Songbird Freed

by Lisa Edward

  I was such an idiot!

  Finding a cute little skirt, I teamed it with my blue halter-neck top and the red shoes Cole had bought me. I left my hair up but pulled out some tendrils at the sides to soften it around my face, then did my best smoky-eyed makeup. That was better. If I was going to have to kiss butt to get Cole to forgive me, I should at least look half decent.

  Ice Pick was already crowded when I arrived, but I’d been there enough times with Cole that the guy on the door recognised me, and let me straight in. Not stopping at the nightclub downstairs, I weaved my way through the throng and headed upstairs to where the band would be playing in about an hour.

  My gut told me that Cole would be there, probably in the corner nursing a drink and feeling totally let down by his crappy girlfriend. I was right. Striding over to him, I waited for him to acknowledge me.

  His eyes flicked up in my direction, then did a double-take when he noticed that I was wearing my ‘Cole top’.

  “Nice top.” The corner of his mouth curled up into a half-smile. “Sit.” He pulled out the chair beside him, and gave it a little pat.

  Well, this was a good start. At least he was talking to me … sort of. Sitting, I wrung my hands nervously, not sure where to start.

  “She’s here,” he said, indicating with his chin and breaking the silence between us.

  Turning, I saw her, dressed in clothes that looked like she’d shopped in the kids’ section of a department store. She was sitting on some guy’s knee, shot glasses lined up in front of them.

  “It’s sad, you know,” he said, frowning into his glass.

  “What’s sad?”

  “That kid’s going to start life behind the eight-ball. It would almost be better if I was the father; at least I could provide for it.” His eyes raised to meet mine. “But I’m not, and I shouldn’t have to do a paternity test to prove it.” He leaned forward, his elbows resting on the table. “You should just take my word for it, because I know I’ve done a lot of shitty things, but I’ve never lied to you.”

  “You’re right,” I said apologetically.

  He looked at me, eyebrows raised in surprise.

  “I was thinking that exact same thing after you left.” Reaching out, I took a chance that he would let me hold his hand. “I’m so sorry, Cole. If you say the baby’s not yours, or that you haven’t been with anyone but me, of course I believe you.”

  His shoulders visibly relaxed, a small smile crossing his lips. “Took you long enough.” He squeezed my hand. “Sorry for telling you to fuck off. That was uncalled for.”

  Wrapping my arms around his shoulders, I kissed him tenderly on the cheek. “I kind of deserved it.”

  We sat back. “So what are we going to do?” I didn’t want to pay her to go away when there was really no reason.

  “If she pushes it, I’ll do the paternity test.”

  I frowned at him. “I thought you were dead against doing the test.”

  “I was against doing it to prove to you I wasn’t the father, but I’ll do it to shut her up. Just as long as you believe me, I’ll do whatever it takes to get her out of our lives.” Soft, full lips kissed my neck, but then he pulled back, looking thoughtful. “What would you do if it was mine? I mean, not hers, but if we found out I did have a baby.”

  “I … I don’t know.” Really, I would like to have been certain I would be able to accept the situation, but I couldn’t be sure. “I guess if it was a part of you, I would learn to love the little guy, but it would be hard at first.”

  “Would you be able to raise the baby as your own, though?”

  Wow, that was a tough call. “Unless the mother was absolutely hopeless …” I looked over at the pregnant Barbie doll. “… the baby would probably be raised by her, so you would only see it on weekends.” I shrugged. “I suppose so, but I don’t know if I would ever feel like the baby’s mum, because I wouldn’t be.”

  There was a ruckus, and we both looked over just in time to see Barbie on her backside on the floor, legs in the air, laughing her head off.

  “Of course in this case, you would get full custody, because she is totally unfit.”

  As if on cue, Mindy, Cindy, Lindy, or maybe Bindy staggered over, obviously drunk as a skunk.

  “Gee, that’s gotta be good for your baby,” I sneered at her. “How many shots have you done?”

