Second Chance Lane (Brockenridge #2) - Nicola Marsh Page 0,111

living her life, even if part of her had already fallen for Mason and walking away from him would be the hardest thing she’d ever had to do.

‘I’m leaving,’ she said, giving his hand a squeeze and releasing it. ‘You’re a great guy, Mason, and I like you a lot, but it’s my time now. You’ve done so much. You’ve travelled and lived abroad and become successful in your career, while I’ve done nothing. Our timing really does suck, but I have to do this, for me.’

‘I understand,’ he said, but the gruffness in his tone told her he wasn’t happy.

They stared at each other for an interminable moment before she said, ‘I’m here with friends and I’m looking for Ruby to join us, so I better get back to them.’

‘So that’s it?’

She didn’t warrant his hint of bitterness. They hadn’t been in a relationship. She owed him nothing. But as she nodded and walked away, she couldn’t help but wonder if, after all the stuff-ups in her life, she’d just made the biggest mistake yet.

CHAPTER

41

It had been late by the time Tash got home after her shift last night and Isla had been asleep, then up early and on the school bus before Tash had waken. The sitter had said she’d gone to bed early, listening to Rock Hard Place’s greatest hits. Of course; her father was all she could talk about these days. Which would make the news Tash was going to deliver when she picked her up from school shortly very welcome.

After Kody had declared his feelings for her last night at the roadhouse and she’d articulated why they couldn’t be together, Tash knew she had to get things between them back on a platonic level. So first thing this morning she’d signed the custody papers and dropped them off at the lawyer. Kody had texted her a few times and called twice; she’d ignored him. No point rehashing the hurt. They couldn’t be together and she needed some time and space from him, otherwise she’d be tempted to renege on her stance to not date him if he tried to sweet-talk her.

And he would. He’d always been good at that. She’d been powerless to resist Kody at his charming best and, last night, she’d come close to throwing caution to the wind and agreeing to a relationship, whatever that may entail.

But she couldn’t be some rock star’s groupie, not at her age. She had responsibilities and a good example to set. What would Isla think if Tash fell into Kody’s arms whenever he came to town? It would definitely send her impressionable daughter the wrong message: that it was okay to wait around for a man, to put his needs first, to be passive rather than proactive in a relationship.

No, she’d never do that to Isla. And she wouldn’t do it to herself either. Which is why she had to set clear boundaries, starting today.

She pulled up outside the school gate as her mobile beeped. Turning off the engine, she slid the phone from her bag and glanced at the screen. Kody. Again. She was on the verge of ignoring him when the first two words of his message caught her eye.

I’m leaving.

She sucked in a breath and read the rest.

Heading back 2 Melbourne 4 band meeting.

I’ve let Isla know.

Will be back in a week.

A pain so swift and sharp it made her gasp lodged in her chest. Silly, to have a physical reaction to news she’d been expecting all along. But after last night surely he could’ve said goodbye in person, at least to his daughter?

Though it wasn’t Isla that Tash was concerned about and she wished she’d accepted one of his calls today. Now she’d never know what he’d wanted and once again she’d be stuck in this town, mulling what might have been with the man she loved.

Loved?

Oh no. No, no, no. She shouldn’t love him. She couldn’t.

But what if she did?

Reeling from the realisation, she couldn’t muster an appropriate response to the text so she shoved her mobile back in her bag and focussed on her breathing. She needed to calm the hell down because Isla would be here any minute and her daughter would take one look at her and know something was up.

Yet she couldn’t ignore that pesky L word. When did she fall back in love with Kody? They’d hardly spent enough time together for it to happen. And most of that time had been fraught with resentment and