Taylor's Law, page 16
But she also wanted to tell Jake about Bronwyn and Peter, about the day they’d spent with Tessa, and how well it had gone. Damn it. She just wanted to talk to him. Insanity. If she relied on his presence, she’d want to keep relying on it. If she confided in him, she could see her independence slipping away.
Despite the sensual, seductive magic when they touched, he was a loner. He’d given no hint he was looking for a relationship. Or to be a father to Tessa.
His cousin’s child.
A cousin who didn’t like him.
Ella leaned against a stone wall at the bottom of the garden and stared into the distance, letting the reality of the relationship between Tessa and Jake seep into her bones. Wind buffeted her, the cold sneaked under the edges of her jacket, and she pulled her woollen cap lower around her ears. Last night, Drew had essentially accused Jake of having an affair with Chrissy, claiming Tessa resembled Jake more than Drew. Drew hadn’t told her of the shared night in a hotel room, hadn’t directly attacked Jake in her hearing, but there’d been some indirect digs in almost every story he’d told. Some reference to make Jake seem less and him more. She wasn’t imagining it.
A vague disquiet invaded her, as menacing as the storm clouds swirling overhead.
* * *
Jake finished raking up the hedge clippings. A mindless task he enjoyed because it left his brain free to wander. Usually he solved complex legal problems. Today it had been a way of releasing the ropey frustration entangling him. He didn’t like the way Drew looked at Eleanor, the fact that he didn’t look at Tessa.
Jake was convinced Drew didn’t give a damn about Tessa. Drew’s idea of sport was finding an opponent’s weak spot and applying pressure. He’d twigged in seconds that Tessa was the most important person in Eleanor’s life, and his parents were besotted. Early days yet, but Jake could see his cousin assessing the players, considering how to use the knowledge he’d gained.
Custody wasn’t on his radar. Or any action requiring a personal commitment. Wrong-footing Jake, casting him as the villain was Drew’s go-to modus operandi. Jake had stayed away from Eleanor all day, so he’d have an alibi if asked. Alibi! What a bloody stupid idea. All so Drew wouldn’t guess he was beginning to care more than he wanted for this argumentative and practical woman. Her preparedness to shoulder burdens others would walk away from earned his respect. Her generosity to Peter and Bron earned his admiration. And the curve of her mouth when she flashed her ready smile made him want to kiss her senseless.
He’d avoided Eleanor because he didn’t want Drew speculating about their relationship, and Drew had stayed in town.
Shaking off his despondency, Jake rounded the side of the house and found her there, silhouetted against the skyline, as if he’d conjured her. He remembered the feel of her against his body, the humbling sense of power at having someone so fragile and yet so strong locked in his arms. Striding towards her, he called out her name so she wouldn’t be startled. “You weren’t tempted to go to town with Drew?”
She turned to face him. “The purpose of this weekend is for Bronwyn and Peter to get to know Tessa.”
“Don’t a father’s rights take precedence?” He shoved his hands in his pockets to keep from hugging her.
“You don’t reject one invitation because you’ve seen something shinier and newer.” She sounded like she was reading from a catechism.
“No one’s described Drew as shiny and new to me before.” Jake liked the quick character assassination. “And that’s a strong moral compass you’ve got.”
“I keep saying I believe Chrissy. I do. I plan to spend time with Drew because I want Tessa to know her father. But I’m more conflicted than I was before I met him. I want incontrovertible proof of paternity before demanding Drew play Daddy.” She wrapped her arms defensively around her torso. “Grandparents don’t pose the same threat. Their usual role is to give children back.”
“Has Drew threatened you?” Jake’s earlier concern crowded back.
“I haven’t seen him since breakfast.” Her head tilted to one side. “Will he? Threaten me?”
“I can’t see how.” Yet Jake had gone on guard the minute Peter said his son was home. Drew was weighing up how to turn Tessa’s existence to his advantage. His cousin would eliminate anyone who stood in his way, including Eleanor.
