by Julie Stock
At that moment, I heard the squeak of the office door opening and thanked God someone must be there.
‘What the hell are you doing here?’ Henri’s voice cried out behind me and the gravel crunched as he came closer. I wished Didier was there too.
‘I’m taking back my fiancée.’ Paul snarled at him, tightening his grip.
‘Let me go, Paul, you’re hurting me,’ I whispered, fear constricting my voice.
‘Good. Now you know what it feels like to suffer as I have.’
I closed my eyes briefly in despair. How on earth had things come to this?
‘Paul, please. Don’t do this.’
‘Let her go, you bastard!’
Didier appeared out of nowhere and hauled Paul away from me. I ran to Henri and threw my arms round him, holding on until I was steady. A few seconds later, Didier landed a punch right in Paul’s face and Paul staggered back onto the ground. His nose was bleeding and the look he gave Didier was full of fury. I ran to the shelter of Didier’s arms.
‘I’m so sorry, Didier, are you hurt?’
‘Shhh, Fran, I’m fine. You have nothing to be sorry about. I just wish I’d known what an awful man he is.’ He nodded towards Paul. Then he put his arm round my shoulders, pulling me in close to his side and kissing my hair. ‘Are you all right? You’re shaking.’
‘My arm hurts a bit but I’ll be okay.’
Paul finally stood up and Henri came alongside Didier and me to support us.
‘I’m sorry, Fran. I shouldn’t have come here. I just…I missed you so much.’ I had never seen Paul look so guilty.
‘You can’t have expected Fran to go back with you after you treated her like that,’ Didier said.
‘You love him,’ Paul said, keeping his eyes firmly on me. It wasn’t a question but I nodded.
‘You need to leave before we call the police.’ Henri took a step towards Paul but Didier stopped him. They both stared at Paul and for a moment, I thought he would retaliate but after one last look at me, he turned and left, disappearing out the gate. Thankfully, he didn’t say another word. A taxi drove by a minute later taking Paul out of my life for good this time.
We walked back to the office in stunned silence. I collapsed at my desk, relieved the ordeal was now over.
Didier
I followed the others back into the office, away from the nightmare we’d just experienced. I went straight to the coffee machine. I glanced over at Fran and was relieved to see the colour coming back into her cheeks, but it was going to take some time for her to get over what had happened.
‘I could have killed that bastard for daring to lay his hands on you,’ I murmured as I passed her a cup of coffee. She didn’t reply but tears welled in her eyes. I touched her cheek briefly and was overwhelmed by the love for me in her expression.
‘So, where are we all at?’ I asked brightly, deciding to carry on as normal rather than thinking about what might have happened.
‘Lottie is at the cottage and my parents know she’s here with me,’ Fran said after a moment’s hesitation while she gathered her thoughts.
‘After a fantastic weekend, I am raring to catch up before the harvest starts tomorrow,’ reported Henri.
‘My little girl is safe at home with her grandma. Thankfully, Mum has sorted out pickers for tomorrow and she’s also got all the food organised.’
‘I’m about ready to make a decision on the builders too,’ Fran told me. ‘Although I’ll wait for you to sort your stuff out if you need a few minutes before we talk about it.’
‘Why don’t you bring Henri up to speed while you wait?’
‘Good idea.’ She gave me a brave smile and we settled down to our own tasks.
I scanned my email inbox for a message from either Isabelle or her lawyer and breathed a sigh of relief when there was nothing. There was no word from Alain either, so I sent him a message explaining what had happened when Isabelle had turned up that morning. I outlined it all succinctly, making sure I stressed the importance of my daughter’s custody. I had no idea what Isabelle’s reaction would be and that was what worried me the most. After sending the message, I stood up and stretched before pulling up a chair and sitting down next to Fran’s desk. She still looked pale and a bit shaky.
‘Are you sure you’re okay, Fran? We don’t have to talk about the builders now.’
