Outback Sunset (34 page)

The doorbell rang. Curtis went to answer it.

‘Hello, Curtis,’ Georgia’s blue eyes gave him the mandatory once over. ‘You’re looking well.’

‘Thank you.’ He deliberately didn’t return the compliment though she looked her usual fantastic
self: perfectly groomed, coiffed and dressed. In that way only did she remind him of Bren’s wife. Vanessa, whether she was riding a horse, helping with the branding, or fixing a bore pump, somehow managed to look … almost immaculate. Except once, when he’d been trying to explain the rudiments of a bike’s engine, he’d seen a smudge on her nose and …

‘Hilary not in?’ Georgia enquired politely.

‘Shopping,’ he explained succinctly. ‘Would you care for a drink?’

‘No, I’m fine, thanks. So polite, so cool, Curtis,’ she teased, smiling as they gravitated towards the living room, then she changed the subject. ‘I love what Hilary’s done with this place. She has put the stamp of her personality into the house, don’t you think?’

A muscle began to twitch in Curtis’s cheek. He knew what Georgia was up to — keeping the conversation trivial long enough to goad him into a terse response. ‘I suppose,’ he said easily, to annoy her in return. ‘I’ve never thought much about it.’

Then, almost with a sense of guilt, his gaze swept the room, taking in the décor which was very modern. Leather lounges with a variety of coloured cushions, marble and glass tables, tiled floor, strategically placed pot plants, a few oil paintings of Australian scenes. Not his cup of tea but, yes, it looked tasteful and expensive — very Hilary Selby.

‘You called this meeting, Georgia. I presume to talk to me about Regan,’ he said pointedly.

‘Aaahh, yes.’

He watched her lick her lips, a dead give-away that beneath the veneer of sophistication, she was nervous.

‘A, shall we say, delicate matter has arisen …’

As he waited, he noticed that she was fidgeting. Georgia didn’t fidget. Very curious. ‘She’s not sick, is she?’ That had been the first and foremost concern on his mind, that their daughter wasn’t well.

‘No, Regan’s as healthy as a horse. You see it’s …’ she pursed her lips, took a deep breath. ‘How can I put it? Umm … I’m getting married again.’

Curtis stared at his ex for perhaps twenty seconds, during which time his gaze managed to, for the first time, fasten on the diamond ring on the third finger of her left hand. It was obscenely large. ‘I guess I’m supposed to say congratulations. Congratulations.’ His tone was flat, patently uninterested.

‘Yes.’ Her expression changed, becoming rapt and dreamy-eyed. ‘To a wonderful man. Gregor is a publisher. He has a string of lifestyle and women’s magazines in several European countries.’

‘Then Gregor is mega-wealthy, I imagine?’

‘He is. His name is Gregor Farber, he’s German. We’ll live in Berlin most of the time though he has an apartment in New York for business purposes and a holiday villa in Cannes.’

He resisted the urge to say,
doesn’t everyone
. ‘You’ve done well, Georgia,’ Curtis couldn’t resist the tongue-in-cheek remark. ‘Guess those German language tapes you bought years ago have paid off.’ She was remarrying, great. He couldn’t care less that she was. In fact he kind of pitied what was his name? Gregor — the man was welcome to her.

‘So, what’s the problem with Regan?’

‘Regan doesn’t want to live with us in Germany. Gregor says she should go to boarding school, in
Switzerland, but I think she’s too young. Regan’s being … very difficult about everything. Rude to Gregor. Stubborn as a mule.’

Curtis’s grin was almost gleeful. Well, she was a Selby. ‘Regan’s only eleven. She shouldn’t have to go to boarding school if she doesn’t want to, in a country where she doesn’t speak the language.’

Curtis’s brows knitted together as the full impact of her words sank in. If his daughter went to live in Europe, how and when was he going to see her? Another thought quickly followed. Could he legally stop Georgia from taking Regan overseas? Hell’s bells, there had to be something he could do to keep her here.

‘What about your parents? They mind her a lot when you’re on assignment.’

‘Mum and Dad are getting on. It’s asking too much to expect them to care full-time for an energetic girl who’ll soon be a teenager. As much as they adore Regan, it would be too much responsibility.’

She was right. Georgia’s parents, Ben and Marje Stephens, had married late and they hadn’t had Georgia till Marje was almost forty. Both were in their early seventies now. He stared at Georgia for a long time but all he could concentrate on was the thought that he might be losing his daughter forever. He wasn’t going to take that lying down. If he had to fight her through the courts, he would.

