Releasing a frustrated breath, he ran a hand through his hair. “This is new to me, Popkat. I’m not hiding anything from you, we just… we haven’t found our groove yet.”
Which, she guessed, was something to do with them not being home.
“If my parents come back with a positive report tonight, when do you want to go home?”
“I’ve spoken to Aitken. He tried to get me to stay on, but laughed at the idea more money might encourage me. I don’t like shirking my responsibilities.” But he had responsibilities in more than one state. “We agreed on a week’s notice.”
“Okay,” she said because that seemed reasonable. “I’m going home this week.” His head jolted back in surprise, so she explained. “Charley keeps telling me that she has to get back to work. I’m not sure how much of that is truth and how much is her desire to get back to David. But I don’t want her going back alone. Primrose has it in her head that she wants to come back with us as well, so I’ll need to figure out how that’s going to work.”
“You’re going home,” he stated. “To the Venture.”
“You said it was my home too… Didn’t you mean that?”
“You know I did.”
“So I go home to our bed and you finish here with Aitken. You don’t have to go near the main house if you don’t want to. You have everything you need here. I can have Mrs. Caswell bring your meals if you don’t want to deal with your in-laws.”
“You taking my sisters with you?”
“Charley will come, yes. I doubt Zoey will because she can be with Casey here. They can stay as long as they like. Grammie loves having life around the house.”
“You don’t think that will cause problems with Casey’s parents?” Turner asked.
Her shoulders went back. “I’m not going to be the one to tell a couple in love that they can’t be together. How would you feel if someone wanted to keep us apart? If we were only safe here, wouldn’t you stay here with me?”
“Baby, I was ready to move in and start a new life here,” he said, stabbing at some more of his food. “But we’re getting married.”
“So we’re really in love and they’re not?”
“Do you remember the guy you were with when you were seventeen?”
High school seemed like a lifetime ago. Poppy squinted as she did her best to conjure the memory. “Sort of.”
“There. See. At seventeen, you think it’s forever, but it rarely is. Faye tried sticking with the one she loved at that age, look how that worked out.”
Faye had said the same thing. She sighed. “I still don’t think it’s right that Casey’s family want to change who she is.”
“You’re right and I won’t do the same. If they want to stay here, I don’t have a problem with it. My mom might and your folks might, especially if Casey’s parents have to storm the place like I did to get their kid back.”
“We’re not holding her prisoner.”
“No, but if Zoey was locked up behind stone walls with strangers, I’d be knocking them down to get to her. I’d want to see with my own eyes that she really was safe.”
Poppy rested her elbows on the table as her fists caught her cheeks. He was there, stabbing at his salad and gobbling it down, unaware of how he was turning her insides to soup.
“You were right,” she murmured. “Having our bed ten feet away was a good idea.”
His slow blink revealed that he knew exactly what was on her mind. “If you wanted sex, you’d have been in bed when I got here.”
“I might have draped myself seductively against something,” she teased, bouncing to her feet. “I’ve never had sex on the piano.”
“We can try that later,” he said, sinking back to check out her legs as she gathered their plates. “What you wearing under that?”
Playing with him, she slunk a little closer. “I thought you were admiring my dress.”
“It’s beautiful,” he said, lunging over to grab her hip to haul her to him. “You’re beautiful.”
His interest narrowed on one specific zone. His hands insinuated their way beneath her skirt. While Poppy might have expected him to seek something more central, he instead hooked a finger into the elastic of her panties to draw them down her legs. He took them all the way to the floor and waited for her to step out of them, then he tossed them aside and sat up.
“Feel better?” she asked.
Renewed satisfaction lit his gaze as it wandered across her. “Much.”
Poppy just laughed as she took their appetizer plates out of the room and retrieved their entree. She curtsied as she served his then took her own seat to start eating.
“Mom will stay if Zoey stays,” he said. “Unless Faye needs her help with the kids.”
“I can help with the kids.”
The lopsided smile he wore was grateful but realistic. “You can’t drive, sweetheart,” he said. “Faye is staying at my mom’s.”
Something like that wouldn’t beat her. “I know. There are buses that go that way and cabs.”
“Ashlee needs her car seat. Transporting three kids takes skill.”
