‘That was my brother’s favourite meal too,’ he said, sending them a brief smile. ‘I’m not sure we can get our hands on fish fingers, but maybe some fish and chips?’
She whispered something in her teddy bear’s ear before giving an exasperated sigh. ‘Okay,’ Poppy said. ‘No oneeverhas fish fingers.’
They ambled out of the park and along the quiet main street to a takeaway shop they’d spotted on the way in. Kenzie caught a brief glance of their reflection in a shop window as they walked past. They looked just like a normal family; a mum and dad with their child, out for dinner. That’s what everyone would probably think, just by looking at them, and she wondered at the little glow of warmth the idea gave her.
They collected their fish and chips and headed back to the park, unwrapping the paper and spreading it out on the table between them. ‘This is my second favouritest dinner,’ Poppy informed them as she shoved another piece of the meaty fish into her mouth. Kenzie had to agree. For a town nowhere near the coast, the fish was pretty damn fresh and delicious.
This then sparked a discussion of other favourite foods Poppy loved before she cross-examined Ewan about his. The whole time, Kenzie was content to sit and listen to the two of them chatting nonsense.
Afterwards, Poppy asked if she could go back to the playgroundby herself, because she was big enough. Seeing as it wasjust across from where they were sitting at a timber picnic table, Kenzie decided to let her.
‘She’s a riot,’ Ewan said, chuckling as she slid down the slide and then stood up and took a bow.
‘She is,’ Kenzie agreed as she gathered up the paper and napkins. ‘Earlier, you mentioned your brother. What was his name again?’
‘Arran. He was two years older than me.’
‘I get the feeling you don’t talk about him much?’
She saw him shift on the bench and wondered if he’d change the subject, but after a few moments, he spoke, and she was relieved she hadn’t overstepped the mark.
‘I guess I don’t. There’s not really anyone to talk about himto.’
‘Your family?’ she asked.
He gave a shake of his head. ‘We aren’t big on bringing up that kind of stuff. It was pretty traumatic, and I don’t think anyone’s really processed it completely, to be honest.’
‘Do you mind if I ask what happened?’
‘He cut himself pretty bad a few days before we went out on a muster and it got infected. He’d had his spleen taken out when he was a kid, so he was immunocompromised, meaning his body couldn’t fight infection like most people. He had to be super careful being around sick people and stuff. Anyway, the wound turned septic and he had to be medevaced out. He went straight into ICU but died not long after.’
‘That’s really sad.’
‘Yeah. He lived and breathed farming, just like Dad.’
‘And you didn’t?’
He lifted a shoulder idly, staring out across the park, watching Poppy twirl around on the grass, lost in her own little world of imagination. ‘I love farming, but there was only room for one heir of Laire-Mor.’
‘What about after he died?’
He snorted. ‘I was a poor replacement, could never live up to Dad’s expectations. I was never his yes-man the way Arran was. I used to question everything instead of just taking orders.’
‘And your dad didn’t like it?’
‘Nope. You don’t question Callum Campbell. Ever.’
She wasn’t feeling all that crazy about meeting his father right now.
‘The thing is,’ he continued, ‘I wasn’t being disrespectful when I was asking questions, most of the time,’ he added a little sheepishly before sobering somewhat. ‘I genuinely wanted to know the reason we were doing something. Occasionally, I’d question certain things because it seemed like the less efficient way of doing things, or the more expensive way. He always saw it as me challenging him.’
Kenzie wasn’t sure what she could say. She didn’t know him well enough yet to offer comfort, but there was something incredibly lonely about the way he spoke about his dad that made her want to reach out and hug him. Thankfully, she was saved from doing something embarrassing by Poppy coming back over to get a drink.
‘Come on, Poppet,’ Kenzie said, using her daughter’s pet name as she stood up from the table. ‘Time for you to havea shower and get ready for bed.’ It’d been a long day and tomorrow promised to be more of the same.
As they walked back to the motel, Ewan pondered his conversation with Kenzie. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d talked so openly about Arran. Sasha hadn’t asked much about him. She didn’t like anything that brought her mood down, and discussing his dead brother and the role he’d played in it would be considered a real bummer.
‘Can Ewan read me my bedtime book tonight?’ Poppy asked almost shyly after her quick shower.
