Later, as she tucked Poppy into bed and listened to her natter on about all the things she’d done that day and all the adventures she was yet to have, Kenzie had to admit that, as far as outcomes went, this was a pretty damn good one. Poppy was happy. Vera in particular seemed absolutely smitten with her. Callum kept a polite distance though, she noticed. He wasn’t as demonstrative towards his grandsons as his wife was, either, but he did ask them questions and make small talk. So far, he hadn’t done any of that with Poppy, and with what he’d said to Kenzie in his den, she didn’t expect him to warm up any time soon. But what he lacked, Poppy’s two older cousins, Aunty Floss and Uncle Joe more than made up for.
Then there was Ewan. He’d stepped up from day one and hadn’t faltered. As far as surprise families went, Poppy had pretty much hit the jackpot with the Campbells. It could have been so much worse if they’d rejected or dismissed her outright.
Still, while Kenzie knew she should be happy, part of her was mourning the loss of the way things had been before, life BE—Before Ewan.
‘Mummy?’ Poppy asked as Kenzie was about to stand up. ‘Do you think it’s okay if I start calling Ewan Daddy now? Cause that’s what he is, right? My daddy?’
Kenzie swallowed hard for a moment gathering herself after the question that in all honesty she’d been half expecting to arise but had still managed to catch her off guard. ‘If you want to call him that, I think that would be okay.’
‘It tookforever,’ she said, rolling her eyes as she lay back on her pillow.
‘What do you mean?’ Kenzie asked.
‘For my wish to come true.’
Kenzie felt her throat tighten. ‘You wished for a daddy?’
‘Uh-huh.’ Poppy nodded. ‘When I blew out my birthday candles. You said make a wish, so I did. But it tookforever.’
Kenzie blinked her eyes rapidly as she felt tears threaten.
‘I also wished for a baby brother. When is that going to turn up?’
Yeah. No.‘Okay, time to go to sleep.’
After placing a gentle kiss on her daughter’s forehead, Kenzie eased away from the bed and headed for the open door, jumping slightly when she saw Ewan leaning casually against the doorframe, waiting. ‘Did you happen to hear any of that?’ she asked, wondering how long he’d been standing there.
‘Some. A baby brother, huh?’ He grinned, and Poppy gave a rueful smile. ‘And I’m more than okay with being called Daddy.’ His slightly husky tone melted her. She loved that a four-year-old could bring out this soft side in him.
‘Why didn’t you come in?’
‘I didn’t want to interrupt.’
‘You wouldn’t have,’ she said, pondering her next suggestion with only the slightest of hesitations. ‘If you want, maybe you could do bedtime tomorrow?’
‘You wouldn’t mind?’
She shook her head slightly. ‘Poppy would love it.’ Which was true.
‘I’d like that. Thank you.’ They stood quietly across from one another.
‘Would you come for a walk with me?’
‘Now?’ she asked surprised.
‘It’s a beautiful night, plus the house is too stuffy. I thought it might be nice to get some fresh air.’
Kenzie sent a quick glance out the window. ‘Okay,’ she agreed slowly.
She followed him downstairs and out into the early evening. It was getting dark, but it was still light enough to make out where they were walking. The white gravel beneath their feet was illuminated by the almost full moon above.
As they moved further into the garden, solar lights that had been strategically placed to highlight certain areas and plants made it easier to see, and Kenzie let out a long, appreciative sigh. ‘It’s so beautiful.’
‘It is,’ he agreed, and they slowed down to an amble. ‘You looked panicked tonight,’ he said after a few moments of silence. ‘What’s going on?’
For a moment, in the peaceful tranquillity of the garden at night, she’d almost forgotten about earlier. ‘I guess … everything just suddenly got real.’
‘Everything, how?’