‘I’d rather keep busy,’ she replied. She took a deep breath before continuing. ‘I think we should go with the local building firm, Hahn et fils, who you already have links with. Theirs is a sensible quote with staggered payments as they complete each phase of the work. I talked through the pros and cons of all the builders’ estimates with Henri and he agrees that the local firm’s is the best. What do you think?’
‘It sounds like you’ve given it a lot of thought. I’m very grateful. Would you mind if I asked my mother to look over their quote? She’s had a lot of experience and in the end, it is her money too.’
‘I think that’s a really good idea. Why don’t you take this paperwork with you when you go down for dinner tonight? I’ll put it together in a file for you.’
‘Thanks. Henri, can you stay with Fran for the rest of the afternoon and take her back to the cottage at the end of the day, please?’ He nodded and I gave Fran a brief kiss before putting on my coat and setting off to meet with Thierry.
I trudged across the gravel once more, making my way to the winery to find out what Thierry’s view on the pinot blanc grapes would be. We’d been checking in with each other for several days and our thinking had been completely aligned so far, so I was hopeful he would agree with me about starting the harvest now.
I found Thierry in the winery, doing his final checks on all the equipment in readiness for the harvest.
‘Are you ready to start tomorrow, Thierry?’
‘Yes, I agree now is the best time. I’ve checked samples of berries every day for the past week. The balance between the sugar and acidity in the pinot blanc grapes is just about perfect, so we should definitely start picking those first. We’re within the decreed dates for the start of the harvest so everything’s good.’
‘We’ve got pickers ready to start tomorrow morning. Have you got enough staff to cope this end?’
‘Yes, I’ve already warned everyone but they were expecting it anyway.’
‘Great. I’ll see you in the morning.’ I hesitated for a moment, wanting to ask how he was but feeling a bit awkward after so long.
‘I’m fine, don’t worry. See you tomorrow.’ He smiled at me but the look in his eyes was still so sad. I shook his hand and walked back outside. It had been over a year since Thierry’s wife had died but the pain he suffered was still as strong. I wished there was something any of us could have done to spare him his agony. I shook my head, refusing to go down that painful path again. All I knew was I had another chance with Fran and I was going to take it with both hands.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Fran
When I stood up to go home, I was grateful Didier had asked Henri to come with me. Although work had taken my mind off things a little, just walking across the courtyard was enough to leave me feeling weak at the memory of what had taken place with Paul. By the time we approached the cottage, though, the trembling in my hands had stopped and I was beginning to feel stronger again. Thanking Henri for looking after me, I said goodbye and turned to go inside.
A very different Lottie was sitting on the sofa from the one I had left behind at lunchtime.
‘Hey, you look better I’m glad to see.’
She gave me a warm smile. ‘All I needed was a sleep, a shower and a good meal. I’m so grateful for all you and Didier have done for me today.’ I gave her a hug, relief flooding through me to find she was more like her normal self. ‘How was your afternoon?’ she continued.
I crumpled on to the sofa and, taking a deep breath, I told her about Paul.
‘God, Fran! You should have come back here. What were you thinking staying
at work? You’re probably suffering from shock or something.’
‘Thanks for worrying about me, but there’s no need, honestly. It was better for me to work through it and not dwell on it. I’m okay now so let’s not talk about it any more. I want to think about something else,’ I said, more assertively than I felt. ‘Are you ready to talk to me about what’s been going on in your life?’ She hesitated for only a brief moment, still worrying about me no doubt.
‘I think that’s the least I owe you after all that’s happened.’ She took a deep breath.
‘After you left the other weekend, Mum and Dad wasted no time in asking me how I was planning to provide for the baby once it’s born. I know they mean well but I can’t stand it. They’re always badgering me for answers to everything so I told them I was going to stay with a friend in Strasbourg, and I left.’ She shrugged.
‘Did you actually have a friend to stay with?’
