Chapter 23
Twenty-three
Kenzie found Poppy and Vera walking through the kitchen garden, made up of raised beds full of leafy green plants ranging from fragrant herbs to tomatoes, cucumbers, capsicums and just about every other vegetable known to mankind.
‘Looks like you have your own produce aisle out here,’ Kenzie said, smiling as she approached the pair, busy sampling a pod of peas.
‘That’s the aim,’ Vera said, smiling back. ‘We try to be as self-sufficient as possible. We supply most of the produce for the cafe at the vineyard, as well as our own table.’
They followed a white gravel path that led to an archway in the brick wall. The area opened up into a huge hedged garden, where the gravel path continued to meander through in a maze-like fashion.
Large beds of bright-coloured flowers dotted the area and Kenzie noted the inclusion of a number of pieces of garden art—one in particular, in the form of a moss-covered chair, making an enchanting reading nook–like corner—and other unique pieces, including an old, rusted ute with a water feature in the back and a weathered horse cart, statues woven from straw-like material, including a female archer, a deer and a horse, and a number of smooth marble-like balls scattered in among native flowers and plants.
They reached another archway, this one with a wooden door and enormous brass knocker.
‘You have to knock three times,’ Vera said as they caught up to Poppy, who stood in front of the impressive old door, ‘then ask the fairies if you can come in.’
Poppy glanced at her mother uncertainly, and Kenzie nodded encouragingly. ‘It’s okay. Do you need me to lift you up to reach?’
She picked her up, watching as Poppy reached out and banged the brass knocker three times. ‘Fairies? Can we come in, please?’ Poppy asked in a timid voice.
After a beat, Vera said, ‘You can open the door now.’ She looked every bit as excited as Poppy, and Kenzie couldn’t help getting caught up in it too. There was something about fairies that brought out the little girl in her.
The big door swung open and revealed a lush green world. It really felt as though you were stepping into another realm. The trees in this part of the garden were tall and leafy, their canopy blocking out the sky and creating a shady, cool place to escape the growing heat of the day.
They followed the fern-bordered gravel path, liberally sprinkled with bright pottery mushroom garden ornaments and fairy houses.
Little fairy doors adorned the bases of trees, and small birds fluttered about in the higher branches.
Bees buzzed happily among the wildflowers and the little creek that ran through the middle of the garden babbled merrily.
A small timber bridge crossed the creek further along, and Poppy ran on ahead gleefully.
‘Vera, this is …’ Kenzie paused, at a complete loss for words. Magical was the only word that came to mind. ‘I’m honestly expecting a fairy to pop out of the trees at any moment,’ she said with a small chuckle.
‘If you believe in them, you might just get your wish,’ Vera said, in her singsong Scottish accent.
‘This must have taken a mammoth effort to establish.’
‘It was a lot of hard work,’ she agreed. ‘The trees were already established. As Callum mentioned yesterday, the previous owners had been here for five generations and a lot of the bigger trees and plants were already in place. They’d intended to create an oasis with the shade and the creek.’
‘Mummy! Come here!’ Poppy’s excited call led them across the bridge, into a small clearing where a tiny fairy village had been set up. The little town had a post office, cupcake shop, wishes store and several houses of all shapes and sizes.
‘Holy cow,’ Kenzie whispered.
The little buildings barely reached shin height and were realistically detailed, with washing lines, chicken coops and small gardens. One sported an old-fashioned dunny complete with a half-moon shape carved on the door.
‘It’s almost too much, isn’t it?’ Ewan’s deep voice sounded close by, making her gasp and her heart rate jump a little, not completely from the unexpected fright.
‘It’s … I’m lost for words.’
‘That’s my mother for you. She never does anything by half measures.’
They watched on as Poppy and Vera explored the village, keeping an eye out for any fairies nearby.
‘She opens the gardens up to the public once a year for a fundraising event and gets people from all over the country coming out. It’s a pretty big deal.’
Kenzie could only shake her head. It was beyond anything she could have expected. ‘Did you grow up with this?’ she asked.
‘Not like this. Mum always had the dream to create gardens on Laire-Mor, and she’d made pretty good headway, but it’s only been the last seven or so years that it’s really taken off.’
‘What an amazing legacy to have created.’
