Lynne Stringer - Once Confronted

Once Confronted

Copyright Lynne Stringer 2016
Published by Rhiza Press
www.rhizapress.com.au
PO Box 1519, Capalaba Qld 4157

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

Creator: Stringer, Lynne, author.

Title: Once confronted / Lynne Stringer.

ISBN: 9781925139808 (ebook: epub)

Subjects: Interpersonal relations--Fiction.

Dewey Number: A823.4

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means without the prior permission of the
copyright owner. Enquiries should be made to the publisher.

Once Confronted

Lynne Stringer

Also by Lynne Stringer

Veridon Trilogy:

The Heir

The Crown

The Reign

To the passers-by who helped me after my own incident.

I dont know who you are, but thank you for what you did.

Chapter One

I could have been in Europe. But I wasnt. I was in Sydney.

I didnt have anything against Sydney, not really. It just hadnt been my ideal destination for my gap year.

It was too close to home, for a start. Home was Brisbane; only an hour or so away by plane. And this definitely hadnt been what Id hoped for. How on earth had someone like me got a job in a bookstore?

Okay, so it wasnt just a bookstore. We had a caf as well. That at least made it bearable but I still knew I wasnt the right person to advise our customers on the best book to buy. I didnt even like reading that much!

I was working from two until eleven and I tried not to drag my feet as I headed down the street. Newtowns shopping precinct was busy that afternoon. I could see staff plying their trades at the quaint stores and cafs around me. I should have got a job in one of them.

At least there was one good thing about working in Your Corner Bookstore and Caf well two, actually. For a start, we made pretty decent coffee. There was another bonus as wellEvan. As the thought of him came to mind, I checked myself out in the reflection of the shop window I was passing. My aqua shirt brought out my hazel eyes, as I had intended, and my blonde hair was sitting neatly. I brushed the bangs back from my face, arranging them just so.

The next shop was ours, and I walked through the doorway and up to the counter.

Hi there, Maddy.

I gave him my best smile. Hows the day, Evan?

Evans bright blue eyes sparkled merrily as he handed a customer his flat white. Great. Just give me a sec and Ill make you one.

Do I look like I need it that bad?

No, but coffee makes any day brighter.

He always said that, and I agreed.

As he handed me my drink, I glanced sideways at him. I wasnt sure what Evan thought of me. After all, Id only met him a few weeks ago when Id started work. He was twenty-five, seven years older than me, but I knew he was single and the looks he gave me made me wonder if he was thinking of asking me out. I hoped so.

I put my bag in the staff room area at the back of the store. It was a reasonable size, given how small our shop was, and had a place where we could sit quietly for lunch.

On my way back to the front of the shop, I looked at the bookshelves and sighed. Id probably have to clean them again soon. The stores owner, Michael Overland, liked us to keep the books looking tidy. Hed squeezed as many shelves as he could into the store, even covering the two large glass windows at the front with them.

We had no front door as such, as Michael had told me he wanted people to smell the coffee as they walked past, and hed moved the serving counter away from the door so they had to walk past a few shelves of books before they could order.

The shop also had little lighting, making it atmospheric, according to our boss. Ever since Id started working there Id wondered how any of the customers managed to read the books on the shelves. There were a couple of reading lamps set up by the tables around the room, but other than that, it was pretty dark. Id often thought the dim lighting might be a marketing strategy. Maybe people wouldnt buy the books so quickly if they knew what was in them.

As I sipped my coffee, I noticed a new pile of books stacked near the staff room door. I groaned.

Evan followed my gaze. Yep. Sorry. A new delivery came yesterday.

I hoped youd have done them all by now.

He chuckled and put his hand on the unsteady pile. We ran out of time. Its been busy and Janice has been sick the past couple of days.

So she wont be in at all today?

Nope. Its just you and me until eleven.

I turned to the pile and began sorting them into different genres. Why couldnt I have got a job in a fashion outlet?

My phone buzzed.

Off to bed after a great night out.

I frowned as I typed . Isnt it six in the morning in Paris?

Like I said, a great night out. Tell you more later. Wish you were here!

It wasnt fair. I shoved my phone back in my pocket violently.

Evan raised his eyebrows. Another text from your friend? What was her name again?

Crimson.

He shook his head. She sure likes to gloat.

No, she wouldnt do that. She just wishes I was there with them. So do I.

When my two school friends, Crimson and Elaine, had come up with the idea of going to Europe for our gap year, we were all ecstatic. It seemed like a fantastic adventure for all three of us. It had never occurred to me that my parents would say no.

But they had. My mother was a worrier, so it was out of the question. Madison, Europe is too far away, shed said. What happens if something goes wrong? Dad and I dont even have passports.

Then get one, Id growled.

My dads eyes had flashed at me. Thats enough with the attitude, Madison Craig. And your mother does have a valid point.

Hed only backed down because he knew hed never change Mums mind. My dad often joked that I got my eyes and my stubbornness from her and everything else came from him. She wasnt about to let me win.

Elaine had had no trouble getting her parents to agree. Her family was loaded. It had taken Crimson a little longer to convince her mum, but since her dad had agreed to pay, she said okay.

But my parents wouldnt budge.

Eventually, theyd agreed I could go away, but only as far as Sydney. So I was staying with my Aunt Myrtle. That was no fun, let me tell you. Admittedly, she let me pretty much do what I wanted and had helped me get this job, but she was a sixty-something-year-old hippie. I was on my own with just her to keep me company. Fantastic.

Meeting Evan on my first day of work had made things look up. The others at the bookstore werent that interesting. Michael was in his thirties and was a divorcee with three kids, and all the other staff were older women. Evan was the stores saving grace.

Hed become chummy with me when hed heard my tale of woe, and Id shown him a few texts from Elaine and Crimson, who tried to keep me up to date with what they were doing so I didnt feel too left out.

At least working here will give you some money for your first year at uni, he said, as he prepared an order for another customer. Do you know what youd like to study yet?

No idea. I helped him with the order, taking care to ensure I did it right. I still wasnt used to making proper coffees. My only work experience prior to this had been at a fast food joint. Their coffee didnt compare.

What are you interested in?

That was the billion dollar question. Nothing, really. Well, nothing you can make a career out of.