“Neither can I.” She searched his face. “But it seems neither of us is prepared to rule it out.”
“You won’t let fear dictate your actions. I admire that in you.” Wind whistled up the valley, and he turned his back on it. “You forced me to confront my prejudices about you. In my experience, guilty parties don’t choose irrefutable scientific evidence as their defence of preference, much less their weapon of choice.”
“So we wait for the DNA results.” She leaned against the wall with him, close but not touching. “The law is supposed to be based on facts.”
“You’re confusing justice and the law again, Eleanor.” His cousin was claiming he’d hadn’t known about the pregnancy until recently. The law might accept his argument, but it was hardly just.
“My father called. You’ve offered him money. More money than he lost in the original transaction with Smithhouse.”
“Inflation has been shocking.” Jake had been waiting for her to bring it up.
She looked at him from under her lashes. “Careful, Counsellor, you might convince me you believe in my brand of justice.”
She was a honey. “Consider the possibility,” he answered.
“Dad offered me the money. Said they didn’t need it at the moment, but I did.” Having her share confidences made up for every betrayal Jake had ever known.
“Haven’t you given them money in the past?” Before he’d pulled Murphy off the case, his hound dog had picked up a few facts. On her move to Melbourne, she’d been alone and worked sixteen-hour days to send money home.
“You aren’t just trying to bypass me on maintenance, are you?” She scrunched up her nose.
“Not my money, Eleanor. Your father can do what he likes with any just reimbursements he may have received.”
“Mmm.”
Jake enjoyed the way her mind worked. She was smart enough to work out his intention with the money, and direct enough to challenge him on it. He’d planned on offering her parents restitution but had upped the amount after she’d told him her parents were helping her out. “What do you think of this place?”
“It’s special.” She inhaled deeply, her smile blissful as she savoured the sweet, sharp mountain air.
“High enough for the clouds to roll in below you, which they do on autumn and winter mornings. An amazing sensation, sitting in a sea of clouds. Tends to dwarf everyday irritations.” In his gut he’d known Drew wouldn’t pursue him to the garden. “Is it like that on your farm?”
“More gently rolling hills and contented, fat cows, but it’s as if you’re holding your breath in the city and when you get to the farm, you let it go.”
“If I’d seen it first, I might have bought it.” Jake scanned the valley. A stupid fantasy really. Julia would never have wanted to live here. Like Drew, her last sight of sunrise would have been by accident at the end of a long night. Absurdly this exchange lifted Jake’s mood.
“Bronwyn said they’d been here more than two years. A lot of things happened about that time.” Her words held a question.
“I’ve got nothing to add.” The wind had dropped, the rain was taking one of the short breaks it had taken throughout the day and, for a moment, there was peace.
“I’m surprised you’re speaking to me at all.” She swivelled her head back from the valley to face him. “You were monosyllabic at dinner last night and you’ve avoided me all day.”
“As you explained. This visit is to give Peter and Bron time with Tessa.” He angled his body towards hers, his spirits lifting when she scowled. “You’re beautiful, you know,” Jake said. “Even when you’re annoyed with me.”
Wisps of hair escaped and flew across her face, a few strands catching in her mouth. She untangled it and pushed it under her cap. She was gorgeous. Smart, brave, and whenever Jake was within reach of her, he remembered the feel of her in his embrace and wanted her back there. Backed by clouds in a palette of greys, her hair trapped by a dark knitted cap, hunched into her coat, she was without defences. Her mix of vulnerability and Amazon warrior attracted him more than he’d ever expected. Getting to know her was playing havoc with his vow of non-involvement. He could spend hours looking at her.
* * *
Ella breathed him in, holding close the enchantment of him finding her beautiful. He carried the healthy smell of honest labour intermingled with the lingering scent of wood smoke in his clothes. She lifted a hand to his cheek. “‘Beautiful—especially when I’m angry.’ That’s what they say in all the classics.”
“Uh-uh. You get deep frown lines when you’re annoyed”—he stroked a finger across her forehead—“here.” He was laughing at her.
