5 Peppermint Grove Read Online Free PDF

and windy November evening she decided to surf the Internet and see what her new home might look like if she was successful in her interview. Google Images was the best place to start and she typed the word ‘ Perth’ into the search engine. Immediately dozens of images sprang up of a glittering skyline with skyscrapers reflected on the Swan River. An image of a girl and a bicycle parked at the water’s edge with a perfect blue sky and the backdrop of the towers made her smile. She used to cycle as a little girl – it made her feel free and like all children she loved it. She could see herself living a healthy lifestyle in the sunshine with great hope for the future. It wasn’t as if she would be leaving a lot behind – at the moment there were very few positives in her life. She wondered if Ian would be upset about her leaving but, ultimately, apart from the odd night that he spent at her apartment and the few occasions that they met in discreet locations, his life wouldn’t change much. Realising this had had a massive impact on her self-esteem and made her feel like a shadow – an invisible partner in a relationship that was unbalanced and going nowhere.
    She could feel a choking sensation in her throat and decided to press on and look at more images to take away these feelings. She came across a postcard image of rocks standing erect on what looked like a massive desert. They were shaped like bishops’ mitres, a stark contrast to the vibrant blue of the sky behind. She hovered the cursor over them and found out that they were called ‘pinnacle rocks’. She would love to see them. They were unlike any natural phenomenon in Ireland. It made her wonder what other wonderful things she would see in this new continent that was so far away from her home.
    She flicked through more images. The beaches were stunning with long stretches of white sand contrasted against the deep blue and aquamarine hues of the Indian Ocean. Cottesloe Beach, whale-watching, zoos filled with marsupials were all things to be explored in Australia and she felt butterflies flit in her stomach. This was the fresh start that she needed. And as the wind howled outside her window she hoped and wished that she would be offered the job in Perth. She was ready to take on a fresh start and an adventure that would bring untold surprises
     
    Chapter Five
     
    Julia was concerned about Odette – she hadn’t been herself at all on Friday. At least she would be able to observe her sister later when she went to Sunday lunch in Malahide.
    Odette and her husband lived in Seapark – a well-located comfortable family home close to the beautiful suburban village. It was one of the older developments but Odette and Craig had gutted their house and turned it into a haven stylish enough for the pages of a magazine. Craig hadn’t gone wild investing in shares during the boom but their refurbishment had put them back to square one with their mortgage and they had bought an investment apartment in Swords that was now difficult to let. At the time Odette felt that they were missing the boat as they watched their friends leaving the estate and moving to fancier new housing developments that cost millions of euros but she was grateful now as their repayments remained hefty each month and he was concerned about losing his job.
    Julia jumped into her Audi and put the bottles of wine and chocolates on the passenger seat. She had tried to coax her mother to join her but she was shopping for a new case for her travels to Cologne.
    Granddad had turned down her offer of a lift to Odette’s. “Your grandmother always made such a fuss on Sundays that now I like to have them to myself!” he assured Julia as she walked out the door.
    As she pulled up in front of the house, she saw a Mercedes convertible parked there. It could mean only one thing and she hoped that the owner would not be staying for lunch.
    The silhouette of a tall broad figure filled the glass panels. Dylan