“What’s going on?” Grammie asked, eager to be in on the drama.
“There’s a whole to-do,” Poppy said. “Daddy won’t let us help with Holden, but he’s in there shouting at the guy.”
“About time someone did,” Grammie said, still in the doorway. “Should I go and shout at him too?”
“No!” all three sisters said at the same time.
“Daddy wants to handle this,” Poppy said. “Tiller is in there…” She looked to her sisters. “Isn’t he?”
“Yes,” Primrose said. “Him and Preston too.”
“And Turner,” Grammie said, relenting and leaving the doorway to come their way. “I don’t think he’d miss out on all the fun.”
“No, but we have to,” Poppy said, sort of aggrieved to be on the wrong side of the drawing room door.
Grammie sat at the desk that stood in front of the window, turning the padded captain’s chair to face her granddaughters. “Your father isn’t an affectionate man. That comes from my father’s influence on him after Will died,” she said, sitting back. “But your father loves you girls. What Abernathy has done is inexcusable.”
“You told her,” Violet whined.
“You don’t have to worry about my judgement,” Grammie said, leaning in to take Violet’s hand. “I did much worse for love in my day.”
Though it took a few seconds, Violet relaxed and tightened her own fingers around Grammie’s. “I don’t think Trey really loves me.”
“How could he not?” Grammie asked. “You’re beautiful and dynamic. I’ve watched you bewitch your male contemporaries since before you could walk… Trey Hanover has been in love with you since you were thirteen years old.”
Violet wasn’t the only one surprised by that revelation.
“Why do you say that?” Poppy asked, the first to snap out of the shock, probably because she was most used to Grammie’s antics.
Grammie laughed. “The way he followed her around and hung on her every word.” Her eyes sparkled when they landed on Poppy. “One person in love recognizes another. He was enchanted by her.”
“So Holden has been using Trey’s feelings for Violet to control their negotiations,” Poppy said, realizing that in their discussion earlier, Grammie wasn’t so much speculating as advising her. “Do you think Daddy knows that?”
For a second, Grammie pondered the question. “I think I told him.”
Poppy couldn’t believe it. “When did you…”
“I am still his mother,” Grammie said, complete with demure confidence. “It doesn’t matter how old they get, your children sometimes need guidance.”
“You told him,” Violet whispered. “Before I told him.”
Another smile curled Grammie’s lips. “Men often need time to process. Their first reaction isn’t always the most restrained. Yes, I told him, and told him to do nothing about it until he heard the words from you. He’s a smart man, your father, and he loves you three like his own father loved him. Nothing is more important than family, than the people you love.” She looked at each of the three girls in turn. “That’s something that your grandfather and I are relying on the three of you to perpetuate with your own children.”
“Please don’t talk about dying again, Grammie,” Primrose whined.
“I know your mother believes I lost my marbles long ago and maybe I did, but the only way I can honor the man I love is by making sure the three of you find a love as true. Poppy, you’re taken care of. Primrose, you may be as well, we’ll have to wait and see on that one.” Primrose’s eyes flared when Grammie winked at her. “But Violet you have always been resistant, waiting to get hurt, waiting to be disappointed. You hold your walls up high because you’ve always believed you had to be strong, that you had to show your parents you could be as majestic as them. Stop waiting for perfection, my dear, it doesn’t exist. Flaws are what make a man, and a relationship, interesting.”
“Grammie…” Violet said, though she didn’t follow it up.
“Just ask Poppy,” Grammie declared, startling her. “The man she loved let her get a thousand miles away before waking up to their love… Trey has lost you so many times that he probably doubts you’ll ever love him… It took Turner two weeks to claim what was his, it’s taken you much longer than Poppy to admit your feelings to the man you love. Trey is your soft spot and always has been. It’s no surprise that you were drawn to him during your engagement. You feared losing him. That marrying Holden would put a final period at the end of your great love affair.”
“So she sabotaged it,” Primrose said, catching on. “Oh my God, Violet, you went with Trey because your subconscious knew you were supposed to be with him.” She yelped in excitement and hugged Violet’s shoulders. “You’re in love with Trey!”
“Okay, maybe don’t shout that,” Poppy whispered.
The glee on Grammie’s face wasn’t worried about anyone’s exuberance. Primrose was overjoyed, probably the most excited. Violet was sort of blank, no doubt in shock and wondering if Grammie could be right.
“I am so pleased I don’t have to deal with this kind of thing anymore,” Poppy murmured.
Finding Turner was more of a blessing every minute. Love and relationships were a real labyrinth. Finding her way through wasn’t always simple, but at least she didn’t have to worry about identifying the man she was supposed to navigate the twists and turns with.
TWENTY-FOUR
Everyone heard the drawing room door opening at the same time. All of the Granger women, the sisters and Grammie, turned in the direction of the sound.
Holden was the first to appear in the darkened hallway. He paused, noting the posse of women at the head of the library. Tension permeated the air. Each were poised to fight or defend, whatever the moment might call for.
“Keep walking, Abernathy.”
That deep warning came from a man Poppy couldn’t see. Still, she identified its owner in a heartbeat.
