Chapter 24
Twenty-four
Kenzie was feeling a little nervous as the crunch of tyres on gravel announced the arrival of Ewan’s sister and her children later the next afternoon. She’d seen photos of Floss earlier when she’d been left to her own devices after lunch.
After making a few work calls, she’d wandered into the other sitting room, one less formal than the one they’d sat in the day they’d arrived.
The sofas were large and softer, almost like giant marshmallows.
There were lots of photos on the side tables, up on the walls and on the mantelpiece of the marble fireplace.
Kenzie could picture it at Christmas, filled with family and Christmas decorations—not the stylised ones that she imagined were in the more formal sitting room, but the kind that were a mixture of kids’ preschool ice-cream stick Christmas trees and handprint snowflakes and Santa Clauses.
She’d taken her time inspecting the family photos, smiling at the young, toothless ones of Ewan sitting with his siblings. There were more, at different ages, and more than one made her stare at the similarities between Ewan and Poppy.
The photos of Floss were of a blue-eyed, red-haired girl with a scattering of freckles across her nose. When she walked through the front door, the braided pigtails had been replaced by long, strawberry-blonde curly hair, but the freckles, although faded, were still there.
‘Kenzie, this is my sister, Floss,’ Ewan introduced them after hugging the woman tightly.
His sister was tall, only shorter than Ewan by a few inches.
She wore a long, stretchy black tube skirt with a drapey white blouse, long gold chain and sandals.
There was a simple elegance to her that Kenzie admired, and could never pull off herself. Two young boys followed behind her.
‘Hello, Kenzie, I’ve been waiting to meet you. I’m sorry we couldn’t get here earlier.’ Like Ewan, Floss had a slight accent, not as strong as her parents’, but the longer she spoke, the more noticeable it was.
‘Considering you were off winning awards for Laire-Mor, I guess we can excuse you,’ Callum’s booming voice cut in as he strode into the room.
‘Technically, Dad, it was a win for Swagman Creek Wines,’ she pointed out lightly.
‘Which is funded by who?’ he asked, smiling benevolently.
‘Laire-Mor,’ she said in a weary tone, and Kenzie wasn’t completely sure if this was friendly banter or not. From the slight strain around Vera’s eyes, she suspected maybe not. Not my monkey, not my circus.
‘And this is Poppy,’ Vera said, cutting in, smiling down at her little shadow. Poppy hadn’t left Vera’s side all day.
‘Well, hello, Poppy,’ Floss said, taking a chair opposite the little girl and smiling brightly.
‘I’ve been really excited about meeting you,’ she said meaningfully, her gaze seeming to roam every inch of Poppy’s face before she gave a small, delighted chuckle and clasped her hands together.
‘You are just too cute,’ she said, looking up at her brother and sharing a smile.
‘My boys have been waiting to meet you,’ she said, waving over the two young boys, who were greeting their grandfather.
‘This is Angus and this is Cameron. Say hello to Poppy, boys,’ Floss instructed.
Kenzie watched the shy exchange, which only lasted a few moments before Vera stepped in and asked who wanted to go into the kitchen for a surprise.
Once the chorus of excited shouting faded down the hallway, Floss turned to Kenzie and her smile widened. ‘It’s just the best surprise ever. We’re all so excited to meet you both.’
‘Thank you. I’ve been looking forward to it as well. It all happened quite suddenly. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind.’
‘I can imagine. Ewan tells me you’re an event manager. I’ve worked closely with a few over my time, I used to be in marketing for an overseas corporation until I came home and got married.’
‘Yeah, I love it. Congratulations on your award.’
‘Thank you, we’re pretty chuffed. We’ve worked hard for it, so it’s nice to finally get some industry recognition.’
Peggy came into the room, carrying a tray of drinks and refreshments.
Kenzie was still half expecting to see her dressed in a long black maid’s uniform with an apron tied to her waist, Downton Abbey–style.
The leathery-skinned, jeans-wearing version of a housekeeper took a bit for Kenzie to get her head around.
She looked like she would be far more at home outside working cattle and riding horses than cleaning and cooking inside.
However, there was no arguing the woman could cook.
Everything Kenzie had eaten had been delicious.
‘I’d love to have a look at the winery sometime,’ Kenzie said, thanking Peggy for the glass of wine she offered, and also accepting a cracker and dip.
‘Absolutely. Anytime.’
Kenzie took a sip from her glass. ‘Is this your wine?’
‘Sure is.’
‘Nice drop, sis,’ Ewan added, savouring his own glass.
