Summer Nights at The Starfish Café

Jessica Redland

Description

Welcome back to The Starfish Café for a glorious summer, but with a few dark clouds on the horizon...

A new beginning...

As her summer wedding to Jake approaches, Hollie is excited for their new beginning as a family. But when some unexpected news threatens the future she and Jake had hoped for, Hollie will need to find the strength to overcome heartache once more.

A fragile heart….

Single mum, Kerry, loves her job at The Starfish Café, but behind the brave smiles and laughter with customers there is a sadness deep within. So when someone from her past re-appears in her life, Kerry can either hide away or face her demons and try to finally move on from her heartbreak.

A summer to remember…

For Hollie and Kerry it promises to be an emotional rollercoaster of a summer, but the community at The Starfish Café will always be there to help them through - after all, with courage nothing is impossible…

Join top 10 bestseller Jessica Redland for a wonderful summer at the seaside, full of love, friendship and community spirit.

Boldwood Books are proud to support the RNLI. Boldwood Books have pledged a donation to the RNLI in 2023 as part of our support for the work they do saving lives at sea.

Praise for Jessica Redland:

'Heartbreakingly moving and yet beautifully uplifting, I cried for all the right reasons!' Jo Bartlett

'I fell in love with this story from page one.' Helen Rolfe

'Achingly poignant, yet full of hope - You will fall in love with this beautiful Christmas story' Sandy Barker

'A tender love story, full of sweet touches and beautiful characters.' Beth Moran

'I loved my trip to Hedgehog Hollow. An emotional read, full of twists and turns' Heidi Swain

'Jessica Redland writes from the heart, with heart, about heart' Nicola May

'A wonderful, warm series full of family, friends and romance.' Katie Ginger

'An emotional but uplifting page turner.' Fay Keenan

Sujets

• Sea Stories
• Mashups
• Holidays
• Siblings
• Women
• Friendship
• Contemporary history
• Workplace
• SpongeBob SquarePants
• Romantic Comedy
• Sibling
• Woman
• The Women
• Animals
• Summer
• Contemporary
• Family Life
• Romance
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Boldwood Books
• Date de parution: 06 avril 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781801624671
• Langue: English

Extrait

SUMMER NIGHTS AT THE STARFISH CAFÉ
THE STARFISH CAFÉ SERIES BOOK 3


JESSICA REDLAND
CONTENTS



Recurring Characters


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

Epilogue


More From Jessica Redland

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Also by Jessica Redland

Love Notes

About Boldwood Books
To the incredible staff and volunteers at the RNLI who give their time and commitment to saving lives at sea. What you do is phenomenal.
Particular thanks to the crew and volunteers at Scarborough Lifeboat Station, especially Amy, Colin, Eve, Lucy, Matt, Paul, and Rudi for your invaluable help and support.
‘With courage, nothing is impossible.’
SIR WILLIAM HILLARY, 1823, FOUNDER OF THE ROYAL NATIONAL LIFEBOAT INSTITUTION (RNLI), EST. 1824 (ORIGINALLY KNOWN AS THE NATIONAL INSTITUTION FOR THE PRESERVATION OF LIFE FROM SHIPWRECK)
Recurring characters from The Starfish Café series so far


Hollie Brooks
Owner and full-time manager of The Starfish Café
Owner of wood craft business Hollie’s Wood
RNLI crew member
Engaged to Jake


Jake ‘Mouse’ MacLeod
Charge nurse on A&E at Whitsborough Bay General Hospital
RNLI crew member (helm)
Engaged to Hollie


Pickle
Hollie and Jake’s shih tzu (found abandoned)


Heather Brooks
Hollie’s mum, who set up The Starfish Café
Died of cancer seven and a half years ago


Joe ‘Sparky’ Brooks
Hollie’s dad, RNLI crew member, killed in tragic rescue eight and a half years ago


Isaac ‘Silver’ Brooks
Hollie’s brother, RNLI crew member, killed in tragic rescue eight and a half years ago


Kerry Marsden
Works in The Starfish Café during term-time weekdays
Mum to four primary school-age children
Lives with her mum, Nadia


Nadia Marsden
Kerry’s mum


Artie ‘Chief’ Briars
RNLI Coxswain (full-time paid crew member)


Angie Swinton
Assistant Manager of The Starfish Café
Was best friends with Hollie’s mum for fifty years
Estranged from husband Martin


Martin Swinton
Funeral director
Estranged from wife Angie


Victoria (Tori) Tennyson
Interior designer/architect
Friend of Hollie’s
Lives with Finley in Jake’s house, Lighthouse View


Finley ‘Bart’ Scott
RNLI crew member (obsessed with The Simpsons )
Dentist/trainee architect
Lives with Tori


Demi, India and Roman Scott
Finley’s ex-girlfriend and her children, who regularly see Finley


Vivienne and Ralph Tennyson
Tori’s parents
Authors of historical romance


Robyn and Brett Allard
Tori’s younger sister and brother-in-law


Kyle ‘Jaffa’ Bradbury
RNLI mechanic (full-time paid crew member)
Was Isaac’s best friend since childhood
Married to Bex


Rebecca (Bex) Bradbury
Was Isaac’s girlfriend
Married to Kyle


Mia and Isaac Bradbury
Kyle and Bex’s children


Violet MacLeod
Jake’s nanna, who raised him
Died following a stroke seven years ago


Robert (Bobby) Reynolds
Jake’s dad
Drowned trying to save Jake on Jake’s ninth birthday


Michelle Reynolds
Jake’s mum
Died from complications following Jake’s birth


Larissa Kent
Jake’s older estranged sister
Blames Jake for the death of their parents


Andrew Kent
Larissa’s husband


Irene Trent
Former neighbour of Jake’s and a family friend
Lives in Bay View Care Home


