Love Blooms at Hollyhock Farm (Hollyhock Farm #3)

Chapter 1

1

SKYE

Skye stared out of her bedroom window across the expanse of the wide bay with its pale gold sand, rolling waves and Elizabeth Castle perched neatly on a small islet in the sea. The sun was setting and because her first day had been cut short when her flight to Jersey was delayed due to a mechanical issue with the plane, she now needed to get a move on if she was to see much before it got too dark.

‘You were right, Gran,’ she said, turning her phone so her grandmother could see for herself. ‘The view from my hotel window is incredible. Thank you so much for treating me to this.’

‘It’s my pleasure, sweet pea. You deserve this long weekend away.’ Her grandmother paused and Skye suspected it was because she worried about the outcome of her visit to the island. ‘Hopefully you’ll find a way to trace him, although I doubt you’ll have time to do very much on this occasion.’

Skye agreed. ‘But it’s a start,’ she said, picking up the worn, red hard-backed notebook her grandmother had recently given to her.

‘It’s Annie’s,’ Gran had said, surprising Skye who immediately flicked through some of the pages, her heart racing as she read snippets of her mother’s life in her familiar spidery handwriting. ‘This is amazing, Gran. Thank you.’

‘I’ve only recently found it,’ Gran had said. ‘When I was having those two squeaky floorboards fixed in the spare room where your mum used to sleep. It was then that the chap discovered this book.’

‘Have you read any of it?’ Skye had asked, almost certain her grandmother would have been too intrigued to be able to resist.

‘I did. Some of those things were a revelation, I can tell you. There are notes in there that I believe will help you trace your father and that’s why I suggested treating you to this trip to Jersey.’

Dragging her thoughts back to the present, Skye said, ‘It’s going to be exciting visiting places where Mum worked.’ She sighed happily. ‘I can’t quite believe I’m looking at a view she must have seen at some point while she was here in the late nineties.’

Skye heard her grandmother’s sing-song doorbell.

‘Blast, there’s someone at the door. Go and have fun. I’ll speak to you again soon. Much love.’

‘Thanks, Gran.’

Skye ended the call but continued to gaze at the sea. Even though her mother had died ten years before when Skye was fifteen, it had only been recently after she and Gran had watched an episode of a show about people searching for lost relatives that she had felt a strong enough need to start looking for her own father.

‘I wonder if you’re still here,’ she murmured, opening the window further to let in the sea air. ‘Do you even know I exist?’

It had been a niggling thought of hers ever since her mother had told her just before her death from cancer that she had met Skye’s father while working a season at one of the island’s hotels. If only she had been brave enough to ask for more information while she had the chance, Skye mused regretfully. Her focus had been on simply being there for her mother during those short months while they and Gran struggled to cope with the tumultuous change in their lives.

Back then she hadn’t cared much about an absent father, only that she was about to lose her amazing mother who had brought her up by herself. At least they lived with Gran so the pair of them could continue to support each other in the dark days, weeks and months after Annie Sellers died.

She would have a shower first to freshen up and then go out and have a walk along the seafront before returning to the hotel to grab some dinner before bed.

Feeling refreshed, Skye towel-dried her hair and put on fresh underwear. She was pulling a cotton top over her head when an alarm began blasting outside her bedroom door, giving her a fright.

‘Not now,’ she grumbled, quickly dressing in a short skirt and pushing her feet into her trainers.

Someone banged loudly on her bedroom door. ‘We are evacuating the hotel immediately,’ the voice called.

‘Coming.’

Skye grabbed her bag and, slipping the strap over her head, took her door card and left the room. She had been travelling around Asia for six months and thought it ironic that in all the times she had spent sleeping in hostels and cheap hotels nothing like this had happened before. Following the rest of the guests, she passed the hotel staff indicating the way out, and she wondered how long this might take.

‘Do we know what’s happened?’ a man carrying a small, terrified-looking child asked the person behind him.

‘No idea.’

‘I think it might be a fire somewhere,’ someone else announced as they reached the top of the staircase. ‘I spotted two fire engines outside my window.’

At the thought of a fire, Skye realised she had left her notebook with all the information her mother had written in it. Skye had no intention of losing such an irreplaceable treasure. She turned and went to retrace her steps past other guests.

‘Excuse me,’ a firefighter said, putting his arm out to bar her way. ‘You can’t go back inside until the all-clear has been given.’

‘I’ve forgotten something valuable,’ she said, looking over at the hotel and not seeing any smoke. The place was clearly not about to burn down. ‘I won’t be a moment.’

‘You’re still going to have to wait here with everyone else until you’re allowed to go back.’

She glared at him, desperate to argue, but seeing the steely look in his blue eyes, realised he wasn’t going to change his mind. ‘Fine.’

Seeming satisfied that she was going to do as he asked, the firefighter left to speak to someone else. Checking his back was turned to her, Skye hurried back to the hotel entrance and ran up the stairs to the first floor. She reached the room, wishing the alarm would stop blaring out.

‘Hey, you can’t go in there,’ a deep voice called, giving her the second fright of the evening.

Damn, he must have spotted her going back inside, Skye realised. Hand shaking, she held her room card against the lock and, relieved when it clicked, opened the door and stepped inside. Before it could close he entered the room behind her.

‘You cannot be in here,’ he said, sounding thoroughly irritated with her.

Understanding his annoyance, but unwilling to leave without the notebook, Skye scanned the room and seeing her precious book on the dressing table, crossed the floor to grab it. Her fingers grazed it, when he spoke again.

‘You must leave now.’

Skye picked it up and turned to see a tall, broad-shouldered firefighter in full uniform. Even as she battled to make sense of what was happening it dawned on her that, at any other time, this might be quite exciting. Then she noticed the grim expression on his handsome face.

‘Now.’

‘One minute,’ she said, pushing her book into her jacket pocket.

‘You don’t have a minute,’ the firefighter said, his voice clipped as if he was trying hard to keep from losing his temper.

Aware he had her best interests at heart and was only doing his job, Skye nodded apologetically and left the room. ‘Sorry, I promise I won’t do that again.’

He didn’t reply, just gave a nod and a sideways glance as if he didn’t trust her to do as she had said. He followed her silently until she was back outside with the other guests.