“I can tell you that Donna provided guidelines for how she wanted her baby raised but I’m not at liberty to release details until her family is present for the reading. However, Children’s Services accept you as Dan’s carer until a permanent decision is reached. It helps that Donna was living with you and your aunt at the time of her death.” Mr. Padstoke rose and moved around to shake her hand. He clasped it between both of his and patted it. “You have my deepest sympathy. If I can help in any way, let me know.”
“Thank you.” She picked up Dan’s carrier and moved through the door. Did she have time to get to the café to meet Alex before Dan’s next feed? Wondering how mothers juggled their commitments with the needs of a young baby, she strapped Dan’s carrier into the back seat and drove carefully to the park.
Circling it, she kept an eye out for the café but when she spotted it, the only parking spaces were some distance away. With a sigh, she took Dan out of the car, grabbed the nappy bag, and set off as quickly as she could. A quick glance at her watch showed she was fifteen minutes late and Dan was making his hungry noises.
Alex was seated inside at a corner table when she entered. He jumped up and came over and relieved her of the carrier. “I nabbed a corner table again. That seemed to work last time with the munchkin.”
“Munchkin?” Dan started wailing and Lizzy unzipped the nappy bag and took out the bottle bag.
“My sister uses that name for her daughter. ‘Wizard of Oz’ was her favourite movie when I saw them last Christmas.”
Lizzy grabbed a bottle and her heart sank. “Damn, I forgot to heat the bottle before I packed it. I’ll be right back.” Leaving Dan with Alex, she stopped a young waitress who cast a sympathetic look her way as she carried two plates to a nearby table.
“Can I help you, ma’am?” She set the plates on the table and smiled.
“Big favour, could you warm the baby’s bottle for me please?”
The teenager nodded and carried the bottle to the kitchen. Lizzy followed, and waited at the end of the counter.
From the corner, Dan’s wailing decreased. Surprised, Lizzy turned to see Alex had taken Dan out of the carrier and was rocking him. Even more surprising was how much less awkward he looked this time. Although to be fair, he wasn’t wearing baby puke now. Still—
“Here you are, ma’am. How old is your son?”
“He’s not my— he’s two months.”
“Wow. You look fabulous. My sister has a three-month-old daughter and she doesn’t look anywhere near as good as you.” She turned back to serve a new customer and Lizzy carried the bottle to Dan.
Bemused at finding himself left holding the baby, Alex took the squalling infant from his carrier and rocked him as he’d seen Lizzy do. The baby looked up at him with startling blue eyes and reached for Alex’s nose. Tiny fingers went up his nostril and sharp nails dug into the soft skin, almost bringing tears to his eyes. Raising his head just out of reach, Alex’s gaze collided with Lizzy’s.
She pressed her lips together and sat beside him and took Dan.
“Was I holding him the wrong way?”
“No, you were doing just fine. Why?” Lizzy shook the bottle, checked the temperature of the milk, and popped the teat into Dan’s open mouth.
“Hmm, I thought you were laughing at me.”
“I was surprised. And glad Dan hadn’t puked over you again. Speaking of which, can you find a burp cloth for me?”
Alex lifted the nappy bag onto his lap and peered inside. “There’s a cloth nappy. Will that do?”
“That’s it, thanks, just toss it over my shoulder.”
The waitress stopped at their table, pen and pad at the ready. “You have a beautiful baby, sir. I was just saying to your wife that she looks fabulous so soon after the birth.”
Alex grinned as pink rose up Lizzy’s cheeks, surprised anything could make such a confident woman blush. “Indeed my wife looks beautiful. Are you ready to order, darling?”
Under the table, her foot kicked his shin. Not hard, but enough to let him know not to push his luck.
“A Greek salad and an iced peach tea, thanks.” Lizzy gently removed the teat from Dan’s mouth and examined the markings on the side before popping it back in his mouth.
Alex put in his order and sat back. At least the humorous mistake appeared to have chased away Lizzy’s sorrow for a few minutes. “Sorry, that was mean of me but I’ve never seen you blush before.”