  “There’s no proof,” she said with a flourish of her hand, “that small amounts of alcohol harm your baby. So I’ve been drinking it in small amounts.”

  Oh my God, how dumb was this girl?

  Cole shook his head at her. “You know it’s not mine, right?”

  “How do you know?” she asked, poking a finger at him. “You wouldn’t know who you shagged yesterday, let alone seven months ago.”

  “Actually, I do know who I shagged yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that.”

  “Unlike you,” I muttered under my breath.

  She swayed, trying to stare me down, which just looked ridiculous with her glassy half-closed eyes.

  “If I wasn’t in a delicate condition …” She rubbed her stomach. “… I’d scratch your eyes out for that.” Her focus shifted back to Cole. “So … lover.”

  I cringed.

  “How much is my silence worth to you?”

  Cole stood, arms crossed over his chest. “It will cost you the price of a paternity test.”

  She faltered.

  “In fact,” he continued, “I’ll cover the cost of the test, too. Consider it my treat.”

  I was sure she would back down, but whether it was the alcohol in her system, the prospect of being paid a large sum of money, or the fact she was just really dumb, she didn’t.

  “Okay, great.” She swayed again, grabbing the back of a chair to steady herself. “I’ll see you in court, unless you want to settle this quietly.”

  It suddenly dawned on me—maybe she really didn’t know who the father was, or when she had been with Cole, so she was clutching at straws in the hope it was his and that she would be paid to keep quiet.

  Cole slumped back down in the chair. The set of his jaw told me he was absolutely fuming. “I guess I need to arrange this test.”

  The air-conditioner was turned up to maximum, and was barely keeping Reds cool. Kelli had come along for the weekly meeting but had abandoned the idea when Noah had gotten so hot, he had turned bright red and started screaming. For the rest of us, we wanted to get through it as quickly as possible and then escape to somewhere, anywhere that was more comfortable.

  We’d decided to get together every week to discuss issues, make any menu adjustments and just touch base. Even though we saw each other nearly every day, we were so busy tending to our own areas of the business that we didn’t seem to get the chance to just talk anymore.

  Marcus left the new duty manager to tend the bar while he and Nicole brought trays of drinks upstairs. Lincoln leaned back in his chair, fanning himself with a notepad, leaving Jay and Jason to fiddle with the settings on the air-conditioner.

  Cole finally arrived, flustered, and looking slightly annoyed. I knew why, he’d been taking care of his DNA test, having to follow the correct chain of collection so that it could be used in court if and when required.

  “All done?” I queried.

  “Yep.” He threw his hands to the sides. “Let all the women I’ve ever shagged come after me. I don’t give a shit.” He looked at my concerned face and gave me a cheeky wink. “Just joking, babe, but really, there are more important things to worry about.”

  “Did you tell your parents?”

  Cole huffed and shook his head. “Yep, just another reason for them to be disappointed in me.” He gave me a sad half-smile. “They called the family solicitors to let them know what’s coming. They suggested making the results a matter of public record so they can deal with it in future, in case anyone else comes around sniffing for money. So it’s out of my hands, and I don’t need to worry about it anymore. ”


  Cole pulled me onto his lap, pushing my ponytail from my sweaty back. Cool air blew across my shoulders, making me shiver, and making Cole chuckle.

  “Do you remember when I did this to you at Ice Pick?” Cole asked with a smile in his voice.

  Turning, I looked at the cheeky grin on his face as he remembered that night. “How do you remember every little thing?” I wondered out loud.

  “I’ve told you before, I remember every second that we’ve spent together, babe, because every second is special to me.”

  Lincoln chuckled, making me tear my gaze away from Cole’s emerald eyes.

  “What?” I asked with a smirk.

  He shook his head. “I never would have picked this guy,” he said, indicating to Cole, “as being a big softie, that’s all.” He placed the notepad down on the table. “It reminds me of how my wife and I were in the beginning. We couldn’t keep our hands off each other.”

