Second chance at the cro.., p.16
Second Chance at the Crossing, page 16
“I won’t marry you because of the baby, and all those things are still problems.”
“Are they?”
She tilted her head back. “I would still want to pay my share and you’d still want to throw money at me. What else have you been doing for the last five years?”
“Investing in the future.”
“I didn’t ask you to. I didn’t want you to.”
“No. It was Sade who asked for help.”
“Sade? But she hardly knows you.”
“She was your friend, and Cory’s friend. That was enough. I’ve known the Tolleys all my life.”
“She asked you and you just did it. Straight away, like that?”
“We did due diligence on the building and the business proposal. It’s not a crime to ask for help, Daisy. There were many willing hands who were ready to help you.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Molly’s ballet scholarship?”
He hesitated, but it was too long.
“Tell me.”
“Cat Van Alden persuaded her father to put up the funds for those first couple of years. It’s a permanent scholarship now, in memory of her sister, so other students in financial hardship can keep up their studies.”
“I thought I had to do it all alone. I thought we were alone.”
“I’m sorry you felt that way. I wasn’t at home in those first few months after your father died. It wasn’t until much later that Moira told me how hard you’d worked to keep things together, even before his death. I wish I’d been around.”
Her snort was indicative of her thoughts. “I wouldn’t have even noticed you. I was so tangled up with the bureaucrats and the school and trying to make ends meet. I never went anywhere or saw anyone. If Moira hadn’t dragged me out to celebrate my birthday, we’d never have met.”
“For which I will always be grateful to my sister.”
“Riiight.”
Okay, so telling her he’d been frustrated by her stubborn independence might have been a mistake. But he had to be honest. “Anything I should work on to make me more acceptable husband material?”
“Wanting children?”
“Seriously, I think that is a nonstarter. I have a child on the way. I want the child. I am concerned about your health.”
“Fussing. I don’t like fussing. Except breakfast. I can live with that. And giving me stuff. Making me feel like a charity case. But it doesn’t matter. There’s no real need to be married. We can both parent without having to be married, or cohabiting.”
“There’s something definitely wrong with me, because I have no idea why you think I treat you like a charity case.”
“Because you keep giving me stuff.”
“A handful of ornaments, a music store gift card, and some not particularly valuable jewellery, most of which you told me to return to the store. Birthdays and Christmas presents over a period of nine years.”
“I couldn’t give you things of equal value.”
The irritation was getting to him again. They would never be able to meet on the same ground, because he couldn’t understand her, and she wasn’t willing to see his point of view. He swallowed the anger that would have him spewing out stuff they couldn’t come back from. His gut churned, but he wasn’t going to walk away this time. He would make his point. “How do you value nine years of great sex?”
She sucked in a breath. “For you or for me.”
“Work it out. Average it at three hundred times a year times seven years. Then half that over two years. What would the hourly rate be? Twenty-seven dollars an hour base rate? Something close to sixty-five thousand dollars minimum. Then we need to calculate the pleasure percentile. If you didn’t enjoy it twenty-three per cent of the time, do we knock off fourteen thousand? We know I enjoyed every minute, so we have a disparity. Do I owe you fourteen thousand dollars’ worth of good sex?”
“You’re making fun of me.”
“No. I’m pointing out that relationships can’t be calculated in dollar terms. It’s not a balance sheet. You’re a businesswoman, work it out.”
As far as he could tell, they were very little further in working things out. She’d admitted to her pregnancy. She’d told him she didn’t want a relationship or marriage.
At this point, he was totally in agreement. He couldn’t see any possibility of them working this out. There was one major difference from previous arguments. He’d lost his cool, but he hadn’t walked away. He hadn’t lost control either. Maybe that was progress.
“I’ll tell Trey he can go ahead with the transfer of equity. I’ll also review my will and put in place steps to create a trust fund for the baby when it’s born.”
“I don’t want your money.”
“Do you think I don’t know that? I have a reasonable command of English and a good memory. You told me you are having my child. I will support it and I will put aside funds for that purpose. You don’t have to touch a single dollar for yourself.”
He left her there, mouth open. He didn’t want her telling him what he could and should do with his money.
Chapter Eleven
What had Connor said weeks ago about her losing the baby five years ago? Be careful what you wish for. He’d said it with such sadness. Except she wasn’t sure if she’d actually wished for Connor out of her life. He’d packed a duffel and moved out first thing the morning after she’d told him about the baby. She’d only known that he’d taken luggage because she’d been up early to use the bathroom and was on her way to the kitchen when he’d crossed the hall on his way out.
She was ninety-nine per cent sure he hadn’t seen her lurking in the shadows. She knew he’d been home at some stage. The washing was still getting done and hung out. She’d only had to bring it in once. The other times, the basket of clean clothes had been in the laundry. She was here at work most days, so she wouldn’t know how often he dropped in. The cleaner he’d employed to do the floors and dusting after Daisy left town only came once a week, so it couldn’t be her.
Saturday she’d spent going to a couple of open houses run by Eleanor Cavallo. One was a big family home, the other a bedsitter, even smaller than Molly’s place. Eleanor had pursed her lips and promised to keep an eye out, but Daisy didn’t need to be told it was a forlorn hope. Her bright idea to move out so Connor could have his house back was stymied at the first attempt.
