The Opal Desert Read Online Free Page B

the first and won’t be the last.’
    â€˜Sam, you’re not telling me anything I don’t already know,’ she retorted. ‘Anyway, I’m learning a lot.’
    â€˜I bet you are.’
    â€˜It’s not like that at all. And I certainly haven’t slept with him if that’s what you’re hinting at.’ said Kerrie. ‘Not that it’s your business, anyway.’
    â€˜Bet you do.’
    Kerrie laughed. ‘We’ll see.’
    Kerrie’s mother was pleased that Kerrie was obviously in the throes of a new romance, but she was surprised when a friend at her bridge club showed her the photograph of Kerrie and Milton at the club.
    â€˜Kerrie, is this the man you’re seeing?’
    â€˜It was just a date, Mum.’
    â€˜But when you said you were going out with a sculptor, I assumed it was someone from your art school. A student, not a teacher. You’re only twenty-two and this man looks so much older. I’m not sure what your father would think.’
    Kerrie waited for another comment about her late father, a man who had died when she was eleven, but whose presence was always in their lives as her mother had raised him to a level close to sainthood. Kerrie had warm memories of him but her mother had declared that no other man could measure up to her late husband. So she devoted herself to the home they had made together and raised their only child. Glynis Jackson had worked as a secretary in a small building firm, but her husband had left them comfortably off in their northern beaches home, near the good school where Kerrie had been sent.
    Kerrie could not fault her mother’s devotion and perhaps the only criticism she could make of her mother was the fact she kept so much to herself. Her mother’s best friend was her late husband’s sister whose two sons worked interstate and rarely visited, so Kerrie hadn’t grown up with much family around. Even at Christmas the two of them had enjoyed the time by themselves, generally going to the beach for a picnic lunch. At other times of the year they might go to barbecues at neighbours’ places. As a teenager Kerrie sometimes spent time with girlfriends’ families, but never stayed away much more than a night.
    â€˜Well, I hope you know what you’re doing, Kerrie. Older men can be very . . . casual. Don’t get too serious. I don’t want you getting hurt,’ said her mother.
    Kerrie was amused by her mother’s advice. Glynis was a woman who’d always prided herself on the fact that she’d never gone out with any man other than Kerrie’s father. ‘You sound very worldly, Mum. Don’t worry, we’re just having fun.’
    â€˜No offence, darling, but why on earth would a man as sophisicated as Milton Faranisi be interested in you?
    I know you’re young and pretty, but I think that you could be just an easy target.’
    The remark was said quite innocently and Kerrie knew there was no deliberate malice, but the blatant comment made her laugh out loud. ‘He says I make him feel young. He likes the fact I’m deeply interested in his work. I don’t make any demands on him. His daughters are very immature, so they don’t really provide him with stimulating company.’
    â€˜So he has a family? Have you met them yet?’
    â€˜Oh, Mum, lighten up.’ Kerrie laughed. ‘I’m happy, I’m having a good time, and there are no strings attached, I promise.’
    â€˜Well, I hope that you’re right.’
    â€˜He’s not a bad man, Mum. He’s full of life, and he’s kind and generous. I know he’s famous in Australia, but he makes me feel important, too. He really does like talking with me,’ said Kerrie with some heat.
    â€˜Talking!’ snapped her mother. ‘Well, I just hope you know what you’re doing. Please be careful.’
    â€˜Mum, I’m just fine. You worry too much and