Tired and drained by the drama, she sighed. “I wish we were at the Venture right now,” she whispered.
“I can grant that wish,” Turner said, drawing her focus. “If it’s what you want.”
Crawling over to him, she lay on the grass, resting her head on his lap. “I just want him to leave us alone. I don’t want any of this mess.”
“If he hadn’t hurt your sister and trashed the wedding, you would never have met Charley,” he said, his fingers combing through her hair over and over. “You’d never have come to the Venture and we’d never have met.”
“You’re grateful to the guy,” Preston said like he couldn’t quite believe it. Poppy was glad she wasn’t the only incredulous one. “She’d never have left you either. It was his bounty that brought Poppy back here.”
“I only got my head out my ass because she left,” Turner said. “No, I’m not grateful to the guy, I want ten minutes alone in a room with him to show him how I really feel, but I don’t like to see Poppy upset.”
No, he didn’t, as he’d proved more than once. Finding his hand, she scooped it up and nestled it against her chest. “No amount of money can replace love,” she said, sure that went without saying. “He doubts how you feel about me. He thinks it’s false. That it’s all about the money.”
Turner looked down at her, his fingers still stroking through her hair. “I don’t care what he thinks. Did you think for a second I’d take the offer? That I’d let money replace you?” She shook her heavy head. “No. That’s all that matters to me, baby. You and me and this.”
It was a wonder that he could be so calm. Poppy knew it couldn’t be easy to let Holden’s insult roll off. Turner was doing it, being calm, for her. Because if he got angry or upset, that would only increase the pressure. Every minute he surprised her; she got luckier and luckier.
FIFTEEN
After their picnic lunch, Poppy and Preston walked Turner back to work and then returned to the house.
“Where have you been?” Zoey said, pouncing out from the shadow of the stairs the moment Poppy and Preston entered from the rear terrace.
“She’s been sucking face with your brother,” Preston said.
Her mouth dropped open. “We were not sucking face!”
“What else would you call it?” Preston asked, sauntering away backwards. “Just like a couple of teenagers.”
“Zoey is a teenager, maybe you should rethink your insults.”
He just laughed. “I’ll find you if I get anything else.”
Poppy nodded and waited for him to disappear before turning to Zoey. The obvious anxiety shimmering around her spiked Poppy’s concern.
“What’s wrong, honey?” she asked, guiding Zoey around to seat them both on the stairs. “What happened?”
Guilt for lingering with Turner and then joking with Preston swamped her. Poppy pulled Zoey into a hug. The girl wasn’t the type to advertise her feelings without cause, so the fact that her distress was so apparent alarmed Poppy.
“I think I’m going to do it,” Zoey whispered into Poppy’s hair.
Drawing back from the embrace, she searched the teen’s expression. Yes, there was definite anxiety there, but she glimpsed determination too. Just witnessing that certainty lit something in Poppy as well.
“I think that’s a great idea,” Poppy said, sliding closer. “Do you have a plan?”
“No, that’s why I needed you,” Zoey said, glancing up and around, probably to check they weren’t being spied on. “I have to do it one day, eventually. Maybe I’ll put it off for years, but it will still have to happen someday, right?”
“You can’t change who you are,” Poppy said. “So, yes, I think you will have to tell them eventually.”
“If I wait years, Casey might have moved on by then. It’s like you said about Turner, if he hadn’t come here for you, then you wouldn’t be together, would you? He took that risk. If he hadn’t, wouldn’t some part of you have always wondered what might have happened if you got together?”
Smiling, Poppy nodded. “Yes.”
“I don’t want to wonder. I don’t want to be unhappy. Being with Casey makes me happy. She’s going through so much right now, and it’s all because she told the truth. I want to be with her, to support her. Like Turner’s supporting you with the Holden stuff.”
Cupping one side of the teen’s face, Poppy leaned in. “I am so proud of you, honey.”
“Okay,” Zoey said, bouncing in her seat, no doubt fired up by adrenaline. “So how do we do it? When do I do it? I have to do it today, now.”
“Turner won’t be home until about an hour before dinner. But you could tell your mom and sisters first, if you want.”
Zoey shook her head. “I don’t want it to be like he was left out the loop. Telling him and Mom is the most important… Do you think I should tell them alone or all together?”
“That’s your decision.”
It was difficult. Poppy wanted to support Zoey in her choices, but she didn’t want to lead the youngster down any paths that could make her uncomfortable. Being relaxed would help her confidence, which would make getting the words out easier.
“Faye will be distracted if the kids are there and they might ask like a zillion questions,” Zoey said, squeezing her fingertip as she figured it out. “Maybe I should just tell Mom and Turner by themselves… but I don’t want to have to say it over and over.”
“Stephanie can sit with the kids. Before or after dinner. You can tell your mom and siblings all together.”
She scrunched her face. “You think I should tell the twins with everyone?”
“Again, your choice,” Poppy said, trying her best to ensure Zoey knew she was in control. “But you were their age not so long ago. Do you think you could’ve handled news like this? Did you like it when everyone else seemed to know things and you were left out?”
