Free Life Support: Escape to the Country by Nicki Edwards Page A

already told you, Andrew, I don’t want his money,” Emma said.
    “Legally it’s yours.”
    “Maybe we should split it,” she said, with a halfhearted laugh. She was trying to lighten the heavy mood that hung between them.
    Andrew scowled. “Emma, this is serious. You need to understand, if Mary-Margaret or Winston get any sniff of the plans for your divorce or any hint of my … er … relationship with Lleyton, they’ll make sure you don’t get a cent.”
    Emma’s heart stilled as a thought landed in the pit of her gut. Fear gripped her. “If they thought I was having an affair, would they go after Lleyton’s money?”
    Andrew’s eyes bored into hers. “ Were you having an affair?”
    She shook her head vigorously. “No.”
    Andrew sighed heavily. “I’m sorry, I know this can’t be easy for you.”
    She appreciated his empathy. It couldn’t have been easy for him either. Her eyes dropped to her lap. She cleared her throat. “There may be a small problem. Mary-Margaret did, um, catch me kissing someone in Sydney. Two weeks before Lleyton died.”
    Andrew’s eyes snapped open wide. “Who?”
    Josh’s face – the face which reminded her of Tom – came to mind, and Emma flushed at the memory. “No one important. A doctor. A man I met at a conference.”
    “Is it someone who knows Lleyton, or the family?”
    “No.”
    “Do you think he’ll tell anyone about the affair?”
    “It wasn’t an affair.” Emma realized she was shouting when Andrew glanced at the closed office door. She lowered her voice. “I kissed him once . That was it. I’ve never seen or spoken to him since and I don’t intend to. We never swapped numbers or anything. It was a stupid, stupid thing to do. I was upset. I’d gotten your email about Lleyton agreeing to the divorce and I wasn’t thinking straight. He reminded me of a guy I used to know and when he came onto me in the bar I—”
    Andrew was shaking his head at her. “Let’s hope he keeps his mouth shut if the Chirnsides go looking for him.”
    Emma frowned. “Why would they do that?”
    “Trust me, you have no idea what this family is like. Lleyton has left you a considerable amount of money – the money he received when he turned twenty-one as part of his inheritance. Although Winston and Mary-Margaret have no legal entitlement to it whatsoever, they’ll try anything to get their hands on that money because they believe it’s rightfully theirs. The Chirnsides are the type of people to go looking for dirt. If they can prove you were having an affair with this doctor in Sydney you can expect they’ll challenge the will.”
    “I told you, I wasn’t having an affair and I also told you I don’t want Lleyton’s money!” She was shouting again, but didn’t care. She folded her arms and glared at Andrew. It was partly his fault she’d found herself in this predicament.
    He stared at her in return but kept his mouth closed, drawing his lips together in a tight grimace. He looked withdrawn and pale and on closer examination, Emma saw the lines of grief etched around his tired eyes. He looked terrible, and suddenly she felt sorry for him. Unlike Emma who had been surrounded by love and casseroles after Lleyton’s death, Andrew would’ve received nothing.
    She sighed. “Okay, because you keep going on about it, because I’m here, and because you have to do the right thing as Lleyton’s lawyer, how much are we talking? Define considerable. A million dollars for his life insurance policy? Maybe a few grand in savings? I think he might have shares too, but I’m not sure.” Or he may have blown the whole of his family inheritance. Lleyton might have been a control freak, but he was also the type of person who acted on a whim and thought about the consequences of his actions later.
    Andrew moved a pile of papers aside and opened a manila folder. Another ream of papers was neatly stacked inside, held together by a large paperclip. He ran his finger around