need to talk to your daddy about that.’
A discussion that was unlikely to give Emmy what she wanted, judging by the look Alice was receiving from Andrew right now. If she’d felt unwanted in Resus this afternoon when he’d chosen Jo over her, she felt far less desirable right now. More like something he needed to scrape off his shiny black shoe.
Except his shoes weren’t very shiny any more, after storming over the paddock. The ends of his pinstriped trousers looked a little worse for wear, too. No doubt he would blame Alice when he noticed and then she would have to face him again at work in the morning. Not that she had to do anything to gain this man’s displeasure. Existing was more than enough.
Alice had to fight the urge to burst into tears the way Emmy had on hearing her father shouting. Just as well she was good at fighting. She’d learned to tap into stronger feelings. Like anger. She raised her chin.
‘You might like to let Emmy’s mother know it’s not a good idea to let her wander around by herself,’ she said crisply. ‘The river’s quite deep in places and it’s not fenced off.’
Emmy turned again. She was shaking her head. ‘I haven’t got a mother,’ she told Alice. ‘She’s dead, isn’t she, Daddy?’
‘Yes.’ The monosyllabic response was giving nothing away.
It certainly wasn’t inviting even one of the questions Alice had tumbling in her head. What had happened to Melissa? How long ago? Did Emmy miss her dreadfully? Did Andrew? Was that why he had decided to come to the other side of the world to be a solo parent?
‘I’ve got a nanny instead,’ Emmy continued.
‘Not any more.’ Andrew sounded weary now. ‘Haylee’s not going to be staying with us any longer.’
‘Because she was so tired?’
That got a smile. One that Alice was completely excluded from. The bond between this father and daughter was clearly strong enough for her to have been forgotten as the two of them talked to each other. That impression was deepened as Andrew bent down and Emmy raised her arms to be picked up. And when she was, she wrapped her arms around her father’s neck and her legs around his waist and tucked her head against his neck. A fluid series of movements that spoke of a well-rehearsed routine.
‘Yes, sweetheart. Because she was too tired to look after you properly. Now say goodbye to Alice. We’re going home.’
Emmy peeped over the solid wall of her father’s shoulder. Big blue eyes and golden curls, just like her mother had had. The same kind of fragile prettiness that most men had found irresistible, but it had been Andrew that Mel had chosen.
‘Goodbye, Alice,’ the little girl said.
‘Bye, hon.’
She was used to living here alone. It was more than five months since Mandy had gone. She had Ben. And Jake.
So why on earth did watching the retreating figure of Andrew, holding his child in his arms, make her feel not only alone but lonely?
Afraid, even.
CHAPTER THREE
‘ARE you sure?’
‘I’m sorry, Dr Barrett. This is a witnessed signature and all perfectly legal. The reason I wasn’t aware of the sub-lease was because I was overseas at the time it was arranged and my junior partner dealt with it. Unfortunately, the filing of the document was incorrect.’
‘So I’m stuck with it.’
‘Only for another three weeks or thereabouts.’ The solicitor raised an eyebrow. ‘You didn’t seem concerned about waiting for the lease to expire when you purchased the property.’
‘That’s because I had no idea who was really living in that cottage.’
‘And the tenant is a problem?’
‘Yes.’ The word was heartfelt.
‘In that case…’ The solicitor smiled, pulling a blank piece of paper in front of him. ‘What is she doing that’s unacceptable?’
Andrew frowned. She was just…there; wasn’t that enough? It was more than enough for him to find it disturbing. Especially when his daughter seemed convinced that Alice Palmer had magic powers of some kind. It was all she could talk about last night and she’d been almost breathless with excitement and talking so fast at times it had been hard to hear everything.
Apparently she had watched her gallop up a big hill with her hair streaming out behind.
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