How To Trap a Parent. Joan Kilby
sell yourself short.” Jane picked up the wine bottle and studied the plain white sticker on which the year, the variety of grape and a catalog number was handwritten. “You could flog this at the Red Hill market. Day-tripping Melbournites would buy it by the caseload.”
“Who has time for that?” he asked, leaning against the table. “Real estate agents are on the job 24-7.”
“Maybe you’re in the wrong job.” Her cell phone rang. “Excuse me,” she said, unclipping it from the side pocket of her purse. “Jane Linden speaking. Rafe, hello! Thanks for returning my call.” She smiled with pleasure at hearing the gravelly two-packs-a-day voice of her old friend. “The movie premiere is in a few weeks,” she told him. “Red-carpet walk at the theater. After party at the Botanical Restaurant. You put in an appearance for a couple of hours and then you can disappear. Mia will be there. Oh, don’t be like that. In public you have to at least pretend to like her. Thank you, darling. Ciao!”
Jane folded her cell phone and tucked it into her bag. “It wouldn’t do to have our male lead not show up at the Australian premiere.”
“Rafe Baldwyn? Was that who you were talking to?” Cole said. “He’s one of the hottest actors in Australia. I just read somewhere that he’s going to be the next big thing in Hollywood.”
“He already is,” Jane said. “Swept Away was a smash hit in the U.S.”
“Is that what your job entails, chatting with the stars?”
“Mostly I deal with the media, putting out press releases. When I arrange interviews or appearances I usually speak with agents or personal assistants. But I met Rafe years ago when he was an acting student in Sydney. We’ve been friends ever since.”
Cole’s eyebrows rose at that. “Just friends?”
“Just friends,” Jane confirmed. “I was five months pregnant, for God’s sake. We met at an improv theater in Sydney. Esther’s friend, the woman I was staying with, knew him, and he and I hit it off. Later, when he headed to Hollywood, I tagged along to try my luck.”
“A couple of Aussies, far from home,” Cole commented sardonically.
“That’s right,” Jane said, refusing to rise to his jibe. “Rafe’s risen steadily from small parts to the top of the A-list.”
“Whatever happened to your acting career?” Cole demanded. “You wanted to be a star, as I recall.”
Jane twirled her glass by the stem, avoiding his gaze. “I got a couple of decent roles but in the end, nothing came of it.”
“I don’t understand,” Cole persisted. “You were very talented. The hit of the high school play.”
“I was a big fish in a small pond.”
“But you wanted it so badly.”
“What do you care? It’s ancient history.” Changing the subject, she asked, “Have you had a chance to put a value on the farm?”
“That depends.” Cole sipped his wine. “If you’re willing to hold out for what the land is worth, you could probably get a million for it. But if you’re after a quick sale I’d suggest asking eight hundred, maybe eight hundred and fifty thousand. If you fix the plumbing and wiring it might sell faster.”
“Fixing things takes time,” Jane objected. “I don’t want to wait for major repairs. List the property as is for one million.”
“Okay. You can always come down if it’s not selling.” Cole swirled the last of his wine and drained it. Then he set his glass on the barrel and straightened as if getting down to the real business at hand. “Now, about Mary Kate.”
Jane stiffened, her fingers curling tightly around the stem. “What about her?”
“I want a definite arrangement between us, something binding, about when I can see her.”
Jane felt herself go cold all over. “Are you talking about a legal arrangement?”
“Yes. Joint custody. How do I know you won’t up and disappear across the Pacific again?”
“I didn’t return to Australia because Esther died,” Jane said. “I was planning on coming home anyway. Mary Kate’s at a transitional age and I think Melbourne is a saner and safer environment than where we lived in L.A.”
Red Hill was even better in that respect than Melbourne, but she’d be crazy to put herself through the anguish of seeing Cole on a regular basis. Not that she cared, but he was a constant reminder of the unhappiness he’d caused her in the past. And though she hated to admit it, he still had something that attracted her.
“It’s going to be difficult—” Jane began.
“Even so, I want something binding,” Cole said, cutting her off. “The girls are fast friends already. If you discourage Mary Kate from seeing Stephanie it could set off consequences you may not like.”
“Consequences?” she repeated, alarm bells ringing. “Is that a threat?”
“Just a suggestion to consider everyone’s feelings,” he said with a grim smile. “I got the feeling you expected to blow into town and out again without causing a ripple in any of our lives.”
That was exactly what she’d hoped to do. Clearly it wasn’t going to work. Stalling, she said, “Why don’t we ad-lib while I’m in Red Hill? When I move back to the city we can hammer out something more concrete.”
“As long as you understand I’m not going away. I’ve had a chat with my lawyer about my custody rights.”
The phrase pushed Jane close to panic. She wasn’t a clinging mother, but Mary Kate was all she had. Already her daughter was growing up, growing away from her. Add a father, a new sister, horses—and a lawyer—how could she compete? “I suppose she could come out occasionally on weekends,” Jane said reluctantly. “But I’m not sure she would like being away from me.”
“I’ve got room here for guests,” Cole replied.
The thought of staying overnight in his house brought heat surging to her cheeks. “Oh, sure, like that would work,” she scoffed. “You and I under one roof?”
“I’m willing to do anything for my daughter.”
Was he suggesting she wouldn’t? “While I appreciate the offer, no thank you.” She set her empty glass on the wine barrel and started toward the door. “It’s getting close to dinnertime and I don’t want to hold you up. Mary Kate and I need to get going.”
Cole stopped her with a hand on her forearm. “You told your friend Rafe he had to pretend to like Mia. We need to at least pretend to like each other. For our daughter’s sake.”
Though his hand burned her skin, his words were like a wash of cold water. The old days truly were gone. She was nothing more to him than an annoying impediment to his relationship with his daughter.
“We have a daughter together,” Cole said, his voice softening fractionally. “I don’t want us to be enemies.”
How could they be friends when he was trying to take her baby away from her? “I’m sure we can work things out,” she said stiffly, adding, “Our relationship has to be strictly business.”
“Fine,” he said, his voice tight. “Business, it is.”
Even though she was pushing him away as hard as she could, deep inside, a tiny piece of Jane’s heart chipped. Funny, she hadn’t thought there was anything left to break. “Excellent. I’m glad we understand each other.”
SHOWING PROSPECTIVE customers around Cockatoo Ridge filled Cole with a peculiar mixture of pride, longing and bitterness. He knew exactly where the daffodils his grandmother had planted around the grassy lawn would peek through