‘No. The friend I stayed with last time was away so I’ve been sleeping rough. I just wanted to escape and it seemed like a good idea at the time.’ She had the grace to look shame-faced.
‘You’re going to have to face it all some time, Lottie, and to realise you’re looking after someone else as well now. You can’t keep running away from your problems.’
‘I know that only too well but I wish you’d all stop reminding me.’ She tutted, refusing to meet my eye.
‘Have you had any thoughts yourself about what you’d like to do?’ I asked gently.
‘I’m going to have to get a job but I’ll need someone to help care for the baby if I’m going to work every day. And that’s as far as I get each time. If I don’t work, I won’t have any money to care for the baby with.’ She threw up her hands in despair.
‘Okay, so you’re already well on the way to working something out based on your thoughts so far. Now you need to consider your options.’
She rolled her eyes at me. ‘I don’t have any options. That’s the point.’
‘What I meant was that one option is to stay at home and to ask Mum and Dad to help care for the baby some of the time so you can get a part-time job. You and the baby would have somewhere to live and on-site babysitting too.’
‘That’s my only option as far as I can see but the downside is I have to live at home again, in the back end of nowhere, with Mum and Dad breathing down my neck.’
‘Another alternative might be to work now and save as much as you can before the baby’s born to give you a head start afterwards. You could perhaps look for something you could go back to once the baby is old enough.’ I paused for a moment to let it all sink in. ‘You do have a choice, you know. You don’t have to just lie down and take it all.’
‘That’s quite a good idea,’ she conceded, ‘and one I hadn’t thought of. What could I do, though?’
‘Is there anything you’d really like to do?’
‘There are lots of things but I can’t do them with a baby in tow.’
‘But we’re talking about before the baby is born. Have a think about that first. Listen, you’re more than welcome to stay here with me for a while. The harvest starts next week and we need lots of helpers if you’d like to give a hand.’
‘You have no idea how much I would appreciate that. I should have taken you up on that suggestion the first time you made it.’ She sighed, looking like a great weight had been taken off her shoulders.
I moved to sit next to her on the sofa and put my arm round her. ‘You’ve already taken the first step, Lottie, by talking to me and I’m really proud of you for that.’
She started to cry and I stroked her hair while she let it all out.
Didier
I woke at five o’clock on the first day of the harvest, ready to greet the pickers who would be arriving for breakfast at six. Thierry joined me from the winery as I made my way to the courtyard and we walked side by side across the still dewy grass. Fran and Lottie were leaving the cottage as we passed. Fran gave me a sleepy morning smile and I only wished I was seeing it under different circumstances. I took her hand in mine and smiled at Lottie, introducing Thierry.
‘How are you today?’ I asked Fran.
‘Better, thanks, just tired.’
There were already plenty of people in the courtyard sitting at the tables set out for breakfast. They were tucking into cheeses and meats my mum had brought over in the car, as well as breads and pastries sent over by Liliane from the boulangerie. My mum had the shed open and had started the urn for hot drinks. Chlöe was standing by her side chatting with pickers as they came and went.
‘Bonjour, ma petite,’ I said to Chlöe, swinging her into my arms for a good morning kiss, before leaning over to greet my mum. ‘Thanks so much for organising all this, Mum.’
‘It is my pleasure. You know how much I love it.’ She smiled up at me in between pouring out more cups of coffee. Fran and Lottie were helping out as well and I was glad we had got the harvest off to a good start.
After a few minutes, I whistled to get everyone’s attention.
‘Thank you all very much for coming again to help pick grapes at Domaine des Montagnes. It is wonderful to see so many familiar faces, and to meet some new ones too. I hope to get to know you better over the coming days and weeks. We’ll serve a quick casse-croûte around ten and lunch will be at midday. If we could gather over by the archway in five minutes, please, I’ll lead you down to the vineyard.’
