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Back The Cottage Save as PDF
Chapters (82)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. ONE
  4. TWO
  5. THREE
  6. FOUR
  7. FIVE
  8. SIX
  9. SEVEN
  10. EIGHT
  11. NINE
  12. TEN
  13. ELEVEN
  14. TWELVE
  15. THIRTEEN
  16. FOURTEEN
  17. FIFTEEN
  18. SIXTEEN
  19. SEVENTEEN
  20. EIGHTEEN
  21. NINETEEN
  22. TWENTY
  23. TWENTY-ONE
  24. TWENTY-TWO
  25. TWENTY-THREE
  26. TWENTY-FOUR
  27. TWENTY-FIVE
  28. TWENTY-SIX
  29. TWENTY-SEVEN
  30. TWENTY-EIGHT
  31. TWENTY-NINE
  32. THIRTY
  33. THIRTY-ONE
  34. THIRTY-TWO
  35. THIRTY-THREE
  36. THIRTY-FOUR
  37. THIRTY-FIVE
  38. THIRTY-SIX
  39. THIRTY-SEVEN
  40. THIRTY-EIGHT
  41. THIRTY-NINE
  42. FORTY
  43. FORTY-ONE
  44. FORTY-TWO
  45. FORTY-THREE
  46. FORTY-FOUR
  47. FORTY-FIVE
  48. FORTY-SIX
  49. FORTY-SEVEN
  50. FORTY-EIGHT
  51. FORTY-NINE
  52. FIFTY
  53. FIFTY-ONE
  54. FIFTY-TWO
  55. FIFTY-THREE
  56. FIFTY-FOUR
  57. FIFTY-FIVE
  58. FIFTY-SIX
  59. FIFTY-SEVEN
  60. FIFTY-EIGHT
  61. FIFTY-NINE
  62. SIXTY
  63. SIXTY-ONE
  64. SIXTY-TWO
  65. SIXTY-THREE
  66. SIXTY-FOUR
  67. SIXTY-FIVE
  68. SIXTY-SIX
  69. SIXTY-SEVEN
  70. SIXTY-EIGHT
  71. SIXTY-NINE
  72. SEVENTY
  73. SEVENTY-ONE
  74. SEVENTY-TWO
  75. SEVENTY-THREE
  76. SEVENTY-FOUR
  77. Suggested topics for reading-group discussion
  78. Keep Reading …
  79. Lisa Stone also writes under the name of Cathy Glass.Don’t miss her latest book …
  80. About the Author
  81. Books by Lisa Stone
  82. About the Publisher

Bemused, Jan went upstairs to dress. What the hell! He was right when he said he was a moody bugger. But he had seemed genuinely apologetic. And now he was here he may as well check the fence, although she wouldn’t be confiding in him again.

As Jan dressed, she heard Chris come in the back door and then let himself out the front to go to his car. Standing a little way back from the bedroom window so he couldn’t see her, she watched him as he opened the boot of his car. He was good-looking in a rugged sort of way – she’d always thought so. Tall, fair, with high cheekbones. But more at ease while doing something practical than making polite conversation over dinner. She watched him take his overalls and a tool bag from the car boot and then close the lid. Oddly, he didn’t immediately return into the cottage, but stood in the middle of the lane, looking up and down as if looking for something or someone. Apparently satisfied, he came in.

Jan finished dressing, brushed her hair and went downstairs. She’d shower later. Slipping on her jacket, she went into the garden. It was a cold day. Chris, now wearing an all-in-one boiler suit, was leaning into the hedge using a portable electric screwdriver to insert long screws into the wood.

‘You did a good job,’ he said, pausing and turning to look at her as she approached. ‘Your repair has stood up reasonably well. I’m putting in three-inch screws to reinforce it.’

‘Thank you,’ she said, and watched him. He knelt as he worked, which made him appear almost vulnerable, certainly approachable, and not temperamental and withdrawn as he had been on Wednesday. ‘What do you think is getting in?’ Jan asked after a few moments.

‘Could be anything,’ he replied. ‘But it won’t hurt you, I’m sure.’

‘How can you be sure?’

He paused again to look at her. ‘There aren’t any dangerous animals in these woods.’

‘So why do they keep coming to the cottage?’

‘Looking for food.’ Which is what he’d said before.

Jan continued to watch him and then asked, ‘Would you like coffee and croissants? I haven’t had breakfast yet.’

‘Yes, please, if it’s no trouble.’

‘It’s not.’

She went indoors, threw her jacket over a chair, then brewed more coffee and put the croissants she’d originally bought for Ruby to warm in the oven. Chris was doing her a favour so she could at least be civil, although she wouldn’t be talking any more about the weird sightings.

Five minutes later he came in. ‘All done,’ he said, and stepped out of his overalls.

‘Thank you.’