Chapter 17
Seventeen
Kenzie closed the bathroom door behind her and shrugged off that annoying little feeling of having just been replaced.
It’s one bedtime story. Get a grip. She’d known it was silly, even as she’d been thinking it, but after being the only one who’d done these little things for her daughter for the last four years, it came as a bit of a shock that she could be so easily replaced.
Bedtime was always a time she looked forward to.
No matter how tired she was, the simple act of sitting in the rocking chair with soft lullaby music playing, snuggling with her daughter as they read a story, could erase the stress of the day and bring her instant peace.
She wasn’t sure what she was going to do when the day finally came that Poppy wouldn’t want a bedtime story read to her.
This was a good thing. Ewan wanted to get to know his daughter and they were out there, bonding. It’s one lousy story, for goodness’ sake.
She pulled off her clothes and turned the hot water tap on …
then shrieked as the tap came off in her hand.
Water poured out of the detachable shower head with unbelievable force, sending it writhing about the shower stall like an out-of-control snake.
Blinded by the spray, Kenzie tried to catch it, without success.
The door burst open and before Kenzie had time to react to that, the flimsy plastic shower curtain was reefed back and she blinked through dripping hair at Ewan. His gaze zeroed in on the problem and he guided her out of the way.
‘Grab me a towel,’ he ordered without turning to look at her. and Kenzie quickly reached for the one she’d brought in, holding it tightly as he put his hand out. When she didn’t immediately relinquish it, he glanced over his shoulder impatiently. ‘I need to stop the water.’
She could see that it was an emergency, but then again, so was the fact she was standing naked in a shower recess with a man who she barely recalled sleeping with five years ago and all she had to protect herself was this one, pathetically short towel that he wanted her to hand over.
‘Kenzie!’ he said, wiping his face as the water continued gushing out. ‘I swear, I’m not looking at you.’
‘You’re looking right at me!’ she shot back.
‘Fine, I’ll turn away. Just give me the towel.’
‘Don’t look,’ she instructed as she reluctantly handed it to him and tried to slide out of the confined space, her chest pushing against his practically naked back as his T-shirt was plastered against his skin. She could feel his body heat radiating through it like a damn furnace.
Thankfully, the issue with the tap not being in good working order extended to the hot water, so it was lukewarm and they’d avoided being scalded, which was a positive, she supposed.
Although the mortification of Ewan having seen her naked was way too fresh to completely write this off as a funny story just yet.
The tiny, mismatched blue-and-gold square tiles were cold and slippery under her feet, and she let out another muffled squeal as she momentarily lost her footing, before regaining it again and racing out the door to snag a fresh towel from the end of the nearest bed, thankfully only two short steps from the bathroom.
‘Mummy?’ Poppy’s little voice came out as a worried whisper from where she was still sitting on the bed.
‘Call reception and tell them to turn off the water!’ Ewan shouted.
‘It’s okay, baby. The shower just broke,’ Kenzie said, cuddling her daughter on her lap as she reached for the phone to call reception.
‘They’re doing it now,’ she shouted back a few moments later after she’d explained the issue with a disgruntled receptionist who sounded like he’d just been woken from a nap.
‘Sometime this week would be good,’ Ewan muttered as he pressed the towel over the water still gushing from where the tap had broken off, and still holding the shower head, unable to let it go while the water pressure continued to surge through it.
At least it wasn’t spraying water all over the bathroom anymore.
A quick look at the broken tap handle and he realised he wouldn’t be able to bodgie up the job himself.
Someone was going to have to come out and replace the whole tap.
He wiped his forearm across his wet face and found his mind took advantage of the lull in action to bring up the image of Kenzie waving her arms in front of her, blinded by the cascade of water.
Who knew the only thing this dump of a motel had going for it was excessive water pressure?
It had all happened so fast. He’d been out of his seat and racing to the bathroom as soon as he heard the blood-curdling shriek, certain he’d find an intruder with a knife against Kenzie’s throat at the very least. The fact she was standing there naked had momentarily distracted him before common sense kicked in and he’d reacted to the plumbing emergency.
Ever since discovering Poppy’s existence, he’d been thinking back to that night he and Kenzie had spent together, desperately trying to recall any memory.
If it had just been a matter of meeting a woman he’d slept with, the hazy memories probably wouldn’t vex him so much.
The fact that night had created a child, though …
well, he kind of wished that he’d been sober enough to take more notice.
It wasn’t all a blur. There had been some things he remembered, and catching a glimpse of her tonight had brought those particular things front and centre.
His body had reacted tonight just as quick as it had back then.
The attraction he’d had to her in the past was definitely still there. That he remembered.
He’d thought of her after that night whenever he’d met a woman for the first time, comparing that instant zing he’d experienced when she’d first started talking to him in that nightclub. He hadn’t felt it with any other woman for a long time after and then the memory had just begun to fade away.
