Summer at Oyster Bay: A gorgeous feel good summer romance (23 page)
Read Summer at Oyster Bay: A gorgeous feel good summer romance Online
Authors: Jenny Hale
C
harlie took Emily’s hand
, and she looked lovingly at their two children, John and Alice, as they both puffed up their cheeks and blew out their birthday candles at Gram’s old table. Charlie had refinished it but it still sat in its same spot in the kitchen at Oyster Bay.
Four years ago today, Emily had nervously wakened in the wee hours of the morning and shaken Charlie, rousing him from sleep. She was scared, grabbing her belly as the pains came one after another.
“Get me a bag with some clothes,” she’d said as she hurried around the room, looking for things.
But Charlie slid on his jeans and gently took her hand just like he had now. “The car is already packed,” he said, no fear at all in his eyes.
“What about things for the babies?”
“In the car.” He smiled at her, leading her toward the door.
“Flash…”
“I’ve put his food out for Gram, and Rachel will be by as soon as I text her.”
And now, here they were, celebrating four whole years with their twins. John looked exactly like Charlie except he had a dimple on his right cheek, and Alice was a good mix of the two of them—she had Emily’s eyes and Charlie’s smile.
“Let’s have cake and ice cream and then we can ride the horses!” Emily said. She turned to Charlie. “Are Hope and Junior saddled up?”
He nodded, complete happiness in his eyes.
They’d worried about introducing a new colt to Hope—she’d only ever known Eli. But after Eli had passed, Emily didn’t want her to be alone, and they’d gotten another horse right away. Just as Eli had welcomed Hope, Hope had done the same for Junior. The new colt had been a similar coloring to Eli, the same build, and after a few years with him, they realized he even had a comparable temperament. So, when they’d decided to name him Eli Junior, Junior for short, they’d made a good choice. Emily and the twins took the horses out for daily rides and they let them swim in the warm months. Shelly still came over to take care of them. She even entered them into competitions. Junior, it seemed, was a natural, and his ribbons were hanging in the barn.
“Gram, would you like cake?” Emily asked, her fingers now full of icing as she tipped a large wedge of vanilla cake onto a paper plate.
Gram, still as sharp as a tack, but resting a lot more these days, was sitting in the corner, her hands on her lap and a smile on her face. “I’d love a piece, dear,” she said. “But let the children have some first.”
Emily handed the first piece to Simon who would also be four in a matter of days. She couldn’t believe it when Rachel had told her she was pregnant. Their due dates were only a week apart. True to form, her sister was still doing it all—working full time and raising her two children. Jeff had been with her every step of the way.
“I’ll help Simon,” Clara said. She was tall and lanky like Jeff, her brown hair now laced with golden streaks from days in the sun with her friends. She took the plate from Emily and sat down next to her brother.
Charlie had moved over to chat with Jeff while Rachel poured the juice into little paper cups that said “Happy Birthday,” placing them in front of each child.
As Emily looked on, she couldn’t help but think how that house had seen almost her entire life. Those walls had been witness to her childhood, her teenage years, her wedding to Charlie, the stairwell done up in magnolias and white roses just like Papa’s pier, where, in a flowing dress and bare feet, with her family and friends looking on, she’d promised to love Charlie for the rest of her life. And now those walls were there to witness her raise her own children. She hoped with everything she had, that one day, she’d be sitting in that chair where Gram was, celebrating the life of her great-grandchildren.
She wondered about Papa from time to time, and this was one of those times. But she remembered his words: “It feels like I’m gone, but remember I’m right here. I’m just a thought away, wherever you go.” And he was right. He was always just a thought away, evidence of his life and hard work all around her. It was true: Papa had built her a great house. But he’d built an even better family.
T
hank
you so much for reading
Summer at Oyster Bay
. I really hope you found it to be a heart-warming summer treat!
If you’d like me to drop you an email when my next book is out, you can
sign up here
:
I won’t share your email with anyone else, and I’ll only email you when a new book is released.
If you did enjoy
Summer at Oyster Bay
, I’d love it if you’d write a review
. Getting feedback from readers is amazing, and it also helps to persuade other readers to pick up one of my books for the first time.
Until next time!
Jenny
P.S. If you enjoyed this story, and would like a little more summer fun, do check out my other summer novels—
Summer by the Sea
and
Love Me for Me
.
Summer by the Sea
is a
beautiful, heart-warming summer read
about
sisters, first love
and not always getting what we
want
– but
sometimes ending up with exactly what we need
.
They say there’s always one summer that changes you.
For
Faith
the one summer she can’t forget is when she fell in love as a teenager – only for her sister,
Casey
, to steal her man. Now, at the request of her beloved ninety-year-old Grandmother, Faith has agreed to a family holiday – at their childhood beach house, where it all began.
Faith hasn’t seen her sister in years but is finally ready to forgive and forget, enjoy the sunshine and relive happy memories. What she’s
not
ready for is meeting Jake Buchanan – the owner of the beach house – or the long-forgotten feelings he ignites in her.
Can Faith overcome the hurt of the past, rekindle the close bond she had with Casey and make this summer THE ONE to remember?
I
’d like
to thank my husband, Justin, who continues to be by my side on this journey.
A giant thank you to Oliver Rhodes for his support and vision.
My editor, Natalie Butlin—I am thrilled to be working with her, and I have truly enjoyed the collaboration we’ve had on this project.
Published by Bookouture
An imprint of StoryFire Ltd. 23 Sussex Road, Ickenham, UB10 8PN. United Kingdom.
Copyright © Jennifer Hale 2016
Jennifer Hale
has asserted her
right to be identified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events other than those clearly in the public domain, are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
ISBN: 978-1-78681-029-8
