All roads lead home...
When Holly Morton fled Penhallow Sands nearly a year ago she was determined to put the past - and Rich Turner - behind her. But now an unexpected loss and financial trouble has led her back to the family vineyard and it's time to tell Rich the truth - he's a father.
Surrounded by the memories of what they once shared Holly's anger fades in the glow of Rich's undeniable love for their son and the way he selflessly steps in to help the vineyard out of trouble. As Holly watches Rich flourish in his new role as father to baby Luke, she realises that though they can't change the past, the future is still theirs to write...
An uplifting, emotional romance set in Cornwall perfect for fans of Holly Martin and Phillipa Ashley.
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About the author
Darcie Boleyn has a huge heart and is a real softy. She never fails to cry at books and movies, whether the ending is happy or not. Darcie is in possession of an overactive imagination that often keeps her awake at night. Her childhood dream was to become a Jedi but she hasn’t yet found suitable transport to take her to a galaxy far, far away. She also has reservations about how she’d look in a gold bikini, as she rather enjoys red wine, cheese and loves anything with ginger or cherries in it – especially chocolate. Darcie fell in love in New York, got married in the snow, rescues uncoordinated greyhounds and can usually be found reading or typing away on her laptop.
Extract
Holly pulled into the large car park of the Seaview Diner and cut the engine. It had been a while since she’d driven her grandpa’s Range Rover, but when her granny had announced over breakfast that morning that she needed to go into town, Bruce’s eyes had widened. Although Glenda still had her driving licence, she rarely drove, and Bruce was concerned for more than one reason about her being on the roads. Holly had picked up on his concern and suggested that she take her granny and Luke into town – she needed more nappies and baby formula anyway – then they could go for lunch if Granny felt up to it.
They had gone into the centre of Newquay to do their shopping and Granny had pushed Luke’s pram, smiling proudly as they walked along the high street. Whenever they bumped into someone they knew – which happened a lot – they stopped, and Granny told them all about her precious new great-grandson. Holly could see how much it helped her to focus on Luke, and how whenever someone mentioned Grandpa, she quickly moved the conversation back to the baby. She was glad that Luke had given Granny something to focus on other than her grief, and today she seemed brighter than she had done since Holly had returned home.
Holly climbed out of the vehicle and got Luke’s pram from the boot, then placed his car seat on top and locked it into place. It would be nice to have lunch at the diner. She hadn’t been there in over a year and it had always been one of her favourite locations to eat out in Newquay. They’d often celebrated family occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries there, enjoying the beautiful view over Fistral Beach and sometimes burning off their meal by taking a walk along the sand afterwards.
They crossed the car park and entered the diner, and were led to a table in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the beach. When they sat down, Granny clapped her hands.
‘How delightful! I do love this place.’
‘Me too.’
‘Haven’t been here in ages. The last time was … Gosh, it must have been Grandpa’s birthday last year.’
Holly’s heart plummeted at the memory. She’d pushed it from her mind in her desire to return here; her yearning to recapture some happy memories. Grandpa’s birthday last year had marked a turning point in her life. She had tried not to let it affect her enjoyment of the evening, but it had been hard, especially as the man she loved had been absent. Earlier in the day, Rich had failed to turn up at the solicitor’s office to sign the papers for Plum Tree Cottage, forcing her to go looking for him, but even after seeing how much he’d upset her, he’d still failed to show for her grandpa’s birthday meal. She’d known then for certain that he didn’t love her in the same way she loved him. And her heart had broken.
She looked into the pram next to the table, keen to forget her pain. Luke was waking up, so she lifted him out and held him close. To think that from so much sadness, a beautiful baby had emerged – an innocent child who had no idea what had happened before his arrival – was incredible. There was no denying that for Holly, at least, Luke had been conceived in love, but his birth had been overshadowed by her sadness that Rich was not there. At the time, still deep in her pain and anger that he had treated her so badly, she’d thought it might well be a good thing that he didn’t know about Luke. Seeing him since then, she wondered if she’d been right.
‘Shall we start with a cocktail?’ Granny asked, a twinkle in her eyes as she ran her finger with its swollen knuckles down the menu. She’d never had any pain from her arthritic lumps and swore it was down to how active she was, especially with crocheting, as it kept her fingers nimble in spite of the swelling.
‘You have one, but I’m can’t – I’m driving.’
‘Oh dear, I forgot that. I do love the names of some of these.’ Granny’s eyes twinkled mischievously. ‘Shall I have a Slow Comfortable Screw, a Slippery Nipple or Sex on the Beach?’ She started chuckling, her thin shoulders shaking.
‘Have whatever you want, Granny.’
‘I do wish you could join me.’
‘Drink mine for me.’
‘Order two?’ Granny’s pale-brown eyebrows rose up her lined forehead.
‘Why not?’
