Some and the Flame

by Michelle, Christine

  “Well, Ivan, if my nose doesn’t deceive me I’d say you smell worse than a preschool full of kids who failed potty training.” The man said nothing, simply grunted a response. I turned to Ghost, “You get anything from him?”

  “We got plenty,” he indicated with his head that I could take my turn now, but before I could get even a swing in, Ghost stopped me when his cell started ringing.

  “Give me a minute. I want to be here for this.” Ghost stepped out then and took only a few minutes before he poked his head back in and called me out.

  “What’s up?” I asked as I moved out of the building and shut the wooden door behind me. Ghost did not look pleased.

  “There’s a situation at home,” he explained.

  “What kind of situation?”

  “It’s Poppy. Leanne has Brant and Bubba with her, but they found Poppy unconscious at the house. She was really sick, and they’re not sure if the fever took her down or if she knocked her head when she fell.”

  “What the fuck?” I yelled.

  “Where is she now?”

  “She’s at the hospital getting looked at. Leanne says she’s not doing well, still hasn’t woken up yet.” I stood there, momentarily stunned by the news.

  “The baby?”

  “Don’t know anything else yet.” He glanced behind me at the shed. “We can try to keep him alive for you, but…”

  “I don’t give a fuck about that. End him. I need to get to Poppy and Brant. Poor little man must be scared out of his mind.”

  I already showed Journey what to do for the chick we found. Make sure she gets that medication, or whoever takes her knows how to dose her properly and for how long. It’s really important considering the condition we found her in.”

  “I got it. We’ll make sure everything is taken care of. Update me as soon as you know anything,” Ghost told me, as if his wife wouldn’t be doing that already.

  I knew why he insisted on it though. He wanted to make sure I was alright while we waited to see how Poppy pulled through. Hell, I was already beating myself up over the fact that I didn’t even know she was sick once again. Never again. This kind of thing would never happen with us again. From here on out, Poppy and me were going to be partners in every way, and that included letting each other know if we so much as got the fucking sniffles.

  Chapter 15

  She looked so small lying there in the bed with the white hospital blanket pulled up to her breasts and her hair slicked back on her forehead by sweat from the fever she’d had. My chest ached as I took it all in. Poppy had never once, in the time I’d known her, appeared weak. That was what hurt the most. I left her to end up in this situation while I was chasing vengeance. I knew I needed to do it in order to keep her safe too, but at what consequence? We almost lost her anyway.

  “She’ll be okay,” a man called out from the dark corner of the room where he was propped in a chair with his feet resting on a little table he’d pulled around.

  “What the fuck are you doing here?”

  “Didn’t anyone tell you?” He asked, a certain amount of smugness present in his voice. I just stood there and stared at him. “I’m the one that found her.”

  “I thought Leanne found her,” I said.

  “No, Leanne came not too long after I arrived, but when I saw they were in trouble I called for help. The kid was screaming his head off, the dog looked antsy as fuck.”

  “Bubba didn’t attempt to attack you?”

  “No. Leanne showed up, and had a key to get in and got a hold of Bubba first. Apparently, Poppy had texted her and told her she wasn’t feeling well.” Snake stated coolly.

  “Why weren’t you with the men in Goldsboro?”

  “I had already been on my way here to see Poppy when the call went out. I was too far out. They said they’d roll without me.” He shrugged his shoulders.

  “What were you doing coming to see her anyway?”

  “We’re friends. No matter what.”

  “Such good friends you never bothered to give her a head’s up that her man was cheating on her for years? You had to know.”

  “I knew. I hinted around to her for years, but she never got it.”

  “Why not come out and say it?”

  He huffed. “Walker’s my club brother. I couldn’t come out and tell her. You know how it is.”

  I gave him a scathing look. “I think an exception would have been made considering her brother is also in the club and would want her protected.”

  He scoffed. “You know shit don’t work that way. She chose to land herself with a brother, for better or worse.”

