Preacher's Daughter - Flora Ferrari Page 0,49

with cold but manages to climb the damned tree all over and launch herself straight out into the pool in front of us both.

By the time she comes up for air, she’s laughing so hard, and so are her brothers that I just have to join in.

“Alright!” I announce. “But that’s enough!” It’s too dangerous, I murmur to Noah, whose eyes only shine brighter as he watches all his kids, doing all those things I know kids just love to do.

Scare the pants off their parents.

“You’ll have them all flying next!” I exclaim, watching Noah’s eyes again as they soften on mine.

“Not unless you say so,” he reminds me, pulling me towards him under the water and kissing my neck.

“Oooohhh! Gross!” cries our Zoe, using the distraction to make a bee-line with her brother’s right back up to the same branch they’ve just been launching off.

“Only into the deepest end!” Their father suddenly booms loudly, making them freeze and shiver on the spot before they all agree and start to play a little less like lunatics before all landing in the warm water not too far from us, swimming like little fish upstream until we hold them in our arms.

“I love them too, darling. I know you don’t want them to hurt themselves but they need to find their limits. Like we did. Remember?” he asks me.

“All right guys Momma says no more daredevils, okay?” Noah says loudly, repeating it until all of them agree.

“But if we can’t climb and jump, Daddy… You have to take us flying?” Zak pipes up, making me groan and slap my forehead while they all launch off.

Off to find fresh mischief.

Moving closer to me again, he hugs me from behind.

“I wouldn’t ever put them in real danger, honey. And I won’t take them flying if you don’t want to,” he tells me truthfully.

Straight away we hear Zak whining, then his sister, until all four of them are complaining they never get to do anything around here.

Even when I list off all the holidays we’ve had.

The mountain treks, the white water rafting. The horse trails…

“Maybe we could all fly out to visit Dad in Hawaii next time he’s there,” I finally suggest, rolling my eyes until all the little ones swarm around me, squeaking with delight.

“It’ll be first-class, commercial airline all the way,” Noah promises, crossing my heart and mouthing the words I love you once I agree.

“We’ve been at home long enough to raise our family,” I tell him with confidence. “Now, let’s go show them the world!”

“Do you think the world’s ready for all these little monsters?” he asks me, laughing and clutching at handfuls of them as they use his huge body as a diving board.

“What do you think, Noah?” I ask him, my eyes full of pride and wonder as I watch all of them, watching him with them.

“I think they might even be ready to unleash on old retired grandpa for babysitting while we have a night off here and there, what do you say?” he asks.

“Are you saying you wanna go home?” I ask him, not minding at all if he doesn’t.

“Do you?” he asks.

I breathe in deeply, looking past him and my eyes get that dreamy, faraway look like they used to before we came here.

“Maybe,” I tell him softly.

“Could you stand it?” he asks. “Going all the way back, facing everything. Your Dad being that much closer?”

I think for a moment, realizing ten years has passed and the kids have never really seen their homeland, never seen their true roots.

With as much determination as we set out for New Zealand, it’s like a light has come on, guiding us all home to the States.

“I think it’s a terrific idea, Honey,” I tell him, watching the kids all splash down by the deepest end, thoughtless and carefree.

Just how kids should be.

“Between the three places we have already, plus Hawaii, we can all be happy still, can’t we?” he asks.

Feeling his hand on my belly I raise my brows.

“I’m glad you said that, Noah,” I tell him. “Because I think we might have another surprise for the kids. Should I tell them now?”

His own eyes widen, then he stifles a laugh. Excited, commanding. The same look he gave me years ago.

“You mean?” he says. And I nod. “Without a doubt this time,” I assure him.

“Then let’s do it! We can look for a new place if you want… big enough for all of us, now and tomorrow.”

“They’re all huge