‘I don’t want to rain on your parade of happiness regarding your engagement,’ his tone was sarcastic, ‘but I’m telling you straight out, I’ll fight to keep Regan in Australia. I believe that’s best for her.’

Georgia’s mouth pulled into a thin line, and her stare became openly assessing. ‘I agree …’ she said slowly, as if she had given the matter a lot of thought. ‘Regan’s best interests would be served by staying here.’

Curtis, who’d been sitting on the edge of the sofa, almost fell off it from shock. ‘What did you say?’

‘I agree with you. Is that so hard for you to believe?’ A plucked eyebrow rose questioningly. ‘Regan would find adjusting to European life, very … trying. She would hate it, and in the end, hate me. You might not think I’ve been a good wife or mother, but I don’t want to alienate my daughter like that.’

‘Then don’t marry Gregor. Surely Regan comes first.’

Georgia shook her head from side to side, then flicked a stray lock of red hair off her face. ‘Are you crazy? Not marry Gregor?’ She looked at him as if she hadn’t heard right. ‘The man’s loaded. Only a fool would pass up the chance to be Mrs Gregor Farber. And …’ a cunningness swept over her features. ‘I may be many things but I am not a fool.’

‘So, it’s not wholly true love,’ he drawled, enjoying the chance to niggle her. As well, he was beginning to believe that, finally, the pendulum of fairness was about to swing in his favour.

‘Of course I love him, Gregor’s a charming man. We’re going to have a sophisticated, very social kind of life, a life that …’

Curtis got the message. ‘Regan wouldn’t fit in with. She would be in the way.’ He was rewarded when she had the grace to look embarrassed.

‘Frankly, yes.’ Georgia shifted in her seat, uncomfortable with his incisiveness. ‘Look, Curtis, what it comes down to is this: I’m prepared to give you full custody of Regan subject to visiting rights, that is, having her twice a year during school holidays.’

‘If it fits in with your social calendar.’ There was bitterness in his tone as he spoke. My God, she was a selfish, self-centred bitch! Had she given any but the barest amount of thought as to how her decision would make their daughter feel? That Regan would feel as if her mother was discarding her. He doubted it.

‘Being bitchy doesn’t become you. Are you interested in the deal or not?’ Georgia spat the question at him.

Curtis didn’t answer straight away. He wanted her to stew for a while, but already he was thinking how great it was going to be to have Regan at Amaroo. As a small child she had loved the station and now that she was older, he could show and teach her so much. ‘Of course. But this isn’t the kind of deal we just shake hands on. I want everything done legally, signed and sealed.’
So you can’t change your mind some time down the track if your marriage goes belly up.

‘Naturally. We both know solicitors in Darwin. That can be done tomorrow.’

‘You are eager to be rid of her.’

Her cheeks flushed guiltily, and she looked away. When she looked back at him again there was a hardness in her eyes. ‘Gregor is a popular man and, all I’ll say is that I don’t want our plans to go awry. The wedding date’s set for the fourteenth of next
month, in Berlin. I’ll fly Mum, Dad and Regan over for it and afterwards they can bring her to Hilary. You can pick her up from here and take her to Amaroo. Agreed?’ She held out her hand.

He looked at her outstretched hand but refused to shake it. ‘Let’s wait till the paperwork’s done. Then it will be a deal.’

‘Bastard …’ she muttered, loud enough for him to hear.

‘Thank you, but I believe that after this you have the dibs on moral bastardry. And, what’s more, I think it’s important that I be there when you tell Regan. I’ll fly back to Sydney with you. Poor kid,’ he shook his head. ‘She’s probably going to feel like a package being pushed from one person to the other.’

‘I … Don’t think it was an easy decision, Curtis, it wasn’t,’ Georgia said, and had the audacity to produce a few tears. ‘After all, she is my daughter, and I do love her …’

‘Give me a break. You love her but not as much as you love the thought of Gregor’s money. I hope being rich makes you happy.’

Georgia, realising that he wasn’t going to bend, wiped the tears away. She stared at him as she got up and smoothed down her skirt. ‘Do you, really?’

He shrugged his shoulders. In truth, he had reached the point where he couldn’t care less whether she was happy or not, but if she were it would make life easier for him and Regan because then she would leave them alone. ‘Sure. Why not.’

