Marilyn's Daughters

Patricia Comb

Description

In this riotous sequel to Cafe Paradise life is never simple - or dull. Marilyn Dalrymple-Jones left a fine old mess when she finally dropped down dead in her plate of porridge... Newly released from prison, Janet Bailey goes looking for her birth mother in York. Her search takes her to the Cafe Paradise - where her presence threatens to disrupt Jackie's marriage to Barney... Life is far from straightforward for the rest of the cafe staff. Penny and George are touring Europe and can't keep out of trouble. Kate is convinced that Stan has been seduced by an Italian sex siren - and she's acquired a stalker... And Walter - landed with a sheepdog called Elvis, an eccentric French chef and a ditzy new waitress is ready to wash his hands of the lot of them... Can Jackie, Kate and Penny save their relationships? Will a malevolent presence from the past ruin Jackie's business? To find out, pull out a chair and take your seat in the Cafe Paradise...

Sujets

• Romance

Informations

• Publié par: 2QT Limited (Publishing
• Date de parution: 18 mai 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781910077610
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

CAF É PARADISE BOOK 2
MARILYN’S DAUGHTERS



Patricia Comb






2QT Limited (Publishing)
First eBook Edition published 2015
2QT Limited (Publishing)
Settle, North Yorkshire BD24 9RH
www.2qt.co.uk




Copyright © Patricia Comb 2015
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 Hilary Pitt
Cover images supplied by Shutterstock.com

Author website www.patriciacomb.com


A CIP catalogue record forthe paperback version of this book is available
from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-910077-29-0

ePub ISBN 978-1-910077-61-0



Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Catherine Cousins and all the staff at 2QT for their help with this book, and Hilary Pitt for the lovely cover. My thanks to Karen Holmes for her help, friendship and support in editing this second book in the Café Paradise trilogy. Also, Nikita Vine-Scatchard for her culinary information; Pam Cropper for her wide-ranging general knowledge and advice, and Mary Wilhemy and Christine Anderson for their constant encouragement.
My thanks too, to Gerrie and Susan Douglas-Scott at ReadingLasses Bookshop/Café for allowing me free run of their RoomsAboveTheBooks to write in.
Grateful thanks also to Wattie McCutcheon for introducing me to the game of cricket; Brian Box for his amazing maps and patience in route-planning; Preston and Chester Harley Davidson Chapters for their advice on biking through Europe; Douglas Holliday, M.B.E. for directing me through the centre of Rome; Lorraine Thompson for her Italian translation, and Geraldine Simpson for her French translation. I hope the village of Upper Poppleton, York will forgive me for saddling them with a fictional cricket ground.
Lastly, my thanks and love as always to my funny, kind husband, Peter, who patiently shares his life with an ever-changing cast of characters.






PROLOGUE
Mayfield Road, York. September 2012

Barney Anderson swung the car into the drive and switched off the engine. He turned to look at his new wife and smiled. ‘Home Mrs Anderson,’ he said. ‘The start of a whole new chapter in our lives.’
Jackie smiled back at him. ‘After such a fantastic honeymoon it’s going to be hard to open the book, never mind begin a chapter.’
‘It’s still going to be wonderful, you’ll see. Wait there a minute,’ he commanded. He got out of the car, opened the front door and came back. ‘Now you can get out,’ he said.
Jackie got out of the car and Barney swept her up into his arms. ‘Hey, what’s going on?’ But she knew very well and locked her arms around his neck, laughing.
Barney grinned. ‘I’m carrying you across the threshold. You’re entering this house for the first time as a new bride. Must keep up the traditions.’ He strode the short distance to the front door and carried her through to the sitting room.
‘Enough, enough,’ Jackie cried. ‘You’ll do yourself a mischief. Put me down.’
Barney paused for a moment before letting her down gently. ‘You’re as light as a feather, my darling. I could carry you all day and not notice.’
‘Flattery will get ... ouch, what the hell...?’
Seeing the front door open, Samson, Marilyn’s beloved cat, had come in to see what was going on. Spotting Jackie, he made a beeline for her. He was very cross at having been left at home for two weeks and fed tinned cat food by Mrs Scott from next door. He vented his anger by sinking his claws into Jackie’s leg and dragging them down hard.
‘Bloody cat,’ Jackie yelled. ‘That’s some welcome home.’
Barney bent down and scooped up Samson. He held him tight and looked him squarely in the eyes. ‘Do that one more time Samson, and I think you might find yourself in a tin of cat meat. Get my meaning?’
Samson glared back at him and spat furiously.
Barney regarded him calmly. ‘Listen, my friend.’ He spoke softly now, into Samson’s face. ‘Times are changing and you will have to change with them. I will not have you do that to my lovely wife. Not now, not ever. Because if you do, you will never be welcome here again and, as I said, cat meat ,’ he hissed into Samson’s ear. ‘Now, I’m going to put you down and you will behave nicely.’
He put Samson gently back on the ground and tensed, waiting for him to strike. But something of what he said must have got through. The cat stalked disdainfully back to the front door, his tail high in the air, and disappeared down the drive.
‘Well,’ said Jackie admiringly, ‘you must be on his wavelength. Do you think he’s got the message?’
‘I think we understand each other,’ said Barney. ‘One man to another and all that.’
‘Oh, that’s it. I’ve been the wrong sex all these years.’
Barney took her in his arms and kissed her. ‘Definitely not, Mrs Anderson. Most definitely not.’








