What Goes on Tour (23 page)

If only there was a reporter who would actually ask the tough questions and get Emily to admit the truth.

A light bulb went off. Libby examined the idea from all sides and couldn’t see how it would fail. Checking the time, she calculated the difference and then dialed.

“Piper, I need a favor.”

***

Adrian walked into his hotel room, but instead of heading for the bathroom, he went in search of Libby. She was packing up her laptop at the dining table.

He’d felt like a jerk all evening. He hadn’t meant to snap at her, but the house arrest was getting to him. He was second-guessing all his decisions and to have Libby disagree with him made him third-guess them.

He wasn’t sure how to get the media to leave them alone.

Libby’s voicemail message, which he hadn’t got until after the concert, showed she understood, but he felt as though he was walking on eggshells. Any wrong step and he’d crush the lot.

Libby looked up as he walked over and gave a cautious smile. “Hi.”

“Howdy.” He stopped next to her and saw the concern cross her face. “I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier.” He sighed. “This whole situation is getting to me.”

Libby took his hand. “It’s getting to us both. I’m sorry I made you doubt your decision.”

He breathed out in relief. It meant so much that she understood. “How’s Kate?”

“We talked about it. She’d like to send Emily an email, but I wasn’t sure if you’d want her to.”

Adrian frowned, trying not to be defensive. “What did she want to say?”

“She wants to thank Emily for being her nanny and ask her to tell the truth.”

That was a surprise. When he’d left, Kate hated Emily. Libby had said something to change her mind. “What did you say to Kate?”

Libby looked down for a moment. “Initially Kate wanted to tell Emily she hated her, but I explained it might make Emily worse. So we decided to try the carrot method instead of the stick.” She waited for his reaction.

It was better than Kate talking to the media, but an email could be forwarded on to anyone. “I’ll think about it.” He’d check what Kate wanted to say tomorrow.

There was still a distance between him and Libby, both literally and figuratively. He wanted to bridge it. Stepping forward he pulled Libby into his arms. “I’m sorry for earlier.”

She smiled at him. “I know. It’s all right.”

It wasn’t. He’d lashed out at her, not with fists but with words. In his experience they could be equally damaging. The bruises his father gave him had faded but the words – the accusations that he was useless and that he was the reason his mother left – stayed with him even now.

Adrian wanted to show Libby how much she meant to him. He wanted to hold her all night. He appreciated her support and was sorry for his actions. “Will you stay tonight?”

“Until the morning?”

He nodded. He hated it when Libby left in the middle of the night, as if they had something to hide. As long as they were up before Kate, it wouldn’t be a problem.

Libby smiled at him, wide and open, her whole being radiating her pleasure. “I’d love to.”

He relaxed and kissed her softly. “Why don’t you get a change of clothes?”

He walked her to the door and waited there until she reached her room. Then he went into the bathroom for a quick shower.

Part of him was nervous about Libby spending the night. He’d never slept the whole night with anyone. He’d always left after sex. No one knew he always slept with a night light. He closed his eyes as he let the water spray over his face.

But Libby knew about his fear of the dark. She knew more about him than any other woman.

He shut off the shower and toweled himself dry.

He’d never expected to open himself up to someone like he had with Libby. He trusted her.

He’d miss her when he went back to America.

The sharp ache in his heart caught him by surprise. He rubbed at his chest. He’d made it clear their relationship was temporary. Anything else was impossible. They lived in different countries.

But Libby’s best friend lived in Texas and Libby didn’t have a good relationship with her parents …

The quiet knock on the door stopped his train of thought. He pushed the thought away, slung the towel around his waist and went to answer it.

He’d think about it later.

***

The next day they flew to Perth. Libby’s heart lifted as the Swan River came into view just before they landed. This was home.

She was looking forward to taking Kate home with her to get away from the reporters, who were still interested in Adrian’s story. Adrian had decided it was the best course of action.

Libby’s car had been left in the long-term car park and she went to fetch it while the others waited in a private area of the airport. The reporters jostled around her for a statement as she came out of the terminal.