Adrian Daniels (Uncle Adrian)
Retired police sergeant and Bobby’s best friend
Recently reconnected with Jake


Maggs Daniels (Auntie Maggs)
Had been friends with Michelle and Bobby
Recently reconnected with Jake


Katie O’Sullivan, née Vickers
Recruitment consultant
Hollie’s best friend
Married to Trey


Trey O’Sullivan
Recruitment consultant
Married to Katie


Betty and Tommy
Longstanding customers at The Starfish Café


Sylvia Braithwaite aka Mrs Sultana
Regular customer at The Starfish Café
Recently befriended Hollie


Avril and Javier
Work in The Starfish Café


Grace
Works in Driftwood Dell – the shop and gallery within The Starfish Café – during the summer holidays


‘Spaniel’, ‘Belle’ and ‘Simba’
RNLI crew members
1
HOLLIE



‘I’m going to bring out Betty’s birthday cake,’ I whispered to Kerry and Avril, who were topping up the salt and pepper shakers behind The Starfish Café’s serving counter. ‘Have you got your singing voices ready?’
They both gave me a smile and a subtle thumbs up.
Avril followed me into the kitchen to retrieve the bouquet of sunflowers – Betty’s favourites – while I added the candles onto the eighty-fifth birthday cake. I’d made and iced a two-tier sponge cake but had asked Carly from Carly’s Cupcakes in town to make decorative sunflowers and a yellow eight and five.
‘Betty’s going to love that,’ Avril said. ‘And so will Tommy.’
Betty and Tommy were longstanding favourite customers at The Starfish Café, which was set on a clifftop two miles south of the popular North Yorkshire seaside town of Whitsborough Bay. It was a family business which had passed down from my granny to Mum to me. All the staff adored Betty and Tommy, who came in most days for tea and scones. As today was Betty’s birthday, they’d been joined by another favourite customer, Sylvia, and her friend Dorothy.
Candles lit, I slowly shuffled out of the kitchen.
‘Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…’
My heart glowed as other customers joined in, a slight mumble over the name from those who didn’t know her.
‘Oh, my goodness, darling girl!’ Betty gushed as I placed the cake in front of her. ‘I wasn’t expecting this.’
Her eyes sparkled and I glanced at Tommy, who pressed his hand to his heart and mouthed ‘thank you’ to me.
‘Blow the candles out and make a wish,’ I said to Betty.
She smiled and winked at me before blowing them out to a round of applause. Avril handed her the bouquet of flowers and she breathed in the scent.
‘Thank you all so very much. What a lovely birthday surprise!’
Kerry, efficient as always, already had a knife, plates and forks ready so, while she cut and I dished the slices out, Avril took the flowers back to the kitchen to keep in water.
‘You’ve made them so happy,’ Kerry said as we watched the four of them finishing their cake amid much laughter a little later. ‘You make everyone happy here.’
‘Aw, that’s such a lovely thing to say. Thank you.’
‘I mean it. What you’ve created here – for the staff and the customers – is really special. I’m so lucky I landed a job here.’
‘We’re lucky to have you,’ I said. ‘You do realise you can never leave?’
She smiled. ‘No intention of ever doing so. I’m already thinking about how much I’m going to miss it during the school holidays. Five more weeks to go.’
Kerry was a single parent with four primary school-aged children, and the Monday to Friday 10.30 a.m. till 2.30 p.m. term-time-only shift couldn’t be more ideal for her. It gave me extra cover across the busiest time of the day and wasn’t a problem during school holidays because I had several students eager for the work.
A bit later, I returned to Betty and Tommy’s table to clear the plates and take the cake away to be boxed up for home.
‘You must all take a slice,’ Betty insisted. ‘Get one for Jake and Avril’s husband and save one for Angie when she’s back in tomorrow. Oh, and get Kerry to take one home for her mum and each of those lovely children of hers.’
‘You’ll have none left for you two at this rate.’
‘We’ve already had four slices and we’ve barely made a dent. There’ll be plenty left.’
‘That’s very kind of you, Betty. Thank you.’
‘Are you all set for Saturday?’ Sylvia asked.
My heart leapt with excitement, as it did any time anyone mentioned the wedding. After nearly a year of planning, I could hardly believe there were only four more sleeps until I’d say ‘I do’ to Jake.
‘Just about. I picked up the dresses last week, Jake and I are finalising the details with our photographer tonight, and I’m making the favours on Thursday.’
‘The Bay Pavilion is such a lovely venue for a wedding,’ Betty said. ‘It’s going to be a wonderful day. How’s the forecast looking?’
‘Very good, so we should be able to have the ceremony outside in Pavilion Court.’
The Bay Pavilion, just beyond the commercial part of South Bay, was the most amazing building. Originally opened in the 1840s, the function and concert venue had been extended over the years. I’d attended several events there and loved it, but the biggest selling point for our wedding was Pavilion Court. The large outdoor area had a curved ‘wall’ of windows providing a stunning panoramic view of the coastline. A bandstand in the middle of the ‘wall’ acted as the altar during a wedding ceremony and Jake and I loved the idea of making our vows with the sea as our backdrop. It was the closest we’d get to having our families with us in spirit.
‘I love weddings,’ Dorothy said, giving me a warm smile. ‘I’m so looking forward to Saturday.’
I headed into the kitchen to cut off some slices of cake and box up what was left, then followed them out to the car park. Sylvia and Dorothy wished me all the best with the final wedding preparations then headed off in Sylvia’s car with a wave.
‘Thank you again for the cake and flowers, Hollie,’ Betty said, hugging me. ‘You really are the sweetest.’
‘You’re welcome. Enjoy the rest of your birthday. I hope you h