Kenzie sank to the floor beside her and took her little hand. ‘It’s true, baby. Ewan is your daddy. We wanted you to get to know him, so we came on holiday.’
Poppy looked back at Ewan. ‘I’ve never had a daddy before,’ she said with no small amount of awe, making Kenzie’s heartstrings tug painfully.
‘I’ve never had a daughter before, either,’ Ewan said.
‘That’s okay. I can teach you,’ she said earnestly, giving him a hug.
Kenzie felt an unexpected sting of tears. She’d never truly believed Poppy would ever have this moment with her real father. Possibly one day, down the track, she might have come to accept as her father whomever Kenzie met and wanted to marry, but not this.
There was still a small thread of uncertainty—what if they tried to take her away, now that it was all out in the open? She desperately wanted to believe that they could work out a way to all be part of Poppy’s life, but they lived so far away, and they’d want her to come back for holidays, and Kenzie couldn’t just keep tagging along as an unwanted chaperone forever.
Stop it. She could feel herself beginning to get anxious, and telling herself to get a grip wasn’t working. She needed outside advice.
With Poppy happily instructing Ewan in How To Be A Daddy 101, Kenzie ducked out of the room and took out her phone, quickly scrolling through her contacts.
‘How’s it going?’ Brook asked without bothering with a hello.
‘Nothing’s going the way it was supposed to,’ she spilled out. ‘Ewan’s brother-in-law just blurted out about Ewan being Poppy’s father, right in front of her.’
‘What?’ Brook almost screeched. ‘What the hell?’
‘It was an accident,’ Kenzie said, massaging her forehead with her fingertips. ‘But still … it’s too soon.’
‘How did Poppy take it?’
‘Fine,’ Kenzie said, dropping her hand. ‘I mean, she looked a little bit confused for a while, but she thinks Ewan’s the bee’s bloody knees, so …’ She trailed off.
‘I know it’s probably cold comfort, but if this had to happen this way, it’s better for it to be now, when she’s four. Kids don’t really understand the bigger picture. She’ll happily go along with anything as long as she has you and people she trusts around her acting like everything’s okay.’
‘Yeah, you’re right. She seems happy enough. Ewan’s mum is a big hit. She’s having the best time down here.’
‘See? There you go. How are things going between you and Ewan?’
‘Fine,’ Kenzie said abruptly—too abruptly, apparently.
‘Interesting,’ her sister said, enunciating every syllable.
‘No, it’s not interesting. It’s not anything at all.’
‘If you say so.’
‘I do. This is me, saying so.’
‘Okay, okay. Just breathe. Stay calm. Take it one day at a time.’
‘Okay. You’re right.’
‘Of course I am. Kisses to Poppy. Love you.’
Kenzie disconnected the call and gave a silent huff. It was hard to believe life had become so complicated in the couple of short weeks since Ewan Campbell had returned to her life.
Twenty-five
‘I’m really sorry,’ Joe said, coming over to where Kenzie was pouring herself another glass of wine. It was definitely shaping up as a two-glasses-of-wine kind of evening. ‘It just came out.’
The quick, albeit annoying, pep talk from her sister had helped considerably. ‘It was an accident. We hadn’t really decided when the right time would be,’ Kenzie said, trying to be kind.Although, it had preferably not been in front of the entire family.
‘That’s my husband, Mr Put-his-foot-in-it,’ Floss said dryly, slipping her arm around the big man’s waist.
