Chapter 44
Chapter Forty-Four
Cabarita Beach
As Kate walked along the shoreline, she smiled at the sight of baby Noah nestled against Alex’s chest in the baby carrier.
Alex looked happy and healthy, with a deep tan after a long summer of surfing, swimming and taking guests horse riding at the inn.
The school term was well underway, and yet he’d become more of an attentive and active father over the past couple of weeks.
“Is he sleeping?” she asked.
Alex looked down at the baby, then nodded. “His eyes are shut, so I think so.”
“He likes the sound of the waves.”
“And he seems to really enjoy going for walks. I’ve been taking him out around the neighbourhood while you’re sleeping.”
Tenderness surged through her heart. “I think he looks like you,” she said.
“Yeah, he’s definitely got my nose. But he’s going to have your hair. It’s already dark.”
“Maybe. I guess we’ll see.”
“Will you go back to work at the inn?” Alex asked. “No pressure. I’m only wondering.”
“Not for a while yet. I’ve taken six months of leave, although I always end up there for paperwork at some point during the week. Even when I do go back, it won’t be full-time.”
“I think that’s a good approach,” Alex replied. “This whole newborn phase is harder than I’d imagined it would be, especially on you. But also, I miss the time we used to have together.”
She inhaled a sharp breath. “I know what you mean. Life has changed. I guess this is the new normal, at least for now. And yes, it’s been difficult.
But then, I didn’t really have much experience with babies before now.
I’m the first one in the family to have them.
And honestly, it’s already getting a little easier.
He slept for five hours straight last night. ”
“That’s great. He’s getting chubby legs, too.”
“I know. They’re so cute. I was kissing his little face this morning and I inhaled a whiff of his head, and I suddenly thought maybe we should have six.”
Alex stopped walking, his face pale. “Six what?”
“Six babies.”
He looked at her, his brown drawn low. “Six kids? You want six kids?”
“I take it you don’t?” She teased him with a straight face.
His nostrils flared. “Six might actually kill me. And I’m not even the one carrying the pregnancies.”
Her eyes sparkled. “Fine, maybe not six. But let’s have at least three. He’s so adorable. Don’t you think?”
“He’s very cute, but clearly you’re not in your right mind and shouldn’t be making any big decisions right now. You have baby fever. No more head sniffing for you.”
She laughed. “Okay, no more head sniffing. But you have to admit, this whole parenting thing has really opened up a new world to us. I never knew I could love anyone as much as I love Noah. It’s given my life a new meaning and purpose.
And even though I’m exhausted, I have no privacy, and no time for myself, I wouldn’t change it for anything. ”
Alex fell into step beside her, and they watched as the sun rose over the dark ocean, sending shafts of purple and yellow light shooting across the deep-blue sky.
He slipped an arm around her shoulders. “I’d have six kids with you if that’s what you truly wanted.
You’re a great mum, and an even better wife.
I don’t know how I’d manage, but then I don’t know how I’d do anything without you. ”
She leaned her head on his shoulder for a moment. “Thanks, honey.”
“So, does this mean you think we should get more horses as well? Because with six kids, we’re gonna need a bigger stable so everyone can have their own horse.”
Kate shook her head. “More horses? What on earth would you do with more horses?”
“Open a riding school. I could breed them, too. Have little foals running around. Oh, we could show them, take them to those competitions where they get big, brightly coloured ribbons for how incredible they are. That kind of thing.”
She crossed her eyes at him, wondering how he could possibly have room in his head for anything more than the load they were already carrying.
“You’re crazy. But if you want more horses, you should get more horses.
I might be open to the idea of a riding school, although I don’t know how you’ll have time for it. ”
“The whole area is growing. I think there’ll be demand for something like that. It might be a good income, and eventually I could transition away from teaching.”
Kate frowned. “But you love teaching.”
“I know. Still, it would be nice to try something else one day. I don’t know if I want to teach forever. Then again, I can’t imagine doing anything for forty years. It’s a long time to focus on one career.”
She took his arm from her shoulder and then laced her fingers through his as they walked. “Let’s see how things go.”
“That’s a good idea.”
By the time they got back to the car park, the sun had risen above the tree line and the day had already turned hot.
They talked about Allen and how he’d fit into their family at the inn now that he and Mima had been reunited.
Kate was excited for Mima to have a family of her own nearby, and Alex seemed cautiously optimistic.
“I’ll be glad to have another man in the family,” he finally said. “When you met him, did he seem nice?”
“Very nice. I’m so happy for Mima. She deserves every bit of joy in her life.”
“So do you,” Alex said as he bent to kiss her on the lips.
She kissed him back. As they climbed into the car to leave, she rested her head against the open window frame.
The wind lifted her hair from her neck and tousled it around her face as they drove away from the beach.
She never imagined this was how her life would look when she’d been an up-and-coming chef in Brisbane a few years earlier.
But she wouldn’t trade this new direction for anything.
She loved her life, loved the inn and working with her sisters, loved Alex and Noah and the cosy house they shared together.
She loved Jack, Mima and even Cocoa the possum.
So many years after moving away from the inn, it was tragedy that brought her back to it.
A funeral and plans to renovate and sell so she could return to her fiancé and chef job in the city.
But she was grateful Bindi had talked her and Reeda into keeping the inn.
Returning to the Waratah Inn had given her an entirely different perspective on life.
Finding Nan’s journals and discovering the truth about her family had helped bring her so much emotional healing after the trauma of losing her parents and grandmother.
And now she had a family of her own—the love and security she’d craved for so long.
There was nowhere else she’d rather be than in Cabarita Beach, at the Waratah Inn with her family and friends.
THE END