Rising from the window seat, her lips curled. “Listen to him, Holden,” Poppy said. “Unless you want him to give you a lesson on what it really is to truly love me.”
Holden’s lips thinned in a clear sign of him restraining his rage. He didn’t like to lose, not in business and not in life either it seemed. Sucking in a breath that expanded his chest, he marched on and out of sight.
No one else came into view, not until they heard the gallery door closing, indicating that Holden was gone. Her sisters started forward at that point, but were stalled in their tracks when the men came into the library to join them.
Primrose was the one to break the silence. “What happened?”
“He won’t be bothering us again,” Tiller said.
“From now on, no man will be given permission to marry my daughters without strict screening,” Clark Granger said. “We will not go through this again.” His patience was no doubt stretched, though it was some consolation that he wasn’t exuding fiery anger. “Will Trey Hanover be darkening my door with that request?”
Obviously that was a question for Violet. The eldest Granger took her time about opening her mouth. “I… I don’t know, Daddy. I… maybe.”
“Maybe?” he asked with a note of surprise. “No more accepting marriage proposals from men who are maybes. You shouldn’t even think of discussing marriage with them until they are more to you than a maybe. Mother, did you teach them nothing?”
“Lessons are ongoing,” Grammie said, containing her amusement, though not very well. “We’ll do better next time.” Marigold rose from the desk. “Now are we going to eat as a family or just stay in here and rehash the past?”
It didn’t take Grammie long to move on. Holden was in their rearview and could stay there. The future was a much more optimistic view.
When Grammie reached Violet and Primrose, the sisters began to walk with her. The men waited for them to exit and then went after them. All except Turner, who paused when he noticed she was still in the window.
Rather than head for the din
ing room, she sat back down in the window seat.
“Candy-Cane?”
Hearing that they were free was great, what it meant would take longer to sink in. “You can go and eat.”
“Yeah, right,” he said, wandering toward the window. “I’ll go eat when you’re ready. What’s going on?”
Standing in front of her, Turner loomed over her in a way that was reminiscent of the first time she’d offered him wine in her bedroom. “I love you.”
Swinging around to sit at her side, he slid a hand to her inner thigh, pulling her toward him. “I love you too. Abernathy will withdraw the bounty. Once he has, Tiller and Preston will figure out a statement to release to the press. Something about wishing each other well but it will be clear that there’s no relationship.” She nodded. As her gaze descended, he tightened his grip to give her leg a shake. “Having second thoughts about what we talked about now we can have a future?”
“No,” she said, eager to reassure him. “I guess I’m just… I’m relieved, but I’m tired. You know?” Poppy coiled her arms around his. “You can go back home now, give Ritchie a break. Preston will have to get back to work too.”
“Yeah. Doubt Pres will be in a hurry to leave. Him and Primrose are just getting started.”
“We’ve never been together at home. You and me.” Resting her head against his arm, she enjoyed the caress of his fingers as they stroked her thigh. “Home…”
The Venture had been her happy place. So many joyous things had happened to her there. It was where Turner and she had their courtship. It was where they met.
“The Venture is your home. Or wherever else you want. If you want to start over somewhere new, we can. Do you want to look at new buildings?”
“You love working on the apartments at the Venture,” she said. His passion was obvious and it was probably added to by the memories of learning his skills with his father and grandfather. “We could get another. Something that needs your love and attention.”
“Go into business with Ritch, like you said.”
“Yes,” she agreed, sitting up straight to look at him. “I want you to follow your dreams, to have everything that you want, but…”
Swallowing her trepidation didn’t erase it. Something had been on Poppy’s mind since their discussion in the music room. With everything that had happened since then, there just hadn’t been time to give it voice.
His frown was severe, yet tender, she didn’t know how he did that. “But? Talk to me, babe. Remember we figure this stuff out together.”
“I don’t want to be a single parent,” she said, finding her courage. “I do want to have children, you know that. But I don’t want you to agree just because it’s what I want. If it’s not something you want to commit to, I’d rather you be honest and we talk about it some more. I’ve seen the way you are with Emmie, and Noah, and the baby. You’re amazing with them. Incredible. But having children of our own will be different. I want them to know you and expect you and to have you in their life. I feel awful piling more onto you and, of course, this isn’t something that has to happen now but—”
“You want me to be involved,” he murmured. “In the raising of my children.”
His tone didn’t reveal much about his thoughts. “Yes. And even if something happens to us, if we don’t make it for whatever reason, I don’t want you to give up on them just because you can’t stand living with me.” She sighed. “I don’t know, First. I have so much hope for us, for the future, and then something happens and I’ll see that life isn’t always what we want it to be. Just because I love you and want us to have this incredible life together doesn’t mean we will… We don’t communicate as much as we should—”
“We’ve had a lot to deal with,” Turner said. “Things are slowing down now. It’s our time. We’ll figure all of this out. And I never agreed to having kids just because it’s all I can give you. I want it too.”
“You do?” she asked, hoping he meant it. “And how do you feel about being there at breakfast time, doing the school run? Eating dinner with us? Bath time? Bedtime stories?”
