Second Chance Lane (Brockenridge #2) - Nicola Marsh Page 0,27

navigated back to the highway headed for Brockenridge held a multitude of untold problems and the thought of addressing the main one, her thirteen-year lie, made his head ache more than his ankle.

‘What happened?’

Small talk he could do, just. ‘I was pissed at you, so after you left I took a quad bike out to blow off steam.’

‘Are you nuts? You shouldn’t be riding those things if you’re inexperienced.’

‘I don’t need a lecture from you,’ he said, hating that she saw him as some pampered, clueless rich boy. ‘I’ve done my fair share of ag riding.’

She muttered something unintelligible under her breath but it sounded suspiciously like ‘dickhead’. ‘I’m surprised the hospital contacted me to pick you up and you didn’t hop all the way back to Brockenridge.’

It was a direct jibe at him wanting nothing to do with her and he didn’t blame her, not after the way he’d yelled at her to get the hell out of Yanni’s place.

‘If you expect me to apologise for shouting at you, you’ll be waiting a long time,’ he said. ‘I was so bloody mad at you. Still am, but despite what you think, I’m not an idiot. I want to get to know Isla and you’ll be part of facilitating that.’

A soft sigh escaped her lips. ‘I’ve told her the truth and she wants to get to know you too.’

‘All of it?’

‘Of course not,’ she snapped, the hint of vulnerability beneath her anger making him feel like a bastard for pushing this issue. ‘How do you think she’d feel if she knew I’d lied about aborting her?’

‘As shitty as I do for you lying to me about it?’ He wasn’t the bad guy here, and he’d be damned if he sat back and let her off the hook.

‘Touché,’ she muttered. ‘I told her it was my fault, that I deliberately drove you away because I didn’t want you missing your big break, so I’d appreciate if you kept the abortion lie out of it if she asks you what happened. It would devastate her to think she wasn’t wanted.’

‘Of course,’ he muttered, hating that she thought him so heartless she had to spell it out.

He wanted to ask so much but the faint rose fragrance she’d always favoured befuddled his head with every breath he inhaled. It catapulted him straight back to those days and nights in Melbourne when they couldn’t get enough of each other. He’d been an ambitious, cocky upstart, hiding his insecurities behind a microphone. She’d been a shy, innocent introvert who’d stared at him with wonder in her eyes from the moment they met. He’d wanted to warn her off him back then—he’d never be any good for a girl like her—but they’d clicked in a way he’d never anticipated and every second spent in her company made him feel a foot taller. Like he could do anything.

He’d shared more of himself with Tash than with anyone, even his best mates in the band. And she’d crapped all over him. Which brought him back to being stuck in this car with a bung ankle and a smouldering resentment he’d never get over.

‘When can I spend some time with her?’

Tash shot him a quick sideways glance and he saw so much in her eyes in those few seconds—fear, hope, regret, sadness—before she blinked and re-focussed on the road.

‘She’s had a lot to absorb today, and you’ve had a big day too. I’ll check with Isla and see if she’s okay with catching up tomorrow.’

It made sense, considering the painkiller fog hadn’t lifted, but he hated having her make presumptions about him; just like she had thirteen years ago when she’d ripped away any choice he had about his child.

‘I may have had a “big day” but if I want to get to know my daughter, I will.’ He sounded like a sulky brat and expected her to call him out on it.

Instead, she laughed, a short burst of amusement that shocked the hell out of him. ‘At the risk of exacerbating your wrath, you look pretty rough and you smell worse, so wouldn’t you like to get cleaned up and hold off on seeing Isla until tomorrow?’

She made perfect sense, damn it. ‘Way to go with the flattery,’ he said, earning another laugh.

‘I get that you hate me right now, Kody, I really do. But Isla is my world and I’ll do anything to protect her, so I suggest you lighten the hell up before you spend time