‘Wow, that’s a big drive.’
‘Yeah. It’s not too bad, though.’
The ute bounced across the paddock as they followed the cow tracks back to the house. Poppy’s head rested on Ewan’s arm, and he rearranged his position so his arm was around her and she could lie against his side. In five seconds flat, she was out to it.
‘Big day,’ he commented, and Kenzie bit the inside of her lip against a wave of emotion that filled her at the image the two of them made.
‘I’m glad you decided to stop in,’ she said after a few moments. ‘I think it was a good way to break the ice with Poppy.’
‘I’d like to spend some more time with her,’ he said, pausing briefly. ‘And I’d like her to meet my family.’
Kenzie’s stomach clenched.His family?This was moving too fast.He’dbarely got to know her. Introducing her to more new people would be even more confusing.
‘Well, let me know when you’re back on the Gold Coast. I’m sure we can organise something when your family come up for the holidays,’ she said, wondering how that would play out.
‘Normally, that would be the ideal solution. But I’m not sure when I’ll be going back.’ Ewan shrugged. ‘I figured acouple of weeks off to visit and let things cool down back on the coast would be the smartest bet at this point, until I work out what I’m going to do. It’s also the perfect opportunity to spend some quality time with Poppy.’
Kenzie started. ‘What? You mean …now?’Was he out of his mind?‘There’s no way she’d cope being away from me and among people she doesn’t know. You’re still basically a stranger to her,’ Kenzie said, amazed that her voice sounded reasonably steady.
She saw his face tighten, but regardless of any hurt feelings, it was the truth.
‘She has a right to know her other grandparents and family,’ he said calmly, if a little stilted.
‘I agree,’ Kenzie said, ‘but we have to work up to all this. She’s never left me before.’
‘I wasn’t planning to take her alone,’ he replied. ‘You’d come too.’
‘To South Australia. To meet your family?’ she said, hoping her mouth wasn’t gaping.
‘Why not? You’re their granddaughter’s mother. They’ll want to meet you.’
‘But we’re … not … I mean, I’m nothing to them,’ she finished weakly.
‘You’re the mother of their grandchild,’ he pointed out firmly. She could just see it now: ‘Mum, Dad, this is the woman I slept with one night five years ago on a drunken weekend.’ Kenzie squeezed her eyes shut and suppressed a shudder. This was all just so weird. But even she could admit he was right;it wasn’t exactly fair to make his parents wait. She could only imagine her own mother in that position.
‘I don’t think—’
‘You just said you didn’t want her going anywhere without you. This would solve that problem without it taking months to build a relationship you would be satisfied enough with to let Poppy go away without you.’ Ewan shook his head. ‘I don’t want my family to have to wait that long before they meet her.’
‘We were going to take this slow,’ Kenzie said, staring at the path ahead, trying to unclench her jaw as anger mixed with alarm.
‘And I agree … to a point. But my mother’s had a grandchild for four years who she’s never met. We have four years to make up for,’ he said, gentling his voice slightly.
Some of the anger began to dissolve, but not the anxiety.
‘Okay. Maybe … we could look at a few weeks from now,’ she said, mentally flipping through her appointment book.
‘You can drive down with me tomorrow, which gives me more time to get to know Poppy, and I can fly you both home later.’
Kenzie braked hard, jolting them to a halt, and looked at him. ‘I can’t. I have to get back to work.’
‘Aren’t you the boss?’ he asked, raising his eyebrows.
‘Yes, but that doesn’t mean I can just take time off whenever I feel like it.’
‘I think making sure your daughter is comfortable with meeting the rest of her family warrants a couple of weeks, don’t you?’
‘A couple of weeks?’ she echoed. ‘I can’t take that much time off work.’