“Babe,” he said, his lips curling as he cradled her face in both hands. “That’s what having children means. It means raising them and teaching them, guiding them, caring for them. Whether we have one building or two, there is always the chance I’ll be called out to deal with something, but I’d never put business before our children.”
Feeling better, Poppy relaxed. “I guess it doesn’t matter anyway. My dad’s embargoed anyone proposing marriage to his daughters in the future.”
“Then it’s a good thing I got in before that embargo.”
Her confusion only lasted a few seconds. When Turner descended onto his knee in front of her, gathering her hands into his on her lap, she figured out what he meant.
“Oh my God,” she whispered as he took something from his pocket.
Poppy couldn’t believe it when he produced her grandmother’s engagement ring. It was so sparkly that it could’ve been brand new.
“Will you make me the happiest man alive, Poppy Felicia Granger?”
“Oh my God,” she whispered again as tears warmed her eyes.
“Marry me, Candy-Cane?”
How could it be that something she’d almost lost was returning with such ferocious passion? Her heart wanted to burst.
“My First,” Poppy whispered, sliding a hand onto his face.
“Let me be your last.”
Nodding, she couldn’t speak for fear she’d sob. The happiness was difficult to contain. It came spilling out with the tears that fell from her lashes.
“Yes,” she gasped when he didn’t put the ring on her finger. “God, yes! First!”
Thrusting her hand at him, she wanted to scream when he slid the ring onto her finger. Instead, Poppy threw her arms around him and bounced from the window seat, using her momentum to push him onto the floor behind the desk.
On top of him, Poppy didn’t give him a choice about kissing her. She pushed her mouth onto his and squeezed her tongue between his lips, desperate to pour her gratitude into him. The rhythm of their kiss quickly sped up. All she wanted was to be with him. Everything else in the world would come second to them. Poppy didn’t need a ring to know that she was the center of his world, he’d proved that in his actions.
Turner fought for her. He didn’t give up. He stayed, knowing how much she needed him and how their lives would only be complete with each other at their center. His hands curled around her hips, pushing her pelvis down to his, using her body to further stimulate his that was already hungry for hers.
Dinner was the last thing on either of their minds. But when she broke their kiss to meet his eye as she loosened his jeans, Poppy could tell he hadn’t expected them to satisfy their cravings there and then.
“Do you love me?” she whispered on his mouth before sliding lower to impale her body on his beneath her skirt.
“God, yes,” he panted, grinding out the words from behind his clenched teeth. “You’re fucking amazing.”
“Or maybe I’m just fucking,” she said, hiding her words in a quiet laugh.
Moving as fast as she could while trying to control her breathing wasn’t easy. They had to be quiet. The desk was their only shield from the open doorway at the other side of the room. Yes, they were at the opposite end of the house from the dining room where their families were, but that didn’t mean no one would come looking for them or that the staff wouldn’t wander by.
At least being in control of their pace meant that she could concentrate rather than just handing herself over to the moment, which was when she tended to make the most amount of noise. Either her love wanted to increase her struggle or he was close to the cusp himself because he took her into his arms and rolled them over, so he could control their union.
“Baby,” she whispered, grabbing for his ribs. Her body moved to his and away, matching his tempo, breathing through her need. “Oh, God.”
Squeezing
her eyes closed, Poppy sealed her lips, desperate not to draw attention to what they were doing. The orgasm hit her hard at the same time something thumped the floor. She didn’t even realize it was the side of her own fist pounding at the floor beneath them until she opened her eyes to witness Turner’s climax. It was as he began to descend that the dull ache in the side of her hand betrayed what she’d done.
Poppy didn’t care about noise or who might have walked by. For those seconds, lying beneath him, her world was perfect. As he adored her, she stroked his face and caught sight of the ring on her finger. They were engaged. It was real. He’d proposed and she’d said yes.
“Babe?” Turner asked, curling his fingers around hers to kiss the heel of her hand. “What’s in your head?”
“I’m happy,” she said, another tear trickling from her eye, though it went horizontal across her cheekbone. “For a second there, we almost missed this. We almost lost each other.”
“It won’t happen again,” he said, kissing her palm. “We know what we have, how rare it is.”
“Yes,” she said, meeting his eye as she smiled. “I am so grateful for you. Thank you.”
He put her hand on the floor and ducked to kiss her lips. “You’re welcome… You think we can skip dinner and just raid the kitchen later.”
“Are you kidding?” she asked, pushing him away so they could begin fixing their clothes. “We have to tell everyone the news.” She showed him her hand. “I’m engaged, you know.”
On a laugh, he just helped her to her feet. The families, both families, needed some good news. It was time to celebrate and put the stress in the past.
TWENTY-FIVE
Poppy was with her sisters, both Maddox and Granger, on the music room deck. They’d got all the way to Saturday without any hiccups. Violet was winding down from everyone learning about her affair. The press had packed up and left the gate on Thursday after Holden withdrew the bounty and stopped feeding them information intended to tantalize. The family statement went out on Friday and after a slew of calls, dealt with by Tiller and Preston, all seemed to have gone quiet.
Found (Lost & Found Book 2) Page 21