Cory might have her to stay, but it wouldn’t be fair. Her friend been looking forward to having her own place after being in a shared house for years. She already had people coming and going with carers for Joss. Cory needed her privacy.
There was no way she could go back to Molly’s. She hadn’t needed the warning from the realtor to know it wasn’t an option.
She looked up at the air conditioner, willing it to work, but of course the electrician hadn’t done the final fitting. The fan on the bench was helping a bit, but even with the window open there was no breeze off the water to take the edge off the summer heat. She was pretty sure that the litres of water she’d downed had seeped out all of her pores.
Wiping her hands with a rag, she bent over the straps she was working on, lining up the hole punch. The marks on the leather blurred and she steadied herself on the bench.
“Daisy?”
Sade stood at the open door. “Are you all right? You didn’t come up for lunch.”
“I wanted to finish this. My orders are nearly up to date. I need to get ahead.”
“Because of the baby? You shouldn’t be overdoing it. You look wrung-out.”
“It’s the heat. Otherwise, I feel fine.”
Fanning herself with a magazine in one hand, her friend sauntered into the workshop. “It’s too hot here, even in the church. The electrician said it should all be done late next week. Replacing some of the old wiring really held things up. I am so looking forward to a cold shower when I get home. I’ll head straight there once I’ve picked up Teddy from school.”
“Good idea.” Daisy was planning on a nice soak in the bath later. She stared down at the leather strap, wondering why the holes she’d already done looked distorted. “I’m nearly finished.”
“Daisy?”
She forced herself to focus, but the edges of her vision were turning black. “I feel strange.”
There was a blur of sounds and she fell into blessed cool darkness. “S’nice.”
*
Too much noise. People arguing. A man and a woman. Like mum and dad. Not them. They were gone. Connor? She was hallucinating.
“Daisy, are you awake? Is there any pain?” Strong fingers probed her stomach. She was lying on the cement floor. It was blessedly cool.
“Connor? What are you doing here? I’m okay. Too hot.” Her tongue tangled on the words.
Sade was looking over his shoulder. Both of them looked dreadful. Connor was hollow-eyed and sweating, his skin almost grey.
“You look how I feel.” That came out clearer. “Did I faint?”
Sade laughed; it was a hollow sound, too. Something must be dreadfully wrong. “You keeled over right in front of me.”
“I’m not dead. Am I?”
“We should call the ambulance.”
“No, don’t. It’s only the heat. I’ll be fine if I can get cool.”
Connor grimaced. “All things considered, that’s probably better. I think you’re probably right about the cause. It’s too hot to be working without air conditioning. I’ll take you home.”
He helped her up and steadied her on her feet, and she spotted Cory hovering.
“Why is everyone looking at me like I might combust?”
Connor braced her with one arm. “Is there anything you need to take with you?”
“My handbag.”
Sade retrieved the leather satchel from the cupboard under the smaller bench and handed it to Connor. “Go home and have a good rest. It’s going to be hot for the rest of the week and next. You might as well stay home until the fit-out of the air conditioning is done.”
“I have work to do.”
Cory started tidying the bench. “Message me a list of what you’ll need, and I’ll send it over. You could work on some of it at home in the aircon until the electrician finishes up.”
Daisy resisted the tug on her arm. “I don’t understand. Why are you even here, Connor? You haven’t been around for days.”
“You aren’t going to cooperate, are you?”
“Give me an explanation and I’ll think about it.”
“Something has happened to Amy Jameson …”
“Oh no! I saw her just the other day. She’s going to have her scan tomorrow. She’s having a baby, too.”
Sade rested one hand on Daisy’s arm. “She’s dead, Daisy. She collapsed out on the farm. They think it was an ectopic pregnancy.”
Daisy’s knees collapsed under her, and Connor scooped her up. “I told you not to tell her.”
“She had to know.”
“Not right now, when she’s already off-colour.”
Daisy heard them with their back and forth quibbling all the way to Connor’s car. It didn’t matter. Only poor Amy mattered, and Simon. What a horrible tragedy when they were about to have their dream come true. Poor Simon must be devastated. The whole family would be.
Sade was right, she needed to know. Her friends knew her well. They’d seen her through her last pregnancy and loss. She remembered the bright glow about Amy as she talked about her baby. She’d heard ectopic pregnancies could be excruciatingly painful. She hoped it was quick and she didn’t suffer too much. That she died not knowing she’d lost that longed for child.
And what was with Connor making a beeline for her the moment he knew? As if he really cared. Cared enough to be frightened.
It was too hard to think, and she closed her eyes, soaking up the cool blast from the vents in the car.
Connor was silent all the way home, to his house. She peeked at him once, but he was focused on the road, his expression grim. It was easier not to engage, so she shut her eyes, until she felt the change when they turned into the driveway.
There was a work ute parked at the end near the carport.
“Bloody hell. I forgot I asked Mal to come measure up.”
“I feel fine now.” The aircon in the car had worked miracles. “I’ll have a cool bath and have a rest. You go see Mal.”
