BooksBarbecue
Back The Village Save as PDF
Chapters (62)
  1. TITLE PAGE
  2. COPYRIGHT PAGE
  3. DEDICATION
  4. CONTENTS
  5. START READING
  6. PROLOGUE
  7. CHAPTER ONE
  8. CHAPTER TWO
  9. CHAPTER THREE
  10. CHAPTER FOUR
  11. CHAPTER FIVE
  12. CHAPTER SIX
  13. CHAPTER SEVEN
  14. CHAPTER EIGHT
  15. CHAPTER NINE
  16. CHAPTER TEN
  17. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  18. CHAPTER TWELVE
  19. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  20. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  21. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  22. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  23. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  24. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  25. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  34. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  35. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  44. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  45. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  46. CHAPTER FORTY
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  49. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  53. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  54. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  55. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  56. CHAPTER FIFTY
  57. CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
  58. CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
  59. CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
  60. CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
  61. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  62. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

As he pulled up to Ivy Cottage, Lloyd found he had tears in his eyes. He thumbed them away before pulling a tissue from his pocket and blowing his nose. The last thing he wanted was the outsider seeing him like this. Past regrets were closing in, and it was an effort just to think straight.

He caught sight of Naomi Ward trudging towards him, her face blotchy from the cold. It was all her fault, coming here, ripping the scabs off his old wounds. His growing resentment was poisonous. The sooner all this business was done with, the better.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Ten Years Previously

There was knocking at the front door. A loud rat-a-tat-tat that could only mean one thing: Lloyd had come to visit. Once, Grace would be waiting at the door, dressed and ready to see him. But not today. Today, she was too sick for anything, and her legs felt like broken matchsticks that didn’t work properly any more. Her daddy had been gone a long time, and she had become sicker in his absence.

Her mother, on the other hand, had bloomed. Today she was wearing make-up and her hair was tied off her face. Grace had seen it this morning, when Mummy gave her the medication to drink. She struggled to open her eyelids, blinking as the pain in her stomach eased. Mummy said it was the excitement of her eighth birthday party that had caused her to be ill, but that was weeks ago. The day burned in her memory; she had relived it so many times. Mummy’s new friend JoJo had helped her arrange it, promising that everyone who came to the cottage would take off their shoes and wash their hands. The food had been especially made, and everyone stayed inside. Mummy had bought her a long-sleeved dress that covered her itchy red skin. Daddy was home, and she’d had no flare-ups. There had been music and games. It was the happiest day of her life.