Today’s teaser looks at the first book in my Young Adult series, the Bridge Next Door. Enjoy The Longest Day!

Below is an affiliate link to The Longest Day on Amazon. It is also free to read on Kindle Unlimited.

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James Clifton looked out the classroom window curiously. The class had recently been set their first math task for the morning.

James felt he had things worked out pretty well. Academically he did great with school, he just didn’t want to be here. So now a few weeks into a new year and only a week into a new school, James made sure to charge ahead with the tasks set for him and then take a few minutes to ponder his situation before he finished off the set work.

If ever a teacher checked up on him, they would see that he was working through the task. He didn’t see any point in letting them know that he could have finished it a lot quicker than he did. Ultimately, it got done and he got to consider his options.

A young woman had just been dropped off at the school.

James watched as she turned around to speak with the driver of the car. He was surprised to see her blowing a kiss to the man – who was obviously older – before she headed into school. He looked back at the man in the car and recognised him as one of the teachers.
He forgot what his name was and even what he taught at that school, but James knew he’d met the man when first checking out the local high school with his father. What on earth was going on with those two?

James quickly turned his attention back to the math questions before him, another question in his mind: who was the girl? And if she was a student here, why was she so familiar with one of the teachers?

The class passed slowly, but James was thankful at least that he didn’t have any homework from the session that morning. He’d finished it all well before the end of the lesson.

As the bell rang at the end of class, James gathered his books and double checked his diary. He was still getting used to his timetable and wasn’t sure he knew where all the rooms were.

It frustrated him that each subject couldn’t just be in the same room. He didn’t see why the timetable had to be set on a fortnightly roster. Couldn’t it just be one week that was repeated for the term or semester? That sure would be easier to remember.

James had Biology next. He made sure he knew where he was headed and then left the classroom where he’d just had math.

Although his next class was close by, it was filled with students by the time he got there. The sixteen-year-old held back a sigh as his gaze travelled the various desks in the laboratory-like room.

There were three spare seats.

He could sit on a table by himself… or take one of the two that each had one other person already at the table. One with a male was closest and he headed toward this slowly – too slowly.

Another classmate came in behind him and rushed to take that spare seat.

James looked to the young woman who was at the other table. She gave him a small smile and shrugged. He returned the smile and made his way over – at least she’d acknowledged him.

“Hi… okay if I join you?”

“If you like, sure. But be warned we’re being paired up this week. Most of the other students don’t like having a year ten student to pair up with. I’m not sure if it’s because they perceive I can’t know as much, what with being a year lower…” she started.

“Or perhaps they’re intimidated because you know as much as them at a younger age,” James countered with a grin as he let his bag fall to the ground beside the table.

The girl smiled.

“I like you already. I’m Kelly. Are you new here?”
—

If you know of someone who may enjoy this novel, I encourage you to share this post with them 🙂 And if you fancy securing yourself a copy, you can head along to Amazon for a Kindle version. It’s also free to read on Kindle Unlimited.

I’ve decided to share a little from each of my books on a Tuesday – Teaser Tuesday. This first post is from the Christian Horse Romance, Refuge. Enjoy!

Below is an affiliate link to Refuge on Amazon. It is also free to read on Kindle Unlimited.

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Stephanie entered in the details of the new admission to the hospital ward. She worked as a ward clerk casually at a rehabilitation ward and typically had the task of noting when people arrived and left the ward after their care. She would have welcomed full time work but acknowledged that at least as a casual she earned a higher rate of pay. This helped her to save as much as she possibly could.

Although her dream seemed so far from reach, at least she was saving from each pay she received. She kept on reminding herself that this was taking her closer to her goal, one step at a time.

It was often as she was carrying out the routine tasks of photocopying, filing or shredding that she dreamed about her goal: purchasing a small block of land with a cabin on it that she could live in, away from the rest of the world. Maybe she’d get a dog; she’d have some company then and feel protected by its presence.

She would grow her own fruit and vegetables and live off what the land produced, only needing to go into town for meat and a few other necessities. It was a simple form of paradise that she dreamed about as she started the task of shredding documents with patients’ contact details on them.

“Daydreaming again?” Nurse Colston teased her as she walked past where Stephanie was standing, shredding a few pieces of paper at a time.

She shrugged and smiled shyly, knowing that the older woman assumed she was daydreaming about some Prince Charming to complete her fairy tale. As if that was going to happen. Even if it could, Stephanie didn’t want it to. That required trusting males.

“I hope he’s tall, dark and handsome,” Nurse Colston commented with a grin and a wink as she pulled one of the patient’s folders from a shelf and leafed through the pages.

Stephanie refrained from commenting. It didn’t matter what he looked like, she wasn’t dreaming about any male. Except maybe one that had long floppy ears and a deep brown coat with trusting brown eyes… Did that count as tall, dark and handsome? Stephanie grinned at the idea.

“Looks like he is!” Nurse Colston continued the one-sided conversation, causing Stephanie to refrain from rolling her eyes.

“Is that your idea of Prince Charming?” she asked, conceding she could at least engage in a meaningless conversation.

“Sure, honey. Though I’ve already got my Prince Charming. I was commenting on yours.”

Stephanie reached for another pile of papers to shred, effectively turning her back on the older woman. The nurse finished writing up a medication chart and walked away, whistling merrily. Stephanie sighed, thankful the conversation was over. She wasn’t against talking – although she preferred the quiet – she just wasn’t so keen on the idea of talking about perfect men. They didn’t exist.

—

If you know of someone who may enjoy this novel, I encourage you to share this post with them 🙂
And if you fancy securing yourself a copy, you can head along to Amazon for a Kindle or paperback version. It’s also free to read on Kindle Unlimited.