  Lincoln had never talked about his wife, at least not to me. I knew Kelli had spent more time with him and probably knew more, but to the rest of us, he’d remained fairly private.

  “So, what happened?” Cole asked, seizing the opportunity.

  Lincoln’s eyes dropped to his hands, fidgeting in his lap. “Ah, well, in short, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and died.”

  Jesus!

  “Oh God, Linc, I’m so sorry.” What did you say to something like that? “How long ago did it happen?”

  When he looked up at me, his glassy eyes had mine glazing over too. “She was pregnant at the time with Tyler, so five years ago. There was a risk to the baby if she had treatment, so she decided not to,” he croaked, before clearing his throat. “It came down to choosing between her life or the baby’s. She chose the baby’s.”

  Cole had been tickling my back, but his hand stopped as Lincoln spoke, instead wrapping his arms around me protectively.

  “Fuck, man, that’s a tough choice to make.”

  Lincoln just nodded, dropping his eyes to his lap. “I would have chosen differently. I would have saved her, but Tyler was already a part of her so …” He shrugged. “In the end, it had to be her decision.”

  He subtly swiped his eyes with his thumb. “I’m so glad I have Tyler, though. He’s such an awesome little dude. I just … I just miss her.”

  A gust of icy-cold air blew across the room, and we all sighed. Whatever Jay and Jason had done to the air-conditioner had worked, and the temperature was dropping by the second.

  We all sat around the table, and the meeting was brought to an informal order.

  Flicking my big diary open, I jotted down notes and things to follow up. The menu was set, with the exception of the daily specials, which Lincoln changed depending on what he could pick up at the market that morning. Reviews for the restaurant had been nothing but favourable, with Lincoln’s creativity being highly praised, so we decided not to play around with it too much.

  Marcus gave us a rundown on staff changes and rosters for Songbirds, then Nicole updated us on the comings and goings of the waiting staff at Reds. We had been open as a restaurant for about a month, so were still finding our feet as far as staff were concerned, with some leaving and others being so unreliable we had to replace them.

  Finally, after patiently waiting his turn, Jay gave us an update on the girls going overseas to entertain the troops. Everything had been arranged, and the dates were now set. In the end, all except one of the girls had been excited by the idea, so Nicole would lead the troupe of eight in total.

  I was happy for the girls, I really was, but there was a little pang of jealousy that hit me in the gut every time talk turned to their pending adventure.

  “So mark down the dates,” Jay told us as he read an official looking document, “because the show here will have to be cancelled while everyone is away.”

  I flicked the pages of my diary absentmindedly, waiting for Jay to tell us, when a red mark caught my eye. Turning the pages back over, my eyes were drawn to one date, and one date only. What was so special about that date, and why did it have a big red circle drawn around it?

  Because it was Cole and Prue’s engagement.

  In three weeks, if Cole didn’t do something, he would be engaged to Prue, and our relationship would be over.

  “What are you staring at?” Cole asked, leaning in to read over my shoulder.

  Tapping the date with my pen, I waited for his reaction.

  He huffed. “Fuck, that’s come up quick.”

  “No, it hasn’t, Cole.” I spun to face him. “It hasn’t come up quick at all. It’s been coming for twenty-five years.” In my frustration, I did something I’d never done before—I slapped him up the side of the head. “Get your head out of the ground and do something about it.”

  He drew back, my slap taking him by surprise. “Hey, all right, I’ll talk to Dad.”

  I glared at him.

  “Today,” he added quickly. “I’ll talk to Dad, today.”

  “Cole, you know I love you,” I rested my hands on his shoulders, “but you have to put an end to this, now.” Dropping my hands back in my lap, I looked away as I felt defeat sit heavily on my shoulders. “Talk to whoever you have to talk to, do what you need to do, just do it soon.”

