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The Café Birds
Alicia Hope
Similar in style to The Break by Marian Keyes, this upbeat small-town novel tells of friendship, secrets, and second chances as Paige and her friends confront conflicts that echo our own struggles and triumphs.
Ready to immerse yourself in a story that tugs at the emotions and inspires ... hope?
Then here's how it opens....
Chapter One: The Flock
CLICK.
The line went dead.
Paige stared at the phone as though trying to see her husband’s frowning face at the other end of the call.
That loud noise before the line dropped out, what was it? A mortar attack?
Had hostilities resumed?
Was Rick alright?
Biting her lip, she slumped back in her chair, stomach lurching.
Please don’t let those be our last words to each other. I didn’t get to tell … remind … him how important he is to me, and how much I miss him.
No, she’d been too busy taking umbrage at his words....
‘I’m glad your girlfriends keep you company when I’m away, babe, but I’m not really interested in hearing their life stories.’ Frustration had deepened Corporal Rick Connor’s gravelly voice. ‘And I know you’re only talking about them to avoid answering my question.’
At her silence he’d blown a long-suffering breath. ‘I asked when you’re going to admit this business venture of yours is a failure, and call it quits.’
‘Wow, that’s some vote of confidence. Thanks so much for the husbandly support.’
His exasperated sigh had whooshed along the phone line and into her ear. Heavy breathing, but not the thrilling kind like in the early days of their romance.
Look how far we’ve come – fallen? – since then.
While her thoughts had drifted off, his hadn’t.
‘Well what do you want me to say, Paige? That you should keep flogging that dead horse, and to hell with the money it’s bleeding?’
Oh, how she hated that emotionless, Corporal Connors-like tone he’d taken to using with her lately. Like she was one of his troops.
‘No, Rick.’ She swallowed her resentment but couldn’t keep the bitterness out of her voice. ‘That’s not what I want you to say.’
‘Then what, Paige? What?’ Another sigh. She’d imagined him raking fingers through his closely cropped dark hair. ‘Because I have no id—’
Then the explosion, and ... CLICK.
Silence. The fraught, stomach-knotting kind.
Slowly replacing the receiver, she bent her head to drag a hand over her lightly freckled face.
A face he used to describe as elfin.
She swallowed a sob.
Remember Rick’s advice – don’t assume the worst if communications are lost. Phone reception while on deployment is always dicey.
Pursing her lips, she blew the pent-up air from her lungs, wiped her eyes, and sat straighter.
Dwelling on negative thoughts could send an army wife crazy. What I need right now is some spirit-lifting company.
She glanced at her watch.
Four fifteen pm.
Good timing.
Reaching for her mobile phone, she sent off a hasty text message.
* * *
Want to continue reading? The full novel is available in ebook and/or paperback from all good retail sites, by clicking here.
And here's what one reviewer had to say about it:
'You've ... orchestrated an entire suburban menagerie of drama, friendship, and hidden pastries! I mean - five women, each with their quirks, secrets, and (possibly imaginary) romance ... you've basically created a reality TV show that doesn't need cameras, just readers ready to sip cappuccinos while chaos unfolds!'
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