He leaned forward, scrutinising her face. “If he doesn’t cancel. He knows the Jamesons, too. The whole town is going to be impacted. Everyone loved Amy.” He scrubbed his fingers through his hair. “Keep your phone with you and message me if you’re worried. I’ll come and check later to make sure you haven’t fallen sleep in the bath.”
Now that woke her up.
After a soak in the bath, she put on a baggy T-shirt and lay down to rest. With so much on her mind, she didn’t expect to sleep but she dropped off at some point; it was dark when she woke up. Connor must have come and checked on her, because there was a light crocheted rug covering her legs. One of Mildred Appleton’s creations, from the look of it. It looked pretty, but it was clearly made of mismatched squares of wool remnants.
She snuggled into the rug. It was a thoughtful gesture. It took a moment to remember why she and Connor weren’t compatible. Or were they?
She’d thought she’d got over her resentment about him having money to splash about. Not that he splashed. Apart from the band, he lived a very ordinary life. Managing his family bus transport business, while his brothers looked after the airfield and the taxi service. They employed a lot of people, between the different sections. Except for the airfield. That was a strictly family thing. Cormac and Connor were the only ones who didn’t fly as part of the team, and Connor did a lot of the maintenance of the aircraft. He wasn’t sociable enough for the tourist flights, so he stayed with the emergency craft, usually going out solo to keep his licence up to date.
She couldn’t resent any of the O’Brien family. They were good people.
As for Connor, she understood him better now. She’d known Moira had PTSD after her service. It was probably something everyone on active duty faced. It hadn’t occurred to Daisy that Connor was deliberately passive, careful to avoid conflict and walk away. She’d assumed he didn’t care about anything very much. Not enough to fight for it.
She chuckled to herself. There was definitely a chance she was turning into a cynic and a big chance she was a hypocrite. He may not fight for what he wanted, but he still made things happen. She was going to take the money and run, which she couldn’t imagine doing five years ago. But she had a child to consider, and she was going to have to work out how to survive with a dependant again. One who was going to take a lot more time and effort than Molly.
Sade and Cory both agreed that she should invest in her business instead of keeping it tied up in a house with her ex. They jokingly teased her about becoming their landlord. That had been a relief. She’d worried they might think she was selling out on them. She’d still be contributing to the running costs, power, and water bills, et cetera.
It had almost been too easy. Connor had signed off on the plan without changing anything. This time, Trey had been meticulous about making sure she understood every detail. Page after page. She’d been so bored, especially with the tax stuff. Connor’s doing, no doubt. He must have told Trey, because Trey apologised that his father hadn’t done the same.
His smile had been wry. “My father was old school. A gentleman, but he didn’t expect women to worry their pretty little heads about business.” He’d retired since she’d left town and Trey was the senior partner, so it worked out for her.
At least she knew Connor couldn’t have set this up, because she’d had the idea herself. It had come to her while trying to figure out how she could access the equity without forcing him to sell the house. Once she knew he had equity in Wyvern Faire, it had made sense.
This was going to be the last thing she would take from him. From now on, she’d have something solid to build on. She could work out something with Connor about the trust he was talking about for the baby, to make sure it had an excellent education. The struggle to get anywhere was tougher when you didn’t have a proper education. Even worse, if you had to drop out before you got a certificate.
A knock on the half-open door had her sitting up, adjusting the rug over her bare legs. “Come in.”
Connor nudged the door open with one elbow and the smell of something delicious wafted across the room. Her stomach growled appreciatively.
“I’ve brought you something to eat. I thought you might like to have it in bed, to save you getting up.”
The tray table sat across her thighs and the smell of vegetable soup had her salivating. She’d not been able to eat in the heat of the day and this looked ideal. Triangles of dry toast accompanied the soup and a bowl of salad with the little cherry tomatoes off their own vines sat to one side.
“This is amazing. You didn’t have to do it. I could have got up.”
“It’s been a tough day. It’s better if you relax.”
She paused with the spoon halfway to her mouth. “Have you heard any more about what happened with Amy?”
He lowered himself to the end of the bed. “Only that the initial diagnosis was correct. Max said it must have been very sudden. The medical people think she bled out so fast she would have been unconscious very quickly. It explains why she didn’t get a chance to call anyone. Her phone was beside her on the ground, so maybe she passed out before she could use it.”
Or the pain was too much. Daisy swallowed a lump lodged in her throat.
“How is Simon?”
“Distraught. Max said he had to be sedated. Gabe feels really bad because she was alone out in his paddock, checking on the newborn calves. She was a softy when it came to animals and liked to help out on the farm. Max is worried about Millie of course. She and Amy had finally started to get close because of the pregnancy thing. Mali is being a tower of strength. She was so close to Amy, but Max is worried it’s going to rebound on her later. It’s all such a fucking mess.”
He still looked grey and strained which kind of surprised her. He’d known the Jamesons all his life, but they hadn’t really socialised together when Daisy had been with Connor except casually at the Spotted Cow. They were all older than her and had their own circle of friends, so Daisy hadn’t got to know Amy well.
