Chapters (82)
- Cover
- Dedication
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
- Suggested topics for reading-group discussion
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- About the Author
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- About the Publisher
She continued raking leaves from the lawn, working her way down one side and then across the bottom. How different it was out here in daylight. Peaceful, idyllic – she felt at one with nature. As she cleared away the leaves from the hedge where the shadow had disappeared the evening before, she saw the gap it had gone through and track marks in the mud. There were a lot of prints merging together that could have belonged to anything but suggested there might be more than one animal, and that they had been coming into the garden for some time – not just the last four nights when Tinder had become spooked. The prints seemed rather large for foxes, but she could be wrong. It crossed Jan’s mind that perhaps Camile had been encouraging them in by feeding them, although she was sure she would have included this in her detailed notes: I feed the family of foxes so would you …
Raking away the last of the leaves, Jan dumped them on the compost heap, put away the rake and returned to the lawn mower. Any excess petrol should have evaporated by now. One last try and then she’d give up and call Chris, although it was a bit late for him to come today. The sun would be setting soon, so it would be dark by the time he arrived, assuming he was free, of course.
Taking hold of the starter handle, Jan focused, took a deep breath and gave the cord a hefty pull – her very best and final effort. The cord snapped back into place as the engine fired and then amazingly spluttered into life. Success! The engine was running, but raggedly, as though it could cut out at any moment. Moving the lever on the handle, Jan increased the revs until it was running more smoothly, then, releasing the hand brake, she let the mower pull away. The roller was powered so no pushing was required. She began going up and down the lawn and soon found it quite satisfying. She could see why Camile preferred this type of mower. Once it had started it mowed the grass by itself. There was no pushing and no long electricity cable to avoid severing. All Jan had to do was steer it up and down and keep the lines straight.
The result was starting to look rather professional, she thought. She was pleased she’d persisted in getting the mower started without having to call Chris for help. It was another small accomplishment, giving her confidence a much-needed boost. Silly really, taking pride in cutting the grass, but losing her job and long-term partner in one go had damaged her confidence like nothing else had before. Now she was rebuilding it gradually, bit by bit, slowly adding to her achievements.
However, the mower was noisy, she had to admit; it blocked out any other sound. Little wonder Tinder preferred to stay indoors.