Summer at Shell Cottage (42 page)

‘I think we should have a toast,’ she declared, feeling caught up in the moment.
‘A toast to us all, and our memorable summer together.’

Olivia bestowed a smile upon her.
‘To the Tarrants, and all those we love,’ she said, holding up her glass.
‘To absent husbands, good and bad – ’ her gaze shifted
from Katie to Gloria – ‘and to a happy future for every one of us.’

‘Cheers!’
came the chorus, glasses held up in salute.
‘To every one of us!’

Harriet looked around the circle.
There was Molly, who was now itching to get back to London to see her friends and put her complicated summer love story behind her.
There was Katie, so brave in
coming tonight, who had maintained her dignity throughout.
There was Freya, leaning against Victor and looking happy again, her forehead no longer pinched with a frown.
There was Gloria, giving
Olivia a hug and shutting the lid on the barbecue now that the manuscript was burned away.
And there was Olivia too, of course, still radiant, still determined; a force to be reckoned with and a
brilliant role model for all of the other women around her.
Why had Harriet ever doubted her own place in the circle?
She belonged here – and was proud to be part of this family.

Tomorrow this would all be over, she thought with a pang of sadness; they would put away the buckets and spades and beach paraphernalia for another year, and pack their cars, ready to
disentangle their lives from one another again, and head their separate ways home.
Together, they’d been great, though, this bunch of women around her.
Together, they’d all played a
part in a very unusual few weeks, helping and supporting each other, rescuing each other, even, when the going got tough.

She and Freya had already arranged a night out in London together for a few weeks’ time.
She and Olivia were planning to visit Kew for a day trip one Sunday at the end of the month.
And
last night, she and Molly had Skyped Simon and arranged for her to go and stay with him, Anne-Marie and the new baby for a couple of days over the October half-term.
It was the right thing to do
and Molly had seemed lighter and more cheerful ever since.
A girl needed her dad sometimes.
Even if he was a Pritt Stick, as Dexter would say.

It was left to Teddy, of course, to have the last word.
‘Are we
ever
going to have the cake?’
he asked pleadingly, and everyone laughed, breaking the spell.
And then Freya
was bustling around with plates, and Katie was helping, and everyone was congratulating Gloria on her exemplary baking skills.

The nostalgic end-of-holiday moment Harriet had been experiencing was lost – but that was all right, she thought with a grin.
Because she knew already that life as one of the Tarrant
family meant many more special moments yet to come.
Maybe there would be further bumps in the road for her and Robert.
Maybe the tyres might come right off at times.
But they’d never know
without giving it a go.
Right now, she felt it was worth a try.

Although Silver Sands and Ennisbridge are fictional (sadly), some of the other places mentioned in this book are real, and well worth a visit if you’re planning a trip to
Devon.

Bigbury-on-Sea
and
Burgh Island
.
Set in an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the beach at Bigbury-on-Sea has been awarded a Blue Flag and is
absolutely lovely – golden sand and shallow water.
There are rockpools to explore as well as wind-surfing and kite-surfing hire facilities right on the beach, plus a lovely cafe if you feel
peckish.

At low tide, you can walk across a causeway to Burgh Island where you’ll find a beautiful Art Deco hotel favoured by Agatha Christie and Noel Coward back in the day.
The afternoon tea is
meant to be good (as are the cocktails .
.
.).
If the tide is up, you can ride across there on a lovely old-fashioned sea tractor instead, like the Castledines do in the book.

Coleton Fishacre
.
This is the house the Castledines go to, where they all roll down the hill together.
It’s a National Trust property from the 1920s – a gorgeous
Arts and Crafts style house with great views and 24-acre gardens.

Dartmouth Castle
(or Darkness Castle as my friend’s little girl used to call it).
A fab fourteenth-century fortress with stunning views over the Dart estuary from the
battlements.
You can get a boat over from the town quay (look out for the mermaid statue!) and, as Olivia says, there is a shop selling wooden swords and dirks that any children with you might want
to spend pocket money on.

Dartmoor
.
Put on your walking boots and go for a hike.
The landscape is absolutely stunning, there are great pubs to be discovered and the wild ponies are extremely sweet.
If
you enjoyed
We Bought A Zoo
, the actual zoo is on the edge of Dartmoor, and is a good day out, too.
And if you fancy a canoeing trip, like the Tarrants, there are several activity centres
where you can canoe or kayak, or build your own raft .
.
.

I realize I have only scratched the surface here when it comes to great places to explore in Devon.
There are hundreds of others!
Feel free to alert me to your favourites on my Facebook
page:

www.facebook.com/LucyDiamondAuthor
.

Happy holidays!

It’s New Year’s Eve, and Gemma and Spencer Bailey are throwing a house party.
There’s music, dancing, champagne and all their best friends under one roof.
It’s going to be a night to remember.

Also at the party is Caitlin, who has returned to the village to pack up her much-missed mum’s house and to figure out what to do with her life; and Saffron, a PR executive who’s
keeping a secret which no amount of spin can change.
The three women bond over Gemma’s dodgy cocktails and fortune cookies, and vow to make this year their best one yet.

But as the following months unfold, Gemma, Saffron and Caitlin find themselves tested to their limits by shocking new developments.
Family, love, work, home – all the things they’ve
taken for granted – are thrown into disarray.
Under pressure, they are each forced to rethink their lives and start over.
But dare they take a chance on something new?

Praise for
The Year of Taking Chances

‘Well-written, full of humour and filled with a reminder about what it means to be kind’           
Closer