It took about ten minutes to reach the wetlands, and Lara chatted about what she’d done with Faith and Amy that day. Then she fell silent as the wetlands sparkled before them.
It was one of the wonders of the Ridge. The gully had channelled all the rainwater towards a small depression in the land and had turned it into a wetland teeming with birds and new growth. Life thriving in what was once a dust bowl.
It never ceased to amaze him, and it seemed like the perfect place to talk to Lara about what he hoped would be a similar change in their life.
“Awesome,” Lara breathed.
“Yep. Let’s go check it out.”
They walked down to the edge and Lara squatted to splash the water. “How long will it last?”
“Depends on whether we get any more rain,” Darcy said. “A couple of weeks, maybe.”
“So cool.”
She explored the banks, and he was content to follow where she led. Nerves bucked in his stomach. What if she wasn’t ready for a step-mum? She was already dealing with her mother back in her life and a step-dad and brothers. Was it too much to put on a child all at once?
“What’s wrong, Dad?”
Darcy blinked. She studied him with her head tilted. He hadn’t realised she’d stopped exploring. “What makes you think something’s wrong?”
“You’re not exploring with me.” Her face clouded. “Has something else bad happened?”
“No, nothing like that.” He hugged her. “I want to ask you something and I’m worried about your reaction.”
She rolled her eyes. “Well ask me, then you won’t have to worry, because you’ll know.”
He chuckled. Great advice. “OK, so here’s the thing.” Where to start? Should he tell her how he felt about Faith, or should he ask her how she felt first?
“Da-ad, tell me already.”
“I like Faith,” he blurted. He shook his head. Smooth.
“Well, duh. I like her too.”
He found a clear patch of grass and sat, pulling her down next to him. “I’m glad you like her because I wanted to ask her if she would like to be part of our family.”
Lara’s eyes widened. “You want to marry her?”
He couldn’t tell how she felt about the idea. “Yeah, I do. It would mean she would move in with us…” They hadn’t quite got to that part, but he was fairly sure she’d be OK with it. “And become your step-mum like Josh is your step-dad.”
Lara nodded.
“So how do you feel about the idea?”
“Are you asking my permission to marry Faith?”
“Yeah.”
“Yes!” She clapped her hands. “That would be awesome, ’cos I love her and she loves me and she can keep teaching me to ride and we’d be a new family and then you can have babies and I’d have little brothers and sisters.”
Darcy laughed as relief coursed through him. “Slow down, pumpkin. There’s been no discussion about babies yet.”
“But there will be.” She seemed confident.
He liked the idea, but there was no rush. “Well, I’m glad you agree. I’ll ask her when we get back.”
“Have you got a ring?”
