Second Chance Lane (Brockenridge #2) - Nicola Marsh Page 0,19
Tash lifted her head, dashing a hand across her eyes. Isla’s big hazel eyes were filled with worry and Tash hated that her daughter’s concern would soon give way to derision, maybe even hate, once she learned the truth.
‘I’m okay, sweetie.’ She wrapped her arms around Isla and squeezed tight, wishing she could infuse her with strength to help her cope with what she was about to hear.
Isla hugged her back but all too quickly wriggled out of the embrace. ‘You never cry—what happened?’
Tash’s chest tightened and her feet and hands tingled, like she was on the verge of a panic attack, so she took a deep breath and blew it out, then repeated the process under the wary gaze of her daughter.
When the tingling and tightness abated, she said, ‘I need to tell you something important and it may be hard for you to understand at the start, but know that whatever I’ve done, I did to protect you.’
Isla’s eyes filled with suspicion and Tash reached for her hand, surprised when her daughter allowed her to clasp it.
‘What have you done, Mum?’
Lied to the man she loved. Deliberately drove him away. Kept secrets from her daughter for almost thirteen years.
She settled for: ‘This is probably the oddest timing considering Swap Day at school and what happened with Dennie, but your father’s in town.’
Isla froze, eyes wide, mouth open, so Tash hurried on: ‘I didn’t know. I thought I’d never see him again—’
‘Who is he?’ Isla gripped her hand so tight Tash’s went numb. ‘Can I see him?’
‘He only just found out about you so we need to give him time and space, then I’ll discuss it with him.’
Tash knew she’d made a blunder when Isla snatched her hand away. ‘What do you mean he only just found out about me? You said he knew but he chose to walk away.’
‘I—I left him in Melbourne and I returned here to have you.’
‘So you lied to him, and me.’ Isla leapt to her feet. ‘Why would you do that? Why?’
Her plea reached deep into Tash’s bruised soul and tweaked it, hard. She’d never seen her daughter so angry and she didn’t blame her. Her greatest fear, that Isla would hate her for withholding the truth all these years, was coming true. And there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it. Tears burned her eyes but she couldn’t cry again, not when Isla needed her.
She hadn’t lied about one thing: she’d hidden Kody’s identity to protect her daughter and she hoped to god that Isla would understand.
‘Things got complicated between us. Your father was about to launch his career and I didn’t want to force him into making a choice between us and that.’
‘You still should have told him.’
Relieved her daughter was mature enough to understand life’s hard choices, Tash nodded. ‘Maybe I should have, but I made the decision I thought was right at the time. Now he’s turned up in Brockenridge and we all have to figure out where we go from here.’
‘I want to meet him.’
‘You already have.’
Isla’s brow furrowed in confusion for a moment before understanding lit her eyes. ‘Kody?’
Tash nodded. ‘Kody Lansdowne is your father.’
Isla whipped her mobile out of her pocket, brought up the search engine and typed in the name. When the screen filled with results, Isla looked up, stunned all over again.
‘My dad is the Kody Lansdowne?’
‘Uh-huh.’
‘No shit.’
Tash didn’t tolerate swearing but in this case, she let it slip. The situation warranted it.
Isla’s stunned gaze moved back and forth from her mobile to Tash, so Tash stayed silent, giving her time to assimilate the revelation, knowing there’d be plenty of incoming questions.
‘There’s millions of hits on him,’ Isla said, her voice tight with emotion. ‘This is so surreal.’
‘I know it’s a lot to take in—’
‘I’m really mad at you.’ Isla’s glare was hostile and a small piece of Tash’s heart splintered. ‘All those times I asked you about my dad and you fobbed me off with a bunch of BS.’
Tash bit her lip to stop from blubbering. ‘I know, honey, and I was wrong. I should’ve trusted you enough to deal with the truth.’
‘You should’ve.’
The resentment in Isla’s eyes made Tash want to bundle her into her arms again. But this wasn’t one of those times when a simple hug would make everything better.
‘I made a mistake, and I know it’s going to take time to adjust to this, but whatever you need, I’m here.’