by Howes, Pam
‘Glad I thought to do this. I guessed correctly that the café would be packed to the rafters.’ She handed a Marie biscuit to Cathy, who was swinging her legs to and fro under the bench, oblivious to all the excitement buzzing around them, and then offered one to Alice, who declined.
‘I’m too churned up to eat anything,’ Alice said.
‘I’m sure. Are you looking forward to seeing your daddy, Cathy? It’s a very exciting day for you and him. Meeting each other for the first time.’
Cathy shrugged and nibbled on her biscuit.
‘I’m not sure that she grasps what’s going on,’ Alice said. ‘I keep talking to her about her daddy and she’s been shown the photos with him in and she can point him out when asked, but finally meeting the real person is a huge thing for her – as it will be for all the children born while their fathers have been away.’
‘It will take time, but I’m sure she’ll be just fine.’ There was a surge of people on the platform and excited shouts and squeals. Granny Lomax jumped to her feet with excitement and then sat down again, looking dejected. ‘Wrong platoon,’ she said. ‘Maybe the next train, eh?’
‘It’s not quite mid-afternoon yet,’ Alice said, looking at the station clock. The crowds were thinning out slightly as the recently arrived soldiers and their families left the station. The butterflies in her stomach were creating havoc. What if she didn’t recognise him, or he her, for that matter? She’d had a couple of group photos of him sent to her a year or so ago but it was hard to make out who was who among the tiny figures, although Terry had written on the back where he was positioned. She turned as someone called her name, and saw Millie rushing towards them.
‘I haven’t missed them, then?’ Millie gasped. ‘Mam did my hair for me and the flipping dryer stopped working. I couldn’t come down here with sopping wet hair. Had to wait for Dad to sort it out. It was a fuse that had gone and he couldn’t find the fuse wire he usually keeps in a kitchen drawer. Anyway, I’m here now. Jimmy is travelling with Terry, so I didn’t want to let him down.’
Alice gave her a hug. ‘Glad you’re here. I thought you’d forgotten.’
Millie laughed. ‘Not a chance. I’ve had a couple of letters one after the other begging me to meet him. There’s no way I would let him down.’
After another anxious hour of waiting and making small talk, a large black engine steamed into the station, belching smoke and hooting loudly.
‘This might be the one,’ Granny Lomax said, beaming from ear to ear. ‘My boy is almost home where he belongs.’
Alice picked up Cathy and held her breath as the crowd on the platform surged forwards but were held back by station staff.
‘Let them get off the train, Madam,’ one red-faced guard said to a large woman who poked him in the chest with her umbrella when he put out a hand to bar her way. ‘If he’s on it, he’ll be out in a few minutes. They’ll all have their bags to bring through so give them some space, for goodness sake.’
As they waited and scanned the faces of the men, Alice spotted Terry, striding along with Jimmy, kit bags on their backs. They stopped and dropped their bags onto the floor and held out their arms. Millie ran forwards at the same time as a tall man with hair the same colour as Jimmy’s and a small blonde-haired woman did. Jimmy called Millie forwards to meet his mum and dad.
‘This is the girl I’m going to marry, if she’ll have me,’ he announced, covering a speechless Millie’s face with kisses as his parents cheered.
‘Well, will you, marry me, I mean?’ Jimmy said, looking into her eyes.
‘Yes,’ Millie said, nodding, tears of joy coursing down her cheeks. ‘Of course I will, Jimmy.’
As Jimmy swept Millie into his arms again, Alice was still standing frozen to the spot, watching as Terry’s mother dashed towards her son and he enveloped her in an embrace. He looked over the top of her head at Alice and raised a questioning eyebrow. With a choking sob she ran towards him, Cathy in her arms, and he enfolded them in a hug that was so tight Cathy squealed to be put down. Alice handed her to Granny and moved back into Terry’s arms to be kissed and hugged once more. Terry held her at arm’s length and gazed into her eyes. Looking into his, all the doubts she’d ever had while he’d been away vanished in an instant. He was home and he was safe. Her tall, handsome, dark-haired, brown-eyed soldier-boy was home, he was hers, and as he whispered that he loved her and would never let her go, she knew he meant every single word.
* * *
If Alice’s story swept you away, you’ll love Pam Howes’ The Lost Daughter of Liverpool. As Liverpool struggles to rebuild after the Second World War, Dora and her sweetheart Joe are about to face troubles of their own. Read it now!
The Lost Daughter of Liverpool
The Mersey Trilogy Book 1
Can she save herself, her marriage – and her daughter?
It’s 1946 and the war is over. In Liverpool, the blackout blinds may be coming down, but one family is about to face devastating misfortune…
Dora Evans is finally marrying the love of her life, Joe Rodgers, and her dreams of opening a dressmaking business look as if they might come true. With twin daughters on the way, Dora has everything she’s ever wanted.
But then tragedy strikes: one of Dora’s babies dies in infancy, and a catastrophic fire changes their lives forever. Dora is consumed with grief, struggling to get through each day and Joe is suddenly distant, finding solace in his colleague, Ivy.
