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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

‘You’re happy here. We can see that. This is your home. You have everything,’ she says. Nearly everything, I think. I’m glad Fabien and I are speaking again, friends at least. And that’s what’s important. I don’t want anything to spoil that. I’m not here to find a partner. I’m here to be me, on my own. I’ve had love in my life, and it’s been taken away: Mum and Ollie. I trusted Ollie. I forgave him when he said, ‘It was just a one-off.’ I stayed with him then because we’d loved each other. And he was clearly in touch with that woman all the time we were out here, no doubt when he was in the car on his phone. It was all a sham. Being friends with Fabien is just about as good as it gets. It’s enough. I don’t want to make things awkward. This is my home. I’m lucky to have good friends, I think. The sort of friends who would put their lives on hold to come here to see if I’m okay and stay until they know I am. And I am. I have a new life and it’s great.

I hug Rhi, then finish clearing up the kitchen from the morning’s bakes. Stephanie has walked into town to deliver them to Henri. She’ll meet JB off the bus, and they’ll walk back here. He’s even helped to plant and water the new lavender Serge has sold me. He’s becoming almost a permanent fixture around here, looking for work so he can help support his family. They’ve even been to visit his parents with Tomas. And every night, as the sun sets in the purple sky and the cicadas chirp, we eat outside together, breathing in the smell of the newly planted lavender field.

‘When are you planning on leaving?’ I ask.

‘Well, as soon as we can book flights, really,’ Rhi says. ‘We can’t just stay on, living off you. You have your own life now.’

‘I wish you could.’

‘I know, but some of us aren’t as brave as you are.’

‘I wish I was,’ says Lou, joining us in the kitchen.

‘But you are! Look at what you’ve been through, Lou. You lost your husband and made a life for yourself. You invested your money wisely and are comfortably off.’

‘Well, I exist, more like,’ she says flatly.

‘And you, Rhi, you’ve brought up two children on your own and built a business.’

‘Since I’ve been here, I’ve discovered that the business, like my kids, can manage perfectly well without me. I just feel … well, redundant,’ she says. ‘But, like I say, we’re not all as brave as you, coming out here and building a new life for yourself. I wish I was more like you!’