Western Shores (Paperback)

Pages : 422
ISBN : 9781916265363
Weight : 401g
Dimensions : 203 x 24 x 127 mm

UK, US, Australian and Canadian customer orders are printed and shipped from within the respective country.
International customers (all non UK, US, Australian and Canadian countries): Books are printed and shipped from UK facilities.

Printing time: 3-10 business days
Shipping times: vary by location

Before ordering:
Double-check your details including shipping address prior to
completing the check-out process as changes cannot be made once the
order has been placed.

Important note: International orders (as specified above) may incur
import duties, fees, and taxes from the receiving country upon
delivery. These charges are collected by your courier and are not under
our control.

- Sapphic romance
- Age gap
- Single mom
- Small beach town romance

Capitola was everything Madison had hoped for. She’d shortlisted a couple of towns and cities before she came here with the intention of finding a home close to her new job in Santa Cruz, but the small town along Monterey Bay turned out to be even more picture-perfect than the photos she’d seen online. The rows of pastel colored beach-front homes behind the creek made for a spectacular view, painted in shades of yellow, turquoise, pink, blue, purple and soft green. Flowers in contrasting colors hung from the windowsills, matching the front doors and the steps. Even the commercial buildings were quaint, adorned with sun-bleached illustrations of beach scenes and vintage artworks. The town felt bohemian, with its small galleries, numerous tarot readers and stores selling hand-crafted jewelry and screen-printed fabrics. Swings and dreamcatchers hung from trees in the front yards that blended in seamlessly with the natural landscape. Capitola wasn’t big, but it thrived on tourism in summer and everything she needed was right here; grocery stores, coffee shops, bars, restaurants and most importantly, the ocean.
Today being a weekday and still early, the beach was quiet, but surfers and paddle boarders were already out there. Madison counted seven of them sitting or standing on their boards, waiting for a wave or just chilling out. Already excited at the prospect of going for a morning swim before work, she held up her hand to greet the nearest ones, knowing they might get acquainted soon if she moved here. There were volleyball nets on the beach and the path along the boulevard seemed like a great place to go for a run.
“Are you okay, Mom?” she asked, looking over her shoulder when she heard her mother panting. With each step, her stiletto heels sunk into the sand, making her lose her balance, yet she’d refused to take them off.
“Yes honey. It’s just the sand, it’s…” Edie, her mother, finally took off her heels and decided to continue barefoot, then. “Why did you have to cross the beach? There’s a perfectly good path leading up to the homes around the back.”
“I wanted to see what it looks like from here.” Madison took her mother’s heels and hooked her arm into hers. “And I can’t resist a nice beach, you know that.”
The one-storey beach front homes that were built up against a hill with palm trees sticking out behind the rooftops, made for a picturesque backdrop. There was only one house for rent along the strip, and she’d been instantly drawn to the tiny pastel pink building with the bright pink front door when she saw it advertised online. The other places she’d viewed with her mother had been nice; more practical and certainly much bigger, but she’d only gone to see them because her mother had insisted that choice was important in order to make an informed decision. Deep down, her heart had been set on the pink house all along.
“Are you sure that’s going to be big enough?” Edie asked as they looked up at it. “It’s very pretty…” she turned to Madison and let out a chuckle. “…and it certainly matches your hair sweetie, but it looks awfully small and…”
“I don’t need much space, Mom,” Madison interrupted her. “I’m used to my dorm so this will be a palace compared to college.”
“I’m not so sure about that.” Edie squinted, shielding her eyes from the sun. The house was standing between a blue house and a yellow bar, called Western Shores. “It will be your first home though, and I want you to be comfortable,” she continued, clumsily making her way toward the footpath. “You know your father and I would be happy to help you out with something bigger, and there’s always your trust fund. You could buy a really nice apartment in Santa Cruz, or we could buy one together. You could always sell it on if you decide you don’t want to stay here or if you get a better job offer somewhere else. It will be a good investment for us too, we really don’t mind. I’m just not sure if renting is the right way to go for you.”
“I know you want me to buy. And I’m grateful to you and dad for helping me out through college, but it’s time I take care of myself now. I’ve been leaching off you guys for long enough and besides, it’s only a six-month contract to start with. It’s very rare that rentals like this come up and it will give me some time to explore the area. There’s no point going through the trouble of buying something if I’m not going to stay, it’s too much hassle.”
