‘I can’t believe we thought six o’clock was a good time to schedule this thing. We didn’t leave ourselves any time to go home and change.’
‘I know. I know,’ I say, making my way back into the shop. ‘But it’s still so exciting, isn’t it?’
‘It really is.’ Charlotte grins as she walks behind the counter to do some last-minute checks on muffins with elaborate piped icing in the colours of Kayla’s basketball team.
I glance at my watch. ‘It’s almost half five. What time are Gavin and Molly coming?’
‘Gavin is picking her up from after-school care on his way home from work and they’re coming straight here. They should be here any minute.’
I glance around Kayla’s Place. Charlotte and I haven’t made too many changes since we bought the premises. It’s still exactly as haphazard and quirky as it used to be when Gavin and I were teenagers, frittering away afternoons here. We kept the mismatched, brightly coloured chairs, only replacing any that were worn out or broken, and we purposely chose colours that clash. We sanded down the tables and kept them all. We thought about changing the windows that don’t fit in the frame properly and let the wind in during the winter. But we couldn’t bear to part with them. We leave complimentary colourful scarves and blankets in the window seats instead.
Today, the whole shop is full of balloons and brightly coloured streamers ready for our first ever party. We’re in business a year today and we’re about to hand over our first ever cheque to Cancer Research. Someone very important from the charity and some staff from the children’s hospital are coming.
When I confided in Charlotte that I had no idea what to talk to them about, she suggested I tell them the story of how Kayla’s Place came about. I still can’t believe that Gavin had been bringing Kayla to this old café most Saturdays throughout her childhood. This place held as special a place in his heart as it did mine.
‘Of course I love this old place,’ he told me the day we opened. ‘It’s the place I found out I was going to be a father. It doesn’t get more special than that.’
The chrome bell of the door jingles as the door swings open and Molly skips in, followed by Gavin.
‘How was school?’ Charlotte asks.
‘Okay.’ Molly shrugs casually.
She’s grown up so much in a year, I think.
I never thought I’d see the day Charlotte would allow Molly to go to creche so she could go back to work. But when she told me she wanted to invest in a vegan line of confectionary I couldn’t refuse. Charlotte was such a huge part of Kayla’s Place coming to be, I know Kayla would be delighted to see us working side by side now.
Within an hour Kayla’s Place is heaving with visitors. Regular customers mingle with the heads of the charity. Some of the nurses from the hospital have brought a beautiful bouquet of flowers and everyone is raving about how delicious the new line of vegan muffins are.
I nip behind the counter to pop another batch of brownies in the oven, worried we’ll run out, and my breath hitches in my throat when I turn around and see a familiar face.
‘Jack,’ I say, almost dropping the tray.
‘Hello, Heather,’ he smiles.
I’m lost for words.
‘It’s great to see you.’ He looks all around. ‘The place looks great. Kayla would be so proud.’
‘Yeah,’ I say, swallowing an emotional lump. ‘I hope she would.’
I set the tray down and look into his eyes. ‘How have you been?’ I ask. ‘I haven’t seen you in ages.’
Jack moved out of his sister’s house a few months ago. His sister met someone and Jack wanted to give them space to be a family. And I had to stop baking for the hospital when things became super busy here. Our paths stopped crossing.
‘I have something for you,’ he says.
‘You do?’
I’m not sure what to do. Or what to say. I haven’t seen him in such a long time and he turns up out of the blue and has a gift for me. I’m blushing.
He pulls something out from his inside jacket pocket. My eyes glass over as I stare at the familiar present in his hand, its shiny silver wrapping paper tied up with a red bow. A tag dangles from the centre of the bow. I don’t have to turn it over to know what it says.
‘Jack,’ I say, shaking my head.
‘Open it,’ Jack says.
My heart is beating so hard I feel as if it might beat right out of my chest. I run my fingers over the swirly handwriting on the tag. Love from, Kayla.
‘You kept this all year?’ I ask.
Jack nods. ‘She asked me to. I couldn’t say no.’
I nod. Understanding. I’m glad he didn’t say no to whatever this is. I’m glad Kayla wanted to bring him here for whatever reason. I’m just glad he’s here.
‘Open it,’ Jack repeats and I get the impression he’s nervous.
I’m nervous too, but I do as he asks. There’s no keychain inside this time. Just a piece of white paper. I turn it over.
‘Ask Jack out,’ I read aloud, instantly embarrassed. ‘Oh God.’
‘Wow, Kayla has really put you on the spot here,’ Jack says, smiling.
‘Did you know that’s what was in here?’ I ask.
