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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

‘And as for whatever is getting into the garden, I’ll fix the hole in the hedge at the weekend. I’ll also go into the woods and see what’s happening on the other side. Then I can reassure you.’

‘Thank you.’

FOURTEEN

Jan let Tinder sleep on her bed that night. She felt safer with him beside her. Even so, it was a long time before she fell asleep. Every noise seemed to suggest that whatever was out there could have come back. Tinder was restless too and kept rising from his sleep to pace the bed, ears up and alert, as though he might have heard something. It didn’t help Jan’s nerves at all. Eventually she must have fallen asleep in the early hours. The last time she looked at the clock on her phone it had been 2.15 a.m. and now it was 8.05, and daylight. She breathed a sigh of relief.

Getting out of bed, she threw on her dressing gown, pushed her feet into her slippers and opened the bedroom curtains. Tinder, tail wagging, was at her side, ready for breakfast and his morning run.

‘Come on then, good boy,’ Jan said, and went downstairs.

Life here seemed so much better in the daytime and she was seeing Chris this evening for dinner. She was looking forward to it, more than she cared to admit. She’d liked him from their first meeting and would like him more now she knew he wasn’t in a relationship with Camile. Good friends, he’d said. Did that mean friends with benefits? Then she caught herself. Chris had asked her out for dinner – to help alleviate her isolation, he’d said – and that was all. His ‘friendship’ with Camile was nothing to do with her. And anyway, she wasn’t ready for another proper relationship yet – with Chris or anyone.

Downstairs, Jan opened the curtains in the living room. How different the garden seemed by daylight: clearly visible, peaceful and non-threatening. She went into the kitchen, fed Tinder and then filled the coffee machine and dropped two slices of bread into the toaster. As usual Tinder ate half his breakfast and then trotted to the back door to be let out for a run. As Jan opened the door she saw the pieces of wood she’d used to block up the hole in the hedge strewn across the lawn as Chris had said. It was nice of him to offer to repair the damage at the weekend, but she couldn’t wait until then. Not three or four nights with a gaping hole – an open invitation to whatever it was to return. She would have another attempt at repairing it, make it stronger. It had lasted two nights before, so if she made it more robust, hopefully it would stay in place.