Inheritance

Patricia Comb

Description

In York, Cafe Paradise is open for business again...For most of us life doesn't always run according to plan ... and for the much-loved crew at Cafe Paradise, it never does!Jackie is expecting twins. She's doubling in size - and so is the cafe, as she sets about ambitious expansion plans with the help of jack-of-all-trades Brian Box...Brian is captivated by ditzy Genevieve, who continues to cause havoc in the cafe kitchen. One thing is for certain where Genevieve is concerned - the path of true love will not run smoothly... Walter's life is a nightmare. His sister Rose, her partner, their dog, peacocks and alpacas have come to stay on the farm. Ellie, and Walter's devoted sheepdog, Elvis, are both threatening to leave home unless Walter evicts the motley crew - but Rose is here to stay...George has a new hobby, and it's not one that Penny's going to like any more than his cross-dressing or motor-cycling...Kate is pregnant and disgruntled that Stan has bought a wreck of a house. He plans to 'do it up' - despite not knowing the first thing about DIY...And lurking in the background is sinister Tom Young in search of another sure-fire money-making scheme. And this time he'll let nothing get in his way...So, let us show you to a table, take your order and offer you the best entertainment in Yorkshire as you catch up with all your favourite characters from the massively successful Cafe Paradise Series

Sujets

• Romance

Informations

• Publié par: 2QT Limited (Publishing
• Date de parution: 01 janvier 0001
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781912014217
• Langue: English

Extrait

Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 34
CHAPTER 35
CHAPTER 36
EPILOGUE


First eBook Edition published 2017
2QT Limited (Publishing)
Settle, North Yorkshire BD24 9RH
www.2qt.co.uk
Copyright © Patricia Comb 2017
The right of Patricia Comb to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that no part of this book is to be reproduced, in any shape or form. Or by way of trade, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition, including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser, without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Cover design Charlotte Mouncey
Cover images supplied by iStockphoto.com
Author website www.patriciacomb.com
This book is also available as a paperback
Printed edition ISBN 978-1-912014-48-4
Epub ISBN 978-1-912014-21-7


For Pat Tatham, York, North Yorkshire.
Thank you for your support, encouragement and enjoyment of Books 1 and 2. Your enthusiasm was inspiring.


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank Catherine Cousins and all the staff at 2QT for their help with this book with special mention to Charlotte Mouncey for the lovely cover. As ever, my sincere thanks to Karen Holmes for her friendship and continued support in editing this final book in the Café Paradise trilogy.
My thanks to Mark Malley and Gary Smith for their help and advice on mistakes commonly made when people undertake DIY, (not by them) and their experiences hanging heavy chandeliers - happily successful in all their own cases.
Lastly, my thanks and love, as always, to my husband, Peter. Poor man he never knows from one day to the next which character he is going to journey through the day with.


