37

Sunday passed pretty quickly on both farms and soon it was time for Alex and Emily to get on the way to where they would meet up with Claire and Charlotte.

Alex wanted to leave as early as possible to avoid Jodi making an early surprise visit to Killarney. You never knew with that woman and Alex had no idea how he should have explained Emily's presence in case Jodi popped over and found her on Killarney. He would get into enough trouble once the truth was out and Claire's family knew they'd kept her being alive a secret for quite a while.

Emily was up in her room packing the rest of her stuff when Alex knocked on her open door. "Ready Shorty? We should get going…I don't wanna arrive too late. Your Mum and Charlotte will have eaten all the ice cream and we can't let that happen now, can we?"

Emily looked up and sighed. She stuffed the rest of her things in her bag and took one last look around her room.

"Dad? When can I come back?"

"That's what we're about to discuss with your mother and sister. Plus we have to decide what we'll do with the two of you during the Easter holidays…"

"Can we spend them here? All four of us together?"

Alex smiled and grabbed his daughter's bag from her bed while he put his other arm around her shoulders "We really have to talk about that Em…I don't think your Mum can take time off again, she just had two weeks…"

"I'm sure Uncle Bernard and Aunty Laura won't mind…and Mum still has to talk to her family. They have to let her come here for that, don't they?"
Alex sighed. If only life was as simple as in the mind of his eleven year old daughter.

"We'll have to see Shorty…I can't make any promises. Now…go and say goodbye to Rhonda while I take your bag outside. But hurry up, I don't wanna take the chance of running into your Aunt Jodi…we would both be in real trouble!"
Emily hugged her Dad and ran into the kitchen to say goodbye to the housekeeper that had become more like a grandmother to her, a role that Rhonda really seemed to enjoy.

Soon the girl joined her father in the car and with one last look on Killarney they drove off towards Westminster College.

On Shaw's Acres Charlotte was just saying goodbye to Emily's horse Shadow. She and her mother had taken another short ride that morning just the two of them and Charlotte had formed a real bond to her sister's horse.

Claire watched her daughter pet the horse's neck and talk to it silently from the entrance. When she looked on her watch she saw that it was really time to leave or they would be late for their meet up with Alex and Emily. And having the shorter way she could already hear Alex teasing her for being late if he and her other daughter should already be there before she and Charlotte showed up. And that was something she couldn't let happen.

"Come on BOM, time to go…" she said from where she was standing.

The girl nodded and gave the horse one last hug before she joined her mother on the way to the car.

"Mum?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think when you've told my Dad the truth about you still being alive…do you think you could ask him if I can join the riding team at school?" Charlotte quietly asked without looking up.

Claire put and arm around her daughter and sighed. "I don't know, Char…it all depends on how he reacts…"

"But you're my Mum right? He has to listen to you, doesn't he?"

"We'll have to see, ok?"

If only it was as easy as in her daughter's mind sometimes. Claire wished she could give her daughter a better answer because she knew how much it would mean to Charlotte to be able to ride again whenever she felt like it without her mother or godfather holding her back. But she had no idea how Peter would react to the news of her not being dead like he had thought the last 12 years. She didn't know the man at all but from her daughter's and Alex's stories she could tell he wasn't the easiest person to deal with.

"Say goodbye to Laura and Bernard while I put your things in the car, ok?"

Charlotte nodded and went over to hug first Bernard then Laura. After Bernard's offer to consider him her adopted Uncle Laura had decided if her husband got a new niece she wanted one too. So now Charlotte had another Aunt and Uncle to the ones she had already had and she loved them already.

"I had a great time! Thanks for letting me come here…"

"You're welcome Charlotte, we love having you here and you'll always have a place here on Shaw's Acres if you ever need to get away, ok?"

Claire had heard Bernard's sentence and said jokingly "Don't encourage her…she has a tendency to elope…Come on BOM, hop in the car. We don't wanna be late and have our two gluttons eat all the ice cream before we get there!"

With one last wave Charlotte got in the car and waved her new Aunt and Uncle goodbye.

When Alex and Emily arrived at the ice café they saw that Claire and Charlotte were already there, leaned over a huge bowl of what seemed to be chocolate ice cream.

As soon as Emily saw her mother and sister she shouted for them and ran to where they were seated.

Alex saw Claire jump up in her seat and open her arms so her daughter could slip inside while Charlotte had a huge grin on her face as she saw him. Alex hugged his goddaughter and asked her "How was your weekend squirt?" as she snuggled up close to him.

"It was great Alex! I had so much fun with Mum and Uncle Bernard and Aunty Laura…"

Alex was surprised "Uncle and Aunt? That was fast…" he said with a wink.