Advocating for all of the sisters at the same time wasn’t easy. The twins had told her how they felt left out at times. Even Charley had commented on Turner’s bond with their mom and oldest sister. Still, whatever Zoey decided, she’d support her.
Giving her a chance to think, Poppy didn’t say anything. It only took a minute for Zoey’s head to begin to nod slowly.
“We’ll tell them all together. Before dinner… No, after… before… Yes, before,” Zoey said, grabbing for Poppy’s hands. “If we do it before, they have time to process through the meal, right? If I do it after, we could be there all night.”
“Smart,” Poppy said.
Telling them before would give them a time limit, an exit strategy. Zoey could give them the news and then dinner would be announced, which would force an end to the conversation. They’d have dinner to absorb the news and Zoey would have some time to breathe.
The teen groaned. “Oh, but what if they’re mad and then we’re at dinner and they’re shouting at me in front of your family. It would be so embarrassing.” Her face fell to her hands. “This is a nightmare.”
“No, it’s not,” Poppy said, stroking her hair. “I’m so proud of you, honey. So proud.” Zoey peeked up at her, she hunkered lower. “And no one will shout at you. Your mom wouldn’t let them.”
“She never shouts at Turner.”
Widening her smile, Poppy tipped the teen’s chin higher. “If it’s needed, I’ll do the honors, but I promise you, it won’t be needed.”
Sucking in a fortifying breath, Zoey sat up straight, pushing her shoulders back. “Okay, we’re going to do this.”
“Yes, we are,” Poppy said, taking her hand to guide her onto her feet. “I’ll make sure the drawing room is cleared out and we’ll round everyone up once Turner’s home and ready for dinner.”
He liked to shower and change before joining everyone in the evening. Giving him the chance to freshen up would be better than rushing him into the conversation the moment he walked through the door. If there were any negative reactions or questions, he’d want to be around to support Zoey rather than rush
ing off to get in the shower.
“You’re really good at this,” Zoey said as they started up the stairs. “I’d be totally lost if I didn’t have you.”
“Aww, honey, thank you,” Poppy said, wondering why it wasn’t so easy with her own sisters. “I’m here for whatever you need.”
They got to the top and Zoey hugged her again before hurrying along the corridor in the direction of her bedroom. Sounds carried from the nearby suite that Faye was sharing with the kids. The murmur of adult voices in the background seemed to only belong to Faye and Valerie. The twins were probably entertaining themselves just as her own sisters would be. Grammie was capable of looking after herself too, but Poppy would check on her in a while.
Turning her attention the other way, she had two options, Turner’s room or Charley’s.
She and Violet had never been particularly close, which could be why giving her space wasn’t doing much to mend the rift between them. With Charley it was different. Poppy had been close to Charley. They’d shared an apartment and a workplace, socialized together, bonded. At least, she thought so.
Giving Charley space wouldn’t do anything to heal their relationship. After encouraging Zoey to do what was difficult, Poppy decided she had to do the same. With everything that was going on, she wanted her friend’s support. If she didn’t have it, then there would always be a strain on her relationship with Turner too. She had to fix it for her sake and for the sake of their family.
Heading down the hall, she knocked on the bedroom door opposite Turner’s. Rather than wait outside what could be an empty room, she opened the door a couple of inches to peek inside. Charley was lying on the bed on her stomach, swiping at a propped up tablet.
“I’m not interested in the—”
Charley stopped talking when she looked up. Whoever she thought was interrupting her, it obviously wasn’t Poppy.
“Can we talk?” Poppy asked.
Sitting up, Charley crossed her legs beneath her. “Who’s with you?”
“It’s just me,” Poppy said, pushing the door open a little more to show that there was no one else around. “You can kick me out any time, I just want a chance to figure this out…” Charley was hesitant, though at least she wasn’t sniping anymore. “I want to be friends again, Charley. We need each other.”
“If you’re coming in, just come in. It’s your house, you can do whatever you want.”
The invitation was a great sign of progress. Still, fearing the offer may only exist for a limited time, Poppy went inside and closed the door before her friend could change her mind. Charley shifted on the bed, picked up the tablet to toss it on the nightstand, then propped her butt on a pillow.
“I miss you,” Poppy said. “I want to fix this.”
As long as Charley believed David’s version of events, there may not be a chance of that.
“I’ve never been on the outside of my own family looking in before,” Charley said, calmer than she’d been since her arrival.
“You’re not on the outside.”
Her friend just blinked. “Mom adores you. Faye forgave Turner in a heartbeat and…” She sighed. “I don’t think it’s a mystery whose side my brother is on.”
“Does it have to be about sides?” Poppy asked, approaching the bed. “I never meant to hurt you.”
“You were sleeping with my brother and didn’t tell me. Was it really going on the whole time?”
Pointing at the corner of the bed, Poppy asked for permission to sit, which Charley granted with a shrug. They’d slept in the same bed before without ever thinking twice about it; Poppy really wanted to get back there.