Jack shakes his head. ‘I honestly had no idea.’
There’s such kindness in his eyes, I believe him.
‘I’m sorry,’ I say. ‘I wouldn’t have read it aloud if I’d—’ I cut myself off searching for the right words. ‘If I’d known this would be embarrassing.’
‘I’m not embarrassed,’ Jack says.
We look into each other eyes and I giggle. It’s so nice to see him again.
‘Well,’ he says, his beautiful eyes sparkling. ‘Are you going to ask? Kayla seems to think you should.’
‘What?’ I laugh, wondering if he’s serious. ‘Ask you out?’
He nods.
‘Okay.’ I shrug, my face no doubt reddening as I take a deep breath and say, ‘Would you like to go out with me, Jack Patterson?’
‘I would very much like that, Heather Prendergast.’
I smile, as subtle tears trickle down my cheeks. Kayla knew me so well, I think, missing her more than ever. I look down at the card and the three simple words in Kayla’s handwriting that stare back at me.
‘Does Kayla have any more surprises for me?’ I ask, my heart aching – knowing this is her last.
‘I think Kayla is trusting us to take charge of the surprises from here.’
Jack walks around to my side of the counter and when he gathers me into his arms I only pretend to be surprised. And when he presses his lips onto mine, I smile, as my amazing daughter’s words play over in my mind.
I am living my best life, Kayla. I promise.
If you absolutely loved Kayla’s emotional story, then don’t miss Brooke Harris’s unputdownable, heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting novel, When You’re Gone.
When You’re Gone
‘Wow… One hell of a rollercoaster ride of emotions!… This book will certainly tug at your heartstrings. I was completely hooked from the very first page and only managed to dry my eyes after I had finished.’ Stardust Book Reviews, 5 stars
Get it here
Holly was overjoyed to discover she was pregnant. But the baby is unwell, and her relationship is fracturing under the stress. Just when she is at her lowest, she receives the worst news of all: her beloved nana, Annie, is dying.
But Annie has one final wish before she leaves. She asks Holly to find a memory box in the attic, and to read the handwritten pages within it to her, the most precious things she owns.
It’s the story of Arthur ‘Sketch’ Talbot, Annie’s first – and last – love, and how much he sacrificed to save her from a home where she didn’t feel safe. It’s Annie’s promise to Holly that it doesn’t matter how long you love someone – but how much.
As Holly reads her nana’s story to her one last time, could it help her find the strength to face her own future? Is fulfilling her grandmother’s f
inal wish really a gift for Holly?
Compelling, heart-breaking, and emotionally vivid, When You’re Gone will break your heart and fix it anew. A gripping and emotional novel about family, love and sacrifice, for fans of Diane Chamberlain, Susan Lewis and Kathryn Hughes’ The Letter.
Available now.
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Books by Brooke Harris
When You’re Gone
The Forever Gift
A Letter from Brooke
I want to say a huge thank you for choosing to read The Forever Gift. If you enjoyed it, and want to keep up-to-date with all my latest releases, just sign up here. Your email address will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.
When I sent the first, rather messy, draft of this book to my editor she replied with a profound and unexpected comment and it touched me in a way I know I’ll never forget. She said, ‘So, the question is: How does it feel to be mourning someone when you need to support people whose grief is even greater than yours?’
Well, I wasn’t expecting that! Was that really what I’d written? Was Charlotte really so like me? Of course, the circumstances are entirely fictional and completely different to my real life, but I honestly think I wrote this book with that very feeling in my heart. And the truth be told, I’m still not sure I have an answer. I guess you just do!
If you liked The Forever Gift, and I really hope you did, I would be so grateful if you could spare the time to write a review. I’d love to hear what you think – it makes such a difference in helping new readers to discover one of my books for the first time.
I love hearing from my readers – you can get in touch on my Facebook page, through Twitter, Goodreads or my website.
All my best,
Brooke xx
www.jbharriswrites.wordpress.com
Acknowledgements
Huge thanks to the delight who is Hayley Steed – agent extraordinaire, kind, clever and wonderful. And to the wider team at Madeleine Milburn Agency – thank you.
With every book comes an editor’s guiding eye. This book was lucky enough to have two editors. Abi – I have said thank you many, many times and I truly hope you know how much that means. Maisie, it’s been so lovely getting to know one another. Thank you for the insight you’ve brought to this story.
Mam – thank you for the coffee/tea breaks, even if I should be working xx
Sophie, Ciaran, Aaron, Conor and Chloe – I love you, and if you all just learn how to clean the kitchen, I could get so much more writing done
The Forever Gift Page 29