“Being called Dan’s mother is—well, it will take getting used to.”
“You’re going to apply to adopt him then?”
“Yes. Or at least, I hope so. I’ve just come from the solicitor’s office but he can’t tell me anything about Donna’s will until her family is present as well. But I’ll do anything to keep Dan. It feels—right. Like a chance to atone for the sins of the Campbell men.”
“You can’t change the past, Lizzy. Only move forward.”
“Come Monday afternoon, I hope to put in the adoption papers. As soon as the reading is over. I’ve asked Mr. Padstoke to have everything ready to go.”
“I was going to wait until after the funeral but would it be too much to ask you to sign a new contract with my company while you’re seeing him?”
“What sort of contract?” Dan finished drinking. She put the empty bottle on the table and lifted him to her shoulder. Gently, she began rubbing circles on his back.
“I’d like to arrange for a manager to oversee the herd and collect a new set of data and I wondered if we could rent the homestead while that’s being done?” Given how little Lizzy wanted to go back to the family property, he hoped the solution would suit her plans. “He could keep an eye on the place for you too.”
“That would answer both of our problems at the same time. Can you arrange it with him? If you’re in the office by four-ish on Monday, we can sign the contract then.”
“Four-ish?”
Lizzy bit her lip. “I mean around four o’clock. I used to wonder why women used that term. Being responsible for a baby has given me a whole new appreciation of time management skills.”
“The elasticity of time hadn’t occurred to me. I’ll be there at four. And Lizzy—thank you. Your trust is important to me.”
Chapter Seven
Lizzy clenched her hands in her lap as Sanderson Tait thumped his hands on the table and stood glaring across the width of the boardroom table. Colour rose in his face and spittle landed on the table in front of her.
“Think you’re so smart sneaking into Campbell’s will and cutting out our daughter and her baby. Well, I’m telling you, girly, that’s not gonna happen. That land should pass to a Tait now, not you.”
Nasty as Dan’s grandfather was, Lizzy agreed, in principle. ‘Craeborn’ was Dan’s birthright but as a Campbell, not because he was a Tait. If the Taits won custody of Dan, all memory of his Campbell heritage would be obliterated. Lizzy had tried that for herself, taking her mother’s maiden name when she moved in with Aunt Trish and cutting all ties with her brother after the death of their mother.
And yet Campbell was in her blood and in Dan’s.
Beside Sanderson Tait, Helen Tait turned her shoulder away from her raving husband and lowered her gaze. In the past hour she’d spoken only once. Two words of greeting before she sat in the chair next to her husband. Her neutral expression and lack of engagement in the proceedings told their own story. Helen Tait loathed her bully of a husband. But that wouldn’t stop her desire to take her grandson to their home.
John Padstoke picked up Donna’s will and cleared his throat. “If you please, Mr. Tait, there is more to your daughter’s will that will affect decisions about her child.” He waited until the man resumed his seat before looking around the table at the group.
“Donna also stipulated that her child was to be raised by a couple rather than a single person and—”
“Ha! See, my daughter could outfox that husband of hers. A couple, Ms. Wilmot, not a single person, which leaves yo
u and your brother’s will out in the cold.” Tait’s triumphant glare burned through Lizzy.
A ball of cold dread filled her stomach and the walls of the room pressed in. She turned to the solicitor. “But Dan’s been living with me and my aunt since he was born. Donna chose to live with us, not with her family. Surely it’s better for Dan to stay with us, to continue with—”
“Ms. Wilmot—Lizzy—” John Padstoke’s sympathetic gaze stopped her outburst. She drew a shaky breath and closed her mouth.
“The DCS won’t move Dan until assessments of all custodial claimants have been completed, and the fact he is currently residing with you gives you time to prepare your case.” Would Mr. Padstoke help her or would that count as a conflict of interest?
Tait’s cold gaze pinned her in her seat. “Don’t think you’ll get away with anything, girly. I’ll be watching you like a hawk. Wherever you go, whatever you do, I’ve got you in my sights. ‘Craeborn’ will belong to a Tait.”
