Red Dust Dreaming (18 page)

***

Caden paced up and down the length of the lounge room. Once in a while he varied his route by doing a lap of the big leather couch which dominated the room. He could almost hear Thelma scold him for flattening a track in the carpet. He couldn't sit still. The waiting was killing him. Lizzie was hiding something, he was sure of it. But what? What does she know? He wanted to keep Luke more than anything in the world. The boy was as a son to him. The thought of the little guy living a million miles away in a cold and foreign country with people who would inevitably ship him off to boarding school made Caden sick to his stomach. He knew his legal rights were shaky at best but he couldn't help holding out for a miracle.

Then there was Lizzie. What happened between them today could not be ignored. He'd never wanted a woman more. She'd arrived at Kirrkalan a tightly folded bud, hiding the beauty within, only to unfold right before his eyes into a magnificent woman of surprising contradictions. Contradictions he wanted to spend the rest of his life exploring. If she'd let him.

He stopped dead in his tracks, the thought new to him. Marriage! Is that what he really wanted? Was this the one? He shook his head. Caden couldn't entertain the notion until he was sure how Lizzie felt. And what she planned to do. The conundrum of Luke lay between them like the Berlin Wall. Not insurmountable but requiring a great deal of dismantling.

Lizzie caught him deep in thought. She walked into the room with an air of vulnerability about her which made him want to instinctively protect her. "Hi," she said hesitatingly.

"Hello. Drink?" He'd made them both a double finger of Scotch. He figured the situation demanded something with a kick. A cup of tea just wasn't going to cut it. She took the glass from him, careful not to let their fingers touch he noted. "Please sit," he said indicating the old slightly battered Chesterfield he'd inherited along with everything else.

"I love these," she said running her hand over the leather. "My dad has one in his office, not like this one of course. His was new and hard. This one has stories to tell."

Caden smiled and sat in the armchair opposite figuring she needed some space for the conversation to come. "My mother always maintained a Chesterfield wasn't worth its salt until it had been sat on by three generations."

Lizzie laughed, exposing the pale column of her throat. "Your mother sounds like a wise woman."

"She is. Perhaps you'll get to meet her one day." He was fishing and he couldn't stop himself.

She cocked her head to one side. "Maybe," she murmured. Not a negative. He could work with that.

"Down to business?" he asked. No point delaying the inevitable. He needed to know what she knew. If they had any chance of a future together they had to work through this issue first.

"Okay," she nodded, swallowing hard. "Where do you want to start?"

"How about we begin with this inheritance? Up until the delightful phone call from your father I had no idea there was any money involved. Angela never spoke of it to me. Tell me what you know." Caden sat back, trying to project an image of a relaxed, in control man. Nothing could be further from the truth. Every nerve ending prickled with awareness of her.

She drew in a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. "Right. Here goes." Lizzie placed her drink on the coffee table before her and perched on the edge of the couch. "I know about the inheritance because I have Angela's will."

All pretence of calm deserted Caden. "What? How?" He didn't know which question was more important.

"Turns out Angela wrote a will before she died. She gave it to Thelma with strict instructions not to give it to anyone else but me." She didn't look at him, focusing instead on her fingers which she twisted together in her lap.

"How did she know you'd be the one to come?" He frowned, perplexed.

"I asked the same question. Thelma tells me Angela was certain our parents would send me, sure they wouldn't come themselves." A look of sadness crossed her face.

"She knew them well," he said in a poor effort to comfort her.

"Predictable I guess. Anyway, she explains about the inheritance in the will. Luke has more than enough money to have a good life ahead of him. We're talking millions here." Lizzie looked up straight into his eyes and a jolt went through him.

"Millions?" He couldn't keep the shock out of his voice. "So how does your father know?"

"I have no idea," she confessed and he believed her.

Multiple emotions competed for his attention. Surprise at the news, fury at Thelma and Angela's duplicity, annoyance at Gerald Langtree for thinking he'd be after Luke's money, that the only reason Caden wanted Luke was to get his hands on the inheritance. He stood up and began to pace again, unable to contain his agitation. "I cannot believe Thelma kept the will a secret." Might as well start at the beginning and work his way through the list.

