Showing results by author "Helen Rolfe" in All Categories

As a kid, Nina O'Brien spent all her summers at her grandparents' cabin by the beach at Stepping Stone Bay. Long, sunny days full of fun and laughter with her best friends, Leo, the boy from the boatyard next door, his older brother, Adrian, and local girl Maeve - and, as Nina grew older, the magic of falling in love with Leo. But one summer night changed everything, and those glorious days came to an abrupt end for them all.

A shaky upbringing has left Rosie Stevens craving safety and security. She thinks she knows exactly what she needs to make her life complete - the stable job and perfect house-sit she’s just found in Magnolia Creek. The only thing she wants now is for her long-term boyfriend, Adam, to leave his overseas job and come home for good. Owen Harrison is notoriously nomadic, and he roars into town on his Ducati for one reason and one reason only - to search his parents’ house while they’re away to find out what they’ve been hiding from him his entire life.

Hannah went from high flyer in the city to business owner and has never looked back. In the cosy Cotswold village of Butterbury she runs Tied up with String, sending handmade gifts and care packages across the miles, as well as delivering them to people she thinks need them the most. But when her ex best-friend Georgia turns up and wants in on the action, will Hannah be willing to forgive and forget?

Live every day as if it were your last – that’s the motto Bess has lived by since her father died unexpectedly. As a critical care paramedic, Bess sees every day just how easily life can be taken away. But carefree living has risks, and as Bess’s debts mount, she discovers her actions could have terrible consequences.

Running Heritage View Stables is everything Hazel ever dreamed of. She loves working with the horses and managing the business with her brother. But after a terrible incident, she’s not sure whether she'll ever be able to put things back the way they were. Gus is ready to start over. He’s moved him and his ten-year-old daughter, Abigail, to Heritage Cove, where he’s opening his own vet practice. Everything is falling into place, especially as he watches Abigail start to come out of her shell for the first time since the accident.

Melissa rushes back to Heritage Cove when Barney, the man who’s been like a father figure to her since she was a little girl, ends up in hospital. After an absence of five years, her return isn’t going to be easy, especially when she bumps into Harvey, the love of her life and the man she’s never been able to forget. For reasons he couldn't explain at the time, Harvey changed his mind about going with Melissa to start afresh as they'd planned. But with Melissa back in the village and determined to stick around to help Barney, they can't avoid each other forever.

Jake is the direct competitor for the family business and a man with a dark secret, and Tamara struggles to fight her attraction to him as she deals with secrets of her own and an ex who refuses to give up. Tamara is soon drawn into the small community of Brewer Creek where she becomes the coordinator for an old fashioned Friendship Tree - a chart telling people who they can call on in times of trouble. And before long, she realizes the Friendship Tree does a lot more than organize fundraising events and working bees; it has the power to unite an entire town.

Cloverdale is known for its winding roads, undulating hills and colourful cottages and, more recently, its Library of Things. Need a ladder, a hedge trimmer or a waffle maker? You can borrow it from the Library of Things. When Single dad Adam joins the Library of Things and agrees to run a mending workshop, new friendships start to blossom. Jennifer is a volunteer at the Library of Things. When her younger sister Isla moves back to Cloverdale after their mother dies, Jennifer finds herself wondering whether Isla is hiding something.

Tilly is overjoyed when an estranged relative comes to Heritage Cove wanting to make amends. But as she lets him in to her life and Tilly’s Bits ‘n’ Pieces—the shop she owns and loves—her friends aren’t so sure whether everything is quite as it seems. Benjamin’s parents run Mistletoe Gate Farm, selling Christmas trees, wreaths and mistletoe. Benjamin and Tilly have been falling for one another since the summer but will family complications put an abrupt stop to what is looking like a burgeoning romance?

It's December in Heritage Cove, and along with the village Christmas tree, frosty mornings and the promise of the most wonderful time of the year, the new waffle shack is about to open. And its owner isn't a stranger to the Cove, because after all this time, Daniel is back to make amends with his brother Harvey—as well as a few other locals he might have offended along the way.

Veronica Beecham's cottage is the neatest house on Mapleberry Lane. A place for everything, and everything in its place—that's her motto. But within her wisteria-covered walls, Veronica has a secret: she's hardly left her perfect home in years. Then her teenage granddaughter, Audrey, arrives on the doorstep, and Veronica's orderly life is turned upside down.

As young women, Lise and Emma had the kind of friendship people dream about. While Lise's own family was distant and disengaged, Emma's was welcoming and warm, and for the first twenty-six years of their life, growing up together in a close-knit community, the duo were inseparable. But when they decide to spend one year living together in Paris, what starts as the adventure of a lifetime becomes a disaster that changes everything. And when Emma returns to Bath the following summer, Lise stays behind in France, their friendship in tatters.

When Jo's beloved grandparents ask for her help in running their little café at the end of the pier in Salthaven-on-Sea, she jumps at the chance. The café is a hub for many people: the single dad who brings his little boy in on a Saturday morning; the lady who sits alone and stares out to sea; the woman who pops in after her morning run.

When Noah and Maya find themselves on the same rescue team, they’re immediately drawn to each other. Yet, with so many complications in their personal lives, do they have time to open their hearts to someone new? As their friendship grows, Noah and Maya are both about to discover that life is worth nothing unless you share it with the people you love.

Joy has made a family for herself. She's turned her beautiful old farmhouse into a safe haven for anyone who is looking for a new beginning. She's always ready with a kind word, a nugget of advice and believes that anyone can change their life for the better, if they really want to. Libby has exchanged her high-flying job in New York for a break in the quiet Somerset countryside. She's soon drawn into Joy's world and into her family of waifs and strays—including Drew, whom Joy once helped get back on his feet.

The Heritage Bakery is finally getting the makeover it deserves, with sisters Jade and Celeste modernising the place and putting their own stamp on it while retaining all the charm of days gone by. But Jade has far more planned than a brand-new kitchen and fancy cake designs. She’s ready for an even bigger change in her life. It’s almost time to take the next step and she knows just what to do to make that happen.

Morgan Rosewood finds herself at a crossroads in her life after returning home to Forget-Me-Not Cottage to care for her ailing mother. She and boyfriend Ronan, had plans, big plans, but all these hopes and dreams are put on hold when Morgan's mum suddenly dies. Morgan’s emotions are in turmoil but she sets about the task of clearing the house and running her late mother’s vintage market stall.

All it takes is a cozy cottage, nostalgia for her family, and the unexpected presence of a tall, handsome man to make Belle realize the true meaning of Christmas.

Loretta has run the little sewing shop in Butterbury for years, while bringing up her three headstrong daughters. Her own grandmother taught her how to quilt, and Loretta always found time to sit with Daisy, Ginny and Fern, pulling together scraps of material - and their hopes and dreams - into a beautiful whole. But this Christmas the family is coming apart at the seams.

The Copper Plough is at the heart of village life for the residents of Heritage Cove, and never more so than at Christmas, when the tree glows in the alcove and the smell of mulled wine carries out onto the street. So when new owners for the beloved pub arrive and decide to shake things up, not everyone welcomes the changes with open arms. Local bakery owner Celeste is ready to keep an open mind. But she’s shocked to discover that one of the new landlords is Quinn, a former Navy sailor with whom she had a short but powerful romance years earlier.