“It’s one I’ll have to acquire, isn’t it? Unless you want us to have only one.”
“You’ll build up to it, one at a time,” he said. “Or if you want to learn to drive, I’ll teach you.” Poppy couldn’t tell if he was insulting her or being considerate. Though with Turner, it didn’t take long to figure out which it was. “I don’t doubt you’re capable, Candy. There’s nothing you can’t do, and I know you’d keep the kids safe.”
“But you don’t want me to look after them?”
“You want us to be a unit. I get it, I do. We’re equals, yes. But, baby, I’m never gonna stop worrying about you. Any of you. I want to make your life easier. You shouldn’t struggle… with anything.”
“I love you,” she said. “I don’t think there are words enough to tell you how much.”
“You’re gonna marry me, right?” Wearing a grin, she nodded. “Have babies with me?”
“Definitely.”
“Whatever you feel for me will never match what I feel for you,” Turner said. “I’m gonna make you the center of the universe, you’ll see.”
“And our babies?”
“Our babies too.”
The strength of his conviction was absolute. Poppy had no idea what she’d done to deserve such devotion; she wasn’t going to take it for granted.
His understanding of what it was to be consumed by another person should give him a clear perspective of what she’d been trying to make him see with regards to his sister.
Poppy took a breath. “Zoey wants to be with the woman she loves. You can understand that, can’t you?”
“Yeah, I can. We’ll go to bat for Casey, if she wants us to.”
The teens weren’t going to have an easy road ahead. “It might have been suggested that she could stay with your mom.”
“Separate rooms, sure,” he said, without missing a beat. “Sex is sex, baby, and my mom doesn’t want her teenagers having it at home.”
“Guess we won’t be staying there at Christmas,” she teased.
He flashed her a suave grin. “We’re not teenagers, Popkat.”
“You know she’s afraid of you,” Poppy said, observing his curiosity as she enjoyed her next bite. “Casey.”
“Cool. They should all be afraid of me.”
“Your sisters’ partners? But you wouldn’t hurt a woman.”
“They should know I take protecting them seriously.”
“You should make an effort with Casey. She could be a part of our lives for a long time.” If Zoey got her way. Sure, the relationship might not go the distance, but it could. Stranger things had happened. “How do you feel about my sisters staying with us for a while?”
After he got over the quick subject change, Turner shook his head. “Babe, one sister or seven, makes no difference to me.”
“I figured that you wouldn’t object… What about Primrose and
Preston?”
“What about them?” he asked, washing down his food with the rest of his wine.
“Do you want beer?” After he nodded, she got up to head toward the closet. “Has Preston said anything to you about them?” Poppy went to retrieve the bottle and opened it, but carried it to him with an air of expectation. “Does he like her?”
“Babe,” he said, accepting the bottle. “Pres doesn’t know how to disrespect a woman. You remember what Ritchie said about him?”
“He’s God?”
“He won’t treat her bad,” he said, skimming his fingertips up the outside of her knee. “But let’s let them work out their own relationship.”
Smiling, Poppy sat back down. “Are you telling me to butt out?”
“With love,” he said and returned her smile. “Yeah.”
They were covering a lot of ground. Poppy took advantage of their momentum. “Faye doesn’t want to go back to Kev. I think she feels liberated being without him. For the first time, it’s like she’s got choices. I’ve told her we’ll help with whatever she needs if there are court or lawyer costs for the divorce.” While still eating and drinking, Turner nodded along. “I think she likes the idea of a house near your mom too, though I got the impression she wanted to talk to you about that before making any big decisions.”
“You’re staying on top of everything,” he said, wiping the corner of his mouth with his thumb. “I think this teamwork thing is gonna work out for me.”
“Why?” she asked, pleased that he seemed so happy with it. “Because I talk to them about the issues and you don’t have to spend time listening?”
“My sisters know how to talk,” he said and shrugged. “It’s not easy for me to see them upset or angry. If there’s something I can do, like physically do, I’ll do it. The emotional stuff isn’t so easy to fix.”
“I don’t mind handling the emotional stuff.”
“I never told you how grateful I was for what you did for Zoey.”
She frowned. “What did I do for Zoey?”
