Bella Osborne - Willow Cottage – Part Four - Summer Delights

Published by Avon

An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

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

‘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

Title Page

Copyright Published by Avon An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF 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 WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT ESCAPE TO WILLOW COTTAGE Table of Contents Cover Title Page Copyright What readers are saying about Escape to Willow Cottage Chapter Thirty-Four Chapter Thirty-Five Chapter Thirty-Six Chapter Thirty-Seven Chapter Thirty-Eight Chapter Thirty-Nine Chapter Forty Chapter Forty-One Chapter Forty-Two Chapter Forty-Three Chapter Forty-Four Chapter Forty-Five Epilogue Acknowledgements Keep Reading… About the Author About the Publisher ‘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’

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty-One

Chapter Forty-Two

Chapter Forty-Three

Chapter Forty-Four

Chapter Forty-Five

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

Keep Reading…

About the Author

About the Publisher

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.