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She wrapped her legs around his waist and clung to him like a koala. Despite herself, Bex couldn’t help smiling. No one could ever say Izzy was unloved. Paul grinned at her over Izzy’s shoulder, his eyes sparkling from a suntanned and lined face. He strode up the hall, one arm holding Izzy securely in place, and deposited her on the sofa in the living room.
She squealed as her back hit the cushion, and broke into giggles. “I want to ride on your shoulders.”
Paul caught Bex’s eye and read her desperation. “Later, honey. I’ll take you for a ride after dinner. How’s that?”
Izzy blew her fringe off her face. “Yes, please. Can I color now?”
“Go for it. I want to see what you’re working on.”
She went to her backpack in the corner and withdrew a coloring book and pencils, which she showed to him. He made appropriately enthusiastic noises, then he and Bex left her to it and headed for the dining table.
Paul stretched, cracking his back into place before sitting. “Ooh, that feels good.”
“You know you don’t have to break yourself just because she wants to climb you like a monkey,” Bex murmured to him.
He smiled in response. “I know I don’t have to, but I like it. Makes me feel young again.”
Lita poured him a steaming herbal concoction with a faint green tinge. He winced. “Is that…?”
Lita’s lips pressed together. “It’s from Katarina. It will help with your aching muscles.”
He gave a long-suffering look, but accepted the drink. Both he and Bex knew he’d do whatever Lita asked. The three of them sat around the table and Bex wondered where to begin.
“What do you need to talk to us about?” Paul asked, sipping from his cup, the corners of his mouth drawing down with distaste.
There was nothing else for it. She jumped right in. “Michael Briggston has moved to town.”
Lita fumbled her tea and it sloshed over the rim, onto her lap. She leapt to her feet, hissing, and flapped her skirt to get the hot water off her skin. Paul was at her side in a flash, taking the cup from her and grabbing a cold compress to rest on her thigh. The sight of him fussing over his wife warmed the cockles of Bex’s heart. She loved how devoted to one another they were after more than thirty years of marriage. One day she wanted that for herself, but she doubted she’d get it until Izzy was grown.
Once they’d ascertained that Lita hadn’t been seriously burned, Bex resumed her story. She told them how horrified she’d been to see Michael on Monday, and how he’d visited the gym, met Izzy, and hounded her ever since, finally reaching their recent conversation and her offer for him to attend the Winter Wonderland Fair with them tomorrow.
“I’ll come and have a word with him,” Paul said, jaw clenched, herbal drink forgotten. “That family have no right to be part of Izzy’s life after all this time.”
“They didn’t know she existed,” Lita reminded him. She turned to Bex. “Do you think they’ll challenge custody?”
Bex couldn’t answer. That was half the problem: she didn’t know. She wouldn’t be wound so tight if she was sure Michael would walk away after meeting Izzy, but that wasn’t the Briggston style. They came in, took over, and ended up getting exactly what they wanted.
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“But he hasn’t told his brother or called a lawyer?” she persisted.
“Not that I know of.”
Lita relaxed. “Maybe he just wants to get to know her.” She reached over the table and took Bex’s hand. “If his intentions are good, that might not be such a terrible thing, darling.”
Bex yanked her hand away and stared at her mother, open-mouthed. “How can you say that? He wants to turn Izzy’s life upside down.”
Lita’s eyes softened with something that looked like pity, and Bex’s stomach rolled over. “If he and his family want to be able to love Isobel the way we do, and won’t take her away from you, then that can only be a good thing. There’s no such thing as too much love when it comes to a child, and if Isobel’s father wants to know her, he should get the chance.”
“Lita,” Paul began, “I’m not sure that—”
Lita laughed. “You think I’m a sentimental fool.”
“No.”
Bex bit her tongue to prevent herself from adding her two cents. Her mother did tend to look for the best in people, and create noble goals where none existed. Bex’s stomach twisted. If Lita wanted to have a positive outlook, they should encourage that. She exchanged a helpless look with Paul but they both kept their mouths shut, and she tried to ignore the twinge of doubt stirred by her mum’s words. Was she being unreasonable by trying to keep Izzy away from the Briggstons? They could offer her so much that she couldn’t, and as much as her daughter was the center of her universe, she could never fill the role of father.
You did the right thing, she told herself.
