otherwise.
‘We could work something out with your mum so you could spend some time visiting me, but your life is here.’ He squeezed her shoulder. ‘You’re a smart kid. I bet you’ve got dreams and to follow those you need to finish high school.’
Her expression turned sullen. ‘Heaps of kids do school by correspondence, so I could do that too. Or I could have tutors wherever you are.’
Man, this situation had gone from bad to worse, because she was actually making sense and for an instant he could see the scenario she painted. If it were up to him, Isla could spend months travelling, maybe longer, because no amount of classroom teaching came close to life experience.
But Tash would never go for it.
Unless she had no choice …
He could hire the top custody lawyer in the country and put forward a strong case: she’d deprived him of parental rights; he deserved time to get to know his daughter; and he could provide Isla with the best of everything. But that would fracture their relationship as parents forever, and drag Isla through a potentially nasty custody battle that would result in bad press.
And that’s the last thing he wanted. Like many musicians, his manager had crafted a carefully fanciful history that appealed to the masses and hid the seedier side of his upbringing. He’d thought the reality of his childhood would give him cred but his manager hadn’t agreed so he’d gone with the fabricated story circulated when he’d first made it big in LA.
But it was more than that holding him back from pursuing a custody battle. He may not know what fatherhood entailed but he knew he wanted to be the kind of dad Isla admired and wanted to emulate, not some dropkick who lobbed into her life and tore it apart.
No, he couldn’t do it, but maybe if he presented his case to spend more time with Isla rationally to Tash, she’d understand.
Yeah, and he’d be playing a gig on top of the pyramids soon.
‘What are you thinking?’ Isla cocked her head to one side, studying him.
‘That I’d like nothing better than to spend as much time with you as possible, so how about we make that happen for as long as I’m staying here, then think about the rest later.’
‘Mum will never go for it,’ Isla muttered, shaking her head. ‘Because she’s a waitress she wants more for me and that means getting good grades and trying really hard at school.’
‘Your mum’s a smart woman and I happen to agree with her.’
Isla rolled her eyes. ‘Now you’re ganging up on me.’
‘Get used to it, kiddo, parents often agree to disagree with their kids.’ He ruffled her hair, eliciting a rueful grin. ‘Now, those sandwiches aren’t going to make themselves and I’m starving.’
‘Slave driver,’ she said, elbowing him away, and he marvelled anew at the ease between them.
‘I’ll hop back to the table and issue orders from there,’ he said.
She laughed. ‘It’s amazing you’ve been all around the world.’ She placed the buttered bread in the sandwich maker and it sizzled. ‘What’s your favourite city?’
‘Vancouver.’
‘Why?’
‘The people are laid back, like Aussies.’ And because the beautiful Canadian city reminded him of Melbourne, which he’d never returned to after Tash broke his heart.
Isla didn’t speak while she carefully placed the cheese slices on top of the bread, before squirting tomato sauce in zig-zags over the lot. ‘Where do you live?’
He’d been hoping to avoid this question because saying he didn’t have a house made him sound like a flake. In fact, he’d have to rectify that situation, because if it came to a custody battle, he’d need to show he could provide a stable home environment for Isla. But how could he explain to his daughter that he’d never had a real home and preferred moving around because that’s what he’d done his entire life?
So he settled for partial honesty. ‘I move around a lot so it doesn’t make sense for me to pay a housekeeper and bills for a place I’m never at.’
‘Fair enough.’ She topped the cheese with slices of bread and closed the sandwich maker, before looking up. Kody didn’t like the cunning glint in her eyes. ‘So, basically, if we’re going to spend time together I’d have to move around with you too, yeah?’
He should’ve known she’d capitulated too easily a few minutes earlier. She wasn’t going to let this go. Life on the road would appeal to a teen as much as no curfews.
‘Probably, but