‘Yes I’m happy,’ Fern said, smiling at him. ‘How are you all settling in at the Huelgoat house?’
‘It is wonderful. Carole she too is ’appy,’ Fabian said. ‘Anouk tells me you are the manager here for the season.’ He hesitated. ‘She also tell me you have met a man?’
Ah, so this is where the conversation was headed, Fern thought and waited for Fabian to continue.
‘An American?’
‘Yes Scott is American.’ Fabian, she could tell, was having difficulty in finding the right words to say what he wanted. Was he about to accuse her of being disloyal to his father? Tell her that it was too soon after Laurent? Well, she wasn’t going to help him out, put words in his mouth, so she waited patiently.
‘I am very ’appy for you,’ Fabian said, taking a deep breath before continuing. ‘But you tell this Scott please, that if he ’urts my step-mama he will regret. I will be on his case.’
Fern stared at him in astonishment. Fabian was concerned about her new relationship but not for the reasons she’d been expecting. He could have no idea how much his words had moved her. How much he’d reminded her of how protective Laurent had always been of her. Anouk had been right when she’d said Fabian was more like his father than he realised. Impulsively Fern leaned in and kissed Fabian’s cheek.
‘Thank you. I’m really touched by your concern. Scott will be back here in a few weeks and you’ll meet him then. Anouk likes him and I’m sure you will too.’
‘Good.’ Fabian exhaled a deep breath, clearly relieved he’d said his piece. ‘This place it looks good, you will ’ave a busy summer ’ere when people learn about your cooking. I ’ave to go.’ A quick hug and he was gone, leaving Fern with a happy smile on her face.
She finished cleaning the windows, putting everything away tidily in the designated cupboards before standing and looking out of the now sparkling windows, deep in thought. She might have blithely told Fabian that he would meet Scott soon but in truth she had no idea of when that would happen. Every day when they spoke Fern hoped Scott would give her a return date she could write on the calendar and begin to cross the days off but so far all he’d been able to tell her was that things with his cousin were improving.
Thoughtfully she fingered the Scotty dog pendant that permanently hung around her neck these days. As much as she longed for his return, and she’d surprised herself when she’d inwardly acknowledged just how much she longed for that, there was nothing she could do except wait. Scott had promised he’d be back as soon as possible and she believed him. She could tell when they spoke on FaceTime that he was hating the separation as much as she was.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder might be a true saying but it was a difficult one to accept and live with. Fern sighed. All either of them could do was to knuckle down in their different countries, keep busy and the time would eventually pass. At least with summer fast approaching, Fern knew she’d soon be busy with the auberge and now the café.
She couldn’t help wishing though, that as well as Scott returning so they could be a proper couple and enjoy the summer together, that Belinda wasn’t leaving. The first real girlfriend she’d made in years, Fern knew Belinda was really going to leave a gap in her life when she left.
45
The next day when Belinda went down to the cabin with the usual breakfast croissants, Chloe greeted her with a sad smile. Charlie and Aimee took their croissants and went to sit with Bernie and BB as usual and Belinda glanced up at her daughter as she placed a cup of coffee in front of her.
‘What’s wrong?’
Chloe shook her head. ‘Nothing anyone can do anything about.’ She pulled her croissant apart and spread some marmalade over it. ‘It’s just I can’t stop thinking about Granddad. I’ve thought more about him in the last twenty-four hours than I have done in twenty-three years.’
‘Given the circumstances,’ Belinda said gently, ‘I’m not surprised. He’d been written out of our lives, but suddenly being here, he was pushed to the front of mine too.’ She took a sip of coffee. ‘Would you rather I hadn’t said anything to you? Not told you he was here in Brittany; that he was