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Willow Cottage – Part Four: Summer Delights
Bella Osborne
**The final part in a new cosy and heartwarming four-part seasonal series, perfect for fans of Cathy Bramley.**Beth is running away. With her young son Leo to protect, Willow Cottage is the lifeline she so desperately needs. Overlooking the village green in a beautiful Cotswolds idyll, Beth sees a warm, caring and safe place for little Leo.When she finally uncovers the cottage from underneath the boughs of a weeping willow tree, Beth realises this is far more of a project than she bargained for and the locals are more than a little eccentric! A chance encounter with gruff Jack, who appears to be the only male in the village under thirty, leaves the two of them at odds but it’s not long before Beth realises that Jack has hidden talents that could help her repair more than just Willow Cottage.Over the course of four seasons, Beth realises that broken hearts can be mended, and sometimes love can be right under your nose…Willow Cottage is part of a serialized novel told in four parts, following the journey of Beth and her new life in the Cotswolds. The full book will be out next this August, but for now, enjoy Willow Cottage seasonally.
Published by Avon
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)
First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins 2017
Copyright © Bella Osborne 2017
Cover design © Alex Allden 2017
Bella Osborne asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Ebook Edition © March 2017 ISBN: 9780008181017
Source ISBN: 9780008181024
Version: 2017-11-16
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT ESCAPE TO WILLOW COTTAGE (#u427c84c6-74a4-57e5-aaa2-0df25bd769b9)
‘Loved this book, so light-hearted and amusing’
‘A lovely read’
‘Oh what a little treasure this is! A cast of great characters, lovely Cotswold village and Beth trying to cope with the disaster she has bought’
‘Full of wit and charm’
‘Great characters who have quickly become established and rooted in my imagination. Very funny, but with deeper undercurrents woven in’
‘Loved the story, couldn’t put it down’
‘Absolutely loved this book, hooked from the start’
‘Three Words: Brilliant, Charming and Moving’
‘This is a wonderful read’
Table of Contents
Cover (#u291a6aab-04b4-5726-9e94-c156fff96b07)
Title Page (#ue926dd7a-8297-5625-be56-50d3e84cba3f)
Copyright (#u45ce8091-1763-5437-a514-bf5c88087abd)
What readers are saying about Escape to Willow Cottage (#uf3afd6e6-0896-5c1f-a299-5c9c45730a0b)
Chapter Thirty-Four (#u2bd01261-eee7-5fe0-b5be-f7235877d4d5)
Chapter Thirty-Five (#u7c1b9f85-d256-59f6-ba01-82366a77de0a)
Chapter Thirty-Six (#u7edae95a-cd74-58da-8429-bd93f51319f4)
Chapter Thirty-Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirty-Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirty-Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Forty (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Forty-One (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Forty-Two (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Forty-Three (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Forty-Four (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Forty-Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Acknowledgements (#litres_trial_promo)
Keep Reading… (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Author (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirty-Four (#u427c84c6-74a4-57e5-aaa2-0df25bd769b9)
It was early and the hospital and ICU ward were still peaceful. Cormac and Rosemary had arrived looking slightly less weary having spent the night in a nearby hotel, although they were both quiet and subdued. Rosemary had a paperback with her and she began reading silently as Cormac scanned a newspaper. Carly was sitting at Fergus’s side scanning his music collection; she had been playing his music through the vibrating speaker all night. There had been no change in Fergus. Not a flicker of an eyelash or a twitch of a finger – nothing.
Carly let out a huge yawn; she was exhausted. Sooner or later she would have to accept that she needed to go home for a proper sleep in her own bed. Nobody had said as much but she was starting to realize that this was only day three of what could be very many days at his bedside. She didn’t want to think about it but she knew she had to. Everything had changed so suddenly – what was meant to have been one of the happiest times of her life had quickly become a nightmare. It was still unclear why some lout had smashed a bottle over Fergus’s head and she wondered if he had any idea of how quickly that action had changed so many lives.
Maybe it was the tiredness but she felt like a layer of bubble wrap surrounded her and numbed her senses. She almost couldn’t believe this was reality. Each time she thought, This can’t be happening, the beep of the machines reminded her that it was. Watching the man she loved lying there still and lifeless sent shivers of fear down her spine. How long would they have to play this waiting game? The hours spent watching Fergus looking pale and unresponsive put everything into perspective. All she needed was to have her indestructible Fergus back and everything would be right again. Carly wiped away a tear, only half aware of them now as they seemed to start without her noticing. She looked up and spotted that the middle-aged man from the bed opposite had disappeared in the night and she convinced herself that it was because he had recovered. She couldn’t bear to think about the alternative.