  “I think you had another reason for not wanting to be the one to tell her.”

  “Yeah, I did.” His admission came with a bit of aggression in his voice. “I wanted her for myself, and I knew she would never come to me if I was the one who told her.”

  “She would never come to you after, because you weren’t the one man enough to tell her in the beginning though,” I insisted.

  “Yeah, didn’t see that one coming, I’ll be honest.” He scuffed a foot across the floor as he stood and moved deeper into the shadows. “I was going to transfer up here when I realized she was moving. I talked to Sweet about it, and he saw right through my reasons.”

  “He wouldn’t let you?” I asked, actually surprised.

  “No, he fuckin’ wouldn’t. Said he’d get Ghost to block the transfer himself if he had to. Poppy deserved a clean break from the boys of Sierra High is what he told me.”

  “Can’t say he was wrong there either.”

  “Then she met you,” he spat out.

  “Do you think if there was any part of her pining away for you that she would have made that instant connection with me the way she did?”

  Snake huffed and ran his hand across the clean shaven side of his head. Both sides had been shaved down leaving only a short mohawk down the middle. “Walk came back fucked up after he was up here last. We all thought he had been in Florida visiting family. That’s where he told Sweet he was headed. Only thing I got out of him, when he was barely conscious, was that Poppy got everything she ever wanted and it wasn’t with him.”

  “You needed to see for yourself?”

  “Yeah, I did.” He turned and looked me right in the eye then. “I fucked up with her all those years ago. I wanted her from the moment I saw her, only I was distracted that night and Walk got to her first. Knew from first sight she was going to be a special kind of woman. I should have fought for her then before he got his hooks into her. Hell, we all knew that dick would never be any good to a woman.” He shook his head and then let it hang there on his shoulders a minute before meeting my eyes again. “You take better care of her, you hear me?”

  “I hear you,” I promised him. “I know it’s little consolation when your feelings are involved, but I love her. She’s every damn thing to me.”

  “Good. Make sure you show her that every fuckin’ day, because Walk sure as fuck didn’t. Now, he’s drowning himself in rot-gut liquor to try to forget how bad he fucked it all up.”

  “You heading back to Georgia?”

  “Nah. I’m gonna stick around until she comes back to the land of the living. Came to see my girl, gonna make sure she knows I was here.”

  “She ain’t your girl,” I insisted.

  “She’ll always be my girl. It’s just in different way than I’d hoped she would be.” I nodded my head at the man. I couldn’t begrudge him having a part in her life. He may not have been upfront with her about what a club brother was doing behind her back, but he still managed to be the only one of those fuckers down there who cared enough to see that she was doing okay.

  I moved away from him and dragged the other chair to sit beside her. Her hand was cold when I picked it up and put it in my own. “I’ll give you my warmth, baby. You take it, my strength, and anything else you need from me to get better, honey. I need you. We took care of business and everything is going to be just fine now. Ther
e’s no more danger waiting on the horizon. That means we have more family days like the one we had before I went to work. Remember Brant’s face when he saw that blanket fort in the backyard? He lit up like fireworks on the Fourth of July. I can’t wait to be sitting out there with you guys while watching you nurse our baby too.” I let my other hand slide down her blanket covered body until it rested over her belly. I need you to get better for the baby too. You still have a long way to go, honey.

  “That’s all she ever wanted,” Snake spoke up, nodding towards where my hand was. “She wanted a baby so bad, and every time I saw Walker running off with another woman I just wanted to put him to ground myself. Don’t know why he was so fuckin’ stupid that he couldn’t see a good woman when she was right in front of him.”

  “Don’t know, but I’m thankful for it.”

  “Yeah, I guess you are. I’m heading downstairs to grab some coffee. Need me to get you anything?”

  I shook my head. “Got everything I need right here,” I answered.

  I could have sworn I heard him mumble, “Lucky fucker,” before he left the room, but I didn’t disagree so I didn’t bother to verify either. Instead I just sat there and tried to channel my strength into my woman. Then I got an idea and reached into my pocket for my cell phone.

