Read Online Kiss It Better by Jenny Schwartz - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jenny Schwartz
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sitting on the beach counting sand grains.’
‘One trillion, two hundred and three.’
‘Get out of here, smarty pants.’
Reduced to seven-year-old status, Cassie ‘got’. She had a prescription for vitamins that she filled at the chemist’s and then she drove home.
As embarrassing as the scene with Leighton at the café had been, it showed that the town’s belief and support was with her dad and her, and not with Leighton’s wild claims of victimisation. Still, she had to tell her dad and Theo.
Feeling lazy, but remembering virtuously that Dr G had said to rest, Cassie parked at the factory rather than walking over.
Poppy was manning the shop in Aunt Gabby’s absence, and although the sculptor begrudged every word, she crossed the room to hug Cassie in a silent show of sympathy.
‘Ow,’ Cassie said.
‘Sorry.’ Working with marble had really built Poppy’s muscles.
‘Is Dad here?’
‘Office.’
They nodded at one another and Cassie left Poppy to terrorise tourists with her silence.
In the office, she found the two men kicking back, talking. Or rather, her dad was talking about his new project.
‘The Ord River region has tremendous potential. The challenge is to have the intelligence and imagination to use if effectively. We can’t farm it with the same old destructive, intensive practices. We’ll have to explore — oh, hello, Cass. Is there a problem?’
‘Nope. Just Leighton tantrumming in the bakery.’ She was not about to mention his personal threats. They’d been uttered low enough that no one else would have heard them. If she repeated them now, her dad would never forgive Leighton, and Leighton had only been venting.
‘That boy.’ Mick swung his feet off the desk. ‘What now?’
‘Same story that upset Aunt Gabby. We’re all out to get him and poor Leighton is the noble victim. All the years he worked in the city and I was studying, I’d forgotten how annoying he was as a kid; cry-baby liar. But I didn’t kick him in the ankle.’
‘Self-restraint.’ Theo smiled. He stood, offering her the sole visitor’s chair.
She grinned, liking the friendly tease, and waved him back into it. ‘I’m not staying. How are the negotiations going?’
‘Done,’ Mick said.
Cassie showed her disbelief.
‘Theo’s offered a fair deal. Everyone’s taken care of. We’ll let the lawyers put it into their jargon, but it’s done,’ her dad responded to the unspoken accusation. He had a tendency to wonder off-topic, as he’d done with his lecture on possibilities in Australia’s northwest.
‘Mick’ll get independent advice before he signs,’ Theo reassured her. ‘We’re talking about some of the details of handover. I’ll need to get a manager in and a bookkeeper. We can sort a lot of that out by email, though, so I’ll be out of your hair today.’
‘I thought you were staying a few days,’ Mick said.
‘That’s when I thought you might need convincing. I’ll head back this afternoon. I should be able to catch a late flight to Melbourne.’
‘You’re welcome to stay a couple of days. A holiday, if you like,’ Cassie offered.
‘There are things I need to do back home. But thanks.’
‘Well, if you are leaving this afternoon,’ Mick dragged a notepad towards himself, ‘I have a couple of other points to cover.’
‘I’ll bow out.’ Cassie hesitated in the doorway. Her disappointment showed her how much she’d anticipated having Theo around for the week. Weird and wrong to think she knew him when she’d only met him yesterday. Her own reluctance to see him go made the decision for her. ‘Actually, I’d best say goodbye now, Theo. I’m popping out to see Aunt Gabby.’
‘It’s been an interesting twenty-four hours.’ His thoughts echoed hers to some extent. ‘I feel a bit like family, so…’
Strong arms pulled her into his hard body. He bent his head to her ear, whispering so Mick wouldn’t hear and worry. ‘Have you made that doctor’s
‘One trillion, two hundred and three.’
‘Get out of here, smarty pants.’
Reduced to seven-year-old status, Cassie ‘got’. She had a prescription for vitamins that she filled at the chemist’s and then she drove home.
As embarrassing as the scene with Leighton at the café had been, it showed that the town’s belief and support was with her dad and her, and not with Leighton’s wild claims of victimisation. Still, she had to tell her dad and Theo.
Feeling lazy, but remembering virtuously that Dr G had said to rest, Cassie parked at the factory rather than walking over.
Poppy was manning the shop in Aunt Gabby’s absence, and although the sculptor begrudged every word, she crossed the room to hug Cassie in a silent show of sympathy.
‘Ow,’ Cassie said.
‘Sorry.’ Working with marble had really built Poppy’s muscles.
‘Is Dad here?’
‘Office.’
They nodded at one another and Cassie left Poppy to terrorise tourists with her silence.
In the office, she found the two men kicking back, talking. Or rather, her dad was talking about his new project.
‘The Ord River region has tremendous potential. The challenge is to have the intelligence and imagination to use if effectively. We can’t farm it with the same old destructive, intensive practices. We’ll have to explore — oh, hello, Cass. Is there a problem?’
‘Nope. Just Leighton tantrumming in the bakery.’ She was not about to mention his personal threats. They’d been uttered low enough that no one else would have heard them. If she repeated them now, her dad would never forgive Leighton, and Leighton had only been venting.
‘That boy.’ Mick swung his feet off the desk. ‘What now?’
‘Same story that upset Aunt Gabby. We’re all out to get him and poor Leighton is the noble victim. All the years he worked in the city and I was studying, I’d forgotten how annoying he was as a kid; cry-baby liar. But I didn’t kick him in the ankle.’
‘Self-restraint.’ Theo smiled. He stood, offering her the sole visitor’s chair.
She grinned, liking the friendly tease, and waved him back into it. ‘I’m not staying. How are the negotiations going?’
‘Done,’ Mick said.
Cassie showed her disbelief.
‘Theo’s offered a fair deal. Everyone’s taken care of. We’ll let the lawyers put it into their jargon, but it’s done,’ her dad responded to the unspoken accusation. He had a tendency to wonder off-topic, as he’d done with his lecture on possibilities in Australia’s northwest.
‘Mick’ll get independent advice before he signs,’ Theo reassured her. ‘We’re talking about some of the details of handover. I’ll need to get a manager in and a bookkeeper. We can sort a lot of that out by email, though, so I’ll be out of your hair today.’
‘I thought you were staying a few days,’ Mick said.
‘That’s when I thought you might need convincing. I’ll head back this afternoon. I should be able to catch a late flight to Melbourne.’
‘You’re welcome to stay a couple of days. A holiday, if you like,’ Cassie offered.
‘There are things I need to do back home. But thanks.’
‘Well, if you are leaving this afternoon,’ Mick dragged a notepad towards himself, ‘I have a couple of other points to cover.’
‘I’ll bow out.’ Cassie hesitated in the doorway. Her disappointment showed her how much she’d anticipated having Theo around for the week. Weird and wrong to think she knew him when she’d only met him yesterday. Her own reluctance to see him go made the decision for her. ‘Actually, I’d best say goodbye now, Theo. I’m popping out to see Aunt Gabby.’
‘It’s been an interesting twenty-four hours.’ His thoughts echoed hers to some extent. ‘I feel a bit like family, so…’
Strong arms pulled her into his hard body. He bent his head to her ear, whispering so Mick wouldn’t hear and worry. ‘Have you made that doctor’s
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