"They are great. Just as Em said. I was out with Uncle Bernard brining some sheep in yesterday!"

"Wow, I'm proud of you Char…"

"Oh, and guess what!"

"What?"

"Mum called me BOM and I didn't even have to tell her!"

Alex's eyes grew wide and he looked over to Claire who had just let go of Emily. "You remembered her baby name?"
Claire happily smiled at him and nodded.

After the welcome they all sat down, Alex next to Claire and Emily next to her sister and ordered another giant bowl of ice cream for Alex and Emily. While they waited Alex tried a couple times to stick his finger into Claire's and Charlotte's ice but Claire always slapped his hand before he could get there.

"Get your hands off my ice, Alex…you'll get your own!" she said and hit him again, but this time his hand landed on Claire's glass which of course fell over and the water that was in it spilled all over Alex's jeans.

Alex jumped up and Claire and the girls started laughing uncontrollably.

"CLAIRE!" he shouted and tried to wipe the water away with a paper napkin. "Look what you've done!"

"Oh no Alex Ryan…that was all your own fault!"

"I look like I peed my pants!" he looked at Claire accusingly.

"Don't blame me when you're acting like a little boy who can't wait for his ice cream. Even Emily could wait…" Claire still couldn't stop giggling and the girls had their hands over their mouths.

"Come on…you could have let me have one try, P! Just one try…"

"Why? That's my ice cream and I'm really not sure I want your not so clean finger in it…"

"Yeah, yeah…I'll be at the washrooms and look if they have one of those blow dryers for the hands…" Alex said and walked off and Claire shouted after him "Just make sure you don't let it get too hot…who knows, you might still need your bits!" which sent her and the girls into another fit of laughter.

When Alex came back Emily had already started on their bowl of ice cream. His jeans were fairly dry again and he still smiled about Claire's comment about burning his bits.

"Hey Shorty…leave something for me, will ya?" he shouted as he walked over to their table and sat down. "So P…have you decided on when you wanna talk to Jodi?" Alex started on the hard topic right away to keep Claire from teasing him.

She finished up the last of her bowl and looked at the girls first and then at Alex. "I've thought about it…what would you think about Easter?"

Alex saw Emily and Charlotte prod each other and exchange hopeful looks and he had to smile. But he turned his attention back to the woman next to him.

"Can you get the time off?"

"Yeah, but only the Easter weekend. Bernard and Laura are spending it with their sons so they don't need me. We could get the girls and spend a few days on Killarney…" Claire looked at him and added "If that's ok with you…"

Alex smiled as he saw the happy looks on the girls' faces in the prospect of spending Easter together.

"Sure, fine by me…you know I like having you and the girls around…" he said and the smile on Claire's face told him she liked to be together with him, too.

"Dad?" Emily asked from her side of the table and first looked at Charlotte then turned to her father. "What about the Easter holidays?"

"Yeah, that's something we need to talk about, too…" Alex said and looked at Claire expectantly.

"What?" she asked looking in the round "So it's my decision what happens, or what?"

"Sure…" Alex replied "You're the only one here that has to work since you only have the Easter weekend off…you'll have to decide what you can do and what happens with the girls. You're their mother. And by the looks on their faces I think they wanna spend their holidays together…"
He saw them heavily nodding.

Claire had a cheeky grin on her face "Did you realize Alex that you just admitted that you're not actually working…"

"What?" he looked at her confused.

"You said that I get to decide because I'm the only one that has to work…"

"Get away Claire…you know how I meant it…so what it your decision?"

Claire laughed at the Alex's face before she said "I can't really tell you yet…I'll have to see what the next two weeks bring and then see if I can get a couple more days off than just Easter. It all depends on Bernard and Laura."

"Come on Mum…you know they will give you as much time off as you want!" Emily told her mother.

"Emily Rose Newbury…you know was well as I do that I can't be away from the farm if there's heaps of work to do…I'll have to check back with your Uncle and see what I can do. That's all I'm gonna say now. Got that?"

Emily didn't look very pleased but said "Yes Mum…" and then she crossed her arms before her chest and added "And it's McLeod-Ryan now…"

Alex had to smile. The way his daughter looked at her mother now was so Claire, it was funny. To clear the air he then said "Well…that's the deal then. We all spend Easter together and will see from there depending on Claire's work situation…" He looked at his bowl and realized the ice had all melted by now. "Great…with all our discussions we now have chocolate sauce instead of yummy chocolate ice…"

That completely cleared the tension between Claire and her younger daughter and all four of them laughed again.

"That's the best way to eat ice cream Dad…didn't you know?" Emily winked at her father and put a spoon full of the now fluid ice in her mouth.

Alex shrugged his shoulders and together they finished up the last remains before it was time for the girls to get back to their school…