Follow Your Star, Jennifer Bohnet [best fiction novels to read txt] 📗

Jean-Claude gave a shrug. ‘Apparently there is not a lot I can do – simply wait in the shadows and be ready to make a move when he asks – if he asks.’

‘Maybe that’s for the best,’ Nanette said. ‘He’s always said you must trust him; he knows what he’s doing.’

‘Which is more than you did last night,’ Jean-Claude said. ‘I couldn’t believe it when Mathieu rang to say that Zac had told him you were spending the night with him.’

‘I couldn’t sleep and it seemed like an ideal opportunity to get rid of the package,’ Nanette said. ‘If I’d known Zac was on board I certainly wouldn’t have gone.’

Hesitantly she began to tell Jean-Claude about the previous night’s events. She glossed over her terror when she realized they had put to sea. Jean-Claude she knew would be furiously protective on her behalf.

‘At least Zac has finally acknowledged the truth about the accident,’ she said. ‘He was driving the night of the accident. He lied to the pompiers and the gendarmes. My loss of memory for so long was very convenient for him.’ Nanette took a deep breath.

‘I told him I was going to the authorities to clear my name. Although he reckons I’d be wasting my time because people wouldn’t believe me.’ She bit her lip. ‘Until last night I hadn’t realized how deep the scars were – how much the past was damaging my present. But I’ve decided not to try and clear my name. I will walk away from it. I need to relegate it to the past and forget it. Move on with my life.’

Lovingly Jean-Claude took her in his arms.

‘I can never forgive him for what he did, but it’s not worth dragging it all up again,’ Nanette said, as he bent his head to kiss her. ‘You know the truth and that’s all that really matters to me now.’

As the taxi pulled into the farmyard, the driver, a local man who knew Patsy and Nanette, nodded in the direction of a battered red Mini parked by the hay barn.

‘Reckon you’re an aunty,’ he said sagely. ‘That’s Dr Owen’s car.’

‘Reckon you could be right,’ Nanette said, fishing in her bag for the fare.

Helen came bustling out of the kitchen. ‘It’s a boy,’ she said, seeing Nanette. ‘I’ve got a grandson, imagine!’

‘Can I go up and see them?’ Nanette asked.

‘Doctor’s with Patsy at the moment. Come into the kitchen and I’ll make some tea. You can take a cup up to Patsy.’

It was half an hour before Nanette opened the bedroom door and peered round.

‘Hi, Mum! Congratulations.’

Patsy, cradling her new son, smiled at her sleepily. ‘Hi, Aunty. Didn’t you time your arrival well? Meet your nephew – all seven pounds two ounces of him.’ Patsy held out the tiny bundle and Nanette tentatively took the precious cargo into her arms.

Unexpectedly she found herself wondering, was this the closest she was going to get to having a baby of her own?

‘He’s gorgeous. So much hair,’ Nanette said. ‘Any names yet?’

Patsy shook her head. ‘Helen is all for Hew Trefor.’ She laughed at Nanette’s expression. ‘Apparently they’re very old family names – Bryan’s middle name is Hew. But I fancy Dylan Robert.’

‘The new granny is beside herself with joy,’ Nanette said. ‘I don’t suppose she’ll care what you call him so long as she’s allowed to spoil him. Dylan’s a nice name.’ Nanette smiled down at the baby boy.

‘Bryan and I are hoping you will be a godmother,’ Patsy said.

‘I’d love to.’

‘Good. Any ideas who you’d like to see in the godfather role?’ Patsy asked innocently.

Nanette laughed and shook her head before asking, ‘Shall I put Dylan in his cradle?’

‘Please. How long can you stay?’ Patsy asked, watching as Nanette gently placed a cover over the sleeping baby.

‘A few days. Vanessa and Ralph have taken the twins to Cornwall and I’m officially on holiday for the next fortnight.’

‘Why can’t you stay longer then?’

‘I’ve promised to return to Monaco and spend the time with Jean-Claude,’ Nanette said, blushing.

Patsy looked at her sister speculatively. ‘Are you going to tell me any more?’

Nanette shook her head. ‘Not right now. I’m sure you need your rest. I promise we’ll talk later when you’re up and about. I could do with some sisterly advice.’

Two days later, sitting companionably under the shade of the horse chestnut tree that dominated the side garden, sipping cold lemonade with Dylan asleep in his pram beside them, Nanette talked to Patsy about her worries for the future.

‘I’ve got to decide what I want to do. Vanessas’s come back fired up with enthusiasm for starting a Fruits of the Forest cooperative in Brazil. The twins are growing up and don’t need a nanny twenty-four hours a day now so she’s offering me the job of helping her organize it – getting sponsorship, outlets, all the legal bits and pieces, you know the sort of thing.’

‘Sounds like something you’d enjoy,’ Patsy said. ‘I’d guess there would be a few trips to Brazil too.’

‘The thing is, the whole business would be based in the UK and.…’ Nanette sighed.

‘Jean-Claude is in Monaco,’ Patsy finished the sentence for her. ‘Is it serious between you two?’

‘On Jean-Claude’s part for several weeks,’ Nanette admitted. ‘And now that my memory’s returned and the whole Zac Ewart business has been finished with, I feel free to return his love. You don’t think he’s too old for me?’ she asked her sister anxiously.

Before Patsy could answer, Dylan stirred in his pram and Nanette got up to check on her nephew. Picking him up and cradling him in her arms she sat back down in the shade.

‘From what I’ve seen of the two of you, you’re perfect together. He adores you and no, of course he’s not too old,’ Patsy said. ‘But it might be wise to check with him how he feels about babies, if you’re thinking of having a family with him. He might feel, been there, done that and just want