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Michael dropped into a crouch next to his daughter.
“Another snowman?”
“It’s a snowdog.” Tab patted and shaped the mound. “To keep him company.”
Michael rose to his feet and smiled at Ella. “You and your mother should go and have breakfast together.”
“No hurry.”
“Go—” he held her gaze “—seize the moment.”
He was encouraging her to spend quality time with her mother, and that was probably a good idea, particularly as everything was going so well.
“Where’s Samantha?”
“Last seen vanishing into the library—great library by the way—for a meeting, and then I think the plan is that Brodie is going to take her round the estate so they can discuss business.”
Was her sister still angry with her? And how did she feel about spending the whole day with Brodie? Had she managed to get past the embarrassment of their earlier exchange?
“I’ll wait until Tab finishes the snowdog.”
“Go. I’ve got this.” He tugged her toward him and kissed her.
“No kissing.” Tab pressed two small stones into the dog’s face. “They’re always kissing, Nanna.”
Ella, remembering her mother’s presence, stepped away.
Michael handed Tab a twig for the dog’s tail. “Daddy loves Mommy. Nothing wrong with kissing.”
“It’s yucky.”
“Yucky? You think it’s yucky?” Michael made growling monster sounds and leaned in to kiss Tab’s neck.
She squealed and tried to escape, giggling so hard she fell backward into the snow.
He scooped her up and Ella shook her head, torn between laughter and exasperation.
“Now she’s covered in snow, Michael.”
“And she loves it.”
Ella brushed the snow from Tab’s coat, removed her scarf and wrapped it around her daughter’s neck. “You need this to keep warm.” She caught sight of her mother’s face and saw a look of such intense pain that she stopped breathing. Even when she’d been in the hospital, Gayle had seemed strong and in control. Her mother’s reaction to life was so combative and gladiatorial and she so rarely showed her feelings that Ella had at some point assumed she didn’t have them. What had caused that reaction? Was it seeing Ella and Michael with Tab?
“Mom?” She said it gently and then louder because her mother didn’t seem to hear her. Finally Gayle blinked.
“Sorry? What did you say?”
“I—Nothing.” She couldn’t probe more deeply into her mother’s emotions with Tab so close by. It was something to be done in private. “You’re right, Michael. I’m starving. You finish off here with Tab. Mom and I will go and eat breakfast and we’ll see you in a while.”
She turned and started to trudge through the snow, her mother keeping pace by her side.
How should she handle this? It wasn’t as if she and her mother usually shared anything emotional. How should she start this conversation?
Hey, Mom, just now you looked as if your child had died in front of you. What’s that about?
Her mother spoke first. “He seems like a good father.”
“Michael? He’s amazing. Fun. Interested. Tab is lucky.”
