Just for the Summer

Fay Keenan

Description

A fresh start in a picture-perfect English town brings the hope of new friends, new adventures and even new romance in this heart-warming novel from readers’ top pick Fay Keenan.

When Kate Harris accepts the job of redecorating her brother Aidan’s house in the picturesque town of Willowbury, she knows it’s just a stop gap before she has to decide what to do with the rest of her life. While her three sons spend the summer holiday with their father, Kate has an opportunity to prove to herself that there is a new life, after her divorce.

Harry Sinclair is the owner of Vale Volumes book shop on Willowbury High Street. Content, if a little bored with his lot, his shop, as well as his life, could do with freshening up. When Kate offers to spruce up Vale Volumes ready for the visit of a famous author, they find they have a lot more in common than colour schemes.

But both have secrets and responsibilities, and when the trials of family life threaten their burgeoning friendship, can they overcome the experiences of their pasts? Will Somerset’s most magical town cast its spell on them? Or will Kate and Harry have to concede that their friendship really is just for the summer?

Let Fay Keenan transport you to the perfect British summertime, with beautiful countryside, an unforgettable romance, and just the right dose of escapism. Perfect for all fans of Debbie Macomber, Cathy Bramley and Katie Fforde.

What authors and readers say about Fay Keenan’s novels:

'Fay Keenan's books are filled with warmth and humour. They are the perfect escape to beautiful countryside settings' Jessica Redland

‘Guaranteed to put a spring in your step. Feel-good, frisky and great fun with a hearty dash of romance and intrigue.' Julie Houston

'Moving, funny, thoughtful and romantic. Bring on the next one!' Jenny Kane

'This is a lovely and heart-warming story, that has a serious side hidden within the romance.' Amazon reviewer

' It was a wonderful book, guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Amazon reviewer

‘I was so engrossed in the storyline, which is thoroughly heart-warming, that I read the entire book without stopping. I always enjoy Keenan’s books and am looking forward to the next one!’ Amazon reviewer

Sujets

• Vie de famille
• Relations familiales
• Mashups
• Conflict Resolution
• Women
• Coming of Age
• Inglaterra
• Friendship
• Contemporary history
• Dating
• Workplace
• Romantic Comedy
• Types of rural communities
• Woman
• The Women
• Contemporary
• Family Life
• Romance
• England
• Somerset
• Bristol

Informations

• Publié par: Boldwood Books
• Date de parution: 15 juillet 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781838891046
• Langue: English

Extrait

Just for the Summer


Fay Keenan
This one’s for my sister, Helen, and my brother, Luke, who tolerate my big-sisterness, and who I’d be more than happy to live next to. Thanks.
Contents



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

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Chapter 59

Chapter 60

Chapter 61

Chapter 62

Epilogue


Acknowledgments

More from Fay Keenan

About the Author

About Boldwood Books
1

SOLD. The sight of the yellow and blue rectangular sign atop the post in the front garden of Kate Harris’s home gave her a jolt. Though the sale had been confirmed some weeks ago, the estate agent had obviously amended the sign while she’d been dropping her three sons off at school. A neat but spacious detached property in the heart of one of Cambridgeshire’s most attractive villages, it had been snapped up quickly a few weeks back by a young family desirous of more space.
Kate had been preparing herself, mentally and in more practical terms, for the ordeal of uprooting her sons and herself since the start of the year. It was only logical, now that the divorce had gone through and her ex-husband, Phil, had set up home with his new partner, that the house would have to be sold to release the equity and allow them both to start afresh. When the house had finally gone on the market in February, it had only been for sale for six weeks before an offer had been made and accepted. So now, in late March, knowing all of this, why did Kate’s stomach turn at the sight of the sign? Why did her hand clench convulsively around her car keys as she pressed the key fob to lock it where it stood on the driveway? Why did her face feel hot, and her mind start to race?
Before she could take more than a deep breath, the phone in her other hand pinged. It was a WhatsApp from her friend and next-door neighbour, Lorna.