  There were no more words to be said. We had discussed this to death, and all my ranting and objections had fallen on deaf ears. It was as if Cole felt like he had no choice in the matter, but there was always a choice. He was an adult with his own mind. No one could make him do something he didn’t want to, could they?

  ONE WEEK had never gone by so quickly, and with all Cole’s good intentions to talk to his parents about calling off the ridiculous engagement, it hadn’t happened.

  The mood was sombre as we sat down to dinner together, and I wished Kelli and Noah were still living with us to provide a distraction. If they hadn’t moved out and into my old apartment over the weekend, Kelli would be fussing over the little guy, and we could once again avoid the topic of conversation that was eating away at me.

  After picking at my mushroom risotto and pushing the rice around the bowl, I finally set my fork down.

  “So are we going to talk about the ginormous elephant in the room?” I asked Cole expectantly.

  His lip twitched at my reference to elephants, seeing as I had once had so many.

  “Are you referring to the engagement, or the fact that despite you saying you didn’t want to go on tour with the girls tomorrow, you are really dying to go with them?”

  Well, this was a surprise. Although the idea of travelling with the troupe and performing for the soldiers gave me a little pang of jealousy every time it was mentioned—which was a lot—I had never again said that I wanted to go after Jay had first mentioned it. But Cole, being Cole, had obviously picked up on how I was feeling, although he’d never mentioned it either.

  “I’m talking about the engagement, of course,” I stated, totally ignoring his mention of the tour.

  Sitting back in his chair, he sighed heavily, as if the weight of the world weighed on his broad shoulders.

  “It’s hard, babe, everything’s been arranged already, and it’s going to be massive—like, everyone who’s anyone will be there. You know my dad’s connections in government; they’ve invited the Prime Minister, for Christ’s sake.” He ran his hand anxiously through his hair. “The announcement’s going in the paper, and there are even photographers booked for a magazine spread. I just don’t know if I can pull out now.”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Had he ever intended to get out of it? My throat was closing as my heart galloped in my chest. After everything we’d talked about, all the promises he’d made, it had come to this.

  “So what are you saying … exactly?” My voice cracked as tears stung my eyes.

  Leaning forward, he reached for my hands across the table, but I pulled them away.

  “No, just answer the question, Cole. What are you going to do?” My voice was rising as I spoke but I couldn’t co
ntrol it, just like I couldn’t control my body as it began to tremble with rage.

  “Babe, it doesn’t change anything for us.”

  My eyes widened at him. Was he fucking insane?

  “This is just the engagement; it’s not the wedding. We’ll still have plenty of time to figure something out.” He huffed and sat back. “People break engagements all the time. It’s not as if she’ll be moving in here with us.” He started talking faster, trying to explain how his being engaged to someone else was no big deal. “It just means I’ll probably have to go to some social functions with her, I guess, but we can still be together.” He hesitated, running his hand through his hair. “Although we probably won’t be able to go to anything as a couple where people might see us, just in case it embarrasses my family.”

  “Fuck your family, Cole. What about me?” He was going to do it. He was going to cast me aside and marry that bitch because his mummy had told him to. “What about humiliating me? How can you tell me you love me, and then plan to marry someone else?”

  With my head swimming, I tried to take a deep calming breath. It didn’t work. There wasn’t enough air in the room.

  “Tara, are you all right?” He leaned forward again and clutched my hand. “You’ve gone really white.”

  Standing, I snatched my hand out of his grasp. “Are you telling me, that you are going to get engaged to Prue in two weeks? Yes, or no?”

  “It’s just that it’s complicated, I—”

  “YES or NO!” I screeched.

  His eyes dropped to his hands. “I guess … yes.”

  “Okay then.” I was so calm it surprised me. “I’m going to Afghanistan with the girls. I’ll move my stuff out when I return.”

  His chair pushed back so hard as he stood that it fell over, crashing to the floor.

  “What do you mean you’ll move your stuff out?” He was beside me in an instant, head lowered so he could meet my eyes.