"In her defence she was honouring Angela's dying wish and she may not have known what was in the document. To her it might have simply been an envelope full of letters or something."

"Don't defend her Lizzie. We both know Thelma isn't silly. She'd know. She's the sort of woman who'd ask for Christ's sake!" He threw back his drink and headed to the drinks trolley to pour another one. Who on earth had a drinks trolley anyway? They belonged in another century. His mother had insisted the damn things stayed. A legacy of the past she said. What a man needed was a bar!

"What I can't work out is how Dad knows." Lizzie changed tack, clever girl. "A great deal of the money comes through Luke's father. If Mother had known Mitch had come from a wealthy family I can guarantee you she'd have been more accepting of him."

"Your mother sounds like a treat!"

"She is. Hopefully you'll never have to meet her." Lizzie offered him a weak smile.

"You need to know the money means nothing to me. I know Kirrkalan scrapes by year after year but we're not desperate." Earnestness gripped him. He had to make her understand. "I want to adopt Luke, make him officially my son."

Lizzie paled right before his eyes. "Adopt? But then he wouldn't be a Langtree anymore!"

"Whoever said he was in the first place?" How could she be so loyal to a family who'd been so disloyal to her?

"I know what you're saying. My parents have not done the best job," she said as if reading his mind. "All the same, you cannot deny his grandparents the right to meet him, to know him."

"Of course not! The point is who raises him. That's what matters and I want to be the one to do it." He abandoned his drink in case he spilled it.

"If a custody case goes to court you know you probably won't win, don't you?" Genuine pain and regret showed in her eyes.

Something in Caden yielded. The fight went out of him and he sat down once more. "I can't let him go without trying."

"I understand." She was beside him in an instant, kneeling next to the armchair, her small hand resting on his arm.

He searched her grey eyes, clear as a winter morning. "I can't let you go without trying."

She leaned forward and kissed him, her lips as gentle as a butterflies wings. He met her half way, deepening the kiss, exalting in the knowledge she wanted him as much as he wanted her.

Lizzie had dozed for most of the flight from Alice Springs to Sydney, her fingers gently linked with Caden's. He'd allowed her the window seat which was ironic considering she was too tired to take advantage of it. They touched at shoulder and knee, pressing against each other with new found intimacy. The rightness of him took her breath away, as if a piece of her personal puzzle had clicked into place. There you are! She wanted to say. I've found you.

Instead she took simple delight in being with him, in the dissolution of doubts which had plagued her. He did care for her. He did want her. As much as she wanted him. Of course this development contributed nothing positive to the dilemma facing her. She still kept her secret. The clock ticked on, pushing her into a decision. Lizzie kept hoping something would happen, a sign would appear. Just exactly what that might look like she couldn't say but she kept hoping all the same. She wanted to make the right decision, to be able to look back in her old age and know she hadn't made a mistake, especially if old age included Caden.

She dropped her head onto Caden's shoulder. The powerful male scent of him filled her senses, so familiar to her now she'd know him anywhere. There was no doubting he'd make a fantastic father to Luke. Yet the niggling thought that Luke should know his blood family lingered. He should know he was a Langtree and all that implied. Still the decision appeared before her as an insurmountable challenge so she quietly tucked it away, preferring to doze and dream about innocuous things like painting and Caden.

Before she knew it the plane was landing in Sydney. It was like arriving on another planet. Rain ran in rivulets down the plane windows and marched in grey sheets across the tarmac. Lizzie didn't mind. The weather fitted the solemnity of the occasion. Caden said little, merely squeezing her hand conveyed everything worth saying. Luke wriggled with excitement in his seat. She noticed Caden held his hand too, bridging the Langtrees and holding them together.

The airport reminded her of every major airport in the world; expanses of white walls plastered with advertisements, throngs of people, disorientating pathways leading to endless gateways. They collected their luggage and found a taxi to take them to their hotel. Luke found delight in everything. He'd never been to Sydney before and had never seen so many people gathered in one place. His eyes were enormous as he took it all in. Lizzie smiled at him as he sat in the taxi with his nose pressed up against the glass not put off by the bad weather in the least.

