Chapter 19 #2
His mother, on the other hand, was anything but reserved.
She’d hugged her son tightly and was clearly overjoyed that he’d come home.
And if the way she was doting on Poppy was any indication, she was thrilled to discover she had a granddaughter, just as Ewan had said.
At least that concern had been put to rest.
Callum was a different story. Kenzie couldn’t get a read on the rather gruffly spoken man, obviously not one to talk for the sake of talking.
His answers were brief and to the point, but Kenzie also sensed he was a watcher and a listener.
She was willing to bet he had a lot going on under the surface, and didn’t miss much.
He was clearly a pretty savvy businessman, if the scale of the property was any indication.
Poppy seemed to have lost her earlier shyness. Chocolate cake would do that, Kenzie thought, watching her delighted daughter demolish a slice, leaving half of the icing on her face. Her eyes flitted between her child’s messy face and fingers and the very expensive furniture they sat on.
‘Uh, is there a bathroom I could go to with Poppy to clean her up?’ Kenzie asked Vera nervously.
‘She’s fine, dinna fash yersel,’ Vera said, her brogue becoming thicker as she soothed her guest. Kenzie noticed that, unlike her husband, Vera seemed to have lost her accent to a certain degree, not so much that she sounded Australian, but certainly diluted, unless she had some strong feeling.
Much like her son’s speech pattern. Over the last few days, Kenzie had become more aware of Ewan’s personality and little traits.
His accent was really only noticeable with certain words, and when he spoke about anything emotional—like mentioning his brother or this property.
‘I can take her for a walk to clean her up, if you like?’ Vera offered, holding her hand out to Poppy in invitation.
Poppy had no hesitation, sliding off her seat and happily leaving the room with the older woman.
‘She’s not shy, then,’ Callum noted.
‘Not usually. She’s a bit of a social butterfly,’ Kenzie agreed.
‘Not really a Campbell trait,’ he said, studying Kenzie shrewdly.
A shiver of annoyance ran through her at his barely veiled words, but she supposed the man had the right to look out for his son.
‘Definitely a McNeil trait, though.’ Ewan shrugged, glancing at Kenzie. ‘Mum’s maiden name. You’ll see the “social butterfly” trait when you meet my sister.’
Callum looked at his son, his expression reminding Kenzie of a lion lazily observing his prey, biding his time.
‘So, what are your plans now?’ he asked.
‘I’ll let the dust settle for a bit then look for another job.’
‘Back in the corporate world, with all the movers and shakers,’ his father said with an edge of sarcasm.
Kenzie was caught off guard by the older man’s hostility. Ewan had mentioned he and his father didn’t have a great relationship, but she hadn’t expected this level of belligerence. She flicked Ewan a swift glance and wondered how he was managing to remain so seemingly unruffled by it.
‘It’s a living.’
‘So’s working in a brothel, but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, though, is it.’
Kenzie started at Callum’s vulgar observation, but Ewan seemed unperturbed. ‘It doesn’t have to be everyone’s cup of tea. Turns out, I’m good at what I do.’
‘At making other people rich and not yourself?’ his father asked doubtfully.
Ewan shook his head. ‘That’s not what happens.’
‘Isn’t it? You work for a corporation, buying and selling businesses so they make a profit. You just earn a wage.’
‘How’s that different from what I was doing here?’ Ewan shot back.
‘Here, you had the opportunity to work your way up in the family business. But you gave up when it got too hard.’
‘Yeah. That’s why I left,’ Ewan said sarcastically.
Callum opened his mouth to say something more but abruptly closed it when his wife walked back into the room.
‘Here we are,’ Vera said, leading Poppy by the hand. ‘All clean again.’
‘They have five bathrooms,’ Poppy informed her with wide eyes and a solemn expression.
‘Wow,’ Kenzie said, equally impressed.
There was a beat of strained silence, and Vera looked between her husband and son, both studying the floor with set jaws. ‘Luckily I don’t have to clean them all,’ Vera said, wearing a tolerant smile.
‘No, that would fall to me,’ Peggy said drolly, coming to remove the tray and empty cups before leaving again.
‘Well, you must be tired after your big trip. Come on and I’ll show you to your room,’ Vera said.
Kenzie noticed the slight tension around her mouth, but she quickly formed a bright smile and lifted her hands in a gesture to rise and follow her.
‘Darling, go fetch the suitcases and bring them up, won’t you?
’ she threw over her shoulder to her son as she ushered Kenzie and Poppy out of the room.
Kenzie was curious to explore the rest of the house and grateful for the chance to escape.
They walked up the gently curving staircase and Kenzie placed her hand on the balustrade, feeling the smooth, well-worn timber. On the second floor, a wide hallway spread out before them with doors leading off to either side.
