‘All good bike riders learn to ride with training wheels,’ he said, looking into the rear-view mirror.
‘I don’t need them on anymore, but Mummy says they have to stay on.’
‘I said we’ll take them off when we have time to practice.’
‘We never get time.’ The little girl pouted.
‘That’s not true,’ Kenzie said, turning around to face her daughter.
‘It is. You always have a wedding to go to instead of the park. And you’re always too tired.’
Kenzie groaned inwardly. Now she sounded like she was neglecting her child. ‘We go to the park lots.’
‘Not enough,’ Poppy said with another slight pout.
‘We go to the park,’ she said, turning back to the front. ‘There’s just certain times of the year that work gets a bit busier than usual,’ she added, hating that she suddenly felt as though she needed to justify herself.
‘Cows!’ Poppy called out loudly, pointing out her window, and the subject of too few park visits was dropped.
A short time later, they turned off another dirt road and followed a track that ran alongside a small creek until it branched out into a cleared area that looked perfect for swimming and picnicking.
‘This is great,’ Kenzie said as they got out of the ute.
‘It’s called Swagman Creek. This is where we used to come and swim as kids.’
‘Can I go for a swim?’ Poppy pleaded.
‘We’ll see. Maybe after lunch you can go for a paddle,’ she compromised.
A grassy bank ran down to the water’s edge, where clear, cool water bubbled and tumbled across the rocky bottom of the creek bed. Large rocks were visible under the surface that looked like they’d be painful to walk on.
They found a place to spread the blanket and unpacked the basket.
‘How many people did Peggy think were coming along?’ Kenzie asked, eyeing the copious amounts of food Ewan was pulling out of the huge hamper.
‘She doesn’t like anyone going hungry,’ he told her, placing a freshly baked sourdough loaf beside a selection of cold meats, cheeses and salads. ‘But wait,’ he said dramatically, ‘there’s more!’ He pulled out a plastic container containing mud cake, another with an assortment of pastries, and a plate of bruschetta.
‘Seriously?’ Kenzie replied, shaking her head at the spread.
‘Oh, and one last thing … I wonder who might have told Peggy about this?’ he asked, bringing out the last item in the basket.
‘Fairy bread!’ Poppy gasped in delight.
‘Oh, for goodness’ sake,’ Kenzie said, rolling her eyes. ‘We’re never going toeatall of this.’
Ewan handed her a plate. ‘Doesn’t mean we can’t give it a red-hot go.’
Much later, with full bellies, they lay back on the blanket, watching Poppy as she explored nearby.
‘It must be hard taking care of a kid as well as running a business all on your own,’ Ewan said, breaking the comfortable silence.
Kenzie took her eyes from Poppy momentarily to look at him. ‘It takes a bit of juggling sometimes,’ she admitted, ‘but I’ve got my sister nearby and some good friends who are always on hand to help out. We get by.’
‘It’s not an ideal situation though, is it?’ he asked, and something in his tone made her suddenly wary.
‘What do you mean?’
‘Poppy getting passed around to different people when you need to work. That must be kind of hard on her.’