  “I need a favor from Leanne,” I told Ghost.

  “What kind of favor?” He asked.

  Then I told him my plan. In the end he just chuckled. “Guess we all should have seen this coming. You do realize she ain’t exactly in a position to make anything official yet, right?”

  “She will be though, and until she is, I want every fucker out there to know she’s taken. More importantly, I want her to know that she is.”

  “Don’t worry, we’ll make it happen, brother. Any updates yet?”

  “No changes. She’s still in and out of it from what I’ve seen since I’ve been here.”

  “Was Snake there?”

  “Still is, just went for some coffee.”

  “That going okay?”

  I sighed. “I’m sure it isn’t easy for him, but he understands the score anyway.”

  “Good, been worried about that one. He went above Sweet, asked for a transfer after she got here. I told him to give her a year, because there was no way she’d be receptive to him, since he was Walker’s best friend there. I knew it would take a little time to put the worst of her memories behind her.” It was Ghost’s turn to sigh. “Some things were never meant to be. I figure, if it had been meant to be, years wouldn’t have been wasted with him watching his buddy fuck her over.”

  “Can’t say I’m sad about it,” I told him and Ghost laughed.

  “No, I guess you aren’t. You take care of that girl, you hear me? She’s a special one. They don’t come around all that often, not for men like us.”

  “Seems you got lucky twice.”

  “Yeah, I did, because I’m an incredibly lucky fucker. Don’t think you’re gonna be me though, so you better hang on tight to what you got and never forget how precious it is.” With that, he hung up.

  “I know exactly what I’ve got, don’t I, honey?” I asked my still sleeping Poppy. Sitting here with her looking so fucking small and exhausted took something from me. I never wanted to see my woman looking so helpless again. If I could help it, I would make sure nothing like this ever happened again. I should have been home with her. Hell, I should have at least left someone there with her. Something.

  “No time for regrets,” a familiar voice called out from the door before he came closer and offered me a cup of coffee I had declined earlier.

  “Not regrets so much as learning lessons. She won’t be left on her own from now on if I have to leave on club business.”

  Snake chuckled. “If you think Poppy will take well to having a babysitter, then you haven’t really gotten to know her well at all.”

  “I know she wouldn’t want a fuckin’ babysitter. That doesn’t mean some old ladies won’t stop by and keep her company, help out with getting her business off the ground up here, and whatever else she might need, especially since she’s pregnant and has my nephew to care for when I’m not around. It’s a lot to take on for one person without help.”

  “Well, might not want to let on that the old ladies are following your orders to stop in then.”

  I turned narrowed eyes on him. “Unlike in that shithole, backwoods town you live in, the women here love Poppy. I wouldn’t have to order them to do shit.”

  To my surprise, Snake nodded his head. “Good. I hated it for her that she felt so abandoned by everyone when everything went down.” He sighed. “Of course, I knew then that she’d never stick around. She’s not one to suffer fake people in her life once she realizes they haven’t been genuine.”

  “That why you asked to transfer? You knew she’d never come back there?”

  “She’s the reason. The only reason.”

  “I want to feel bad for you, but I don’t.” The admission rolled off my tongue before I could pull it back. Snake just laughed.

  “Don’t pity me, asshole. I’m the king of bad fucking timing, or luck, or whatever the fuck. Still, I wouldn’t trade her friendship for anything. She’s one of the most decent people I’ve ever met in this life. If it couldn’t be me, looks like she didn’t do too bad with you.”

  I wanted to punch him in the face on some level, but I also knew exactly where he was coming from. Before anything more could be said, the door to the room opened and Ghost, Leanne and Brantley came in. Brant looked almost scared as he scanned the room until his eyes landed on me.

  “Hey little man,” I called out softly, and he came barreling for me. I snatched him up into the air and then pulled him close for a hug.