Carly looked through the photographs on Fergus’s phone; she especially liked all the silly selfies they had taken together. They looked happy in every photo, even the ones where they were pulling sad clown faces. Fergus looked different lying there in the hospital bed. It was like she was looking at a different person. She couldn’t explain exactly what it was, perhaps the lack of his smile or his mischievous eyes, she wasn’t sure, but there was definitely something missing from the man who lay motionless in the bed next to her.
Carly needed something to distract her tired mind so she pressed on the music icon. She was really getting the hang of the iPhone now, having struggled to start with, and she thumbed through the playlists and albums like an expert. Something caught her eye and she scrolled back.
‘Fergus, you dark horse,’ she mumbled to herself. Selecting the album, she pressed Play. She put her hand on the small vibrating device she had bought to check it was pulsating on his chest and it was. Carly picked up his hand and started to sign what was playing. It took a while for her to spell it out in finger signs. ‘Mamma Mia album first song “Honey, Honey”.’
She started to giggle. It was probably a mixture of anxiety and the ridiculous but the giggles took over. Cormac rustled his newspaper and Rosemary placed her bookmark in her current page and put her book down.
‘What is it?’ asked Rosemary, her laughter lines enhanced with concern.
Carly waved a hand as she tried to control her tittering. ‘Fergus and I don’t like the same sort of music but I’ve found some Abba in his music collection and I’m force-feeding it to him.’
‘Do you think the vibrator works?’ asked Rosemary in all innocence. Cormac coughed and Carly started to giggle again. ‘What?’
‘Tha’ wee thing there is a vibrating speaker, so it is,’ said Cormac, rolling his eyes. ‘Not a vibrator!’
‘It’s the same thing!’ protested Rosemary.
‘No, no it’s not!’ said Carly through her laughter.
‘Eejit,’ muttered Cormac, returning his eyes to his paper.
‘Do you think it works?’ asked Rosemary again, still not getting the joke.
Carly composed herself. ‘I honestly don’t know. I hope so because when he comes round it’ll be cool if he can get some pleasure from music again. He’s really missed it.’ In her head as she said the word ‘when’ another small voice said ‘if’ and Carly had to swallow hard to keep her emotions in check. She couldn’t think like that, she had to stay positive.
‘When he was a wee lad he loved his music. I used to think he’d glued those headphones to his head,’ said Rosemary chuckling at the memory. ‘He really liked that Cheeky Girls song.’
Cormac eyed them over the top of the paper and shook his head but a smile played on his lips. Carly was frantically pressing icons trying to work out how to download new music.
‘This is brilliant, Rosemary. What else did he like?’
Carly and Rosemary hatched an eclectic playlist of the songs from Fergus’s youth. They enjoyed putting it together but when it was on its second repeat, and there was still no reaction from Fergus, the excitement of the new playlist dwindled. She watched what was starting to play on the iPhone screen and spelled it out on his hand: ‘Sound of the Underground’ by Girls Aloud.
Without warning Fergus’s hand slowly closed around hers. Carly gasped and looked at Fergus’s face but there was no sign of any movement. Her stomach was tumbling over and she tried to quell the feeling of elation. She didn’t want to get her hopes up unnecessarily but this was a good sign. It had to be. The silent tears trickled down her cheeks and she hardly dare make his parents aware in case it broke the spell. She waved her left hand frantically and Rosemary glanced up from her book.
The words were hard to get out. ‘He’s holding my hand,’ said Carly, her voice lost in the deep emotion as she blubbed helplessly.
There was a moment before the sentence registered. ‘Mary, mother of God!’ exclaimed Rosemary, barging past Cormac and around to Carly’s side of the bed. Cormac followed her and they all stared at Fergus’s pale hand clasping Carly’s. Cormac wiped away a tear and put his arms around the two women. ‘He’s always liked to take his time has this one. Always liked to take his time,’ said Cormac, giving Carly’s shoulder a squeeze.
‘Nurse!’ called Cormac. ‘I think we have a few more vital signs that need checking out over here.’
The nurse came over and they explained excitedly what Fergus had done. She took Fergus’s hand from Carly and Carly wanted to hit her.
‘Hey! Do you have to do that?’ asked Carly, rising to her feet. She wasn’t a violent person but the sensation of having the contact taken away so abruptly made something primal flare up inside her.
‘Calm now, she’s just doing her job,’ soothed Cormac, and he beckoned Carly to sit back down.
The nurse didn’t look fazed; she most likely faced a lot worse on a regular basis. ‘I need to check a few things, okay?’ she asked but she was going ahead and checking them anyway. She went through the usual routine and jotted down her findings on Fergus’s notes. Carly sat back down and took Fergus’s hand in hers. She squeezed it but there was no response. She waited a moment and squeezed again.
‘He’s not gripping any more,’ said Carly, looking frantically from the nurse to Cormac and Rosemary.
