Page 43 of Cinderella and the Outback Billionaire

She took a deep breath. ‘That’s a lot of wondering.’

‘Like I said, I can put someone on it and get you some facts. You could be a rich man’s daughter.’

She’d always wanted to know who her father was. She’d never imagined him rich or successful. In her eyes he’d always been a handsome no-good drifter who’d known nothing about siring a daughter.

If Reid’s speculations were true, then Deacon Murray had known all about Ari and hadn’t come anywhere near her. ‘You’re absolutely brutal when it comes to making me question my identity.’

‘Is that a bad thing?’

She pushed away from the table and headed for the deck. She wanted the cover of darkness as she worked through her emotions. Reid joined her, wary and watchful.

‘Talk to me,’ he said as he leaned against the railing.

‘He knew about me. He’s never been near me.’ That was the most devastating revelation. ‘And maybe he tried to help financially, and it did a bit and got spread around between others too. All to the greater good, right? But I’m an adult now and he owes me nothing, and your father’s been dead for years and surely money can’t still be coming in. I don’t know what to do with this information.’ She leaned against the railing of the deck and looked to the stars in the sky. There were millions of them in an Outback sky. On most nights a person could see them very clearly.

But Reid wasn’t looking at the stars. When she glanced his way, he was looking at her. ‘You could reach out to him.’

‘And say what? All that money you sent amounted to nothing? He’s not going to want me.’

‘I wouldn’t say that.’

But Ari was past listening. ‘He made his choice when I was born. Money’s not care. It’s just a convenient way to paper over guilt.’

Reid blew out a breath. ‘I thought you’d be pleased.’

‘Well, I’m not! Your family history probably goes back hundreds of years. You know who you are. Everything’s legit. You don’t understand what it’s like to not know who your father is and dream about some day connecting with him. In the good dreams my father is thrilled to discover he has a daughter. He’s a wonderful man and he’s thrilled to meet me.’ She choked back a bitter laugh.

‘What happens in the bad dreams?’

‘In the bad dreams he’s known about me from the beginning, and he just doesn’t care.’ She couldn’t stand to let Reid watch her fall apart. ‘Thanks for the meal. I have to go now.’

‘Ari, wait. Let me—’

‘You can’t fix this!’ He didn’t deserve her anger. ‘I’m sorry. I have to go.’

‘When you say go, do you mean get in your ute and drive away?’ he asked carefully.

‘No.’ She waved a hand in the direction of her cabin. It was too dark to drive without getting lost. She wasn’t insane. ‘I’m just going to my—your—’ Aw, screw it. ‘I just want to fall apart somewhere you can’t see me, okay? I’m going to my room.’

‘Okay.’

Okay.

She’d made her way to the steps when he spoke again. ‘Ari, the money’s not nothing. Murray wasn’t so wealthy back then that he could fling it around without a care.’

She bit her tongue in an effort to keep harsh, hurtful words like You would know from tumbling out.

Don’t shoot the messenger. Don’t lash out with words you don’t mean. Stick to the ones you do mean.

‘I’m sorry you get to see this side of me. I’m bitter and ungrateful and I don’t give a damn about any money he might have sent. Money on my birthday? Why didn’t my mother tell me? She didn’t want me to know anything about him and he didn’t want me at all.’ So much for retreating to her room before hot tears threatened to spill. ‘That’s just betrayal.’

‘Feelings are messy and very, very real,’ he countered quietly. ‘For some people, myself included, it’s always tempting to run off and try to deal with them alone.’ He favoured her with a crooked smile. ‘You should talk to Bridie about hiding in your room. She hid in her room for years.’

Teenager Bridie Starr had been the beautiful, traumatised shut-in, forcing herself to step outside so she could take photos to send to the imprisoned man who’d saved her life—Ari knew the story. ‘I’m not going to hide in my room for years because my father never claimed me.’ It was probably too late to hide her emotions from the man in front of her, too.

‘I’d like to walk you to your room,’ he said gently. ‘If I may.’

‘Bad idea.’

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