PROLOGUE
‘I’ve told you before, Mum,’ Star Bligh said irritably. ‘I don’t want you doing this if you’re stoned.’
Ignoring her daughter, the woman with braided grey hair carried on laying out the well-worn Tarot cards.
‘I can see a man,’ Estelle Bligh said slowly. ‘In fact, I can see two.’ Her long, slim fingers began to circle the crystal ball in front of her.
‘Huh. Isn’t that just your wishful thinking?’ Reverting to her sulky five-year-old self, Star began to twirl a strand of her long blonde hair around her finger.
‘Shhh,’ her mother hissed, then went on. ‘Choose wisely, for one of them may break your heart …’ a dramatic pause ensued ‘… and the other mayshakeit to the core.’ Her Cornish accent trailed off in an ominous whisper.
‘I don’t suppose you saw Skye in your crystal ball, did you?’ Star asked. ‘I mean, that was the reason for my coming up here this early – thinking that my wayward daughter might have sought solace here with her even more wayward grandmother.’
Estelle tutted. ‘She’s a big girl now, Steren. You really do need to let her go.’
‘Let her go? She’s only seventeen, Mum.’
‘And at that age, you were a single mother with a one-year-old, already out working all hours at Sibley’s.’
Star looked up at the metal clock in the shape of a black cat that was hanging on the wall. ‘Noo, is that the time?’ She shimmied sideways out of the bench seat in her mother’s kitchen and went to fetch her coat and hat. ‘I need to get back to the market,’ she said, and shivered. ‘It’s bloody freezing in here. How do you stand it?’
‘Oh, to me it brings back lovely memories of all three of us cuddling up under a blanket when our Skye was a baby.’
‘Yeah, right. Those happy days when we had no money to mention, and you still convinced me that having a baby when I was in my last year at school was the right thing to do.’ Star couldn’t keep the bitterness out of her voice.
‘That’s not fair.’ Estelle looked pained. ‘Do you regret it now?’
‘Of course not,’ Star snapped. ‘I just don’t want to see Skye following in my footsteps. She needs to have a life before she even thinks of starting a family.’
‘You’re a great mother to her, love. A much better mum than I ever was to you.’ Estelle gave a sigh.
Star looked up at the ceiling to suppress her tears. ‘Anyway, don’t you want to be moving to a proper house, now that you’re getting older?’
‘And leave this perfect little commune – are you mad? As for the temperature, I’ve got proper electric heater things now. Haven’t sussed out how to work the timers on them, that’s all.’
Star looked out across the amazing clifftop view to see the horizon cutting the early October sky and steel-grey sea perfectly in two. Seabirds on the wing, ready to dive down and catch their fishy breakfast, squawked in anticipation. There was no denying that the Hartmouth Head residential static home park was set in an incredible location. Anddespite having been subject to ‘trailer trash’ taunts from some of the kids in her schooldays, Star thought that being brought up in such a close-knit community, and against such a stunning backdrop, had had its advantages.
‘Can’t your new boyfriend do it?’ she asked now, grateful for Skye’s regular updates on her grandmother’s unpredictable love life.
‘Sort the heaters, you mean?’ Estelle raised her eyebrows meaningfully, then laughed. ‘Harley’s about as useful on the DIY front as a chocolate teapot.’
‘Maybe if you dated someone who wasn’t just out of college …’
‘For your information, he’s thirty-two.’
‘Oh, just the thirty-year age gap this time, then.’
‘You’re just jealous. When’s the last time you had any fun, eh, my girl?’ Opening the door to her static home, painted a dark green that reflected her pagan love of nature, Estelle picked up and lit the half-smoked joint that was resting in an ashtray on the steps of the decking area. Then, after taking a large drag on the fragrant tobacco, she said, ‘I named you Steren because it means Star. Now that your daughter is grown and can stand on her own two feet, don’t you think it’s time foryouto start shining?’
