘No, not really, but I’m damned sure she wants to audition for the role. I’ll see you tomorrow.’

He waved and she ambled over to the car like a truculent teenager. She got in and turned back to see Archer standing with his hands in his pockets watching her go.

‘I thought I better step in before you did something you regret,’ Tilly said. ‘You two were looking pretty cosy out there.’

Scarlet didn’t say anything because if Tilly was trying to stop her from doing something stupid, she’d probably arrived at just the right time.

If you enjoyed the first three chapters of The Little Museum on Pumpkin Meadow and want to read some more just click on the button below and grab your copy today