‘I’ve put you in the end room. It was apparently the original nursery, so it opens into another bedroom, where the family nanny would sleep. That way, you can be near Poppy.’
‘Thank you, but we could have shared a bed or a room. We don’t mind.’
‘If there’s one thing we are not short of here, it’s space,’ Vera said with a wave of her hand. ‘Besides, I thought Poppy might enjoy having her very own room,’ she said, smiling down at the little girl.
They stopped outside the far door and Vera pushed it open, revealing a large, sunny room separated into two parts, a bedroom up one end and a playroom at the other.
There was a play kitchen, a shopfront, a huge dollhouse, a table and chairs with paper and pencils set out invitingly, as well as an easel and paint pots.
‘Wow,’ Poppy gasped, her eyes wide as she turned in a circle, taking it all in.
‘This is amazing,’ Kenzie said.
‘Some of these things belonged to my children when they were growing up, but we’ve updated now that we have grandchildren to play in here when they visit.’
‘I bet they love visiting,’ Kenzie said with a bemused chuckle. ‘Do they stay often?’
‘Occasionally they sleep over, but usually, they just pop in for a visit whenever Floss is passing by. They live in the house next door.’
‘It must be nice to have them all so close.’ She wished she lived next door to her mum; she could vividly picture the coffee catch-ups and sleepovers.
‘It’s the best. I can’t imagine them not being here now.’
‘Can I play with the toys?’ Poppy asked, looking completely in awe of all the things around her.
‘Of course you can. They’re all here for you to play with.’
‘Thank you.’ She beamed up at Vera, and Kenzie saw the woman blink rapidly before she smiled.
‘You are most welcome, my darling,’ she said gently.
In that touching moment, Kenzie was so glad she’d agreed to bring Poppy to meet her new family.
‘Can you draw with me?’ she asked Vera.
‘Well, I was going to take your mum in to see her room—’
‘I can do it.’ Ewan’s deep voice sounded from the doorway, where he stood with their suitcases, startling Kenzie, who hadn’t heard him approach. ‘You stay and draw.’
‘Well, then, I’d love to.’ Vera didn’t have to be told twice. ‘What are we going to draw?’
Kenzie smiled at the two bowed heads as they selected their coloured pencils and began their artwork, ignoring her and Ewan. ‘I’ll just be next door,’ Kenzie said.
‘Okay,’ Poppy called, clearly not fazed by her mother’s departure.
And just like that she was dismissed. She was used to it with her own mother and Poppy.
They shared a special bond that was beautiful to witness, but her mother had been in Poppy’s life from the beginning.
Seeing her so relaxed in the presence of Ewan’s mother, so soon, was unexpected.
Was it some kind of weird DNA recognition type of thing?
Did Poppy somehow sense Vera was connected to her?
Or was it simply that she felt safe enough in this new environment, knowing her mother was nearby and that was enough for a four-year-old?
‘They seem to have hit it off,’ she said as they walked into the hall.
‘Possibly has something to do with the fact my mother probably took her to the kitchen and filled her with lollies after their trip to the bathroom.’
Kenzie smiled wryly. ‘That’s going to be fun when she has to go to sleep later.’
‘I’m sure by bedtime, she’ll have used up all that extra energy—if my mother has anything to say about it.’
‘She must have been a fun mum,’ Kenzie said as he opened the door to her room, ushering her in before him.
Ewan barked a laugh. ‘Grandparent rules,’ he said. ‘Fun wasn’t really something that was high on the list of parenting priorities when I was a kid.’
‘Why was that?’ she asked curiously as she took in the antique cast-iron bedframe and pretty floral cover. There was a single-seat sofa beside the window with a delicate, pink throw draped over its high back. Kenzie was already picturing herself relaxing there with a book later.
‘Mum and Dad were working day and night to get this place up and running. I guess everyone was tired and stressed. Family time wasn’t a big priority in those early days.
Don’t get me wrong,’ he said, ambling across to the window to look outside, ‘she was a great mum—our soft spot after a day of dealing with Dad—but there was a lot riding on this place. They’d gone in way over their heads financially. It was a huge gamble.’
‘Obviously paid off,’ she commented.
‘Yeah, I’ll give my old man one thing, he knows business and farming.’
Kenzie followed his gaze out the window, to a grove of trees. ‘Do you miss it?’
‘I miss this place. And I miss working it. But I can’t work with the old man again. We tried, after Arran died. I tried to step up. He wouldn’t let me.’
‘Why not?’
‘He didn’t think I could do it. Wanted me to prove myself,’ he said, his gaze seemingly fixed on something that she couldn’t see, something far in the past. ‘I’d been trying to prove myself my whole life, but nothing was ever good enough. So I left.’