PROLOGUE
September 2013
W alter Breckenridge watched as Elvis, his young sheepdog, made a wide sweep behind the flock of Swaledale sheep. Elvis began to drive them slowly down the field towards where his master stood holding open a gate to a sturdy pen made up of hurdles strapped together with baler twine. As the sheep approached Walter stood to one side.
‘Lie down,’ he commanded Elvis.
Elvis obediently dropped to the ground, tongue hanging out and panting furiously. His sharp brown eyes followed every movement of the sheep, alert and ready for just one of them to step out of line.
He had done his job well. There was no panic among the flock and Walter was able to guide them gently into the pen with his shepherd’s crook. He shut the gate quickly behind them and in a moment Elvis was at his side.
‘And who gave you permission to move, lad?’ Walter smiled down at the panting dog.
Elvis’s ears flattened out. There had been no command to move and he knew it. Walter stroked his head. ‘I’ll overlook it this time, lad, but if we want to win One Man and His Dog , you’ll have to do better than that.’
One Man and His Dog ! Elvis knew what his master was talking about. He’d seen all those dogs in Walter’s house. Elvis puzzled how they got in. He never saw them arrive or leave. They were just suddenly there, in the living room, behind a screen, doing what Elvis loved doing best – chasing sheep.
Elvis grinned happily up at Walter and together they surveyed the sheep contentedly. Now that they were free from Elvis nipping at their heels, they calmly began cropping the grass within the pen.
The September sun was beginning to dip, casting shadows over the patchwork of fields that stretched away to meet the distant hills.
‘We’d best get on, lad.’ Walter made a move towards the pen of sheep. ‘I’d have done this job afore now if that daughter of mine hadn’t kept me busy at that café of hers all morning. She thinks I’m retired and can jump to any time she wants. Between her and helping Ellie, I’m amazed I ever get any time for me poor old sheep, let alone me fruit and veg gardens.’
Happily grumbling, Walter let himself into the makeshift pen and began checking the condition of the sheeps’ feet. The weather had been cool and wet recently and that could start foot rot in his flock if he didn’t keep an eye on them. He was bent over his task, absorbed in trimming the hoof of one of his favourite old ewes, so he didn’t see Ellie running down the field. Only when she was near and shouting his name did he look up. He let the ewe go and came out of the pen to meet her.
‘What’s up, lass?’ Walter was concerned to see his usually serene wife so visibly agitated.
‘Come quickly, Walter,’ she panted, holding her side and trying to catch her breath. ‘It’s Rose and that chap she took up with. Arthur, I think.’
‘Oh heck, what do they want?’ A visit from his older sister, Rose, was not high on Walter’s wish list.
‘They want to stay for a while,’ Ellie gasped.
‘Whatever for? They’ve got a perfectly good home of their own.’
‘Well, that’s just it. They haven’t. They’ve had to leave their smallholding. The owners of the land have sold it to a property company for building on. Come on , Walter,’ Ellie insisted urgently. ‘They’ve come with two lorries. One’s got all their furniture in and one has all their animals. She wants to know where she’s to put her alpacas and peacocks. And she’s got a dog– scraggy-looking thing. It scoffed Elvis’s dinner the minute Rose let it out of the van.’
Walter looked grim. This was the worst news possible. He kept Rose at arm’s length at the best of times. The idea of her taking up residence with them was appalling. She made everyone’s mother-in-law seem like an angel from heaven. This just could not happen.
‘Stay here and get your breath, Ellie love,’ Walter commanded. ‘Take your time. I’ll go and deal with Rose and this Arthur fella. They’re not staying here with all them animals!’
As Walter approached the house, he saw Rose Breckenridge pacing impatiently around the farmyard. Mentally bracing himself he called out, ‘Now then, Rose, what’s to do?’
‘My, you took your time, our Walter. You’ve seen Ellie, haven’t you? Then you know what’s to do. That pension company that owns the land we rent sent in the bailiffs. They turfed us off the holding this morning. I need somewhere quick for my alpacas and my birds, so where else would I go but to my nearest and dearest in my time of dire need? I knew you would help me out.’
Walter winced. Rose always swung a good line in emotional blackmail. They were never ‘nearest and dearest’, even as children. ‘You can’t stop here, Rose. I haven’t got the room. I’ve only just got enough space for my animals. Where would I put yours? And what about that vanload of furniture Ellie says you’ve brought?’
‘You do fuss on, Walter,’ Rose said wonderingly. ‘It’s simple. I’ve had a look around and the furniture can be stored in that barn over there. You’ve a couple of lovely fields for my alpacas and my hens can knock about with your lot. And the peacocks please themselves, anyway. It’s not a problem, is it?’
She beamed at him and turned to Arthur, who was waiting patiently behind her. ‘Hop in, Arthur, and we’ll offload our girls and boys into that field down there. We need to get them settled before nightfall. Mind out, Walter, we need quite a bit of space to turn this van about. Thanks a lot for having us. I knew you wouldn’t fail.’
She jumped up into the van beside Arthur and called down to Walter, ‘I hope Ellie’s got something nice for supper. We’re starving.’
Walter watched them bump down the track, the big van swaying dangerously under its heavy load. Alpacas in his best hayfield all winter, churning up the ground and eating the grass down to its roots… He had plans to convert the barn to expand Ellie’s jam and chutney business and planned a small vegbox enterprise. Now Rose wanted it as a furniture warehouse.
Someone please tell him he was having a bad dream, that he would wake up in a moment and find Ellie snuggled up beside him in bed and all would be right with the world.


CHAPTER 1
B arney Anderson was in a buoyant frame of mind. Against all the odds, Anderson and Cranton had just won a difficult case in court and he was in the mood to celebrate. He made his way to Castlegate, intent on persuading his wife, Jackie, to leave Café Paradise in the safe hands of the staff this evening and come out to dinner with him. After all, it wasn’t every day a top barrister heartily congratulated you on sterling work and intended to put your name forward to his London firm to use in the future.
Barney pushed open the door of the café, delighting afresh at its new, elegant interior. Jackie had good taste and the café had been transformed from the greasy spoon of her mother’s era to a fresh, clean-lined space people queued to come to. Freshly ground coffee mixed with a faint aroma of garlic and wine assailed his nostrils. He became aware of how hungry he was. It had been a working lunch at court and not much of it.
He frowned when he saw Jackie at the coffee counter. She was expecting twins in a few months and was supposed to attend to the paperwo