“Under your hand-made business suits and pirate’s ponytail and earring lurks a sensitive and compassionate man.” She ratcheted up the tension sparking between them.
“Not a rebel? I’m crushed.” But the laughter in his eyes dimmed, replaced by an intensity encouraging her to boldness.
“A rebel can be a traitor or a renegade. You’re too honourable.” She brushed her lips across his. His actions betrayed him. “And you taste of heaven.”
His arms wrapped around her, pulling her close, and Ella waited for him to kiss her again, to sweep her into the magical world where she forgot everything except him. But his head lifted, and an engine died in the distance. He stepped back.
“It’s still a maze, Eleanor. You need to be careful.”
She fought disappointment he hadn’t followed through on his kiss. “Are you warning me against yourself, now, Jake?”
“What do you want at the end of the day?”
He was frightening her again, but she knew the answer to that question. “Legal custody of Tessa.”
“The child of your heart.” His understanding made his warning more ominous. He’d been as appalled as she had by the implication custody of Tessa could be bought. He’d given her a list of critical questions to ask Tony. He understood the insecurities of a small child and that Tessa went nowhere without Tootles.
“We should go back,” she said. “Tessa will be awake now.”
Turning back towards the house, she allowed herself to brush against him. She wouldn’t allow him to frighten her. Life had taught her to distinguish good from bad, right from wrong. His actions hadn’t just made her revise her opinion of Taylor Law, they’d shown her wealth and power could be used for good. She didn’t understand all the powerplays going on, but she knew she trusted him.
It was after seven on Sunday when the Jaguar glided to a halt outside Ella’s apartment block. An accident in the lower mountains had created havoc on the drive home. An accident to compound the traffic jam caused by the continuing storms. Their journey time doubled. The music selection Jake had loaded for Tessa had been on reruns for the last hour. If Ella met the Wiggles now, she might be forced to throttle them to remain sane.
“Thank you for an—” Ella paused, selecting her words carefully—“interesting weekend.”
“Not the word I would have chosen. And I’m coming up.” He wasn’t offering her a choice.
“There’s no need.” And I mean, really no need.
“Tessa’s asleep. I’ll carry her up.” He handed her his keys, then unbuckled Tessa and scooped her into his arms.
With their bags slung over her shoulder, Ella locked the car, before hurrying past him to unlock her apartment and open the door. Turning on lights, she faced him, uncertain what to say now that they were alone. Their arrival in Leura on Friday had signalled his disappearance. Aside from those few heady moments in the bedroom on Friday afternoon and a few more in the garden on Saturday, he’d been the invisible man.
“I’ll take her.” She stepped towards him.
“Do you want me to put her to bed?” he asked at the same time.
“She’s waking up. I’ll give her something to eat first.”
“I’m not going, Eleanor.” He buckled Tessa securely into her high chair and met Ella’s gaze. “Not until we’ve talked this through further.”
“Talked what through?” Tired of trying to be strong, of being scared witless about what the morning would bring, Ella wanted the Jake she’d learned to trust to stay. For simple comfort. For the reassurance of being held safe in his arms. “Do you even remember what talking is?” She threw a hand in the air, letting him see her exasperation.
“I had work to do.” His jaw set.
“I know! Gardening when it wasn’t wet and legal briefs when it was. But I recognise bullshit when I hear it.”
“It wasn’t bullshit,” he said with exaggerated patience.
Tessa roared, and Ella hurried across. “I’m sorry, honey,” she soothed. “We’ve been ignoring you. I’ll get some dinner.”
She opened the freezer, pulled out a container of pre-prepared food for emergencies and popped it in the microwave before turning back to Jake.
“You’re expecting Drew to go ahead tomorrow?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” she demanded. Jake’s objection made no sense to her. “He agreed to accept the first appointment for a DNA test.”
“It’s possible to test grandparents,” he explained. The microwave pinged off in the strange silence left by his off-key remark. “I checked when Drew refused, and we thought he wouldn’t come home.”
