Page 71 of The Wisteria Tree Cottage

‘She’ll probably be out for the rest of the night now.’

‘Yeah, I guessed as much,’ he said and then after a moment he patted the bed area next to him.

She crawled inside the tent, zipped it up, kicked off her shoes and then, as Bear held up a blanket, she cuddled up next to him.

‘Was the baby OK?’

‘Yes, in the end. It all happened so quickly after you’d left, her contractions getting closer together, but then they suddenly seemed to stop. Every time they tried to move her, the contractions started again and they’d get her back on the bed and then they’d stop. They could have got to the hospital five times over but the paramedics weren’t really keen to move her and in the end Emma didn’t want to move either. She said it was so peaceful there in the treehouse and she wanted it to be beautiful for the baby. Anyway, a little girl was born about an hour ago.’

‘A girl, I thought they were having a boy?’

‘They did too but nope. They’re still using the name Quinn though. She was screaming loudly when she arrived and the paramedics were really pleased with how she was doing but they’ve taken them all off to hospital now to check her over just to be sure.’

‘And you were OK?’

She smiled. ‘I am and thank you for asking. You get me like no one else does.’

‘Meadow, you mean the world to me.’

They lay there, staring at each other for the longest time, not saying a word but not needing to either.

She reached up and stroked his face. ‘I love you.’

His eyes widened. ‘Carousel or rollercoaster?’

She smiled. That felt like the easiest and the hardest question to answer.

‘Mummy,’ Star said, sleepily. She peered at her mum blearily. ‘Did the lady have her baby?’

‘Yes, a little girl. Sorry I wasn’t here sooner.’

‘That’s OK, me and Bear saw Snuggles,’ Star said.

‘The dog?’

‘Yes and I fed him and stroked him and he lay down with his head in my lap.’

‘Sounds like you’ve made a friend.’

‘He was smitten with her,’ Bear said.

Star climbed over Bear, shoehorning herself into the tiny gap between him and Meadow, forcing them to shuffle apart to accommodate her.

‘I saw a hedgehog, Mummy,’ Star said, sleepily. ‘And a baby rabbit. But no foxes or badgers.’

‘Maybe the webcams might pick something up again,’ Meadow said, sliding an arm around her daughter.

Bear shifted onto his side and wrapped an arm around them both. There would be no more conversations tonight, at least not while Star was awake and between them. But that was OK, there was time. She closed her eyes and went to sleep with a huge smile on her face.

CHAPTERFORTY-SEVEN

Meadow woke the next morning when Star climbed over them, unzipped the tent and crawled out.

‘Don’t go too far,’ Meadow said.

‘I’m just here,’ Star said and Meadow could see through the fabric of the tent that she was sitting right outside the door. The tent flap was fluttering in a gentle breeze, letting in the warm summer air, but largely shutting out the world.

Meadow turned her attention to Bear, who shuffled a bit closer to her now that Star had gone.

---