Saw the guy come to change the sign. Any news about when you have to get out?
Kate grinned. Trust Lorna to take the direct approach. She wasn’t exactly renowned for her subtlety. That was probably why they got on so well, though. Kate, with three sons in the house, had discovered that subtle got her absolutely nowhere, especially when it came to getting them to complete their household chores. She valued directness in her friends, too. Turning sideways, she was unsurprised to see Lorna putting her recycling bins out, and obviously waiting to catch her for a chat, and check in.
‘Fancy a coffee?’ Kate called as Lorna set down the last of her green bins. ‘I can fill you in on all of the gory specifics if you like.’
‘Thought you’d never ask!’ Lorna replied, hurrying over to the low fence that separated the front gardens and hopping over it. ‘It’s been a while since we had a proper catch-up.’
As Kate made two cups of coffee from the machine that would, most likely, end up in storage in the next few weeks, Lorna filled her in on the latest gossip from the Year 6 parents’ WhatsApp group, to which Kate had resolutely refused to belong after she’d been passive aggressively reprimanded for dropping ‘the f-bomb’ on the forum, as one member had primly named it, with the caveat that, ‘I’m sure I’m not the only one who checks her phone in sight of small eyes.’ Kate, who had boys of thirteen and sixteen as well as her eleven-year-old, had merely rolled her eyes and refrained from pointing out that she was sure most modern parents had said a lot worse in front of their kids, and if they hadn’t, then their siblings certainly had. She encouraged her sons not to swear in the house, but she was pretty sure that once the front door closed on them, all bets were off. Fortunately, Lorna, who had a higher tolerance for the playground pecking order, kept her up to date with anything of significance.
‘I cannot wait to delete that bloody group from my phone, the second the gates close on the kids in the summer,’ Lorna said. ‘I mean, don’t get me wrong, most of them are great but it’s starting to feel more and more like some high school movie as the kids hit puberty. And it’s only going to get worse.’
‘You’re a braver woman than I am for staying on there.’ Kate laughed. ‘And I’m grateful, so you can give me a heads-up on anything I’m likely to have forgotten for school.’
‘Happy to take one for the team for a mate.’ Lorna grinned. ‘Inside, I’m counting the days, too. But enough of that crap. How’s the packing coming?’
Kate sighed. ‘Slowly. Much as I hate to admit it, Phil was right when he said that most of the stuff in this house is mine. He wasn’t just being noble. I mean, apart from a hideous sideboard that I insisted he took with him when he buggered off, a wardrobe full of clothes and then the usual splitting of the CD and DVD collections and the pots and pans, the rest of it really does belong to me and the boys.’ She shook her head. ‘I never realised I was such a hoarder!’
‘Well, you were married for sixteen years, and three kids will fill your house faster than teenage girls to the O2 Arena to watch Harry Styles, so it’s hardly surprising.’ Lorna took a sip of her coffee. ‘So, when’s the completion date?’
‘The first Monday of May half term,’ Kate replied.
‘Jesus! That’s about ten weeks away. You’d better get your act together, then.’
‘You’re not kidding.’ Kate sat back on the padded bar seat that had been ‘hers’ for the duration of her marriage. Phil had been a creature of habit, and would never dream of sitting in it, far preferring the other side of the table. That rigid sense of routine was what had made his sudden declaration, just over two years ago, that he’d fallen in love with a fellow architect at his firm, all the more shocking. Within two weeks of telling her, he’d moved out of the family home and into his new love nest one village over, and set up home with alarming speed. While she couldn’t complain about his financial support of her and the boys over the past two years, and he’d been more than helpful in terms of his access to the boys at weekends and in the school holidays, now that the time had come to actually move out of the family home, Kate’s sadness and grief was creeping back up on her.
‘It’s all right to feel miserable, you know,’ Lorna said, obviously sensing that behind the jokes about WhatsApp, Kate was struggling. ‘You’ve been through so much over the past couple of years. And I know you don’t like it when I call Phil “that shit of an ex-husband”, but you didn’t deserve any of it.’
‘I’m fine.’ Kate swallowed a mouthful of still scalding coffee to try to get rid of the lump in her throat. ‘It’s not like I didn’t know this was coming.’
‘Still doesn’t make it any easier,’ Lorna said stoutly. ‘I know when Dan finally moved out, I kept finding his stuff for months afterwards. I couldn’t look at the hook on the back of the bathroom door without imagining his dressing gown on it. It takes time.’
‘Well, I’ve got a couple of months to pack everything up,’ Kate said, ‘and Mum’s offered me the annexe at the bottom of her garden for the time being – although God knows how all four of us are going to fit in there – it’s only got two bedrooms and a sofa bed in the lounge. Guess where I’ll be sleeping!’
‘Sounds like it’ll be, er, cosy ,’ Lorna said. ‘I’d offer you my spare rooms, but something tells me the last thing you’ll need is to witness the new people setting up home in your old house.’ She looked thoughtful for a moment. ‘Although, now you come to mention it…’
‘What?’ Kate looked at her friend, who smiled enigmatically.
‘Is the annexe your absolute last resort?’ Lorna said. ‘As in, if something better, but with a teeny, tiny string attached came along, you’d snap it up?’
‘Yeah, I suppose,’ Kate said. ‘What are you thinking?’
‘Leave it with me,’ Lorna said, finishing up her coffee. ‘It might not be what you want, but I’m pretty sure I can find you something better than the bottom of your mum’s garden, for a few months at least.’ She stood up. ‘I’ll text you later. Don’t say yes to your mum just yet.’
‘Okay,’ Kate said dubiously. ‘But you do know that I’ve got three sons, right? And they’re often not the most careful of people. If what you’ve got in mind involves anywhere expensive, with breakables, it’s a non-starter.’
‘Oh, your lot aren’t that bad,’ Lorna said. ‘I’ll be in touch. Now get on with that packing. Or at least thinking about what to put in boxes first!’
Wondering, as she often had over the years that she’d known Lorna, whether her proposed ‘solution’ would actually lead to more complications, Kate still couldn’t help feeling intrigued. Anything that meant she didn’t have to squish into the annexe with her mum’s beady, disappointed eye on her from the other end of the garden had, surely, to be a good thing. Didn’t it?
2

Four weeks on, and Kate felt as though she was going to go bald, she’d torn so much of her hair out trying to get her sons to pack their stuff up ready for the move. Surely it wasn’t essential to take every PlayStation game with them into their temporary accommodation? As it had turned out, Lorna’s idea for a place to stay had materialised. She’d sorted out a charming cottage in a nearby village (thankfully not the same one where Phil and his new partner, Jenn