Kerri’s sixth sense was always alert where Vanessa was concerned and she could tell that her friend was
down in the dumps but disguising it as they celebrated Kyle’s third birthday in Vanessa’s Belgrave Square flat. Seven children from the preschool kindergarten Kyle attended three days a week, plus an accompanying parent for each child, were there for the party. Present also were Yannis, Melody Sharp, Vanessa’s long-term friend and Melody’s partner, Joe Vasengi, all there to enjoy Kyle’s special day.

The Women’s Room
only had one month left to run. The play had been an outstanding success but, unfortunately, negotiations regarding the production of
North of the Nullarbor
were drawn out and had stalled which meant Vanessa would have to stay in London until the deal was finalised. Possibly that’s why she appeared glum, Kerri thought or, more likely, she was missing that husband of hers. She
made
herself think charitably about Bren, and Amaroo.

Before Vanny married Bren Selby, Kerri had been wracked by serious doubts that the marriage would last and that her friend wouldn’t cope with the privations and loneliness of outback life, of which
she
knew nothing. But, contrarily, having read the script and deduced that a percentage of the text touched on difficulties Vanny herself had experienced, she had a greater insight about how much her friend had grown and matured. Still on the sunny side of thirty-five, Vanny remained a striking-looking woman who had grown into a superb actress and a true Australian outback woman.

‘Buck up, Vanny,’ Kerri whispered as she watched Yannis, who adored kids, supervise the ‘Pin the Tail
on the Donkey’ game in the living room. ‘You won’t be stuck in London forever. Charles Pittman promised to get back to me by tomorrow with a compromise deal. It’s just that he was disappointed that Jane Campion wasn’t available to direct. Still, Martin Pirelli’s list of credits is impressive.’

‘Patience isn’t one of my virtues. There are times when I don’t know why I’m keen to have another child — the nine months waiting thing almost drove me crazy.’ Vanessa’s brown eyes misted. She had that far-away gleam again. ‘I should be at Amaroo. They’ll be starting the muster soon. I should be there to help.’ She half expected that when she did fall pregnant Bren would throw a mini tantrum before he accepted the situation. When he knew how much she wanted the baby, how good it would be for Kyle, she was sure he would become enthusiastic. Kerri’s voice cut through her thoughts.

‘I’m sure Bren and his brother will manage well enough without you.’

‘They will,’ Vanessa agreed. ‘It’s just that
I
enjoy being a part of it. You can’t imagine how it feels. The starkness of the land, the heat, the way of life, gets into your blood and when you’re away it’s like a part of you has gone missing.’ She looked at her son who was waiting his turn to play the game. Tallest of the seven children present, Kyle was huskily built like his father. ‘Kyle’s starting to fret too, he’s gone off his food. He enjoys kindy well enough but he misses Bren and Curtis.’

Kerri clicked her tongue and shook her head. ‘You worry too much. One week kids love food; the next week they hate everything you put in front of
them. Besides in a month he’ll be home, and isn’t Curtis’s daughter, Regan, at Amaroo?’

‘She is, but Kyle’s only three and she’s almost a teenager.’

‘You watch, I reckon the two of them will get along really well, even with the disparity in their ages,’ Kerri prophesied.

The doorbell rang and Melody’s partner, Joe, went down the hall to answer it.

‘Daddy, Daddy …
’

Vanessa glanced from her son to the hallway. Standing next to Joe was Bren, a jacket over one shoulder, one hand behind his back and a bag in the other. Her hands flew to her lips with shock. What was he doing here? ‘Oh, Bren …’

Wife and son ran at Bren and engulfed him in a huge hug, while the children and other people in the room smiled and looked on.

Bren kissed Vanessa and hugged her till, embarrassed, she whispered that he should let her go. Pleased surprise added a tremble to her voice as she asked, ‘What? How … what are you doing here?’

Bren gave her a wide grin. ‘Curtis got tired of looking at my miserable face. He suggested I come and see you, that I might as well because I was pretty useless on Amaroo.’

She smiled back at him. She could well imagine Curtis saying just that. ‘Your brother is a man of infinite wisdom. We’ve both missed you, especially,’ her eyes darted to where Kyle stood, his arms wrapped around one of Bren’s legs, ‘you know who.’ Then, still slightly breathless, she asked, ‘How long can you stay?’

‘A week. We’re starting the muster early because we got an additional order for one thousand head for the Middle East — an exporter let an Arabian livestock importer down. Mustering starts in just over a week.’

Vanessa had hoped he would be able to stay longer. ‘Oh, of course. Well, some time is better than no time,’ she said brightly, hiding her disappointment.