When the waitress came to their table, Holly ordered a lime and soda with plenty of ice, and Granny took great delight in asking the young woman for a Screaming Orgasm and a Horny Southerner. Holly felt like covering Luke’s ears with her hands.
‘We should do this every week now you’re home,’ Granny said as she sipped the first of her brightly coloured drinks.
‘That would be lovely.’
Holly gazed out of the window at the golden sand of the beach, and beyond that at the white crests of the waves as they crashed against the shore. When she would leave remained to be decided, but the thought wasn’t particularly appealing, especially since her conversation with her dad last night, when he’d shared his concerns about the vineyard. It could really make a difference if she stayed and helped him. Trying to turn things around would involve a lot of hard work, and it would be too much for him on his own. Besides which, it was her responsibility too. In the past, Grandpa had kept them in the dark about the vineyard’s finances, preferring to shoulder the ups and downs himself, but Holly knew now that her dad had been aware that things weren’t right. If only Grandpa had shared the information with them, they might have been able to start putting things right before now.
But her dad had seemed convinced of one thing: it wasn’t too late to turn things around.
‘Granny, I need to explain why I left,’ Holly said. ‘I’d hate that you might think I was being selfish running off like that.’
Granny drained her cocktail.
‘I don’t think you’re selfish, sweetheart. I know you had a lot going on. We were a bit shocked, but that week before you left, it was obvious that you weren’t yourself at all.’
‘Was it? I’m sorry.’
‘It wasn’t your fault, Holly.’ Granny sniffed. ‘Your grandpa disapproved of Rich, you know.’
‘I knew he had some reservations about him, and that was why it was even more difficult to talk to you both about what had happened. I thought that if I went away for a bit and took some time out, then I could come back feeling stronger and carry on with my life. But when I found out I was pregnant, I couldn’t face coming home and dealing with Grandpa’s disappointment.’
‘He always thought you were too good for the baker’s boy.’
‘The baker’s boy?’ Holly’s tone betrayed her shock at the epithet.
‘I know. Such a cliché looking down on people like that. But it wasn’t because he was the baker’s boy so much as because he always seemed so … restless.’
‘Restless?’
‘Your grandpa didn’t think the lad would ever commit to you. He liked him, thought he would turn out okay, that he had a certain strength of character, but he didn’t think he was going to settle down with you. It was clear how much you loved him, but we were concerned that he didn’t feel the same. Grandpa said he should have proposed to you long before you started discussing moving in together.’
Holly smiled. She could imagine her grandpa saying exactly that.
‘I think I was always in love with Rich.’
‘Even before your mum passed away?’
‘Yes. In an immature way back then, of course. I just didn’t realize it for a long time.’
‘I remember him coming to the house for tea, but oh gosh … you were so young.’
‘Too young for love, I know, but there was always something between us. Rich was special, because he was my best friend too.’
‘Some of those others you dated over the years …’ Granny cackled. ‘They weren’t brave enough to return and face Grandpa for a second time.’
‘No.’ Holly’s grandpa had scared the life out of some of her boyfriends, intimidating them with questioning the marines would have been proud of resisting, and none of them had been keen to return to the vineyard. But Rich had seemed to be unfazed by Grandpa, to respect the old man’s strength of character and tendency to speak his mind without adopting the tact that most people would.
‘That little man will be just as strong a character. He has your grandpa’s resilience, and, I suspect, some of Rich’s too.’
Holly needed to speak to Rich. Waiting until later might be necessary, but the sooner it was done, the better. Rich had a right to know everything.
When they’d ordered their food, and Granny had finished her second cocktail and requested an Afternoon Delight from the waitress, they both gazed out of the window, lost in thought. Holly heard a familiar voice and turned towards the entrance, where a couple had just entered: a well-dressed, handsome couple with broad smiles and the look of two people who were very fond of each other, if the way the woman touched the man’s arm as they followed the waitress to their table was anything to go by. As they took their seats, Holly positioned the menu at the edge of the table to hide her face, and leant forward, hoping they wouldn’t look over.
‘Holly? What on earth are you doing?’ Granny asked loudly, following it up with a hiccup.
‘Shh.’ Holly placed her finger over her lips and gestured at the table in the corner.
‘Who is it?’ Granny squinted. ‘I can’t see that far these days, and I brought the wrong specs.’
Holly winced as her grandmother’s words carried across the diner, but nothing happened, so she tried to relax. Perhaps he wouldn’t even see them. Perhaps they could have their lunch then leave unseen.
But when their food arrived, she pushed hers around the plate. Her stomach had closed over and the salmon and dill fishcakes and rustic potatoes had lost their appeal. It was all she could do not to turn and stare at Rich and the beautiful woman he was having lunch with.
It was all she could do not to burst into confused and broken-hearted tears.
Would she ever get over him?
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