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Back Escape to the French Farmhouse Save as PDF
Chapters (79)
  1. COVER
  2. About the Author
  3. Also by Jo Thomas
  4. DEDICATION
  5. ONE
  6. TWO
  7. THREE
  8. FOUR
  9. FIVE
  10. SIX
  11. SEVEN
  12. EIGHT
  13. NINE
  14. TEN
  15. ELEVEN
  16. TWELVE
  17. THIRTEEN
  18. FOURTEEN
  19. FIFTEEN
  20. SIXTEEN
  21. SEVENTEEN
  22. EIGHTEEN
  23. NINETEEN
  24. TWENTY
  25. TWENTY-ONE
  26. TWENTY-TWO
  27. TWENTY-THREE
  28. TWENTY-FOUR
  29. TWENTY-FIVE
  30. TWENTY-SIX
  31. TWENTY-SEVEN
  32. TWENTY-EIGHT
  33. TWENTY-NINE
  34. THIRTY
  35. THIRTY-ONE
  36. THIRTY-TWO
  37. THIRTY-THREE
  38. THIRTY-FOUR
  39. THIRTY-FIVE
  40. THIRTY-SIX
  41. THIRTY-SEVEN
  42. THIRTY-EIGHT
  43. THIRTY-NINE
  44. FORTY
  45. FORTY-ONE
  46. FORTY-TWO
  47. FORTY-THREE
  48. FORTY-FOUR
  49. FORTY-FIVE
  50. FORTY-SIX
  51. FORTY-SEVEN
  52. FORTY-EIGHT
  53. FORTY-NINE
  54. FIFTY
  55. FIFTY-ONE
  56. FIFTY-TWO
  57. FIFTY-THREE
  58. FIFTY-FOUR
  59. FIFTY-FIVE
  60. FIFTY-SIX
  61. FIFTY-SEVEN
  62. FIFTY-EIGHT
  63. FIFTY-NINE
  64. SIXTY
  65. SIXTY-ONE
  66. SIXTY-TWO
  67. Epilogue
  68. Acknowledgements
  69. RECIPES
  70. Lavender shortbread
  71. Apricot jam sponge cake
  72. Lavender lamb
  73. READ MORE
  74. Prologue
  75. ONE
  76. TWO
  77. THREE
  78. FOUR
  79. THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING

‘She’s gone!’ Rhi looks at Tomas. ‘Without Tomas!’ He smiles a crumby smile and my heart cracks wide open. ‘Because she thinks you can give him a better life. She thinks she has nothing to offer.’

‘There’s a girl whose confidence is at rock bottom,’ says Lou, shaking her head. ‘You can’t rely on a man to fill the hole in your life.’

‘You can’t rely on a man full stop!’ says Rhi.

‘I don’t think that’s necessarily true,’ I say. ‘You’ve never trusted a man since Michael left you, and you don’t let anyone close enough so you can’t get hurt,’ I say.

They start to argue, but we all know now is not the time. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that, but it’s true. None of us has got it right.

‘You were the only one with a man and you dumped him,’ says Lou.

‘Not now,’ says Rhi, sensibly, and we all bite our tongues.

‘But I do know that I’m to blame for her feeling like this. She looked to me for advice. And after the business with Fabien …’

‘What business with Fabien?’ asks Lou, straight to the point again.

‘Nothing,’ I say. ‘She asked my advice about JB and I told her to go for it. I thought she was being so strong and brave when actually she was cracking under the strain. We have to find her.’ I shove the note into my back pocket. ‘I may not be a mum, but one thing I do know,’ I say, gesturing at Tomas, ‘is that everyone needs their mum.’ Mine had probably given me the strength to do what I’ve done here. She always made me feel that everything would turn out okay in the end. And if it wasn’t okay, it wasn’t the end, she used to say. Stephanie doesn’t have that person. She needs to know it will all be okay in the end. She needs to be with Tomas. And I need to swallow my pride. I need to talk to Fabien.

THIRTY

The three of us and Tomas hurry into town, Rhi, Lou and I taking turns to carry him. Tomas refused to leave Ralph behind, so he’s come too, bounding along the riverside path, darting this way and that, each of us taking turns to hold the lead and be towed along. I have no doubt where I need to go first. All my instincts lead me there, despite my promise to keep my distance. There is only one person I need to get to right now.