So, yes, it could be well and truly said that she was running away. She’d just have to be less obvious about it. She’d have to be on guard, but at least for the next three days she could also be her practical, down-to-earth self.She didn’t meet Murad again until dinner.She hadn’t planned on eating alone with him, but when she’d suggested to the housekeeper that she might eat with the rest of the staff, the idea had been knocked smartly on the head.She was told that Mr Fullbuster had ordered dinner for seven-thirty, with Miss Josephine.They were seated on the terrace at a small table. The larger tables had been cleared away and the clear plastic blinds had been lowered to keep out the cool night air. The lights on the jetty were reflecting in the indigo waters beyond and two flaming braziers lit the steps down to it.They were consuming another elegant meal, seafood chowder followed by a veal and mushroom casserole—Irene had the feeling that nothing less than elegant and delicious
‘That’s what?’ She looked puzzled.‘Feminine solidarity. You have me well and truly figured for the villain of the piece despite your wide and classical education.’Irene was forced to wait as the housekeeper appeared to clear their dishes and bring a fruit bowl together with the coffee and some hot biscuits.As she waited she reflected that it was not a judgement she would make, that he was the villain of the piece—she was fairly sure there were two sides to the story, and feminine solidarity was not something she indulged in mindlessly. But it also occurred to her that to have him think this might provide her with some camouflage…She couldn’t quite bring herself to say it, though, so as she plucked a bloomy purple grape from the fruit bowl she simply shrugged.‘So be it,’ he murmured, and raked his hand through his hair in a gesture of savage impatience.For some reason Irene felt a smile tremble on her lips. ‘I don’t see anything amusing,’ he remarked cuttingly.‘No. It’s just—’ s
THE next three days were mostly peaceful.Both Jake Frost and Murad had gone back to Brisbane and the household relaxed a little.Irene and Nicky explored the islands with Nemo, they swam, they walked to the nearest shopping village of Paradise Point with its pleasant beach and they fished off the jetty.The pool area of the Tuscan villa was especially beautiful. Enclosed in a walled garden, the pool was surrounded by thick emerald lawn and the walls were smothered in a variety of creepers; honeysuckle and jasmine scented the air and the starry little flowers of port-wine magnolia studded the dark green of its foliage. There were beds of creamy-white gardenias and glossy-leaved camellia bushes.In one corner sat a quaint gazebo with a cupola roof. It looked faintly oriental or, Irene thought, like someone’s ‘folly’, but Nicky loved it. He had a toy gun and it gave him a lot of pleasure to clamber around the gazebo or hide under its benches or behind its lattice screens and ambush imag
‘Sausages!’ Nicky chose immediately. ‘On bread with tomato sauce.Yippee!’‘You’re easy to please,’ Murad said and grinned. ‘Irene?’She chose steak and some fish and they talked desultorily as he cooked the food with Nicky playing happily around them as the stars came out and the wind dropped.Mrs Mills might have thoughtfully provided a typical small boy’s favourite fare, but she’d also provided a green salad and new potatoes drizzled with garlic butter for the adults as well as warm, crusty rolls.And when Nicky showed signs of flagging, a bit earlier than usual and before Irene and Murad had finished their meals, she came to take him to bed.‘Thanks, that was nice,’ he said to Murad. ‘My pleasure, Nicky. Goodnight.’‘Goodnight…’ Nicky hesitated and Irene held her breath as she got the feeling he was toying with what to call Murad, but in the end he just said goodnight again.Irene watched him go off with Mrs Mills, then turned to Murad. ‘I don’t think calling you Dad is far off,’
Especially this girl, he thought with an indrawn breath. How sweet would it be to initiate her into the rituals of love-making? To make her gasp with desire and focus those beautiful eyes solely on him, to very slowly bring alive all her most sensitive erogenous zones. To possess that slender figure, those stunning legs and to be the one to meld the different elements of her personality, her sense of humour, that keen intellect and the scholarly side of her into warm, lovely womanhood…He gritted his teeth suddenly and forced his mind back to her last remark. ‘Uh—yes, I understand perfectly. I’m sorry—’ a smile appeared fleetingly in his eyes ‘—I didn’t realize I was making you feel like that. Actually, going back to what led up to this, one thing I really like to do to relax is fish. I even have a favourite spot that I go up to a couple of times a year. Seisia, but not many people have heard of it.’Irene, who had listened to his apology and deliberate change of subject with an inwar
‘Irene?’ he said incredulously. ‘What’s wrong?’‘Can’t breathe,’ she panted. ‘Can’t—a paper—need a paper bag,’ she gasped. ‘Asthma?’ he queried as he strode forward.‘No. P-panic.’‘A panic attack? What—? Never mind.’ He gathered her into his arms. ‘Shush—no one is going to hurt you, I promise. Calm down—no—’ he resisted as she fought to free herself ‘—do as I say, Irene. Relax. You can do it.’‘A b-bag,’ she stammered.‘I have no idea where they are, if there are any.’Her chest rose and fell erratically as she tried to fill her lungs with air, but he started to massage her back and, gradually, her breathing steadied as she felt the warmth and the safe haven of his arms, and after some minutes it slowed to normal.She closed her eyes in sheer relief, and when she opened them it was to see Murad Fullbuster watching her with a mixture of relief himself, and amazement.‘All right?’She nodded but sagged a little against him. ‘Thanks,’ she whispered.He picked her up. ‘I think we both ne