‘It’s pretty special.’ They stood in silence for a moment as they watched grandmother and grandchild creating precious memories together. ‘Thank you for doing this,’ Ewan said, gesturing towards his mother smiling fondly at the small child beside her. ‘It means a lot.’
‘I never wanted to deliberately keep Poppy from the other side of her family,’ Kenzie promised. ‘I just never knew who they were.’
‘I’m glad we met again.’
‘Even if it completely messed up your life?’ she asked.
‘Yeah, well … maybe you saved me.’
She didn’t know what to make of that comment, so she left it alone.
‘I haven’t been able to stop thinking about yesterday,’ he said, breaking the silence a few moments later, and once again messing with her heart rate.
She really wished he’d stop doing that. ‘I know you don’t want to talk about it.
I just wanted you to know that what happened took me by surprise, and I wasn’t expecting that kind of chemistry to still be there,’ he said in a rush, as though to get it all out before she could argue with him.
‘Just so you know,’ he tacked on almost stubbornly, not realising he sounded just like his daughter when she was in a particular mood.
Kenzie bit back a small grin. ‘I wasn’t expecting it either,’ she admitted.
‘I’m glad it did, though,’ he added, and she felt his gaze on her, but wasn’t sure if she was brave enough to look at him. He had some kind of weird ability to make her knees go weak and the rest of her do un-Kenzie-like things.
‘It was … nice.’
‘Ouch,’ he said, giving an exaggerated wince. ‘Nice? That’s what every bloke wants to hear.’
‘It was better than nice, and you know it,’ she said, almost reluctantly.
‘So you’ve realised too?’
‘Realised what?’ she asked, turning to him with a small frown.
‘That whatever was there five years ago is still there,’ he said, holding her gaze steadily.
Kenzie swallowed nervously. There was no point lying. The fact he was admitting the exact thing she’d been thinking was almost a relief.
She nodded, and saw his face crinkle a little around his eyes, and a sexy half-grin touch his lips. It was her kryptonite. Those two tiny actions could spark a tsunami of lust inside her without any effort at all.
‘I was thinking maybe you and Poppy would like a bit of a tour around the place?’ he asked. ‘Peggy suggested packing a picnic for the three of us.’
‘That sounds great,’ Kenzie said, finding her voice again.
‘Mummy!’ Poppy calling her impatiently was like a bucket of cold water over her head. ‘Come and look!’
‘I’ll leave you to your fairy hunt. I’ll meet you both back at the house later,’ Ewan said.
While the moment had been broken, her thoughts continued to run wild with possibilities of what had just passed between them.
Was she ready to jump into some crazy, unexpected thing with Ewan Campbell again?
It was barely even a thing last time, her inner voice pointed out.
Which was true. And yet, she’d never forgotten it.
If Kenzie hadn’t left before Ewan woke up that next morning, would something have come of it?
She’d have most likely found out he wasn’t actually a backpacker heading home to Scotland.
She might have even found out his last name or, heaven forbid, they might have made arrangements to see each other again.
Was it completely crazy to think they could possibly pick things up where they’d ended before?
They were two very different people now, and he seemed to have no idea what his immediate plans even were. It didn’t seem a great time to be starting a new relationship. And there was the distance thing, if he decided to stay here.
Kenzie sighed. There were way too many uncertainties swirling about in her head right now. This was only supposed to be a quick visit as a peace offering and show of good faith. Any other ties hadn’t been on the table at the time she’d agreed to bring Poppy down here to meet his family.
Now, she suddenly had more things to consider.
After a lovely morning spent searching the gardens for the elusive fairies, Vera reluctantly had to go to a meeting in town, and left Kenzie and Poppy to play in the house yard.
Poppy chattered away, telling Kenzie all about the things Vera and she had planned to do over the next few days.
The list seemed exhausting, but she loved that Ewan’s mother had been so welcoming to them both and seemed besotted by Poppy.
That alone had been worth all the stress.
‘Who wants to go on a picnic and see some cows?’ Ewan asked, coming outside.
‘Me!’ Poppy called, scrambling off the swing mid-flight.
‘Be—’ Kenzie called out, but Poppy was already running across the yard to Ewan, ‘—careful,’ she finished lamely.
‘Come on, Mum,’ Poppy called.
‘Yeah, Mum. Hurry up,’ Ewan said, flashing her one of those grins that made her forget she was an organised, professional businesswoman.