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Back The Cottage
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

‘I appreciate that, but I want to talk about me, not her. Do you have an Ian Jennings listed on your books with the address 57 Booth Lane?’

The silence seemed to confirm they did, and Mrs Moller was scared.

‘If you wish to make an enquiry about yourself then you’ll need to make an appointment,’ she said. ‘But I’m afraid we’re fully booked until next year.’

‘I’m not waiting until next year for answers,’ Ian said. ‘I want to come in today.’

‘I’m afraid that’s not possible.’

‘We’ll see about that,’ he said, and ended the call.

Next year! He needed answers now. Edie Moller was hiding something and he intended to find out what.

Picking up his briefcase, Ian left the office, telling his boss on the way out he was working from home. ‘Family matter,’ he added, aware they wouldn’t press him as the company knew his wife had suffered a late miscarriage.

Ian took the stairs two at a time and then crossed the car park to his car. Edie Moller hadn’t answered the phone when she’d seen it was his number, and when she had answered and found out it was him she’d been wary and guarded. If his details weren’t on their file then surely she would have just said that the Ian Jennings she had registered lived at a different address.

But she hadn’t.

So why did the Moller Clinic have his details when he’d never been near the clinic? He intended to find out.

Ian entered the postcode of the Moller Clinic in the car’s satnav and, leaving the car park, joined the rush-hour traffic through Coleshaw. His thoughts were working overtime in the stop-start line of vehicles and he agitatedly drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.

What was going on? Had Emma been to the clinic without him? Surely not. They’d had no need for donated sperm. She got pregnant easily enough. It was what happened after that caused the problem. Ian shuddered at the thought. Two pregnancies that had ended the same way. He couldn’t bear the thought of another, neither could Emma, unless they found out what was going wrong and were able to put it right. But what had the Moller Clinic got to do with that? Nothing, as far as he knew.

Once out of the congested town, Ian drove as fast as the country lanes would allow, and fifteen minutes later he was parking outside the Moller Clinic. The house was set apart from the rest of the village by being situated at the top of the hill on the other side. It looked exactly like the photograph on their website, except for the CCTV cameras. They had either been added after the photograph had been taken or, not wanting to discourage clients, purposely left off the photo.