“Why did you steal Emily’s job?”

“Why did Kent abandon his father?”

“How is the little girl related to Kent?”

She wasn’t able to push through the mass of bodies, so she held up a hand and waited until they had settled down somewhat. She was tired of all the accusations. Tired of being harassed. Didn’t these people have anything better to report on? “The little girl did not have a nanny when I started working for them,” she began, answering the first question. She turned to the second reporter. “You’ll need to speak to Kent about his father. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to fetch my car.”

Questions were shouted at her and microphones shoved in her face. She tried to walk around but it didn’t work. Frustration bubbled up inside her. They were crowding her and robbing her of the time she had left with Adrian and Kate. She just wanted to go home. As she was close to tears, a burly security guard came up and pushed the reporters away.

“Come on, folks. Let the lady through.” He helped her on the bus to the long-term car park.

“Thank you.” Libby smiled at the man.

“No worries, love.”

As the bus doors closed, Libby let out a sigh of relief. She’d had enough of this nonsense. She wanted to give Emily a piece of her mind, but she had to trust Piper had it under control.

She collected her car, and a few minutes later, Libby pulled up into a section of the airport where Kate and Adrian were waiting.

Adrian frowned when he saw the car. Libby knew it wasn’t much to look at and it might be ten years old, but it had just been repaired and was clean. Kate jumped in and George loaded her bags into the boot. Adrian came around to the driver’s side window and leaned in.

“If there are reporters at your house, bring Kate to the hotel.” He glanced around.

“I’ll take care of her, Adrian.” Libby placed a hand on his.

“I know you will.” He gave her a half-smile.

The fact Adrian trusted her with Kate gave Libby such a thrill. “I’ll see you soon,” she said. Adrian was going to join them after he’d checked into the hotel and made a media statement.

He nodded.

Libby drove off, avoiding the reporters who were still waiting for Kent to come out of the airport. She breathed a sigh of relief as she turned onto the highway and no one was following her. The road here was familiar and she allowed herself to relax.

“How far away do you live?” Kate asked peering out the window at the industrial sector they were driving through.

“About an hour from here. It’s south of Perth, close to the beach.”

“Can we go swimming?”

Libby laughed. “It might be a bit cold.” Today was a beautiful winter’s day with the sun shining, but there was still a nip to the air.

Libby turned on to the freeway and headed south for about an hour before leaving the freeway to head west.

Ten minutes later she was pulling into the carport of an old weatherboard beach shack. There was no drive, just compacted dirt, and the grass was in need of a mow. Despite its age she was going to miss this place when she moved in a couple of weeks.

“Wow, this place is old,” Kate said.

Libby laughed. “It’s one of the original shacks built in this area. Let’s get inside and I’ll show you around.”

Libby unlocked the front door and carried their bags in, enjoying the creak and groan of the old floorboards as she walked across them.

“Your room is over here.” Libby led Kate to her office, which had a single bed in it. The bedspread was pale blue and there was a small chest of drawers in the corner that Libby had salvaged from an op shop and redecorated, as well as her writing desk and a bookshelf.

Kate jumped on the bed and bounced up and down. “This is great.”

Libby dumped her case in her room, then called to Kate, “Are you hungry?”

Kate wandered into the hall and followed Libby through to the kitchen at the back. “No. Do you think we could go to the beach? I’d really like to get out.”

Libby felt the same way. After so many days not being able to leave the hotel, she was eager to get some fresh air. “Absolutely.”

She picked up her house keys and two hats, one of which she gave to Kate, and said, “Let’s go.”

“Yes!” Kate pumped her arm and raced down the steps toward the car.

Libby locked up and then gestured to Kate. “It’s not far. We’ll walk.”

Surprise lit up Kate’s face. She raced over to Libby and they wandered down the street.

“The trees here are real different from back home,” Kate commented.

“Most of these are native to Australia,” Libby told her and pointed out the few she knew the names of.

