ChapterOne
Elle Cooper hurried towards the bus stop at the entrance of The Heart of the Village, the charming shopping village which was home to the library where she worked, along with a florist and a creperie, among other shops. Consisting of converted nineteenth-century farm buildings and barns, The Heart of the Village was located within the grounds of Foxglove Farm in Heartcross.
The weather app had predicted large dollops of rain would begin to fall by early evening so Elle was grateful to see the bus pulling up. The doors opened and she stepped on board, thankful she’d just managed to miss a drenching as the heavens finally opened.
‘Good evening, Miss Elle,’ Henry the driver said with a smile as he tipped his cap. ‘You made it just in time. How was life at the library today?’ he asked, handing her a ticket.
‘Full of great expectations,’ she replied with a broad smile.
‘I see what you did there. Very clever. And how’s Irene? I’m missing our daily bus chats.’
‘Enjoying retirement! So far, she’s been kayaking on the River Heart, enjoyed spa days at Starcross Manor and has been on a chutney-making course at Bumblebee Cottage!’
Henry chuckled. ‘I’m counting the days until my retirement.’
Elle raised an eyebrow. ‘Retirement? You’re a long way off that, Henry. You don’t look a day over forty.’ She gave him a heart-warming smile.
‘You do flatter me. I’m sixty-five this year and never missed a day’s work in my life. Speaking of birthdays, I believe it’s nearly yours.’
‘It is,’ confirmed Elle, her smile a bit forced now. The thought of her birthday had been keeping her awake for a number of weeks. It was her thirtieth this year, and she already knew it was going to be difficult – possibly more difficult than any other birthday before, given what she planned to do to mark it, but it was time.
‘That day, you ride for free.’ Henry gave her a wink and Elle smiled her thanks before climbing to the top deck of the bus and sitting down in her usual spot.
It was a short ride back to her house on the outskirts of Glensheil. The bus jolted across the track at the bottom of Love Heart Lane and was soon travelling across the bridge towards the town. Elle loved the view from the top deck, with Heartcross Castle towering on one side of the bridge whilst the River Heart tumbled over the rocks on the other. It was the perfect end to her work day.
As she stared out of the window Elle’s thoughts turned back to her upcoming birthday. She couldn’t believe how far she’d come since she was a teenager and had arrived in Irene’s life. Irene had been Elle’s foster carer, and they became inseparable. Her manner was always gentle and patient and Elle knew she was going to be a godsend in the coming weeks – maybe months, possibly years, depending on how long it took – because this birthday was the one when she was finally going to start the search for her biological mother.
Ten minutes later Elle stepped off the bus and took the short walk along the street to reach the red front door of her two-bedroom terraced house, which was a stone’s throw away from the River Heart.
As soon as she opened the front door, Elle heard her phone ping. She smiled at the message from an enthusiastic friend who, according to her text, had ‘hot gossip’ that needed to be shared straight away. Pippa was five years younger than Elle and lived around the corner with her parents. She’d grudgingly moved back home recently after breaking up with her long-term boyfriend, Nick.
After making a coffee, Elle cupped her hands around the hot mug and settled on the comfortable settee, taking a moment to appreciate her surroundings. Growing up, she had always dreamed of owning her own home and here she was surrounded by everything shabby-chic and fluffy pink. Her favourite part of this room was the old Victorian fireplace that complemented the decor perfectly with its original floral embellishments. Even on the darkest days, it still looked so pretty.
Knowing that Pippa would be impatiently waiting for a reply, Elle began typing a message back but before she could finish, the doorbell rang. Elle got up to open the door.
Looking like she was about to spontaneously combust, Pippa erupted into the hallway. ‘You haven’t replied to my text!’ she said, accusingly.
Elle smiled and waggled her phone in the air. ‘Give me a chance. It’s been exactly three minutes since you sent it.’
The two of them had met at work six months ago. Pippa had just completed her degree in librarianship and had secured a job alongside Irene and Elle. Elle and Pippa were complete opposites. Pippa lived for fashion, the latest designer shoes and handbags, and spent most of her time watching make-up tutorials on TikTok and purchasing useless items that social media claimed were this week’s ‘must haves’. Elle, on the other hand, wore her hair in a simple high ponytail, was fresh-faced and bore not even a trace of eyebrow grooming. A social media devotee she was not, instead enjoying the simple things in life – above all, books. Despite their differences, Elle knew the second Pippa walked through the library doors that there was something about the charismatic whirlwind. Her smile was huge, her personality bubbly and, even though they worked together every day, it was at the local book club that they cemented their friendship.
After work one day, Elle had invited Pippa along to the book club that was held at Bonnie’s Teashop on Love Heart Lane every Thursday evening. The teashop was owned by Rona and Felicity but the book club was run by Mim, an avid reader.
Bonnie’s Teashop embraced all things vintage with its china teacups, delicious home-made cakes and hot chocolate that was to die for. The ambience was just perfect, as far as Elle was concerned, with scented tea-lights that flickered inside glass jam jars and floral bunting hanging from the ceiling.
When they’d arrived at the café, the front of the counter had been open, revealing an array of beautiful cakes on numerous glass-domed cake stands, and their fellow book clubbers were already sitting at a pine table stacked with books, chatting happily amongst themselves.
Mim had welcomed them warmly and they settled down in the plush velvet bucket chairs in front of the window, browsing through some of the books that had been set out for them. A book club was Elle’s idea of heaven – a place to share thoughts on books and authors with a group of people who also loved everything bookish.
Once the evening had got underway, and after Mim had introduced Pippa to the group, she had asked the room who their all-time favourite authors were.
‘Sam Stone,’ Pippa and Elle had declared at exactly the same time, sharing a look that said they both just knew that they were going to be firm friends.
‘But three minutes is a long time.’ Pippa shivered as she shut the front door behind her and stepped into the warmth.
‘Where’s your coat?’
‘I’ve only come from round the corner,’ she replied, walking into the living room. ‘And you have to make opportunities.’