I looked around for Thierry because I needed to find out whether all the baskets were already down in the vineyard or whether we should collect them on our way. My eyes widened when I found him deep in conversation with Lottie. His face lit up at something Lottie said and I wondered how long it had been since he’d last looked so vibrant.
‘Hey, remember me?’ Fran came up, giving me her special smile.
‘Sorry, I was distracted by Lottie and Thierry for a moment. It’s good to see them both looking happy.’
‘Well, I know about Lottie of course, but I didn’t know Thierry had problems.’
‘It’s a long story but I will tell you one day.’ I bent my head to meet hers and kissed her soft lips. ‘I hope you and I will have the chance to spend some time alone together soon, otherwise I’ll go mad.’
‘How about tonight?’ She looked forlorn, in case I said no. I leaned towards her, letting our bodies touch and she put her arms round the back of my neck, gently rubbing with her fingers. A lovely tingling feeling reverberated through my whole body.
‘I wish you could come now, given how you’re making my body feel at this moment but I suppose tonight will just have to do.’
I left Fran to go and check with Thierry about the baskets. Soon everyone was gathered and ready to go. I was looking forward to getting started but I knew from years of experience these would also be the hardest few weeks of the year.
Fran
My body was aching all over after only a few days of the harvest but I hoped it would get easier as the weeks went by. As more pickers joined us, we moved on to harvesting the other grape varieties and settled into a good routine.
We were just finishing our morning snack on the Friday morning when my mum and dad’s car pulled in to the courtyard. I went over to meet them, calling out to Lottie on the way. As soon as she saw who it was, a guarded look came over her face and she dragged her feet.
‘It’s great to see you.’ We exchanged kisses and hugs before they turned round searching for Lottie. I waved her over, noticing Thierry taking in everything that was happening.
‘Why isn’t Lottie coming over?’ asked my mum in an anguished voice.
‘She’s probably nervous you’re angry with her, that’s all.’
My mum started walking towards Lottie and they met in a flurry of hugs, kisses and tears. Thierry had followed behind so I introduced him to my dad. As soon as Lottie and Mum had finished, my dad swooped in for a hug as well and I breathed a sigh of relief.
Didier called everyone back together shortly afterwards and we s
tarted to follow before I realised I hadn’t introduced my parents to Sylvie.
‘Mum, Dad, hang on, I want you to meet Didier’s mum.’ Lottie followed Thierry back down to the vineyard, and I led my parents over to meet Sylvie.
‘Ah Fran, I was hoping you would come over to talk to me.’
‘Actually, Sylvie, I wanted to introduce you to my parents. They’ve come to help in the vineyard.’
She wiped her hands and shook theirs in turn, giving them her broadest smile.
‘It is lovely to meet you at last,’ she said. ‘Thank you so much for coming to help. It is very hard work and we appreciate every pair of hands.’
‘We wanted to do our bit to help and we also needed to see Lottie. And you too, Fran, of course,’ my dad continued hurriedly, trying not to put his foot in it with anyone.
‘I would love it if you would all come to dinner tomorrow evening. You can meet Chlöe, my grand-daughter, as well.’
‘That would be lovely, Sylvie, thank you,’ I replied.
‘Fran, I know you need to get back but I just wanted to tell you I agree totally with you about the choice of builder. You have done an excellent job in researching this project for us. Well done!’
My cheeks heated at her unexpected praise. ‘Thank you, Sylvie, that’s great news. I’ll give them a ring this afternoon to find out when they can get started.’
We said goodbye and made our way across the estate towards the vineyard to get picking.
‘How is Lottie?’ my mum asked as we passed through the archway.
‘She’s much better, Mum. The picking has definitely helped take her mind off things. I think she just needed a bit of time.’
‘Is she going to come home with us?’ Dad asked.
‘I don’t know what she’s decided but she needs to tell you in her own time.’ Both Didier and I had noticed the friendship developing between Lottie and Thierry, which was sure to impact her decision about what to do next.
‘We just want to look after her, Fran.’