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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’d never thought of herself as a dog-lover before moving into Ivy Cottage, but Tinder had come with the cottage and she found him rather cute. He was a Bichon Frise cross and looked like a little teddy bear with his button nose and light-brown fur. He was part of the tenancy agreement, a welcome one as it had turned out, or Jan would have been lonely. She’d taken a six-month let on the cottage at a very low rent in exchange for looking after the cottage and Tinder while the owner, Camile, worked abroad.

Jan had scarcely believed her good luck when the offer had arrived. It had come at exactly the right time and was just what she needed. She’d been made redundant from her job in retail management after a restructuring programme to save the company money. She’d started with them as a trainee on leaving college and had assumed it was a job for life, but she’d received one month’s notice with the other employees they were letting go. Then two days later her long-term boyfriend, Danny, whom she’d been living with for five years, had announced he wasn’t ready for commitment yet and asked her to move out.

‘It’s not your fault. I just need my own space,’ he’d said.

‘It took you long enough to figure that out!’ she’d snapped, fighting back tears.

Devastated, and with her life in ruins, Jan had packed and moved in temporarily with her parents, storing the boxes of her belongings in their garage. Thirty years old next year, with no job and having been heartlessly dumped, Jan was at an all-time low. But then, while searching jobs and accommodation on the Internet, she’d come across the advertisement for Ivy Cottage. It seemed like fate. As if it was meant to be. A ridiculously low rent and a complete change of scene. It would give her time to recharge her batteries and think about what she wanted to do next and with the rest of her life. She might even find the inspiration to start that book she’d been meaning to write.

‘Are you sure it’s what you want?’ her mother had asked anxiously when she’d told her of her plans. ‘The cottage sounds very isolated and you’ll be living there all alone.’

‘I’m sure, and I’ll have the dog to keep me company,’ Jan had replied with a reassuring smile.