The Pink Victorian

by Laurie Adair Grove

In this sequel to Crossroads Serenade, an unwelcome character from Pete’s past shows up for a show-down, which can either drive a permanent wedge into his relationship with Meredith, or cement it in place so they can build their future together—a future that will include their son Grant, whom Meredith and Pete hope will remain happy and well-adjusted, even after they saddle him with a reality no child should ever have to deal with.

Former Serenade employee Ralph returns to Crossroads and now works at the McBride ranch. A bad experience in Las Vegas has left him afraid to love again until he meets Helene and her spirited little girl, Arlee, who are on the run from Arlee’s father. When the gas gauge of their car lands on empty, Helene and Arlee land in Crossroads and change a lot of lives, including their own.

Mona, The Serenade’s flirty fifty-something head waitress who took Meredith under her wing and taught her “Waitressing 101”, finds retirement so boring it’s ‘killing’ her! Replaced by JoLynn as the head waitress, Mona appears to be stuck in a lifestyle that is so not Mona!

Finally, Jenny’s dream of a charity to serve the underprivileged children of the area has come to fruition. Over time, the truth takes hold in Meredith’s heart—that the good the charity does for the children far outweighs some bitter memories she has of having grown up there—in The Pink Victorian.

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 25, 2014

About the author

When I was a kid, I was always telling entertaining anecdotes, and my Mom would say, "You should be writing this down!" Sometimes I did, sometimes I didn't, but she was always the biggest fan of anything I wrote. She was such an inspiration.

In 1975 I married my sweetheart, George, whom I met at Great Falls High School in Montana. We moved around some with the United States Marines, (OORAH!) and then settled in the Pacific Northwest, where we raised a son and daughter. Now we have two talented, spirited granddaughters with whom we love to spend time.

I enjoy many genres, from women's fiction mixed with light romance and suspense, such as the first two books I wrote, to science fiction mixed with a bit of historical fiction, such as the book I wrote under the pen name L.A. MacFadden, which will be coming out in summer 2019.

I can often be found working on my next book where I live in rural western Oregon.

Reviews

[Cayla]

It took me a couple days to finish this book as it wasn't very captivating. I was hoping that this would be better than the previous book, but it's really not.

[Dallas]

Book was ok - light reading - characters could have been more developed. Also introduction of one character, new baker at the renovated sweet shop left a lot of questions unanswered and there doesn't seem to be a sequel