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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

She held his gaze. ‘Chris, the baby looks fine to me. Stop worrying. I know you struggled after what happened to you and Camile, but that won’t happen again. Very few pregnancies are completely straightforward. There’s always something. I know, I’ve had four. Blood pressure too high, too much fluid, baby too small, not in the right position, and so on. If there is something wrong, it’s correctable, so buck up. Jan needs you.’ She handed back the photo.

‘Yes, you’re probably right, although Jan seems to be taking it better than me.’

‘That’s understandable. She’s a woman.’ Lillian smiled.

‘Which reminds me,’ Chris said. ‘Jan has asked if you can come to supper this Saturday.’

‘Yes, I’ll check with Jim, but I’m sure that’s fine.’

The door opened as another customer came in.

‘I’ll be off then, see you Saturday, around seven?’ Chris said.

‘Look forward to it. Give my love to Jan.’

SIXTY-EIGHT

Chris returned to his van. He really must get a move on now. He was halfway through rewiring a house in the next village and had finished early yesterday to take Jan for the scan. Now he was late. He texted the couple to say he would be with them soon with apologies. After a restless night, he’d needed the sound voice of reason from Lillian and she’d done her best.

He started the van but didn’t drive off. He stared through the windscreen, deep in thought. If Jan was worried, she wasn’t showing it, probably for his sake, he decided. Engine still running, he took the scan photo from his pocket. Pity he didn’t have a digital copy that he could have enlarged, but that hadn’t been offered at the hospital. He supposed he could ask for another, but Jan would want to know the reason, especially as there was already another scan scheduled in four weeks’ time.

Returning the photo to his pocket, he drove away.

It wasn’t so much his son’s low weight that was worrying him. The doctor, nurse, Jan’s online friends and now Lillian all agreed that babies usually made up any shortfall in their weight before birth. No. What was really worrying Chris was the malformation of his baby’s feet. He told himself he was anxious because their child could be left with a limp or possibly never walk at all. That’s what he kept telling himself, but it wasn’t true.