Would the DCS consider a claim by Lizzy and her aunt in the same light as a couple? Lizzy’s phone chimed a reminder tone. Operating on automatic, she picked it up and looked at the screen. She was late for her four-ish appointment.
Alex waited patiently in John Padstoke’s office. Glancing at the vintage railway clock between a matched pair of photos of steam engines, he waited for the quarter hour to chime. Surely Lizzy wouldn’t be much longer. On his way down to the office, he’d heard the buzz of voices rising and falling in the boardroom. Lizzy and the Taits were in there, deciding on the best future for Donna’s baby. Of course there would be discussion and much to decide, but he was counting on her being done in time for him to catch the early evening flight to Brisbane.
On the desk in front of him, the folder with the new contract awaited Lizzy’s signature. With luck, his father would have arranged for the new manager to arrive by the end of the week. He took out his phone and checked the emails. If their original plans weren’t delayed past the end of next month, the Indonesian deal would go ahead. The future of his company hinged on it. He lounged in the armchair. With Lizzy onside, the way ahead was clear.
The door opened and clicked shut before he turned to see who had arrived. “Lizzy. All good to sign the contract?”
She leaned against the door, her hands pressing into the wood as though holding it against an invading army. Her chest rose and fell, and her gaze locked on the solicitor’s desk. With a swipe of her tongue across her lips, she glanced at him and then closed her eyes.
“Lizzy? What’s wrong? Are the Taits contesting—?”
“I won’t sign your contract.”
Heart thudding as adrenaline surged through his body, he gripped the arms of the chair. “You won’t?” He knew his voice was terse but he’d allowed himself to believe he could trust her.
Lizzy flinched and opened her eyes. Desperation flickered in her gaze.
Exerting considerable self control, he moderated his tone. “I thought we’d agreed to the details on the weekend. Is there anything I’ve missed, something else you want added to the deal?”
“No, you haven’t missed anything.” She pushed away from the door and paced across the floor to the window. Arms straight, shoulders rigid, she stood looking through the window.
Disappointment lanced him. He’d allowed himself to trust his gut feeling, that Lizzy was honest and a woman of her word. He’d allowed the attraction sizzling between them to overcome his usual common sense. More fool him. “What do you need to make this contract work? More money?”
She spun around and her gaze pinned him. “You implied you’d do anything to sort this out. How desperate are you to finish your research?”
Anger replaced disappointment and his jaw ached as he bit back an expletive. How had he misread her so badly? “Blackmail, Lizzy? Tsk, tsk. I’d thought better of you.”
“Well?”
“We’ll pay top dollar, if that’s what you’re after. Let me know the amount and I’ll amend the contract right now.” He grabbed a pen from the desk and flipped open the cover of their contract. “How much will it cost me?”
“It’s not money I want from you, Alex.” The tiniest quaver in her voice betrayed her uncertainty. And yet, unless she wanted his head on a platter, she had him over a barrel.
“Then what?”
“If you want me to sign that contract, I will. On one condition.”
“Name it.”
“Marry me.”
Like a punch to the solar plexus, her words—the condition by which she would sign his agreement—left him speechless. He leaned on the document, his knuckles whiter than the paper on which it was typed and drew in a deep breath. Behind him, the clock chimed, a slow, echoing bong that separated the before and after of this odd moment.
“I don’t have a chance of keeping Dan if I’m not married. Donna’s will states any children of her marriage are to be brought up by a couple. If you’ll marry me ...” She licked her lips and her glance slid away.
“You’ll sign my contract?” Alex’s eyes narrowed and his brain buzzed with the need to stitch up the contract before he left.
Her mouth shaped a soundless agreement and she nodded.
He pushed out of his seat and paced to the window as she had done.
“It won’t be forever. Six months and then we can divorce. Please, Alex?” She twisted her hands together.
Lizzy was an intelligent woman using blackmail because of a provision in the will of someone he barely knew. Blackmailing him and his company. Mentally he considered and discarded alternatives.