They crossed a road and the ground gradually began to rise.

“Wow, some of these houses are huge!”

Libby laughed. “This area is called The Bay. All of this used to be sand dunes, but now they’re big blocks. You need a fair bit of money to live here.”

“But you live across the road and your house isn’t big.”

“This is a newer area.”

They reached a path that ran parallel to the beach and Libby turned toward the lookout. Together they climbed the steps and gazed out over the sound.

The water was calm today, a dark blue with the occasional ripple as the wind blew over it. The sound curved around in a C shape and on the horizon were some small, rocky islands. To the north Libby saw houses but to the south it was mostly sand dunes. On the beach itself a man walked his dog and a woman jogged up the sand. The rest of the long shoreline was deserted. Libby breathed in a deep breath of the salty air. This was home.

“It’s so quiet here,” Kate said.

It was. Even in the summer there weren’t huge crowds on the clean, sandy beaches.

“Do you want to go down to the water?” Libby asked.

“Yeah.”

They turned and made their way down to the beach. Small piles of seaweed had been washed up in sections and Kate spent her time exploring what had washed up. They walked a couple of miles before they turned back.

Kate was more relaxed than she had been in days and the tension in Libby’s shoulders melted away. The hush of the waves washing up on the shoreline, the smell of the salt and the seaweed, and the gentle refreshing breeze soothed away all the troubles of the moment. Libby would have to bring Adrian here when he arrived.

Kate found a bit of driftwood that she swore was shaped like a person and decided to take it as a souvenir. “That way I’ll remember our walk on the beach after we leave,” Kate told Libby.

Libby smiled but didn’t answer. She was all too aware she had less than a week left with them. The rest of her editing could wait. She’d do it while Kate slept and would spend as much time as she could with Adrian and Kate before they left.

They walked back down the street, the sand dunes muting the sound of the wash of the waves on the shore. When they turned onto Libby’s street, Libby’s heart sank. Parked outside the shack were three cars with different television stations logos on the side. The reporters hadn’t spotted them yet.

“What do we do?” Kate asked.

Libby retrieved her house keys from her pocket. “We’ll go straight up to the house. Hopefully they won’t notice us until we get close and we can get inside before they realize we’re not already there.”

Her heart pounded in her chest. She didn’t want any more pictures of Kate splashed across the television.

They were still a hundred yards from the house when the first reporter spotted them. The cameraman with him turned on his camera and pointed it in Libby’s direction.

Libby seized Kate’s hand. “Walk faster.” She kept her head down, shielding her face with the brim of her hat, and kept her body between Kate and the cameras. The other reporters realized what was going on and moved toward her.

“Who’s the girl with you?”

“Kent said your relationship was temporary. Does that mean you’re not dating Kent?”

Libby felt like she’d been shot, but she didn’t stop walking. She’d look up Adrian’s statement when they were safely inside.

“Why did Kent abandon his father?”

Libby ignored the questions and trotted up the steps to her front door. Her hand shook as she fumbled to put the key in the lock, but finally it went in and she opened the door, pushing Kate in front of her.

She slammed the door behind her and let out a deep breath. “Are you all right?”

Kate turned to her, her eyes flashing. “No, I’m not. I’m mad. Those stupid reporters ruin everything. I want to tell them what I think of them.”

Libby shepherded Kate away from the entrance where the reporters wouldn’t be able to hear the girl’s shouts. “I know it’s unfair. Let’s have something to eat. Maybe they’ll go away.”

On cue someone knocked on the door. Libby flinched but ignored it.

She put on the kettle and searched through the cupboard for something to feed Kate. Her eyes fell on a box of instant soups and she pulled them out.

Kate paced up and down the kitchen.

“Can you fetch my laptop?” Libby asked. “It’s in my carry-on bag in my room.” That would give her something to do for a moment and Libby wanted to get online and read what Adrian had said.

Libby pulled out some mugs, tipped the powdery substance in and poured boiling water over it, stirring it vigorously.

It was then she heard Kate talking loudly.