BooksBarbecue
Back Escape to the French Farmhouse
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

‘It smells delicious,’ he says, and follows me into the kitchen to pick up the boxes. I lay a tablecloth on top of one. I found it in the bundle I bought from Fabien. A beautiful Provençal print, slightly faded but still full of colour and life.

‘I have a table for you in the back of the truck and Carine has organized your pitch with the mayor and his office. It is a little out of the way,’ he shrugs, ‘but they don’t know you yet. You are from out of town. It is a start, though.’

‘Merci,’ I say, as I follow him out to the truck where his little dog is waiting patiently in the cab. Ralph seems to be doing the same beside it, as if he’s expecting to come too. ‘I’m so lucky to have met you and Carine,’ I say, as we put the boxes into the truck and he climbs in to tie them in securely.

‘The feeling is very mutual,’ he says, his green eyes twinkling at me. As he pulls the ties tightly into place, a shiver runs up and around me. I rub my arms.

‘Do you have everything?’ he asks, climbing down.

‘Yes. I’ll just put Ralph inside.’ I call him, but Ralph doesn’t move. He just stares at the cab in contained anticipation.

‘He can come with you? Non?’ says Fabien. ‘Keep him on a lead.’

‘Oh, I don’t know …’ I say. Then I think about the shredded blanket and the upturned water bowl. And now I have furniture in place, maybe it would make more sense to have him where I can keep an eye on him.

‘Okay, come on, then, Ralph. But you have to promise to behave!’

‘Move over, Mimi,’ Ralph tells the Jack Russell, as he gets into the driver’s seat.

I open the cab door and Ralph jumps straight in, much to Mimi’s chagrin. She resettles herself and stares out of the window, ignoring Ralph. He tries to copy her but can’t stop panting, filling the cab with his hot breath. Fabien and I sit at either side of him and laugh. That’s certainly put paid to any attraction I might have felt, had I been riding next to Fabien in the truck. He is a friend and the last thing I want is to find him attractive. Thank God for Ralph, I think, as I wind down the window and breathe in the warm, pine-scented Provence air as Fabien sets off down the drive.