Willow Cottage – Part Four: Summer Delights
**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.
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Published by Avon
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London SE1 9GF
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 authorâs 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
âLoved this book, so light-hearted and amusingâ
âA lovely readâ
âOh what a little treasure this is! A cast of great characters, lovely Cotswold village and Beth trying to cope with the disaster she has boughtâ
âFull of wit and charmâ
âGreat characters who have quickly become established and rooted in my imagination. Very funny, but with deeper undercurrents woven inâ
âLoved the story, couldnât put it downâ
âAbsolutely loved this book, hooked from the startâ
âThree Words: Brilliant, Charming and Movingâ
âThis is a wonderful readâ
Table of Contents
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 Fergusâs 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 â 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 didnât want to think about it but she knew she had to. Everything had changed so suddenly â 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 Fergusâs 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 couldnât believe this was reality. Each time she thought, This canât 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 couldnât bear to think about the alternative.
Carly looked through the photographs on Fergusâs 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 couldnât explain exactly what it was, perhaps the lack of his smile or his mischievous eyes, she wasnât 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.
