Marion Lennox - A Millionaire For Molly

‘Why will that help Molly?’

‘He’s interested in a reconciliation.’

‘You’re kidding!’ Jackson sounded stunned.

‘He’s finding that he’s tired of country practice. He’d like a base in Sydney to start afresh, and if he reconciled with Miss Farr then he’d kill two birds with one stone.’

‘Molly would never buy it.’

‘It might be in Miss Farr’s long-term interests to do just that. After all, the man is a well-qualified lawyer with the potential to earn a great deal more than she could.’

‘You mean you’re advising her to reconcile for…for money?’

‘I’m advising her to do what she thinks best. But the prospect of getting money out of the man by legal means is slim. Married to him-’

‘No!’

‘It is sensible.’

‘No!’

Silence. Then a cautious, ‘What would you like me to tell Miss Farr?’

Jackson was silenced. ‘Nothing,’ he conceded at last. ‘It’s none of my business.’

Another silence. Then, ‘Do what you think best.’ And Jackson slammed down the phone. Hard.

‘Molly?’

‘Michael! I have nothing to say to you.’

‘No, don’t hang up. We need to talk.’

‘What on earth would we have to talk about?’

‘About us.’

‘There’s no us.’

‘There might be. Hell, Molly, I’ve been a fool.’

‘Criminal, more like it. Anything you need to say to me can be said through Roger Francis.’

‘But that’s just it. He suggested we meet.’

‘He did?’

‘Yes. So I thought we could do lunch tomorrow, Molly. I’m paying. No strings attached. Just come and listen to what I have to say.’

‘Give me one reason why I should.’

And he had the answer pat. ‘Because Sam needs a family.’

‘Oh, right.’

‘Honestly, Molly, Roger Francis has spelled out just how much trouble you’re in financially and I’m feeling dreadful about it. I never meant… Well, I never thought it through. And I didn’t realise just how damnably I’d miss you. So I thought-’

‘Hey, it was you who put me in trouble financially.’

‘So I should help you out. And in the meantime…’

‘In the meantime what?’

‘Just come to lunch. Hear me out.’

‘Fine, then. One lunch. And that’s it,’ Molly stated finally.

‘Mr Baird, I’m ringing to let you know everything’s running smoothly. The contract is ready for you to sign next week. Miss Copeland will be at the farm next Saturday, as will Miss Farr, and Miss Farr has the contract in hand.’

‘That’s fine, Francis. And will Sam be there?’

‘Sam?’

‘Molly’s little nephew. Sam. If she’s coming I’d like her to bring him as well.’

‘Oh, right.’ Roger sounded taken aback but amenable. ‘You want me to tell her she’s welcome to bring her nephew?’

‘Yes. I want you to tell her she’s welcome to bring her nephew.’

‘Maybe she could bring her partner as well.’

‘Her partner?’

‘I believe things are going remarkably well between Miss Farr and her ex-fiancé. I saw him yesterday and he’s very pleased. I suspect there’s no need for legal action down that road at all.’

Jackson thought that through and he didn’t like it. ‘The man cheated her.’

‘He’s more than willing to reimburse her,’ the lawyer said stiffly. ‘I did think that your main aim was to get Miss Farr out of financial trouble.’

‘Yes.’

‘Then I believe I’ve succeeded. Her ex is a sharp-as-nails lawyer and he’ll make a killing in the city. All he needs is a base and a trustworthy background. She’ll provide that.’

‘It’s a sure thing?’

‘She’d be a fool not to accept. And…’ He hesitated. ‘I believe there’s a degree of fondness still there. Your intercession on her behalf may well have given the three of them the chance to form a family.’

‘Fine.’ Just great. So why did he suddenly feel ill? ‘Was there something else?’

‘No, sir. I’ll see you next week, then. Down at the farm.’

‘I wish I could say I was looking forward to it,’ Jackson replied bitterly.

‘Cara?’

‘Jackson?’

‘Cara, this love thing…’

‘Mmm?’

‘Cara, if your Raoul was engaged to be married to another woman-if you thought that engagement might be a disaster-would you just walk away?’

‘Jackson…’

‘What would you do, Cara?’

‘We’re not talking about Diane, here, I hope?’

‘No. We’re not talking about Diane.’

‘Then who are we talking about?’

‘Someone called Molly.’

‘Is she special?’

‘So special I won’t stand in her way-if she’s engaged to someone else and that’s what she wants.’

‘Are you sure she’s engaged to someone else?’

‘Maybe.’

