Free Jilted by Rachael Johns Page B

‘Lasttime I checked, this was a co-operative.’ She dragged the last word out, showing exactly what she thought of him. ‘And as I recall, co-operative means owned by the community, whereas you are just its manager. So I’m buying the damn food in this trolley and I’ll buy as many newspapers as I want.’
    Upset and sweating, Ellie leaned forward and wrapped her arms around the thick pile of papers. She yanked them up and dropped them on the checkout, narrowly missing Simone’s fingers. Her sunglasses tumbled off the top of her head and the newspapers fell off either side of the ancient conveyer belt making a mess on the floor.
    ‘I’ll pick them up,’ said Joyce, her voice taking on a warning tone. ‘You go wait in the car.’
    At Joyce’s words Ellie cringed. She looked at the faces now glaring at her from all over the store. She’d totally lost it, confirming what most of the town probably thought – that she was some up-herself celebrity who thought money could buy everything. Truth was, all she wanted was the chance to prove them wrong. That she wasn’t the evil Jezebel they’d pegged her as. What happened to being human? What happened to everyone making mistakes?
    Her eyes brimmed with tears she didn’t want to shed in public. Years on the small screen had made her very good at being able to turn the waterworks on when she didn’t really feel like it, and an expert at switching them off when in the public eye. But right now, she was losing the battle.
    Opting to accept Joyce’s out, she stooped to pick up her sunglasses, almost poking herself in the eye in an effort to put them back on. She left the store, walking briskly and failing dismally to hold her head high.

Chapter Six
    As Flynn made his way out of the sheep yards, where he’d been tidying feet ready for the big ram sale, he saw Lucy running towards him from the homestead. She was shouting something, her arms waving crazily over her head as she did so. He started in her direction.
    ‘What’s up, little sis?’
    Despite almost losing it on the weekend and running into Ellie, he’d woken up in a good mood, optimistic about inhabiting the same town as her. The initial meeting was over and, he had to say, it had been less traumatic than he’d anticipated. He’d handled it a lot better than she had, that’s for sure. Probably because, when push came to shove, she was the one with something to feel guilty about. If she hadn’t loved him enough to settle down with him, she should have been woman enough to say so to his face.
    As the gap closed between the siblings, Flynn noticed his mobile in Lucy’s hand. Instinctively, he padded his pocket where the phoneusually lived. ‘Careful with that,’ he said, reaching for it when Lucy approached.
    ‘I wasn’t the one who left it on the kitchen table where it’s been ringing incessantly and almost vibrating off the edge.’ She puffed a little to catch her breath. ‘The house phone’s been going crazy since the crack of dawn too.’
    Flynn frowned and glanced at the screen. Twenty-two missed calls. That had to be a record.
    ‘ Women’s Weekly has rung, TV Week, The Australian and even Sunrise.’ Excitement bounced off every word. ‘Kochie and Mel want to interview you. And Stacey says you’re on the front page of The West . You’re famous.’ Two words he didn’t want to hear. Especially not for the reasons he guessed. Why else would the journos come sniffing around?
    ‘Shouldn’t you be at school?’
    ‘School holidays,’ Lucy said with a grin.
    He sighed as the phone buzzed again. ‘No point prolonging the inevitable.’ He answered. ‘Good morning, Flynn Quartermaine.’
    ‘And a very good morning to you too, Flynn,’ sang a woman’s voice. ‘How does it feel to have your first love back in town?’
    He gritted his teeth. The audacity of the woman not even bothering to introduce herself, hoping he’d spill some juicy news before realising she wasn’t an old friend. Yeah