Tired of the
city, Grace Clelland returns to Blue Sands, the quiet Cornish seaside village
where she grew up. There she will meet old flames and old friends, rekindle old
loves and ignite new ones in a novel that will have you dreaming of the soft
crash of the waves on the shore, the feel of sand between your toes, overloaded
ice-creams and smoky beach barbeques.
Purchase Link - https://books2read.com/Summer-at-blue-sands-cove
Excerpt
Summer
at Blue Sands – Grace meets Jason
Looking for some surfing gear, Grace meets Jason, who will prove to have a large role to play during her summer back in the village.
Across the road from the promenade, t-shirt and shorts-clad staff from several surf rental shops were setting out signboards and gear. On the promenade, a younger generation of local surfers was already sitting on the edge of the seawall, perusing the low breakers rolling in against the shore. For a few years in her teens, Grace had been among them. While Joan had liked the beach but not the water, Grace’s mid-teens had brought a brief obsession with the waves that had even won her a couple of local prizes. However, like most of her possessions, she had given her parents permission to sell her surfboard, and with ten years having passed since the last time she hit the waves, she wasn’t sure her body could still take it.
Today, however, with a
gentle two-foot break massaging the shore, was a good time to try. She walked
up to the first shop she saw with an OPEN sign and went inside. Immediately,
the waxy scent of the place, the stacks of boards and wetsuits, and the surfing
video playing quietly on a TV hanging from the ceiling took her back. For a few
moments Grace just stood there, remembering better, more carefree days.
‘Help you?’ came a voice
from a corner. A sales counter plastered with brand logo stickers, was
half-obscured by leaning boards. A young man wearing a Stone Age sweatshirt
stood behind it. His matted hair was bleached blond, his smile relaxed.
Grace met his eyes and
frowned. ‘Don’t I know you from somewhere?’
The man pouted, shaking
his head. ‘Maybe. Dunno. You local?’
‘I was. My name’s Grace Clelland.
I used to live up in the village.’
The young man came out
from behind the counter and stood with his arms folded, watching her. ‘Ah, I
remember you. You were Dan Woakes’s girl.’
At the sudden
recognition, Grace started. ‘Well, I don’t think I’d quite say that,’ she said.
‘It was only a month. Perhaps a summer.’
The man smiled again.
‘Long enough. You don’t know me? Jason. Jason King. I was a couple of years
below you. I used to help out in the school library.’
Grace stared. ‘Jason? The
nerd Jason? Weren’t you thin?’
Jason laughed. ‘Filled
out a bit in my late teens. Got a laser job on my eyes and got into the boards
a bit. The sea water cleared up the spots like nothing else.’ He shrugged.
‘Still read, you know, when the surf’s flat. You look … toned.’
‘Ah, thanks. Spinning.’
‘Spinning? What’s that?
Some kind of biking, isn’t it?’
‘Yeah, it’s when the bike
wheel only moves when you pedal. It doesn’t free wheel. So you have to keep
moving.’
Jason laughed. ‘Sounds
weird. Better to go get a ride outside, isn’t it?’
Grace smiled. ‘Yeah, I
think it is.’
‘Take on that hill. Gonna
try? Got a race this August Bank Holiday. First one to the top gets the new
surf club cat named after them. Been getting some practice in, gonna have a go.
Reckon Jason fits.’
‘A cat called Jason?’
‘Catamaran.’
‘Oh.’
‘Yeah, they’re gonna use
it for surf lifesaving training offshore.’
‘Sounds interesting.’
‘Gonna have a crack?’
‘A crack at what?’
‘The race. Gonna be a few
celebs there. Can’t have one of them winning it, can we? Gotta be a local. All
that spinning, reckon you can do an uphill?’
It was something Grace
had been planning to challenge herself with over the course of the summer.
However, she had planned to cycle alone with Joan walking alongside to provide
the benchmark speed. Now that couldn’t happen, she hadn’t made any decision on
what to do, but Jason was staring at her with a small smile on his face, as
though daring her to accept the challenge.
She smiled. ‘I think
Grace is a pretty good name for a catamaran,’ she said. ‘I’ll be there. And in
the meantime, I’d like to rent a surfboard.’
Jason nodded. ‘Nothing
like a bit of cross training. You gonna head out to the rock?’
‘Which rock?’
‘Sharker’s. Got rollers
coming in. A few of the lads are gonna take a boat out this morning, wait for
the big guys. Should be epic. I’d be there but I’ve gotta work.’
‘Ah, I’m a bit out of
practice, so I was thinking more to just hit up the regular surf. You know,
over on the beach there.’
Jason frowned. ‘But
you’re a local.’
‘So?’
‘Locals can’t be seen in
there.’
‘Why not?’
‘That’s tourist surf,
that is.’
Grace laughed. She had
once shared Jason’s opinion. Times had changed, though. She had been a long
time away.
Author
Bio – CP Ward is
an author from the UK who currently lives and works in Japan. For more
information, please visit http://www.amillionmilesfromanywhere.net/cp-ward.html
Social
Media Link –
https://www.facebook.com/groups/510678469409835
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