‘But you’ll find out?’

‘Yes.’ He thought it through. ‘I’ll find out. And then I guess it’s up to her.’

‘Oh, Jackson…’

‘Don’t get your hopes up,’ he said bleakly. ‘Because I haven’t.’

‘Angela?’

‘Molly?’

‘Yeah. It’s me. And I’m sorry it’s so late…’

‘Heck, it’s one in the morning, Moll. What’s wrong?’

‘I think you need to come around. And I think you need to bring some more of that ice cream. And Tim Tams. A truckload of Tim Tams.’

‘Um…any particular reason?’

‘Yes. Because I don’t know what the heck is going on and I don’t know what on earth I’m going to do.’

THE farm looked even more splendid than it had three weeks ago. Jackson’s helicopter circled the boundaries to allow him to check every inch of his prospective purchase before landing. It really was the loveliest place on earth. All he had to do was talk Hannah around, sign a contract and it was his.

But why was he buying it?

Because it’s paradise, he thought. But that wasn’t a good enough reason. Not now. Could he use it?

I will, he told himself. I can work from here. With telecommuting and teleconferencing I can spend most of my time here.

Yeah, with Mr and Mrs Gray-and a thousand frogs.

And maybe with Molly.

And that was the crux of the deal, he thought. That was the half-formed desire. He just needed to see…

Hell, he should have more sense.

Isolation was what he did best, he told himself over and over. Had he learned nothing? Nannies and boarding school and distant parents were tools for survival. If he hadn’t distanced himself from emotion-from any emotion-he would have gone under as a kid. His parents’ love had come close to suffocating him and he hadn’t been able to escape.

Then he’d made that one huge mistake. He’d fallen for Diane. He’d been young and he’d been foolish-and he’d let himself love. Or he’d thought he loved.

Then she was pregnant. ‘Great,’ he’d said, and he’d meant it. A family… For the first time in his life he’d conceded such a thing was possible, and the feelings he’d had for the unborn child had threatened to overwhelm him.

But a week before the wedding there’d been a note from someone warning him that he wasn’t the father. Say a name, the note had said, and see how Diane reacts.

He shouldn’t have done it. He should have trusted. But…

‘Have you heard of…?’ he’d asked-and all hell had broken loose. Stunned, he’d watched as the woman he’d thought he loved turned into a raging virago. How dared he question her? How dared he imply the baby wasn’t his?

But he hadn’t implied any such thing. All he’d said was the name.

The next morning she was gone. It had been a lying, cheating con, devised to steal money from a wealthy adolescent.

And that, with the history of his parents’ failed relationship, had left him determinedly single for ever. Cara was the only person he trusted.

The farm was to have been a place where they could base themselves when life got tough. Now the farm would be only his, and the thought made him feel unbearably alone.

Which was stupid. After all, he’d constructed his life so he’d be happy alone. It had taken him thirty-three years to get this far-he didn’t intend to regret it now.

But if Molly was here, waiting…

Molly would be with Michael.

Roger Francis had phoned just before Jackson left New York and told him they’d be arriving separately. Roger was driving himself, Miss Copeland was being driven by her chauffeur, and Molly and Sam and Michael were coming together.

Great!

Hell, he’d helped orchestrate her reconciliation with Michael, he thought savagely. He should be pleased.

He was pleased, he forced himself to decide. Sam would have a secure base. A secure family.

But with a man who’d been prepared to rob Molly blind…

It was none of his business! Hadn’t he learned anything from the past?

He looked out of the chopper and saw the eager faces of Doreen and Gregor waiting to greet him. They were his future. No one else. With a sigh he summoned up a matching smile.

This was a great buy. He should get on with it.

‘Michael, the road to Birraginbil’s to the north. You should have turned off back there.’

‘Are we going to Birraginbil?’

‘Of course we are.’

‘Look in the glove compartment, sweetheart. I have a surprise for you.’

‘A surprise?’

‘An engagement ring. And plans for a wedding.’

Things weren’t going to plan.

Hannah Copeland was receiving in state, seated formally in the vast front parlour, and her displeasure was obvious the moment Jackson walked in.

‘So you’re alone,’ she snapped. ‘What have you done with your fiancée, young man?’

‘I thought I told you,’ he said quietly, crossing to shake her hand, ‘Cara’s not my fiancée.’

Where was Molly?

‘Yes. But she’s someone you have an arrangement with.’

‘I did have an arrangement with her,’ he said honestly, and watched her face. Her displeasure grew.

‘You mean you haven’t now?’