  “Is Popwee otay?”

  “She’s just resting, buddy. Poppy was pretty sick.”

  He stuck his bottom lip out. “She needed hews mommy to gets hew betta?”

  “Poppy’s mommy is heaven with yours, little man. She just needed to see the doctor for some medicine to help get her better. She’s going to be fine okay?”

  “Otay.” I turned to look back at the woman in question, who appeared to be sleeping peacefully now. Brant tugged on my shirt. “I wuv Popwee,” he whispered against my chest.

  “Me too, little man. Me too.”

  At that moment, I was a bit surprised by the person who came through the door. He cleared his throat before walking over to where I sat next to Poppy with Brant on my lap. He bent down beside me, talking low as he did. “I came to see if you needed any help. I didn’t realize Poppy was sick or that she was the one taking care of Brant all this time,” he told me, though there was no accusation in his tone.

  “Someone had to do it, and I work too,” I explained.

  Kent shook his head. “No, I know that. I just took for granted that the same people I was blaming for our sister’s death would step up and care for little man there when I wasn’t doing it myself.” He offered a humorless chuckle as he said the words. “I’m sorry, Smoke. I know how much they all loved her and Bender. It wasn’t fair to put that on everyone.”

  “No, it wasn’t,” I confirmed. “But they all understood anyway,” I told him as I tilted my head in Poppy’s direction. “Especially her.”

  “She’s a keeper,” he told me.

  “I know it.”

  “Would you mind if I took Brant and spent some time with him today? Maybe we could hang out at your apartment?” Kent asked me.

  “How about I give you the keys to Poppy’s place and you take him there and check in on Bubba for us too?”

  “You got it. Smoke, I really am sorry,” he offered.

  “No need, little brother. I understand too. It’s okay.”

  “It’s not okay, but I will make it up to you.”

  Kent had only been gone a few minutes after leaving with Brantley, when Leanne approached me. “Here’s what you asked for. I got Surfer to find it in your apartment rather than going there myself,” Leanne e
xplained as she put the little white box in my hand. “How long have you had it?”

  I smirked at her, because I knew she was wondering when I’d possibly had a chance to go get an engagement ring for Poppy. “I’ve had it for a while now,” I told her, and it was true. The ring had come to me when my mother died. It had belonged to her mother. My grandparents had died together when I was little, but my mom used to always tell me the story of their love. She said it was a thing of beauty, something meant to last beyond this lifetime and right into the next. Before she died, she put this box in my hands and told me that the woman who would wear it one day would make it obvious immediately that she was meant for it. Julie never had. I knew she would never wear it. The first time I went home after meeting Poppy, I went in search of the ring.

  I opened the box, knowing that the room had filled up with more people who had come to wish Poppy well, but not caring that they were all there. I took the ring out of the box and glanced down at it. I’d asked my mother once why the ring had never come to her, and she told me she had a shot at the kind of happiness that ring symbolized, and she gave it up for the wrong man – my father. She told me she’d never regret her choice because it left her with her three loves, but that the ring was never meant for her.

  I took Poppy’s hand and slid it on her finger. “You were meant to be mine, Poppy. I knew it from the minute we first met. Everything I’d ever questioned in this life just suddenly clicked into place when I looked into your beautiful green eyes, honey. There was no going back after that. Not for me, and not for you either, because I know you felt it too. I’m not some dumb boy. I’m claiming what’s mine, and I’ll be there to take care of you and all of our children from now until we no longer walk this earth. I’ll be there in the next life too, waiting for you to find me. That’s how sure I am.”

  I took the other thing that Leanne had brought for me. My acoustic guitar, a Fender Dreadnought, and started playing one of her favorite songs. I figured if my sort of demanding proposal didn’t wake her, maybe a little music would. I played quietly for a few minutes before the spell was broken. Someone must have accidentally hit the remote control because the television in the room suddenly turned on blaringly loud. “No,” I heard Poppy mumble.