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The Little Kiosk By The Sea: A Perfect Summer Beach Read
Jennifer Bohnet
‘A heartwarming summer read.’ Sunday ExpressThe wonderful seaside story from Jennifer Bohnet, perfect for fans of Fern Britton and Veronica Henry!Time’s running out to save the little kiosk by the sea…Sabine knows that if she doesn’t come up with a plan to save her little kiosk soon, it might be too late. If only her best friend Owen would stop distracting her with marriage proposals!Harriet is returning to Dartmouth for the first time in thirty years, haunted by the scandal that drove her away and shocked by an inheritance that could change everything.Rachel never expected to find love again after her world was shattered a year ago. But it seems as if the sleepy seaside town has different ideas…One thing’s for sure, it’s a summer they will never forget!Praise for Jennifer Bohnet‘A heartwarming summer read.’ Sunday Express‘An absolute delight from start to finish.’ Nudge Books‘A thoroughly charming, captivating read’ Reviewed the Book‘A wonderful escape, overflowing with secrets. I couldn’t have loved this more.’ Becca’s Books‘Simply wonderful, I enjoyed every moment.’ Welsh Annie‘The perfect book to read on a lovely sunny day.’ Whispering Stories Book Blog
One summer they’ll never forget….
Meet Sabine, desperately fighting to save her little kiosk from closure whilst turning down her friend Owen’s proposals, time and time again.
Cue Harriet, returning to Dartmouth after thirty years, haunted by the scandal that drove her away and shocked by a legacy that threatens her relationship with her journalist daughter.
Enter Rachel, the mysterious newcomer who has an unexpected chemistry with a local widower, and who sets in motion a chain of events she could never have predicted…
One thing’s for sure, as the autumn tide turns, there’ll be more than one secret laid bare!
The Little Kiosk by the Sea
Jennifer Bohnet
Copyright (#ulink_09012b60-8020-5027-a66f-5081847237a8)
HQ
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2015
Copyright © Jennifer Bohnet 2015
Jennifer Bohnet asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
E-book Edition © June 2015 ISBN: 9781474038065
Version date: 2018-07-23
JENNIFER BOHNET
is originally from the West Country but now lives in the wilds of rural Brittany, France. She’s still not sure how she ended up there! The saying ‘life is what happens while you’re deciding what to do …’ is certainly true in her case. She’s always written alongside having various jobs: playgroup leader, bookseller, landlady, restauranteur, farmer’s wife, secretary – the list is endless but does provide a rich vein of inspiration for her stories.
For three years she wrote a newspaper column in The South Hams Group of Newspapers (Devon) where she took a wry look at family life. Since living in France it is her fiction that has taken off with hundreds of short stories and several serials published internationally. If you like stories set down on the French Riviera, Antibes, Cannes and Monaco, then take a look at Follow Your Star and Rendezvous in Cannes. Her other books, too, have passing references to the South of France.
Allergic to housework and gardening, she rarely does either, but she does like cooking and entertaining and wandering around vide greniers (the French equivalent of flea markets) looking for a bargain or two. Her children currently live in fear of her turning into an ageing hippy and moving to Totnes, Devon.
To find out more about Jennifer visit her website: jenniferbohnet.com (http://jenniferbohnet.com) or chat to her on Twitter: @jenniewriter (https://twitter.com/@jenniewriter)
This one is for my daughter Emily and my son Nicholas – my very own Dartmothians!
Thanks to Charlotte Mursell and the team at HQ Digital – couldn’t have done it without you. A big thank-you must also go to the online forum of HQ Digital authors for their friendship and support. No names, no pack drill, but you know who you are! Thank you.
Contents
Cover (#ucb5fb267-84bd-5a0f-bec1-a2fa267e2391)
Blurb (#ua441e5a9-c74c-51f7-a733-a47eeb2d2f0c)
Title Page (#ud88d3389-427b-5e6b-9af6-432d9a25f294)
Copyright (#u985247c1-d47d-5b7a-be6f-273589246f28)
Author Bio (#u98921bf0-d0ca-56d8-a316-f2f2e875345a)
Acknowledgement (#u1c35a495-a748-5500-bf1c-4a0394a43e8c)
Dedication (#u244d60f7-c4f9-52f5-ae5d-e62403815028)
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Epilogue
Excerpt (#u18cc6ced-7100-53b3-b2cd-649660ed41cf)
Endpages (#ufbd01c30-4b26-5483-9965-acf7343462f7)
About the Publisher (#uc8d97ba4-a99b-5747-95d8-357710d56367)
EARLY SEASON
PROLOGUE (#u903213fe-0af9-5dec-a6d5-d14c07ef90d0)
For as long as anyone could remember, the kiosk on the quay had been part of the town’s summer street furniture. A focal point for the locals as much as the holidaymakers. Every 1
March, the wooden hexagonal hut re-appeared without fuss or fanfare on its designated place on the embankment between the taxi rank and the yacht club, its wooden struts and panels gleaming with freshly applied paint. Red, white, blue and yellow – all bright summer colours which, come October, would have been bleached and faded away by the summer weather. The jet-black orb on the top of the domed roof was a favourite with the gulls, who perched there serenely surveying the scene before swooping down and stealing ice creams and pasties from unwary holidaymakers.
As well as its annual paint make-over, the kiosk had occasionally been refurbished inside. These days it boasted an electric connection for the necessary computer, a kettle, mugs, a round tin that was never empty of biscuits and a small electric heater to keep the occupant warm in early and late season when the wind off the river blew straight in through the half-open stable door.
There was a small shelf unit for holding tickets and the cash box, a cupboard for locking things in, space to the left of the door for the outside advertising boards to come in overnight and three foldaway canvas director chairs for sitting outside in the sun with friends when business was slow.
The whole atmosphere of the town changed as the locals welcomed the re-appearance of the hut which signalled the imminent arrival of the holidaymakers, the second home owners and the day-trippers. Maybe this would be the year fortunes would be made. If not fortunes, at least enough money to see the families through winter without getting deep into overdrafts. The last thing anyone wanted – or needed – was another wet season.
This summer though, 1
March came and went with no sign of the kiosk. All winter rumours had rumbled around town about its demise and locals feared the worst: the council had never liked it and wanted it gone – not true, the mayor said. Health and Safety had condemned it as an unfit workplace – but nobody would give details of the problem. The rent for the summer season had doubled and Owen Hutchinson, owner of the pleasure boats he operated through the kiosk, had refused to pay. A fact he denied.
Then, two weeks before Easter, without any warning, the re-painted kiosk appeared in its usual place. Collectively, the town heaved a sigh of relief. Panic over. Time to enjoy the summer.