With Ivy watching and scheming, and Dora battling against her own demons, can she keep her family together?
The Lost Daughter of Liverpool is a heartbreaking and gripping story of love, loss and hope. Perfect for fans of Nadine Dorries, Diney Costeloe and Kitty Neale. Discover Pam’s series, The Mersey Trilogy, today.
Hear more from Pam
If you enjoyed The Factory Girls of Lark Lane and want to keep up to date with all Pam Howes’ latest releases, sign up to her email list here. Your email address will never be shared, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Also by Pam Howes
The Mersey Trilogy
1. The Lost Daughter of Liverpool
2. The Forgotten Family of Liverpool
3. The Liverpool Girls
The Lark Lane Trilogy
1. The Factory Girls of Lark Lane
Rock ’n’ Roll Romance Series
Three Steps to Heaven
’Til I Kissed You
Always on My Mind
Not Fade Away
That’ll Be the Day
Fast Movin’ Train
Hungry Eyes
It’s Only Words
A Letter from Pam
I want to say a huge thank you for choosing to read The Factory Girls of Lark Lane. If you did enjoy 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.
To my loyal band of regular readers who bought and reviewed The Mersey Trilogy, thank you for waiting patiently for the new series to begin. I hope you’ll enjoy meeting Alice and Millie and co as much as you enjoyed Dora and Joe’s stories. Your support is most welcome and very much appreciated. As always, a big thank you to Beverley Ann Hopper and the members of her FB group Book Lovers, and Deryl Easton and the members of her FB group The NotRights. Love you all for the support you show me.
A huge thank you to team Bookouture, especially my lovely editor Abi for your support and guidance and always being there, you’re the best, and thanks also to the rest of the fabulous editorial team.
And last, but most definitely not least, thank you to our wonderful media girls, Kim Nash and Noelle Holten, for everything you do for us. And thanks also to the gang in the Bookouture Authors’ Lounge for always being there. I’m so proud to be one of you.
I hope you loved The Factory Girls of Lark Lane and if you did I would be very grateful if you could write a review. I’d love to hear what you think, and it makes such a difference helping new read
ers 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 or through Goodreads.
Thanks,
Pam Howes
The Forgotten Family of Liverpool
The Mersey Trilogy Book 2
Available now
The war is over – but are their troubles just beginning?
It’s 1951 and rationing is finally coming to an end. But while Liverpool is recovering from the ferocity of war, a family is about to be torn apart…
Dora Rodgers is settling into a new life with her daughters Carol and Jackie, moving on from the betrayal of her husband. But then an unexpected knock at the door rips her family in two. Carol is taken away by a welfare officer to live with Dora’s estranged husband Joe.
Dora is determined to fight for her child, but she struggles to cope when a tragic accident leaves her mother in hospital, and shocking news from Joe breaks her heart once more.
With her family in pieces and her marriage over for good, will Dora ever manage to get her daughter Carol home where she belongs?
The Forgotten Family of Liverpool is a brave and tear-jerking story of one woman’s quest to protect her family. Perfect for fans of Nadine Dorries, Annie Murray and Kitty Neale. Discover Pam’s Mersey Trilogy today.
Buy now
The Liverpool Girls
The Mersey Trilogy Book 3
Available now!
Will tragedy tear them apart – once and for all?
It’s 1966 and in Liverpool two sisters are about to have their lives turned upside down…
Sisters Carol and Jackie haven’t had the easiest of childhoods, but as they grow up and begin their own lives both hope for happier times ahead. Stylish Carol works in Lewis’s department store, while Jackie dreams of drama school, and a career on the stage.
But the sisters are heartbroken when they discover they have been dating the same man, and an unexpected pregnancy causes a rift between them. Parents Dora and Joe must overcome their past hurts and help their daughters, despite the meddling of Joe’s second wife Ivy.
As the sisters’ troubles spiral and difficult decisions must be made, can the family pull together – or will Jackie and Carol’s sisterly bond be destroyed forever?
The Liverpool Girls is a heart-breaking and compelling story of family, loss and love. Perfect for fans of Annie Groves, Anne Baker and Kitty Neale.
Acknowledgements
As always, my man, daughters, son-in-law and grandchildren. Thank you for your support. I love you all very much. Xxx
Thanks once again to my lovely 60’s Chicks friends for their friendship and support. And a big thanks to my friends and Beta readers, Brenda Thomasson and Julie Simpson, whose feedback I welcome always.
Thank you to the band of awesome bloggers and reviewers who have given me such wonderful support for my Mersey Trilogy and again with the first in the new Lark Lane series. It’s truly appreciated and without you all an author’s life would be a difficult one.
Published by Bookouture in 2018
An imprint of StoryFire Ltd.
Carmelite House
50 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DZ
www.bookouture.com
Copyright © Pam Howes 2018
Pam Howes 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: 978-1-78681-468-5