“We don’t need to do that now.” She tested the temperature of the food and carried it across to Tessa, uneasy at this new sign of Jake’s resistance to Drew’s role. “Can you let yourself out?”
“You’re in a hurry to get rid of me.”
“You’re the one who bolted every time I entered a room over the weekend. Clearing your head for work, you said. Well, don’t let me keep you.” She offered Tessa a mouthful, her body braced for the slam of the door.
“Sarcasm doesn’t suit you,” he chided gently.
She spared him a glance. “You don’t know what suits me.”
* * *
“I can hazard a guess.” Jake watched the colour heat her skin. All that beautiful bravado when she was the most vulnerable woman he’d ever met. And the sexiest. Tousled, distracted by Tessa, determined to be independent, holding him at bay when the hunger in her gaze matched his own. “For a few hours tonight, I’m at your disposal.”
Her confusion at his last remark was adorable. He edged past her into the kitchen, and she whisked herself to the other side of the high chair to spoon more food into Tessa’s open mouth. “Do you need something from my fridge?”
“On the available evidence, I’d say cheese sandwiches are on the menu for dinner again.”
“I don’t need dinner.”
So, she didn’t eat when she was troubled. Jake was responsible for tonight’s troubles. “At the risk of getting my head snapped off. I disagree. You need to eat. You can’t afford to lose any more weight.” He was being deliberately provocative.
“Too scrawny for you, am I?” Her mocking question didn’t hide the hurt in her eyes.
“Don’t go there, Eleanor. Not unless you’re prepared for the consequences.” Knowing she wanted him as much as Jake wanted her flashed like fire through his blood. He’d stay the night, but his hunger for her wouldn’t be satisfied with one night.
She dropped her head to focus on feeding Tessa.
“Cheese sandwiches again. But after our ‘interesting’ weekend, I need a drink.” He patted his pockets, then remembered she’d locked his car. “Where did you put my keys?”
“In the bowl beside the door.” She tipped her chin in the direction of an old-fashioned plant stand with a pottery bowl on top.
“Did you want me to stay?” Relief warmed him. They might scratch, but it was frustration at the circumstances, because they’d both prefer to stroke and soothe. Not tonight.
“Habit. That’s where I automatically put keys.” Her denial was without bite.
“I’ll be back.”
“Somehow I guessed that from the moment we met,” she muttered.
The cluster of shops two blocks away included a bottle shop as well as the two restaurants Jake had spotted on earlier visits. The hamburger joint smelled as if the cooking oil hadn’t been changed since it opened; a florist offered two spindly philodendrons in the front window; a hair and beauty salon advertised full-body waxes. Two Harley motorbikes parked on the footpath outside a tattoo parlour completed the set. Taking one of the many vacant spaces, Jake headed into the empty shop. Not a night to attract much custom.
“I’ll take this, thanks.” He picked up a bottle of Merlot, a label he was familiar with and good enough for a private feast with toasted sandwiches.
Back in the car, Jake rested his hands on the steering wheel, the cold darkness surrounding him matching his mood. His actions confused Eleanor, but, hell, she’d sat sedately at dinner last night when Drew had cross-examined her. Okay, questioned her about how Jake had come to drive her to the mountains, how she and Jake had spent their Saturday. His cousin’s special brand of selfishness made him perceptive to the relationships between others, a skill that allowed him to take maximum advantage of them. Had Jake been the only one who’d noticed the trend of the questions? Planting a fist in his cousin’s face, especially at his aunt’s dinner table, was another temptation he’d had to resist.
Slowly he started the car.
Drew had always taken what he wanted.
His cousin hadn’t wanted Jake’s fiancée, Julia, but he couldn’t resist the temptation. A few weeks before Jake’s marriage, Drew had shown up at a family gathering after yet another unexplained absence. With brooding, Byronesque looks and Italian suits he’d cultivated an image of romantic decadence. And he was at permanent leisure. Leisure he devoted to seducing Julia.