A feeling or nervous excitement took over as they approached the house because it felt so right that there was no way she was going to look any further. It would be a fresh start. A new town, a new job – her first job, and she’d wake up to the sound of the ocean each morning. She fingered her recently dyed pastel pink bob, imagining herself living there. “And you’re right. It does match my hair, it’s a good thing I changed the color again. Maybe it’s meant to be.”
“Are you guys here to view the house?”
“Yeah.” Madison smiled at the woman who was arranging flowers on the three tables outside the bar next to the pink house. “Are you Ally?” The woman had long dark-brown wavy hair that fell over her shoulders, and she wore a loose off-the-shoulder white top and a short denim skirt underneath her black apron. She was barefoot, which was unusual for someone who worked in hospitality, but Madison figured it was a beach bar, and so the customers were likely to be barefoot too. Turquoise beaded earrings dangled behind her dimpled cheeks as she smiled back and nodded, then wiped her hands on her apron before she pulled a set of keys out of her back pocket and introduced herself.
“That’s me. It’s nice to meet you…” She narrowed her eyes. “Madison, was it?”
“That’s right.” Madison shook her hand. “And this is my mother, Edie.”
“Nice to meet you both.” The silver bangles around Ally’s wrist jingled as she unlocked the front door to the pink house and held it open. “Please come in and take a look around.” She switched on the lights in the tiny hallway and walked two steps ahead of them into the combined living room and open kitchen area. There was a beige three-seater couch, a coffee table on a cozy Berber rug, and a big bookcase full of art-related books. Right behind the couch was a small kitchen with a refrigerator, a stove, a sink and a breakfast bar with two stools. A separate piece of wood, matching the kitchen surface, had been placed on the bar to use as a cutting board as there was not much space elsewhere. It felt homey though, with lots of plants and striking modern artworks on the walls. “As I told you on the phone, it’s very small. I’ve been renting it out to tourists but with the bar being next door, some of the tenants have been complaining about the noise and leaving bad reviews. It’s not terrible in my opinion, but it does get busy during the summer and it’s not always easy to get rid of the last customers at night. Quite frankly, I don’t have the energy to deal with the complaints anymore.” She opened the light blue and white seersucker curtains to the two ocean-facing windows, letting in the light. “As advertised, here’s your unobstructed ocean view. The house comes furnished; it’s not the fanciest stuff but I’ve tried my best to make it nice and practical, and you’ll have everything you’ll need here. If you want me to, I can remove the books and other items of course.”
“It looks lovely and I can live with noise,” Madison said. “I’ve come straight off campus so I’m practically immune to it.”
“That’s that problem solved then,” Ally said, looking relieved.
“Is there a yard?” Edie asked, scanning the space for a back door.
“No, but there’s a set of fold-up table and chairs in the hallway that you can put outside your front door if you like. That’s how I do it. Besides, you’ll have the beach, so who needs a yard?”
“Totally agree.” Madison followed Ally to the bedroom and noted her mother wasn’t sold. In fact, she seemed horrified by how small it was. The big box-spring bed took up most of the room, but there was a decent-sized built-in wardrobe and a small desk in front of the window, framed by the same curtains. A blue oil painting, inspired by the view, hung above the bed and an off-white crocheted dream catcher dangled next to it. “So, do you live in the same building as the bar?”
Ally laughed. “No, there’s not enough space there for me and my son. We do live next door though, to your other side in the blue house. It’s got a small tower that we’ve converted into his bedroom.”
Edie turned to her. “You own both buildings?” She was clearly surprised to hear that the woman who worked in the bar next door had managed to buy herself multiple properties on such a sought-after strip of coastland. “Is the bar yours too?”
“Yeah, all three are mine, it’s a long story.” Madison was sure she saw a hint of sadness in Ally’s eyes, but the woman turned away from them, making sure to avoid eye contact. “The bathroom is right here.” She walked back into the hallway and opened the only other door, revealing a narrow, white-tiled bathroom that was so small that the showerhead was hanging over the toilet.
Madison couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay… I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before. At least I can do two things simultaneously, saves me time in the morning.”
Ally laughed too. “Yeah, it’s small all right. Theo, my son and I brush our teeth in the kitchen sink. I use one of the kitchen cupboards for toiletries and I’ve stuck a mirror on the inside. You’ve got to be creative in a place like this. Oh, and I want to be honest with you about the parking too, although you probably figured that out when you arrived. The thing is, there is no parking space around here. This place comes with a guest permit, but you’ll have to leave your pickup at the end of the beach road. It’s a ten-minute walk from here and it gets really busy in high season. You might have to park it twenty minutes away sometimes during the summer months, so I just want to forewarn you.” She shot Madison an amused look. “But the time you save in the shower will make up for that.”