He hadn’t known her last name, or anything else about her. He’d certainly given up expecting to ever see her again. He’d tried, he reminded himself. A few times after that night, he’d gone back to the club, hoping to find her there. He never had.
And now, here she was. In the same motel room, naked and dripping wet from the shower, just outside that door …
With my child. That little voice firmly squashed any remaining hopeful ideas certain parts of his anatomy may be harbouring. With our child.
Almost as abruptly as it had exploded, the water stopped, and Ewan slowly lowered the sodden towel and let out a small sigh of relief.
He heard a knock at the room door and left the bathroom to answer it.
As he moved through the room, he noted that Kenzie was now dressed in a pair of pyjamas that matched Poppy’s, but he didn’t have time to ponder on that as he pulled open the door to find the same man he’d met when they’d checked in.
‘I’ve had to call out the plumber,’ he informed them grumpily. ‘Can only imagine what the callout fee is going to be.’
‘Not much anyone can do about it,’ Ewan told him, reminding himself to keep his irritation in check.
‘The whole thing broke off. It looks like the original tap fixture,’ he added, his tone implying that maybe it should have been replaced before now, considering the place looked like it had been built sometime in the 1950s.
The receptionist stalked into the bathroom, and they heard him talking on the phone before eventually coming back out. ‘Well, that’s it then. I gotta shut down the room. You can’t stay in here.’
‘Shut down the room?’ Kenzie echoed, eyeing him dubiously.
‘Apparently, it goes against the minimum standard for habitation and health to put guests into a room with no water,’ he said with a somewhat disdainful eyeroll. ‘The plumber won’t be here till tomorrow morning.’
‘I have to put my daughter to bed,’ Kenzie said, stopping the guy before he could leave.
‘I need to get into a new room as soon as possible.’
‘We’re booked out,’ he informed her.
Ewan frowned. There’d only been two other cars when they’d arrived, but as he looked out the window, he saw the carpark was now full of white twin-cab utilities.
‘Most of the rooms are rented out to mine workers,’ he said, catching Ewan’s raised eyebrow. ‘Only keep a couple spare for tourists.’
Ewan saw Kenzie’s concerned expression and quickly reassured her.
‘It’s okay, you and Poppy can stay in my room.
’ He caught her swift glance and tried not to feel too insulted when she seemed a little hesitant about the idea.
He’d been hoping she’d feel a little more comfortable around him by now.
Granted, it had only been a few days, but it had been a long day sitting side by side in a car, talking fairly nonstop about their lives with a Wiggles soundtrack interspersed with episodes of Bluey coming from the iPad in the back seat.
‘Okay. I guess we’ll have to. Thanks.’
All righty then. He helped Kenzie gather their belongings and escorted them two doors down to his room. Kenzie came to a stop between the double bed and the single, turning to look at both before lifting her concerned gaze to his.
‘You and Poppy take the double. I’ll sleep in the other one.’
‘You can’t sleep on a single bed. It’s tiny,’ she protested.
‘I’ll be fine. It’s only for a night.’ He’d slept in plenty more uncomfortable and less sanitised places, after B&S balls and bonfire nights, but he didn’t bother pointing that out right now.
‘Poppy and I can sleep in the single bed. I do it all the time at home when she wakes up through the night.’
His gaze dropped to Poppy, who looked ready to drop. ‘I won’t be able to sleep if I know you two are squashed uncomfortably in a single bed.’
‘Are we seriously going to stand here and argue about beds? Because we may as well just keep on driving if we are,’ she said, holding his gaze firmly. ‘You’ve been doing all the driving. You need to have the comfiest bed.’
‘I’m going to have a shower,’ he said wearily. ‘We’ll discuss this after I get back.’
He was closing the door to the bathroom as he heard Kenzie instruct Poppy to climb into the single bed.
Impossible woman.
When he opened the door and stepped out from the bathroom fifteen minutes later, wearing a T-shirt and a pair of tracksuit pants, he paused in the doorway. Poppy was spread out like an adorable little starfish on the single, while Kenzie was fast asleep on one side of the double bed.
Well, this presented a small problem. He considered his options.
He could pick up Poppy and put her into bed next to Kenzie, but he wasn’t sure she’d stay asleep, so that risked waking up Kenzie, who looked far too peaceful, lying on her side with one hand tucked beneath her chin and the other hugging her pillow.
He swore under his breath, then made a decision. He checked the door was locked, then switched off the light, carefully climbing into the double bed and letting out a long, contented sigh as his tired body was finally able to relax.
Kenzie would probably be furious when she woke up and discovered he’d slept in the same bed as her, but if he made sure he was awake before her, maybe she’d never even know.