BooksBarbecue
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Chapters (84)
  1. Chapter one
  2. Chapter two
  3. Chapter three
  4. Chapter four
  5. Chapter five
  6. Chapter six
  7. Chapter seven
  8. Chapter eight
  9. Chapter nine
  10. Chapter ten
  11. Chapter eleven
  12. Chapter twelve
  13. Chapter thirteen
  14. Chapter fourteen
  15. Chapter fifteen
  16. Chapter sixteen
  17. Chapter seventeen
  18. Chapter eighteen
  19. Chapter nineteen
  20. Chapter twenty
  21. Chapter twenty-one
  22. Chapter twenty-two
  23. Chapter twenty-three
  24. Chapter twenty-four
  25. Chapter twenty-five
  26. Chapter twenty-six
  27. Chapter twenty-seven
  28. Chapter twenty-eight
  29. Chapter twenty-nine
  30. Chapter thirty
  31. Chapter thirty-one
  32. Chapter thirty-two
  33. Chapter thirty-three
  34. Chapter thirty-four
  35. Chapter thirty-five
  36. Chapter thirty-six
  37. Chapter thirty-seven
  38. Chapter thirty-eight
  39. Chapter thirty-nine
  40. Chapter forty
  41. Chapter forty-one
  42. Chapter forty-two
  43. Chapter forty-three
  44. Chapter forty-four
  45. Chapter forty-five
  46. Chapter forty-six
  47. Chapter forty-seven
  48. Chapter forty-eight
  49. Chapter forty-nine
  50. Chapter fifty
  51. Chapter fifty-one
  52. Chapter fifty-two
  53. Chapter fifty-three
  54. Chapter fifty-four
  55. Chapter fifty-five
  56. Chapter fifty-six
  57. Chapter fifty-seven
  58. Chapter fifty-eight
  59. Chapter fifty-nine
  60. Chapter sixty
  61. Chapter sixty-one
  62. Chapter sixty-two
  63. Chapter sixty-three
  64. Chapter sixty-four
  65. Chapter sixty-five
  66. Chapter sixty-six
  67. Chapter sixty-seven
  68. Chapter sixty-eight
  69. Chapter sixty-nine
  70. Chapter seventy
  71. Chapter seventy-one
  72. Chapter seventy-two
  73. Chapter seventy-three
  74. Chapter seventy-four
  75. Chapter seventy-five
  76. Chapter seventy-six
  77. Chapter seventy-seven
  78. Chapter seventy-eight
  79. Chapter seventy-nine
  80. Chapter eighty
  81. Chapter eighty-one
  82. Chapter eighty-two
  83. Chapter eighty-three
  84. Chapter eighty-four

Jake poured himself a glass of water and sat at the breakfast bar, slightly chilly in nothing but his towel, forlornly staring into space. As he hadn’t been given a tour of the place, he had no idea where the central-heating controls might be—there didn’t even seem to be any radiators—and this was an enormous, cold space to warm through. He wished Neve were here, not only to turn up the thermostat, but as he didn’t really want to be left to his own devices. She didn’t seem to understand that this was going to be quite a transition for him. But then, the trouble with independent, feisty women, he decided, was they were prone to act independently and feistily.

Chapter nine

Chapter nine

I don’t know when Britain’s weather pattern changed, but I’m sure that we never used to have these awful high winds that we have now. It is blowing an absolute hurricane out there. The sky is black and ominous—which is a bit of a shame because I can’t put the power back on downstairs yet, and having to do everything in the gathering gloom is more than depressing.

Outside in our tiny back garden the terracotta pots are blowing all over the place. There are leaves and plastic bags whipping across the top of the fence. I go upstairs and switch on our little portable telly in the bedroom—at least I still have power up here. I click it to BBC News 24 and am plunged further into depression. Gales lash Britain. No trains are running. All the airports are shut. Ninety-mile-an-hour winds predicted. Don’t go out unless it’s essential. Oh good. This could yet prove to be the longest day of my life.

I flick through the rest of the channels hoping to find something more cheery, but there’s nothing. I’m not a big telly fan, anyway, but Saturday-morning TV is clearly intended for no one over the age of twelve. I’ve mopped up all the water in the kitchen and although everything smells a bit wet, I’m sure it will be fine in a day or two. There are some bubbles appearing on the ceiling and I guess that will have to be redecorated. I wonder what the hell Jake will say when he comes home, and then the thought occurs to me that he might not come home. Ever. I wonder what will happen to the house. I wonder what will happen to me.