Libby heard Kate's voice as she read the email. She pushed back the tears and hit reply, sending her a chatty email about what she'd been up to, telling Kate she missed her and that she would love to read her book. She avoided all mention of Adrian.
Libby read the email twice to make sure there was nothing that could be misconstrued and pressed send.
Some of the strain she'd been carrying around since she'd been fired left her. She might have lost Adrian but she hadn't lost Kate. She loved that girl.
Hearing the familiar noise of the postie's bike outside, Libby wandered out to collect her mail. There was some junk mail and a letter from her publisher.
Libby slipped her finger under the flap of the envelope and tore it open. It was her royalty statement.
In the past she'd earned out the advance on her three previous books but not much more than that. Certainly not enough to survive the six months between payments.
Libby wandered across the lawn as she scanned the cover letter. The sales figures were high. Higher than she expected. She checked the statement and stopped dead in her tracks. Her hands shook.
She forgot to breathe as her mouth dropped open. She counted the zeros again.
Libby gasped in a breath. What if it was a mistake? She had to call her publisher.
She raced inside and phoned the royalties department, her legs shaky.
"I've just received my royalty statement and I wanted to make sure there wasn't a mistake."
The woman on the other end of the phone confirmed Libby's details and brought up her account, quoting the same figure as on the check.
"Are you sure it's right?" Libby didn't dare hope. She couldn't handle another blow so soon.
The woman laughed. "That's what it says here. Congratulations."
Libby thanked the woman and hung up, lowering herself gingerly into a seat.
She pinched herself and it hurt. She wasn't dreaming. The statement was real.
She giggled, the excitement bubbling up inside and overflowing as hysterical laughter poured out her mouth. Tears ran down her face and she swiped them away.
Blotting at her eyes she took a deep, shuddery breath. "Oh my God."
She checked the statement again to make sure she hadn't imagined it. This was really happening. She could write full time.
Libby ran her hands over the paper. It was real. This was real. She'd achieved her dream.
She was a full-time author.
She wanted to dance, to sing, to scream her news from the top of the building. Libby whirled around.
Who could she tell? She had to tell someone her news or she'd burst.
She checked the time. Piper might still be awake.
She snatched her phone up and dialed.
Piper's voice answered but it was her answering machine. Damn it. Libby left a slightly garbled excited message and hung up.
Who else could she tell?
There was only one person who would understand exactly what this meant. One person who up until a few weeks ago would have celebrated with her. One person she really wanted to tell but couldn't.
Adrian.
Her mood deflated with a hiss and she plopped down onto the chair. Her eyes welled with tears and angrily she brushed them away. No, she wasn't going to let him ruin her mood. She deserved this happiness, this thrill of excitement. She'd earned it.
Libby stood up, snatched her bag from the hook it was hanging on and headed out. She was going to buy herself a cake to celebrate.
She didn't need anyone else to help her.
She would celebrate on her own.
***
Adrian walked through the house for the third time, checking to make sure it was clean and tidy, and there was nothing that could say to the caseworker that Kate wasn't being looked after properly. He hovered in the lounge room, wondering whether he should put away the book Kate was reading, and then decided it showed one of her interests.
But could it also say to the social worker that he wasn't paying Kate enough attention? That she had to find her amusement in a book rather than with Adrian?
Hell, he was second-guessing his second guesses.
He hated these visits. The only thing that made them slightly bearable was the knowledge that Susan was getting them as well.
"Uncle Ade, can I go for a swim?" Kate wandered into the lounge room where he was still debating over the book.
Adrian looked up. "Sure – but don't forget the caseworker will be here soon."
Kate screwed up her face. "How many more visits do they have to make?"
Adrian shrugged. "A few more, I guess. They want to make sure they make the right decision."
Kate squeaked in exasperation. "But I told them I want to stay with you. I even made a list of why you were better than Aunt Susan."
Adrian smiled at the memory. As soon as Susan had sued for custody and the supervised visits began, Kate had started preparing. She'd made lists and kept her room tidy, and Adrian suspected she had even started misbehaving when she was with Susan. He wasn't sure where she'd learned this confident, list-making, go get 'em attitude, but he liked it.
Libby's face suddenly sprung up in front of him. He shoved it away.
But it made sense. Making a list was exactly the kind of thing Libby would have done.
Would there be a time when he could think of her without this tearing ache in his heart? He wasn't sure.
He'd picked up the phone a dozen times to call her but had put it down again.
He'd falsely accused her, hadn't even let her explain. She'd never want him back and it was his own fault.
The doorbell rang.
"That will be the caseworker," he told Kate. "You ready?"
"Yep. We're gonna show them we're meant to be together."
Adrian smiled and went to answer the door.
He wished he felt as confident.
***
Libby woke feeling lighter than she had in weeks. She hadn't just bought a cake to celebrate but also a new laptop and printer. Then, feeling guilty about the extravagance, she had done her budget.
If she was sensible, her royalty money would last her for a year, and by then she should know whether her sales would continue to support her full time.
Libby adjusted the lamp on her desk so it was in the right place and turned on her computer to start her day of writing. She'd rung the temp agency the day before and told them they would need to find someone else. As her computer came to life she opened her email. There was a message from Kate.
After Libby read it, she reached for the phone and then stopped herself. She couldn't call Adrian. Not after the way they had parted.
But something had happened, because Kate had to stay with her Aunt Susan until the court case. Kate was devastated and was pleading for Libby to help her.
Checking the time difference, Libby chose to call George. He would know what was going on and she had to find out if there was some way she could help.
Nerves skittered over her skin while the phone rang. She had no idea what reaction she was going to get.
"Hello, Libby." George's voice was polite with maybe a hint of surprise.
"I heard that Kate is staying with her aunt," Libby blurted. "Is there any way I can help?"
"Who told you?" There was definitely surprise there.
Libby hesitated. She didn't want to get Kate into trouble.
George filled the silence. "It had to be Kate."
"She sounds worried. Do you want me to write a statement? I could say how well Adrian cares for her."
"I appreciate the offer, Libby, but I'm not sure that's a good idea. Susan knows you and Adrian were lovers. Anything you say would be disregarded almost immediately."
Libby huffed. He was right, of course. "Is there nothing I can do?"
George was silent. "I'm collecting statements from others. Yours might help when viewed alongside them."
"Fine. When do you need it?"
"We go to court in two days."
"So soon?"
"Susan knows someone in the department," George growled.
"How's Kate holding up?"
George laughed. "She's a real trooper. She's made lists and written her own statement, she's even got her cousins fighting against their mother. We've nicknamed her Lilly Lionheart."
Libby's heart swelled. The name of Kate's superhero in her story. "She'll love that." Libby paused and then asked the question. "How's Adrian?"
The silence was so long Libby didn't think George was going to answer. "He swings between fighting for her and convincing himself Susan can give her a more stable home life."
"That's ridiculous." Kate and Adrian belonged together.
"You and I both know that. The whole situation with his father really set him back."
George was telling her more than he probably should, considering how her relationship with Adrian ended.
Her head swirled with thoughts. She loved Kate and she loved Adrian. He might not reciprocate that love, but she couldn't stand by and watch him lose Kate without doing something. Would a reference be enough?