‘Could have been a spasm,’ the nurse explained with a look of commiseration.
‘No.’ Carly shook her head. ‘No, he held my hand for maybe half a minute?’ She felt the tears start to fall afresh as she looked to Rosemary for backup and Rosemary nodded briefly.
‘Okay,’ said the nurse kindly. ‘Let’s hope he does it again.’
Jack thumped on the front door of Willow Cottage. ‘Leo! Open the door!’ he shouted but there was no response. He went back to the living-room window.
‘Beth!’ he yelled as he repeatedly smacked his hand on the glass but there was no movement from her. She remained curled up on the sofa deathly still. A thought struck him and fear shot through his insides like his first-ever vodka shot – he might already be too late. He pulled out his phone, dialled 999 and ran to the back of the cottage to see if he could easily get in that way. Jack pulled at the stable doors and checked the windows but everything was securely locked up.
The 999 operator answered and Jack asked for an ambulance, explained that he thought Beth was suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning and gave the address. The operator was asking questions but Jack slid the phone into his pocket. He needed to get inside and fast. He pulled off his T-shirt, wrapped it around his elbow and with a sharp jab he smashed in one of the small sections of the kitchen window. He quickly brushed away the glass fragments with the T-shirt, threw it to the floor, put his hand through and released the window catch inside.
Jack pushed open the window, leaped onto the windowsill and was soon inside crouched on the worktop. ‘Leo!’ he hollered but there was no reply. Where was Leo? Had Beth been able to let him in? And if she hadn’t where had he gone and where was he now?
Jack’s primary focus had to be Beth. She was the priority. If he was right about the boiler and the carbon monoxide poisoning then he was fast running out of time. His heart was pumping hard and without thinking he took in a deep breath. A spike of a headache shot through his temple. Ignoring it he jumped down onto the damp and distorted floorboards, then hurried out of the kitchen and into the living room.
‘Beth!’ He dropped to his knees and gently patted her cheek. There was no response. He pressed his fingers to her neck and checked her pulse. She was still alive. The sense of relief was immense although he knew she wasn’t out of the woods yet. He scooped her up into his arms and carried her to the front door. He struggled with the front-door lock with Beth in his arms because he couldn’t see what he was doing. He felt odd, like he was floating, but it was not a pleasant sensation. Jack shook his head only to find that aided the dizziness and nausea that were gripping him. He lifted Beth higher into his arms and turned so he could see the lock properly. His head was pounding. He gripped the key and it turned clunkily in the lock. Jack reached for the latch but his vision was blurring and his first attempt to grab it missed so that his fingers closed around air. He reached again and this time he had hold of it tightly. He released the door and pulled it open. His head felt heavy and his knees started to give way. Jack lunged forward out of the cottage, turning as he fell so that Beth would land on top of him and be protected from the ground. He was barely aware of the impact as he landed hard on the path and everything went black around him. His last thought was Leo.
There was something on his face and Jack pushed it away. He could feel the cold of the stone path on his bare back but there was something soft, like a pillow, under his head. He was unsure what was going on and his memory was sketchy.
‘Hey, you need that, pal. It’s oxygen,’ said the paramedic, putting the mask back in place. Jack opened his eyes and tried to focus; it took a few attempts. ‘I’m Clark,’ said the ordinary-looking paramedic and Jack managed to raise an eyebrow.
‘Yeah, I know, my parents had a sense of humour. But you’ve been the real Superman today …’
Jack’s memory came flooding back to him. ‘Is she all right?’ he asked. His throat was dry and the words were barely a croak. He tried to lift his head and the pounding increased.
‘She’s on her way to hospital, she’s not conscious yet but they’re working on her. You did good, pal. You need to take some steady deep breaths for me. We’re flushing the carbon monoxide out of your system with oxygen, okay?’
Jack did as he was told and took in a deep lungful of oxygen. He looked around him and saw another paramedic was at his side setting up a stretcher. Beyond him a police car and a fire engine were parked near the pub and a policeman was keeping rubberneckers away.
‘Nice steady breaths, that’s great,’ said Clark. ‘We’ll move you in a minute and get you properly checked out at hospital.’
Jack took another deep breath and felt his body start to revive. He still had the pounding headache but his brain was starting to fire up. ‘Leo!’ he said into the mask, forcing himself upright.
‘Hey, you want to be lying nice and still. Whoa!’ said Clark as Jack wrenched off the mask.
‘Leo is missing, he’s six years old, he could be in there,’ Jack explained, breathlessly pointing towards the cottage.
Clark tried to reattach the oxygen mask. ‘Nope, it’s all clear. We alerted the fire service and they’ve been in and checked. There’s nobody else in there.’
‘Then he’s missing,’ said Jack, struggling but failing to get up.