In the end, Irene did fall asleep on the settee in the den although this time it was Murad Fullbuster not Diane Paxton who slid a pillow under her head and covered her with a warm rug.She’d been enjoying the movie, and his company, but two thirds of the way through the emotional excesses of the evening got to her and she couldn’t keep her eyes open.She was not to know that her temporary employer stood looking down at her for a long time after he’d covered her up, then found himself doing some serious thinking. Nothing could have prepared her for the consequences of it…To complicate matters, Nicky woke up with a fever the next morning.‘I think it’s chicken pox,’ Irene said to Murad in the breakfast room. She was already showered and ready for the golf day—she’d done all that before Nicky had woken—wearing three-quarter khaki trousers and an Argyle sweater, Diane’s choice, not hers.Murad was also already dressed for golf in navy trousers and a pale blue polo T-shirt. He’d just come
‘Sit down, Irene. I’ve pulled out of the golf, which—’ he smiled a lightning smile at her ‘—as you know I wasn’t that keen on anyway. I’ve also found a replacement for you so far as interpreting goes for the rest of the negotiations.’Irene’s eyes widened. ‘For all the other functions too?’ He nodded.‘Simon will kill me!’ She looked bewildered and even more anxious as she stopped.‘Simon?’ he queried with his eyebrows raised.‘Simon Wellford of the agency I work for. My boss, in other words. He was over the moon about getting this assignment because he thought it could lead to a lot more work.’‘It can. It will,’ Murad said decisively. ‘And it could have happened anyway— it was always written into the contract he signed that you were a temporary replacement. It so happens the interpreter who got sick, whose place you took, has got better a lot sooner than was anticipated. He’s ready to come back to work. But, listen, I’ve got a proposition to make. Come and work for me, Irene.’‘AS A
EDWARDSI walked out into the hallway, ensuring Kristen I’d be right back.“Hi Charlie.”“How are you doing, bud?”“Fine, considering. What’s up?”“I’ve got great news for you. Custody is yours, obviously. Amber will be in jail for a long time after this. They’re thinking at least fifteen years. And she won’t be allowed near the kids once she’s out.”“She deserves more than that.”“Ain’t that the truth. But listen, this also means, you won’t have to write another child support check in your life.”I grinned cheek to cheek. My kids were mine, fully mine. Finally. But then my grin fell, remembering the bomb that had just been dropped on me. The last thing Charlie had said wasn’t necessarily true. I didn’t know what the future held with Kristen and my child that she was carrying. I knew what I wanted, though. I wanted a family, one that was complete and whole.I thanked Charlie and hung up. I rushed back into Kristen’s room, knowing what I needed to do.“So?” she asked.“It’s official.
EDWARDSI fought with police officers for what seemed like hours, as patrons continued to stream out of the bar. I stopped to examine each one. None were my daughter.“She’s still in there! What are you guys waiting for?”I just kept screaming and they just kept ignoring me. I tried to run in myself a few times, but each time I was caught by an officer and dragged back behind the wall of squad cars they had formed in front of Rita’s.“We have to do this strategically, so no one gets hurt,” the commander told me after my third attempt to get in.After some discussion, they decided to call the bar, in hopes that Amber would answer and that they could talk her off the ledge. I jumped nervously back and forth on my feet as he tried to reason with her. He hung up.“She wants money.”“What else is new? How much?”“A million.”“What?!”“You won’t be giving her a penny. Now that we know she won’t reason with us, we’ll come up with a plan to force entry and remove your daughter as safely as p
KRISTENI pulled up to Rita’s just fifteen minutes after Edwards and I had spoken still reeling from my conversation with Wally. I had to find a way to stop Carter from purchasing the house, but I had larger priorities right now. I took the handicap spot out front. I figured if I didn’t find anything, I’d be gone before anyone knew it. And if I did find Candace, then I had bigger things to worry about than illegal parking.I ran inside, leaving my purse and phone in the car. I burst through the front door and scanned the bar area. It was filled with burly men in flannel and jean jackets. Almost every single one had facial hair. The bartender was an older woman, with a heavy spray tan and wrinkled skin.No sign of Amber or Candace yet, I walked in further. As I walked forward, my flip flops squaked on the sticky, tiled floor. There was squished popcorn and spilled beer coating most of it. In the middle of the room was an aged pool table and nailed to the wall were a couple slightly ti
