Snap Happy (A Daniel Ricciardo story)

**Announcement - New Story!**

Hello, me again! 

To tide me over until the next 'proper' story is up and running, there will be a new short story (just a couple of chapters, we'll have to see how it goes). I'm posting a sneaky peak below.

It's titled 'Drive Me', it has an F1 connection although it's not set in an F1 setting, and I'm not telling you who our main man is just yet.

The first chapter is called...

'DRIVE ME...MAD'

Ali Seabrook didn't have time for love. Or at least that was what she told herself as she rolled over to the cold side of the mattress each morning, and stretched to the sound of sparrows and steam trains. A talented young pharmacist in an expanding rural community, when she wasn't tending to queues of pensioners, she was poring through spreadsheets and statistics trying to find a way to make the business a success. In an economic climate which saw independent shops sink daily under the wave of huge global corporations this was far from easy.

Even on her supposed 'holiday' Ali had spent most of her fortnight off travelling backwards and forwards between suppliers and conferences. Free time was just a myth, and the chances of her fitting romance into her schedule was about as likely as stumbling across the lost city of Atlantis.

Not to mention the fact that there were simply no eligible men.

Lithe and leggy, with cheekbones that could carve diamonds, she got chatted up on an almost daily basis. The only problem was that in this town she couldn't remember the last time she saw a man under the age of 60, let alone spoke to one. True many still had their own teeth, fewer had all their hair, but at 30 years old, not even the contents of her restricted drug cabinet could persuade her to go down that route.

No - Ali Seabrook was free, single, and staying that way. And that was just fine with her. Honest.

It was her last day before going back to work, and one of the last days of an unusually fine British Summer so for once Ali decided to put the paperwork down, and stroll into town for what was likely to be the final ice cream of the year. Even out of uniform and out of the pharmacy, in a small community like this one it was impossible to ever be completely anonymous. Too many people knew her name, or at least her face but I know their medical history she thought with a grin, nodding to yet another customer.

"What do you think of your new driver then love?"

"I don't know Mrs Dixon - I haven't met him yet"

"Such a nice young man"

"I'm sure he is Mrs Brown" Ali smiled politely at the white haired old lady who had hobbled up to join their conversation.

"AND he's single - Joan asked him"

Ali couldn't miss the conspiring glance between the two women and groaned inwardly. It wouldn't be the first time one of her regular customers had tried to set her up with 'a nice young man', usually a nephew or grandson, or most recently (and embarrassingly) the vicar of the neighbouring parish. This year's village fete had been a memorable occasion for all the wrong reasons.

Finally escaping with the desired ice cream and without any further interruptions, Ali took a minute to ponder the wisdom of leaving the unexpected staffing crisis in the hands of her long-time friend and colleague. Technically it was as much Cath's business as it was hers if not more so. It was Cath that had provided the majority of the start-up capital they needed, as well as the experience of actually running a shop. What had been lacking was a driven young pharmacist to take the helm, and with a little persuasion her best-friend's daughter had filled that void perfectly. Ali trusted Cath completely, but from the start they had made all the major decisions as a partnership. When their regular driver had to suddenly take long-term sick leave Ali had offered to cancel her own holiday to deal with the problem but the older woman wouldn't hear of it.

"You've done more than enough honey, leave this one to me" she had said, and with a little trepidation Ali had reluctantly done just that. Now she couldn't help but be a little curious as to what, and more importantly who she would find when she returned....