of playing games.
‘It’s a shame you’re so quick to jump to conclusions when you don’t know the first thing about me,’ she said, her tone icy. She pointed at the hallway, hating that her hand shook. ‘Please leave.’
‘Like I need to be asked twice,’ he sneered, his disdain almost palpable. ‘If you have the slightest shred of decency, you’ll make sure the sale of that shop goes through.’
Jane had as much chance of influencing her mother as she did of doing the interior design for the new bakery: absolutely none.
‘You’re wrong about me,’ she said softly to his retreating back.
He paused in the doorway to glance over his shoulder, his expression thunderous. ‘Am I?’
CHAPTER
21
Tash had a feeling Isla was still mad at her, because her daughter hadn’t said much about the time spent with Kody yesterday and it hurt that the one person she loved most in this world wasn’t communicating.
This morning, with Kody in her passenger seat as she drove him to Echuca for his follow-up appointment at the hospital, Tash played an audio book to stop herself interrogating him. By the time they reached Echuca, she had no idea whether they’d listened to a thriller, a rom-com or a memoir, thanks to the effort it took not to ask him about Isla’s visit.
When she pulled over near the hospital’s front entrance, he said, ‘You’ve been quiet.’
‘Didn’t sleep well.’ The truth, considering Tash had ruminated over Isla’s reluctance to talk to her all night. ‘Needed to focus on the road.’
‘Uh-huh.’
She huffed out a breath. ‘Isla didn’t say much when she got back from your place yesterday and I didn’t want to grill her, so I left her alone. But I really want to know how it went and I’m conscious of giving her space to assimilate all this and—’
‘Hey, slow down, take a breath.’ He reached across and laid a hand on her arm, a perfectly innocuous gesture that made her pulse race more than it should. ‘We can discuss this after my appointment, if you like?’
Damn him for sounding so calm and rational.
She nodded. ‘That would be good.’
‘Okay, see you soon.’
She got out of the car, grabbed the crutches from the boot, and handed them to him, waiting until he’d hopped inside before driving away. She parked in a spot with a clear view of the front door and waited. A bad move, because it gave her too much time to think about her daughter. Isla had practically bounced through the back door around four yesterday, after spending an inordinately long time with Kody. Tash had expected their first time together to last two hours max and the fact Isla had hung around for most of the day made Tash feel guiltier for keeping Kody a secret all these years.
Tash had asked how it went, Isla had answered with a generic ‘good’. She’d offered to answer any questions Isla may have but her daughter had responded in the negative. They’d had an early dinner and while they’d made small talk Tash could sense a gap between them, as if Isla had withdrawn from her.
It had hurt like the devil.
It was natural Isla would blame her for keeping Kody from her all these years. But could one of her greatest fears—that Isla would prefer Kody as a parent—be in danger of coming true? After all, what kid wouldn’t find a rock star parent more appealing? Kody led a glamorous life and Isla had never been out of Victoria. Tash could count the number of times they’d been to Melbourne on one hand. Kody could give Isla anything she wanted and while her daughter had never been greedy or demanding, Tash wouldn’t blame her for wanting more than she could give her.
She didn’t think Kody would buy Isla’s affection; he seemed too genuine in his desire to get to know his daughter on a deeper level to do that. But if Isla’s behaviour towards Tash after only one day with her father was any indication, the more time they spent together, the more Tash was in danger of losing Isla. That was another fear: that Kody would want to take her away. He had the resources and Tash didn’t. It meant she had to be proactive and make informed decisions rather than worrying about custody issues. She needed to seek a legal opinion—the sooner, the better—because the thought of not having Isla around made her chest ache.
It also meant she had to establish some kind of rapport with Kody beyond