“I knew from the minute I met him that I was attracted to him… I tried to kiss him and he walked away, I… it was mortifying.” When Poppy smiled, Charley appeared to relax. It seemed only right, now that the truth was out, to be completely honest. “We both knew there was something between us. I didn’t know about his rules, not exactly. It took time for… I don’t know, it just happened. We were lying there and he was touching me… It was just… right.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
She shrugged. “That first week after I met him, you weren’t at work. In that same week, Turner let me know it wouldn’t happen.”
“But you pursued him?”
Explanations weren’t that straight forward. “I think we pursued each other. Though it wasn’t devious or dogged. Whatever chemistry was between us, it didn’t go anywhere, no matter how much we tried to wish it away… I saw how stressed out he was, how busy he was, and I just wanted to be a pressure release valve for him… It wasn’t supposed to be a relationship. It was just sex.” After telling herself to be honest, that truth sounded like a lie even in her own head. “No, we told ourselves it was just sex… I knew I loved him. I probably knew it all along. But he was so busy and we didn’t talk about it, so I just assumed he didn’t feel the same way, that he couldn’t feel that way about me. So I kept my feelings to myself.”
“You could’ve told me.”
She nodded. “Maybe. But I didn’t want to play games. I couldn’t tell Turner we were just sex with no strings and then go around telling his family we were intimate and I wanted more.”
“You know he always expects to know everything that’s going on in all of our lives, but he’s so private. He never tells us anything.”
“I’m sorry if we hurt you,” Poppy said. “I hated that I had to just leave you as well. Primrose showed up at our apartment the night before I left, while you were in bed. That’s why I was sleeping on the couch in the morning. You were out when the news about the bounty hit and I wanted to save you from the fallout. I thought leaving would save you… When I saw that the press were crowded outside the Venture, I asked Tiller to send security, to protect you. I was so proud when you released that statement.”
“That was all Turner, he called Preston. My head was spinning. I didn’t know what to think… That was before David told me about the two of you.”
Calmer Charley did come across as more reasonable, but there was still something suspicious in her probing stare.
“Nothing ever happened between the two of us,” Poppy said. “I promise. You have to know that’s true. I hadn’t even noticed David until that night at Naughtie’s when I found out you felt something for him. By then, I was already in deep with my feelings for Turner. I wasn’t interested in being with anyone.”
“You were sleeping with Turner then?”
Poppy shook her head. “It was that weekend, but no, not by then. But he was all I thought about. I don’t think I even admitted to myself just how much I wanted him. It was complicated and confusing, for both of us, I think. Just keeping up with what we felt for each other was exhausting enough, I wouldn’t have had time to be with another man. And do you really think that Turner would be okay with that? That he’d have come all this way and confessed his feelings if I’d been with David Leicester?”
“You always said I deserved better than David.”
“You do,” Poppy said. “Your brother has shown me what real love is and how a man is when he feels it. Once Turner knew it, that we had the potential for a future, nothing got in his way. That’s what you deserve Charley.”
“I can’t just…” She bit her lip, restraining the quiver of emotion that bled into her words. “I can’t just turn off my feelings.”
“I know that, honey,” Poppy said, sliding a little further up the bed.
“But he’s been weird with me, I don’t understand. He wanted to come here, I thought it was to be with me, but… Faye’s dead against it, she says he’s using me. Just what you said. Turner doesn’t like him either.”
Understanding, Poppy nodded. “Which is why you feel like you’re on the outside looking in.”
“All of you agree on, like, everything,” Charley said, throwing up her hands. “Everyone’s all happy about this, about Turner and Poppy like the two of you didn’t deceive us all.”
Though there
was emotion in her friend’s voice, it didn’t feel like anger. “We didn’t do it out of malice. We needed to get to this place, together, both of us, before we could think about being open with the family.”
“He knew about everything and I knew nothing.”
“You know what Turner’s like. Yes, he’s your brother and he probably pisses you off all the time, but you know how safe he is. How even when everything is going wrong, you can still always rely on him to be there.” The honest vulnerability shining from Charley revealed that she understood. “He didn’t want to love me because he wanted to only belong to his family. It took him time to accept that I might be his family too… If you can’t accept that, if you really don’t want us to be together, I’ll walk away, Charley. I won’t take him from you. I promise. Hurting your family is the last thing I want.”
Charley’s attention sank to the bed. “I think I’m the one hurting them.”
“You can’t turn your feelings off,” Poppy said, reinforcing what Charley had already stated. “You’re not on the outside and you’re entitled to be hurt. We were friends. I hope that we still are.”
“I just… I don’t understand why David would say you were together if you weren’t. Everyone in my family believes you. I can’t choose a man over my entire family.”
The logic was completely Charley to a tee. Even if she wanted David to want her, if her feelings were still there, she could also step back and see that her family’s love for her wasn’t maliciously destructive all of a sudden. No one was out to get between her and David just for kicks.
Still, Poppy knew what it felt like to care about someone she shouldn’t.
“All of us are flawed,” Poppy said. “Whatever David’s motive for lying, it doesn’t mean he’s evil.”
While her opinion of David was low and she was angered that he’d fabricate stories of them being intimate to get time in front of a camera, Poppy recognized Charley’s melancholy. Her friend didn’t need anyone pouring salt into her wounds of confusion.
Found (Lost & Found Book 2) Page 14
