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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

‘I wanted to tell you. I have made my decision,’ she says quietly, against the hubbub of contented diners, cicadas, and the frogs in the distance. The sun is setting, silhouetting the cypress, pine and oak around us as summer draws to its end. The bats are flying in and out of the trees across the water, catching their evening meal of midges. I hold my breath.

‘I’m keeping the baby, Del,’ she says, and I let out a sigh of relief. ‘I saw Stephanie with Tomas, how much she loves him, and him her.’

‘I’m so pleased. For what it’s worth I think it’s the right decision,’ I say.

‘I know how lucky I am to have this chance. You made me understand that,’ she says. ‘It may not happen again.’

I nod.

‘And the mayor?’ I raise my eyebrows.

‘We’ve talked. We are going to end our affair. I’ve been wrong. I thought it put everything in its place, but it doesn’t. It just messes everything up for everybody.’

‘Oh!’

‘He’s going to support me and the baby. But we will keep it to ourselves and he will spend more time with his wife from now on.’

Not an ideal situation, but better than the alternative.

‘Maybe it’s time I let a little disorganization into my life for once,’ she says, putting a hand to her stomach. ‘Oh, and look at this!’ She thrusts her phone at me. ‘I had a new instruction today!’ I look down at the photograph of a house for sale. Cora’s house. ‘She’s going home,’ says Carine. I smile and kiss her on both cheeks, then turn to see if Fabien is still waiting for me. But he isn’t. He’s gone.

SIXTY-ONE

At the clearing we wash up and shut the serving hatch.

‘Bonne nuit.’ We all wish each other a good night. The fairy lights go out, but the firepit still glows, lighting the faces of those still sitting there, and again I realize how lucky I am to have a house to go to.

I pull out my phone and take a picture, then flick to Facebook, Ollie’s page, where he’s announced the birth of his baby boy and his own arrival into the ‘sleepless nights club’. I look at Ollie and the baby, and discover the pain has gone. Today I felt real pain when I thought I’d lost Stephanie, Tomas and JB for good. Pain like I’m feeling about Fabien. But the hurt of the dream that never was with Ollie is gone. In the darkness I look at the bright screen and type, Congratulations. Wishing you all the very best, and I mean it. Let Ollie wait till the teenage years kick in to find out what sleepless nights are really all about. I know – I’ve been living with a teenager.