Peppercorn House by Nicole Hurley-Moore

Author:Nicole Hurley-Moore [Nicole Hurley-Moore]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2023-12-16T00:00:00+00:00

Twenty

Eight months before ‘The Mistake’

Sara drummed her fingers on the table as she looked out of the office window. She was bored out of her brain and wished she was anywhere but here—her dad’s farm supply shop. The only reason she was working at this God-awful place was that jobs were in short supply in Kangaroo Ridge. Well, at least, anything decent was. And she needed money to fund her wardrobe and general maintenance.

Sara drew in a breath as she stared out to the almost-empty carpark. She glanced over at the old, chipped mirror on the wall. She studied her appearance for a moment, reaching up to smooth one of her long, blonde locks into place. She had been blessed with her mother’s good looks, from blue eyes to high cheekbones and a soft, pouty mouth. It wasn’t that she was vain but rather she wasn’t stupid—if she ever wanted a better life, she had to make sure her arsenal was full. Sara was the prettiest thing in Kangaroo Ridge and had been since she’d blossomed in high school; she even had a couple of beauty pageant wins from the annual country fair to prove it.

Her sister, Dianna, couldn’t hold a candle to her—although beauty would have been wasted on Dianna anyway. Di could have been really attractive if she tried but she didn’t seem to be the slightest bit interested. Every time Sara brought up the subject of how she could improve herself, she would just roll her eyes and say she had better things to do.

Sara had figured out early in life that ‘pretty privilege’ was an actual thing. She used her looks to get her way and for the most part it worked. People had always fawned over her, including her parents and teachers. Not Di, though; Di just said she was a self-absorbed, spoiled brat and walked away. A little harsh, maybe, although Sara always wanted to be the bigger person and tried to put herself in her sister’s shoes. She could only imagine it would be hard not being the attractive, favourite daughter.

You use what you have, that only makes sense. However, it didn’t seem to work as well on Felix, which was more than frustrating and something she had rarely experienced before. They had been seeing each other on and off for a couple of months, but unlike past boyfriends, he was hard to influence. It felt like she had made her catch, but never quite reeled it in.

Sara frowned at her own reflection. It wasn’t that she was an awful, conniving woman who was hell-bent on getting her way, she just wanted the best for him … really.

‘Hey, luv, how’s it going?’ her father said as he pushed opened the office door.

‘Fine,’ she answered. ‘I’ve just finished updating the inventory and putting the new products in.’

Eric Harding leaned against the filing cabinet next to the door and smiled. ‘What would I do without you?’

The corners of Sara’s mouth quirked up. ‘Gee, I don’t know, Dad—update the inventory yourself?’

‘Cheeky,’ he answered with a laugh.

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