EDWARDSI hung up with Kristen, hopeful that we might be onto something. I called the cops right away and updated them. I told them that Kristen would be to Rita’s very soon, and that they needed to meet her there ASAP. I was fairly certain Kristen had been right that Amber wasn’t dangerous enough to hurt her, but I didn’t want to take any chances. They assured me they’d have officers on the scene as quickly as they could.I gave Samson a rub on the head.“We’re gonna find her, bud.”He whimpered beside me. I didn’t want to consider the fact that we could be way off. Amber and Candace could be well past Rita’s by now, and potentially even out of the state. I had tried the phone tracking app several times, but Candace’s phone was still off. Amber must have taken it from her.No matter how hard I tried to rationalize it from Amber’s perspective, I just couldn’t understand why she’d do this, unless she really had just gone off the deep end. Nothing she gained from this aligned with any
KRISTENI got back to the motel around noon. I applied for a secretarial position very close to here last evening and got a call back almost immediately. They seemed desperate, and so was I. I scheduled an interview for the next day and here I was. I thought the interview went quite well, actually.The job didn’t pay anything special, but it would do. After a few weeks there, I’d have enough to start making rent payments. I’d be out of this motel in no time, or at least well before the baby came. I wasn’t immensely excited about typing memos and completing invoices all day, but work was work. I didn’t have the luxury of being picky right now. I also called my landlord and got out of my lease in San Francisco. I told them to scrap anything I had left, which earned a few curse words.I hung up and sat back on the motel’s floral print couch that I thought was probably from the seventies at the earliest. There were several stains that could have been from any decade quite honestly. I tho
EDWARDSI woke up the next morning, forced to remember for a split second everything that had happened the day prior. I laid in bed and crossed my arms over my face as I thought of Kristen and her betrayal. I saw what Dudley had written, how Kristen was supposed to get her inheritance. Her newfound interest in apples made all too much sense now.I knew she was probably desperate after losing her job, but that didn't make it right. What hurt me the most was that after all we had shared with one another and all that trust I assumed we had built, she still didn’t trust me enough to let me help her. I had wanted to provide for her and I would have gladly helped her get back on her feet. She was just too stubborn to let me.I pushed my sheets back and got out of bed, more determined than ever to get full custody of my kids back. After getting ready with Samson hovering by my side—he knew something was wrong with me—I called Candace.I tried several times, but her phone kept going straight
“It’s none of your business.”Before I could reach over and grab it, Edwards picked it up, sifting through the worn yellow pages.“Did Dudley write this?”My face had gone pale white. I gulped and nodded. It was the second half of the journal, the one that detailed most of Dudley’s plan to steal TruFruit’s patent.“To you?” He asked, continuing to scour it.I nodded again, having no words for him at this moment. How dare he? This argument is about him and his lies.“So, we were right then? He was fired.”I didn’t respond to this inquiry. He didn’t even look up to see if I had answered. After a few moments, he found the note that had fallen out of the journal when I first found it. I stuffed it back in between the pages, so I wouldn't lose it. I watched his face morph into despair.“He wanted you to rip me off?”I stood still.“Were you going to do it?”I was frozen in place.“How could you?”I wasn’t going to bother telling him that I hadn’t planned to go through with any of it. The f
EDWARDSI walked into the other room and talked to Charlie in a hushed tone, hoping to make Sabrina squirm a bit. As I did so, I heard footsteps on the stairs. I looked over to see Candace running down them with a duffel bag.“One second Charlie.” I put the phone to my side and approached my daughter who was angling toward the front door.“Where do you think you’re going?” I asked her.“My friend’s house.”“Who gave you permission to do that? We have some things to talk about, Candace.”“Not interested.” She reached for the knob.“Hey!” I yelled to her, in a firm tone I rarely used. She turned on her heels, one arm on her hip and the other clutching her overnight bag.“You know, maybe you should save the parenting for all of the kids you haven’t told me about yet.”“Candace!”She opened the door and I ran out after her, Charlie still waiting on the line.“Sweetheart, wait! Let me at least explain!”“No! I’m sick of being constantly disappointed by you and mom!”Candace ran towards a b
I responded to Kristen’s text, telling her I’d be over in a couple hours. I wasn’t expecting a package, so it was either a mistake or a ruse to get me into bed. My heart sped up at the thought.A couple hours later, I was on Kristen’s doorstep ringing the doorbell, ready for whatever surprise she had waiting. But when the door opened, I found myself completely caught off guard. A small boy stood below me, looking up with piercing blue eyes. I looked up and a small blonde came out from the kitchen.“Sabrina,” I gasped. “What the hell are you doing here?”“They lost the keys to the house. It’s been lovely meeting your fiancée and son, Mr. McLean,” Kristen said to me from the living room, her tone ice cold.“We have a lot to talk about, darling. And I’ve been waiting for you all day.” Sabrina grabbed her purse and the backpack from the hangers by the front door and met me outside. “Thanks for your hospitality, Miss?”“Washington. Kristen Washington. And you’re welcome,” Kristen responded