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

‘Stephanie, keep walking,’ I instruct, and point to the door. My heart is banging, but I can’t back down now. I can’t leave this girl and her little boy here. I just can’t. I hear my mother’s voice again, calm but firm. Stephanie looks at me for reassurance. ‘Keep going,’ I say. The man turns to me angrily. Stephanie moves towards the door. The man takes two steps down the concrete stairs after Stephanie, who opens the door wide and walks out. He tries to push past me after her, shouting. But Ralph is having none of it. He launches himself towards the man, barking loudly, and the man retreats back up the stairs, fear in his eyes.

Neither moves. Ralph continues to bark at the man on the stairs in his stained vest, with his unshaven face and the cigarette hanging from his mouth, the woman behind.

Ralph doesn’t let them move.

I glare at the pair. No one moves, until I turn and see that Stephanie is safely outside and walking in the direction of town. I give the man one last scowl, then turn and run out as quickly as I can to catch up to Stephanie. The man and the woman follow, shouting. But neither can run fast and no one else takes any notice as we race across the bridge to the alleyway leading into town. And when we stop running, we pause to catch our breath and stare at each other. Then a laugh of relief escapes us, and Stephanie lets Tomas slide from her hip to the ground, where he pats Ralph’s head, and we walk up the pretty path along the river, taking us home. As the sun softens in the sky, I have no idea what is likely to happen in the future, but right now I just want to go home to Le Petit Mas.

SIXTEEN

What have I done? We stand and look at the bare room. What on earth was I thinking? I’ve invited a complete stranger and her child to stay in a house with no furniture and offered her a job in my barely off-the-ground business. The cold reality of the situation is sinking in.