Caden checked them in at the hotel while Lizzie and Luke inspected the lobby.

"Wow! Aunty E look at this! Real fish!" Luke knelt at the indoor fountain watching the brightly coloured koi swim lazily about, impervious to the bustle around them. Lizzie stood by him more to keep his enthusiasm in check and ensure he didn't end up in the fountain with the fish. She checked her phone. Her father was yet to answer the message she'd sent him saying they'd arrived and where did he want to meet. Gerald Langtree would respond in good time, one which would best suit him. No doubt he was strategising location right at that very moment, forever the lawyer, always looking for the upper hand.

"I've got us adjoining rooms. Luke and I will share one and you take the other." Caden appeared at her side. "I thought it best in the circumstances we didn't share a bed."

Lizzie blushed, images of their earlier lovemaking fresh in her mind. "Of course! Luke is too young to be left on his own anyway."

"Let's go up get settled, have a shower and change. Luke are you ready?" Caden asked.

"Sure thing." The little boy leaped to his feet, the fish forgotten. "Can I push the button in the elevator?" Lizzie forgot there were no elevators in Luke's world.

"No problems, little mate. Off you go. Just don't run anyone over."

Luke scrambled ahead thrilled for the simple adventure which lay ahead. New York was going to be sensory over load for him! She threaded her arm though Caden's. One step at a time. New York was still a long way off from Sydney. All depended on her father.

Five minutes later Luke was inspecting the door leading from his room to Lizzie's, thrilled by the idea the rooms interconnected. "I can come and see you whenever I want!"

"Yes you can but right now I need to take a shower and get changed. Maybe you should do the same thing?" She ruffled his hair. "You ought to be nice and clean when you meet your grandfather for the first time."

Luke screwed up his face. "I don't want to meet my grandfather. He just wants to take me away. I don't care if I never see him."

"Come on mate, don't be like that. We'll just meet him and say hi. Get to know him a little. No one is saying you have to leave right away." Caden's tone was gentle and Lizzie noted he didn't lead Luke to believe he didn't have to go at all.

"Don't want to." Luke was obstinate.

"Not a choice I'm afraid. Shower, now!" Caden hadn't raised his voice yet the force behind his words was enough to galvanise Luke who took off across the room like a pack of wolves were on his tail. Caden turned to her and shrugged. "Boundaries."

She nodded. "I'm impressed. I think I'll take a shower myself. Meet you in your room in half an hour."

Caden kissed her tenderly, pulling her to him and running his hand down her back. She pushed him back through the door into his room.

"Half an hour," she said wagging her finger at him.

"Okay, okay," he laughed holding up his hands in defeat. "You win."

She shut the door firmly, not bothering to lock it. There was no need. Humming off key she stripped off her travel-weary clothes and left them lying on the floor. Heading to the shower she cranked up the hot water before inspecting the hotel's toiletries. She had a soft spot for hotel soaps and body wash. Opening a tube she sniffed. Lemon myrtle. Delicious. Lizzie stepped into the steaming shower and let the hot water do its work. Her shoulder maintained a little stiffness to remind her she was no longer as young as she used to be. And perhaps she needed to revisit horse riding lessons. The body wash soaped up a treat and soon the entire room smelled fresh and lively.

There was a text message from her father by the time she emerged:

Meet me in the bar at 4pm.

No mention of Luke, no enquiry, no love sent. Some things remained the same. She threw her phone on the bed and turned to the serious issue of dressing. All her clothes were "Elizabeth" clothes. Lizzie hadn't managed to go shopping for new ones, that joy still lay ahead and she was determined to squeeze some retail therapy into the trip. Right now she needed an outfit to make her feel confident, in control because Gerald would do his best to strip away her confidence and maintain the upper hand.

She dug out her black sheath dress, the one she'd nearly worn to Richard's party. What a life time ago that seemed! She shook it out and inspected it carefully. Nothing a quick press with an iron couldn't manage. While formality of the dress might be a little overkill for a reunion with her father it sent a no-nonsense message as well. Never for a moment could she forget she was dealing with a shark of a lawyer, even if they were flesh and blood.