Page 22 of The Magic of Provence

Fi wanted to support her family. She would support whatever decisions were made and, if necessary, she would do whatever she could to make sure any rift was healed. But she wasn’t sure if she was quite strong enough to take on that role just yet. She was still recovering from her own recent trauma. She needed…

…a little time out? Just for a day or two?

This was a new beginning. Maybe it was time to make herself a little more important?

Fi took a deep breath. She shifted her gaze and saw that Heidi hadn’t moved a muscle. She was still sitting in exactly the same spot. On guard.

‘Does Heidi go into the forest with you?’

‘Bien sûr,’ Christophe said. ‘She is the love of my life. She goes everywhere with me.’

A dog, a forest, a man who was easy to talk to, who thought she was good at what she did and could say her name as if it was something beautiful but would never, in a million years, be attracted to her. And there were donkeys.

What more could a woman ask for?

She let her breath out and it almost sounded like a sigh of relief. She was deliberately stepping out of the minefield, albeit temporarily.

‘Aye… I’d be happy to come and help you.’

9

The soft drape of greenery from the forests that cloaked the hills and valleys of so much of the land in this part of France had, so far, been simply a part of the view – to be admired as a backdrop, along with the baby mountains guarding the medieval villages and the wash of blue that both the sky and the Mediterranean Sea contributed.

That changed forever shortly after Fi climbed out of Christophe’s JeepSUVthat he’d parked by a cemetery that seemed to be about halfway between Tourrettes-sur-Loup and Vence. He let Heidi out of the back seat and then opened the tailgate, where they’d stowed equipment in the cargo hatch. Fi carried her farrier’s apron and tool bag and Christophe put a pack on his back and picked up a cooler bag.

‘I have drugs I might need, like antibiotics or a sedative,’ he told her. And then he smiled. ‘And our lunch, of course.’

Ohh…

Thatsmile…

Fi couldn’t hold his gaze for more than a heartbeat. She had waited by the gate to be picked up this morning wondering what on earth had made her think it was a good idea to go somewhere she had never been before, in the company of a man she barely knew.

This was crazy, wasn’t it?

She had hoped to get away from the tension in her family and dodge the triggers lurking in memories of the violence in her childhood, but could this really be a reprieve? Was it too late to change her mind?

Yes. She would be letting Christophe down if she took back her offer to help. Shewantedto help. Okay… maybe what she really wanted was to use her skills to earn more praise from someone who could appreciate how good she was at her job.

Someone who was so outrageously charming and attractive that being good at what she did was the only way she could make an impression?

Not that she wanted him to notice her in any other way, of course. It was just nice to feel as if her company was wanted. Needed.

Feeling as ifshewas wanted was like a hug for her soul. What did it matter if it was for something she was good at doing rather than her personality traits or how she looked? This was vastly preferable, in fact, because it wasn’t threatening. What was wanted was something she could provide.

And it could, for just a blink of time, silence that toxic mantra that could slither out of nowhere in her head.

Who’d want you…?

She’d taken a deep breath and reminded herself of her confidence that she was safe with this man. His dog adored him. Ellie and Julien considered him to be one of the family. They knew where she was and who she was with.

And this couldn’t be anything other than purely professional. Good grief, Fi was wearing her shapeless dungarees that still smelled of donkey from her grooming and pedicure session with Marguerite and Coquelicot. The practical garment made her look even chunkier than she actually was and, in case that wasn’t enough to put anyone off, she had tortured her hair into two braids to keep it out of her face and the tight pigtails stuck out enough to make her look like Pippi Longstocking.

She could still feel her heart rate increase, however, as they walked away from the vehicle and onto a track that led into the forest. A small bus that had been parked closer to the cemetery gates drove past behind them and it felt as if the possibility of other people being in the vicinity was also vanishing. Heidi seemed to know exactly where she was going and Christophe increased his pace a little to keep up with his dog. Their distance from Fi was increasing and the light was changing as she walked under the canopy of oak trees that looked as if they could be hundreds of years old. It took only a very short time, with twigs, acorns and dry leaves crunching under her boots, and looking up to see streaks of sunlight dancing amongst green leaves and lighting up patches of bark on the trunks and branches, to feel as if the rest of the world had been left behind.

That she was walking into a magical space.

A soft whistle from Christophe stopped Heidi disappearing around a bend ahead, and he slowed, waiting for Fi to catch up.

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