‘Of course it is. I wouldn’t be backing anything less than top-notch,’ Callum said, tossing down half a glass before putting it aside. ‘Personally, though, I’d rather a good scotch any day over wine,’ he said, getting up to pour himself a square, squat crystal glass of amber liquid.
Vera returned to the sitting room with three children in tow and a platter of kid-friendly finger food, which she set up on their very own little table.
Outside, the growl of another engine approached. ‘That’ll be Joe,’ Floss said. Moments later, a brawny man dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved work shirt entered. After greeting his wife with a kiss, he shook Ewan’s hand heartily, the two men grinning.
‘Good to see you, mate. It’s been too long,’ Joe said.
‘This is Kenzie and Poppy,’ Ewan said, turning to introduce his brother-in-law.
Joe nodded at Kenzie and smiled warmly, ‘Nice to meet you,’ he said before dropping his gaze to Poppy. ‘Nice to meet you too, Poppy. Don’t you look just like your dad,’ he said, and then froze, his gaze quickly lifting to Kenzie and Ewan. ‘Shit. Sorry.’
‘You know my daddy?’ Poppy asked, tilting her head up quizzically.
Joe’s expression would have almost been comical if the entire room hadn’t been in shock.
Kenzie felt her heart falter with panic—it’s too soon, it’s not what we planned, what if she gets hurt—before meeting Ewan’s eyes, finding a quiet certainty in his gaze. What if it’s something wonderful? She gave him a small, helpless shrug.
Ewan nodded once, then swallowed hard. He crouched down to be at eye level with Poppy. ‘Yeah, he does, sweetheart. That’s who I am. Your daddy.’
Poppy’s eyes grew wide before she looked over at Kenzie, uncertainly.
Kenzie sank to the floor beside her and took her little hand. ‘It’s true, baby. Ewan is your daddy. We wanted you to get to know him, so we came on holiday.’
Poppy looked back at Ewan. ‘I’ve never had a daddy before,’ she said with no small amount of awe, making Kenzie’s heartstrings tug painfully.
‘I’ve never had a daughter before, either,’ Ewan said.
‘That’s okay. I can teach you,’ she said earnestly, giving him a hug.
Kenzie felt an unexpected sting of tears. She’d never truly believed Poppy would ever have this moment with her real father. Possibly one day, down the track, she might have come to accept as her father whomever Kenzie met and wanted to marry, but not this.
There was still a small thread of uncertainty—what if they tried to take her away, now that it was all out in the open?
She desperately wanted to believe that they could work out a way to all be part of Poppy’s life, but they lived so far away, and they’d want her to come back for holidays, and Kenzie couldn’t just keep tagging along as an unwanted chaperone forever.
Stop it. She could feel herself beginning to get anxious, and telling herself to get a grip wasn’t working. She needed outside advice.
With Poppy happily instructing Ewan in How To Be A Daddy 101, Kenzie ducked out of the room and took out her phone, quickly scrolling through her contacts.
‘How’s it going?’ Brook asked without bothering with a hello.
‘Nothing’s going the way it was supposed to,’ she spilled out. ‘Ewan’s brother-in-law just blurted out about Ewan being Poppy’s father, right in front of her.’
‘What?’ Brook almost screeched. ‘What the hell?’
‘It was an accident,’ Kenzie said, massaging her forehead with her fingertips. ‘But still … it’s too soon.’
‘How did Poppy take it?’
‘Fine,’ Kenzie said, dropping her hand. ‘I mean, she looked a little bit confused for a while, but she thinks Ewan’s the bee’s bloody knees, so …’ She trailed off.
‘I know it’s probably cold comfort, but if this had to happen this way, it’s better for it to be now, when she’s four. Kids don’t really understand the bigger picture. She’ll happily go along with anything as long as she has you and people she trusts around her acting like everything’s okay.’
‘Yeah, you’re right. She seems happy enough. Ewan’s mum is a big hit. She’s having the best time down here.’
‘See? There you go. How are things going between you and Ewan?’
‘Fine,’ Kenzie said abruptly—too abruptly, apparently.
‘Interesting,’ her sister said, enunciating every syllable.
‘No, it’s not interesting. It’s not anything at all.’
‘If you say so.’
‘I do. This is me, saying so.’
‘Okay, okay. Just breathe. Stay calm. Take it one day at a time.’
‘Okay. You’re right.’
‘Of course I am. Kisses to Poppy. Love you.’
Kenzie disconnected the call and gave a silent huff. It was hard to believe life had become so complicated in the couple of short weeks since Ewan Campbell had returned to her life.