‘I’ll do anything to keep Dan.’ At the café, she’d revealed the depth of her commitment to her nephew, a promise not unlike his own words to his father.
Whatever it takes. Could he do it? For the company?
“Surely in this day and age you can contest that provision?”
“If it was only that, maybe I could. But Donna’s parents have a stronger claim. Unless I’m married, and then the fact Dan’s been living with me since his birth might win custody if we go to court.”
“You said ‘might’. So you’re not even certain this wild scheme will work?”
“It will. It has to. And if I make my will in favour of Dan so he inherits what should have been his—”
“Listen to yourself, Lizzy. ‘If’ this and ‘if’ that. You’re talking about tying our lives together for a possibility. It’s barely rational.”
Biting her lip, she hung her head. “You’re right. It’s a ridiculous notion. I never wanted to marry and you— I should never have asked. I’m sorry.”
A polite tap at the door startled her. “Come in.”
John Padstoke poked his head around the door before stepping into the room. He closed the door and looked from her to Alex. “I hope I’m not interrupting?”
Lizzy raised her chin. “Not at all. I was just letting Mr. Carter know why our meeting with him was delayed. I believe he has a flight to catch.”
Turning back to him, she held out her hand. “Alex, if you’ll pass me your pen, I’ll sign your contract and you can be on your way.”
Stunned by her sudden about face, Alex passed her the pen. She perched on the edge of a chair and drew the contract towards her.
Gracious in defeat. The phrase slipped into Alex’s mind as Lizzy put pen to paper. Had the past few surreal minutes really happened? Lizzy’s desperate proposal hung in the air as she put the pen down and folded her hands in her lap.
He watched as John Padstoke signed as witness to the contract before handing the pen to him for his signature. “John, Lizzy was telling me that little Dan has to be raised by a couple.”
“That’s correct. Ms. Wilmot indicated she might be in a position to fulfil that stipulation.”
“Is there no possibility of contesting that clause? After all, Dan has been living with Lizzy.”
“For a few weeks only. We’re talking about years of raising a child. Ms. Wilmot could go to court but, aside from the expense,
is that really in the child’s best interest? As executor of the estate, I must make that decision.”
“When do you have to make that decision, John?”
Lizzy looked up. Her eyes were red-rimmed and her cheeks, pale, but she still carried herself with dignity. “Alex, don’t let me hold you up. You have a plane to catch and my problems can be of little interest to you.”
“On the contrary. I find I have a pressing engagement that will delay my return to Brisbane. John, will you excuse us for a moment please?”
“Certainly.” The solicitor exited, quietly closing the door behind him.
“You’ve got what you want. What more can I say except I’m sorry.” Lizzy turned to go.
“Why did you do that?”
“Propose? I was desperate. Put it down to fatigue and emotional stress if you want.”
“I meant signing my contract just now. Why did you change your mind? You had me over a barrel.”
“Would you really have tied yourself to a madwoman who tried to blackmail you?”
“Yes.”
Lizzy shook her head and slumped back in the chair. “No. It was ill-conceived and ridiculous.”
“Six months.”
“Pardon?” She looked at him as though she couldn’t believe her ears.
Alex wasn’t sure he hadn’t fallen under her crazy spell either but the words tumbled from him. “I’ll give you six months and help you with the adoption.”
“I—”
“John can draw up a pre-nup agreement. I’ll organise a civil celebrant and we can be married this week.”
Lizzy shook her head. “Are you sure?”
“I’ll help you keep Dan. And you’ll help me fulfil my contract with Indonesia. But Lizzy, if we do this, we do it properly.”
“Of course. It has to be a real marriage or the court won’t consider my claim.”
“That’s right. You’ll be my wife in name and in my bed.”
Chapter Eight
“Do you, Alexander James Carter take Elizabeth Maureen Wilmot as your lawfully wedded wife . . .”
Heartbreak Homestead (Hearts of the Outback Book 2) Page 5
