After five years teaching literature and carpentry at a girls’ school in Scotland, Cat Hood returns home to Galway, North Carolina. Unfortunately, her homecoming is for the sad occasion of her sister-in-law’s funeral. Although Cat believes this will be a short trip back, she quickly discovers that she has more reasons to stay in the Blue Ridge Mountains than to go back to Edinburgh.
First, there is the matter of helping her brother and his twins cope with the death of Marce. Cat realizes that the three of them need her, which is a strange feeling for someone so solitary. However, she quickly falls in love with her niece and nephew and appreciates the youthfulness that they bring out in her. Second, she finds herself drawn to the people and the places of Galway. Cat has missed her friends and being a part of the community. She secures odd carpentry jobs and work at OzGirlz, the lesbian bar, supplementing her income as she continues writing novels. Third, Cat decides to end her destructive relationship with Isobel, her Scottish married lover. Getting over Isobel is made easier by the return to town of Janey, a former flame. Feeling comfortable around each other again takes time, but eventually Cat finds that she can trust Janey and becomes willing to accept her love.
If the old adage that “home is where the heart is” is true, Cat belongs with her friends and family in Galway.
Babies, Bikes & Broads is Cynn Chadwick’s third novel in the “Cat Rising” series.
Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.