CHAPTER 1
Café Paradise, Castlegate, York. April 2013

‘It’s a royal command, Jackie. I can’t say no to the Queen, can I?’ Alastair Middleton, the Café Paradise chef, smiled disarmingly at his employer.
‘Oh, she offered you the job personally, did she?’ Jackie asked sceptically. ‘Wrote to you on Buck House notepaper, “I command Alastair Middleton to be my very junior chef as from next week. You’ve a very taking way with lobster pâté, the American Ambassador will love it, so you must come immediately and never mind leaving your present employer in the lurch, your monarch needs you.”’
Alastair had the grace to blush. ‘It wasn’t quite like that.’
‘I’ll bet it wasn’t,’ Jackie said grimly. ‘How long have you been sitting on this?’
‘Weeks and weeks.’ He saw the look on Jackie’s face and hurried on. ‘I had to. You’ve no idea of the references they need, almost back to when I was in nappies. Now it’s down to you. If you speak well of me, they’ll take me like a shot.’
‘As the saying goes, you’ve got me between a rock and a hard place, Alastair. If I give you a good reference, I lose you; if I don’t, you’ll stomp around here with a face to frighten off any customers or, worse still, poison us all.’
‘I just want my chance,’ he said mutinously. ‘I’ve said I’m sorry it’s such short notice, but if I hadn’t been successful, you would never have been any the wiser. But as it is...’
‘As it is, from next week I need a new chef.’
Alastair flushed and grasped Jackie’s hand warmly. ‘You won’t regret this, Jackie.’
‘Won’t I? That depends on which end of the telescope you’re looking through.’
******
‘When you two women have finished jabbering, I’ll have a fat rascal and a pot of tea.’ Walter Breckenridge sat down at a table near to the pine dresser that housed the crockery and cutlery used by the Café Paradise.
Kate Peterson flicked a tea towel at him affectionately. ‘Don’t even try, Walter. Just because you’re the father of the boss. It doesn’t cut the mustard, you know. You’re the greasy-spoon cook to us and always will be.’
Walter grinned. ‘Aye, those were the days, Kate. Sausage, egg and chips, fried bread and baked beans. Toast and marmalade and a pot of tea.’ Walter closed his eyes dreamily. ‘Or a bacon and egg bap with ketchup ... a few chips on the side...’
‘Ellie’s a good cook, Walter,’ said Penny Montague, the other waitress. She came across and sat down opposite him. ‘By the look of you, you get well fed at home.’
‘Oh aye, Ellie’s a grand cook, Penny, don’t get me wrong. Only she’s on a bit of a health kick at the moment. Muesli and bran for breakfast with skimmed milk. It looks like the stuff I used to give to the horses. She’s cut down on the red meat and we have lots of oily fish. Fish!’ Walter exclaimed bitterly. ‘I’ve eaten that much lately, I’ll soon have webbed feet and fins. I won’t need to cycle anywhere, I’ll get in the river and swim.’
‘Is that what you’re doing here then?’ Penny asked. ‘Breaking out?’
Walter looked sheepish. ‘Aye. She’s busy at home. She’s that many goats and sheep now, I don’t think she knows which way to turn for milking ‘em. I’m not good with ‘em. She says I’m too rough, I upset ‘em and the milk dries up. So I offered to do the early morning fruit and veg run for Jackie and thought I might just get a cup of tea for my troubles.’
‘And maybe get on the outside of half a dozen fat rascals at the same time.’ Penny smiled at him. They had worked together at the café for many years. She knew how much he loved the Yorkshire staples like fat rascals and curd tarts. ‘Coming up, Walter.’ Penny rose and made her way to the counter.
Walter was happily munching when his daughter, Jackie, emerged red faced from the kitchen. ‘Bugger and blast it all,’ she exclaimed, making her way to Penny at the counter.
Penny pointed to Walter sitting at the nearby table and put her finger to her lips.
‘Dad, what are you doing here?’ said Jackie. ‘I didn’t expect to see you for another half hour, at least.’
‘And how lovely it is to see you too, my beloved daughter,’ replied Walter. ‘Mind, I could do without the language.’
Jackie slumped down into the chair opposite. ‘You’d swear if you’d just heard what I heard,’ she said.
‘And what have you just heard? Hang on, if it’s that bad, we’d best have a cup of te