“Coached her through what was probably one of the hardest times in her life. And you advocated for the family at the same time. Not an easy maneuver, but you pulled it off.”
Pride warmed her from the inside. “I don’t expect your sisters to completely accept me as a sister… yet. But it was an honor to support her through that time. I can’t say I did anything difficult though; I knew you would support them.”
“How did you know that?” he asked, settling back into a more relaxed position, his fingers curling around the base of his beer bottle. “Maybe we’d have cast her out.”
Even the suggestion was enough to make her laugh. “No, you wouldn’t. I see the way you love them. How seriously you take your role… Besides, I wouldn’t love a man who put conditions on love like that…” Poppy leaned over the table, lowering her voice to almost a whisper. “And I have loved you a long time.”
“You can love me a long time tonight,” he said, winking. “What were you saying about the piano?”
They were getting there. Progress was progress and Poppy appreciated every second of it. Turner was used to being on his own, handling problems on his own. But he wasn’t on his own anymore and she’d do whatever it took to prove he could rely on her. She was his missing piece; completing him was her destiny.
TWENTY-EIGHT
“You’re leaving?” Val asked, coming out of her bedroom just as Poppy was walking along the hallway to see her.
Smiling, Poppy kept on going until she joined the woman in the doorway. “Can we talk inside?”
Without replying, Val retreated to her bedroom with Poppy next to her. “Charley said you’re leaving…. Without Turner.”
“Mm hmm,” Poppy said, guiding Val over to the window. She sat down and took Val with her, gathering their hands together. “He’s staying on the estate this week.”
“Why?” Val asked. “Did you fight? You said you wanted to go back to the Venture. If you want to be in his building, you can’t have broken up with him.”
Shaking her head, Poppy was struggling to contain her smile. “We haven’t broken up. My parents weren’t harassed at dinner. Tiller has promised if we have any trouble, he’ll send security to protect us.”
“Are you returning to the Venture? If Charley wants to go back to work, I suppose she’ll want to stay there. But she might be at more risk in the city.” Val exhaled. “We should all go back together.” It clearly pained the woman to say that. “But abandoning Turner is… I know he can look after himself—”
“You should stay with him. If you want to.” Still smiling, Poppy was getting more excited as her plan took shape. “It would actually help me if you did. You or one of your daughters anyway.”
“What are you talking about?” Val said, struggling to understand. “Why would you want us to stay while you leave?”
“Because I’m leaving Turner here for a reason…” Her heart was pounding, in a show of both nerves and eager anticipation. “I’m going to plan our wedding… without him.” Hesitant, Val didn’t say a word. Her reaction didn’t do much for Poppy’s anxiety. “He takes care of so many things. Looks after all of us. I want us to be married and don’t want a big fancy affair. He doesn’t either. Doing it here will automatically turn it into something neither of us want. My parents will want to invite people; the media will get involved. We don’t want that.”
“You’ve spoken to him about it?”
Poppy took a turn at being hesitant. “No… I’m just hoping that I know him well enough to get this right… and I’m hoping his family will help me.”
“Take something off his plate?” Val asked, showing a smile. “Of course we’ll support you.” Opening her arms wide, she took Poppy into her embrace. “Do you have a date in mind?”
“Next week,” Poppy said. “Soon after he’s home.”
Taking her arms, Val separated them to meet her eye. “Next week? You’re going to marry my son in a week?”
“Well, it will have to be a week on Tuesday. We’ll need to get the license on Monday and there’s a day waiting period before we can get married.” Val blinked. Poppy couldn’t tell if she was stunned or unhappy. “Bad idea?”
“Sweetheart,” Val breathed out the word before tucking Poppy’s hair behind her ear. “He loves you. Utterly and completely. Once he knows something has to be done, he likes it checked off the to-do list.” Her expression changed. “Not that marrying you is a chore.”
“I understand,” Poppy said on a laugh, hugging her future mother-in-law again.
No sooner had they embraced than the bedroom door opened, attracting their attentions.
It was Charley, just peeking into the room. “Did you tell her yet?”
“Yes,” Poppy said, laughing again, gesturing for her to come over and join them.
Charley entered, but wasn’t alone. Zoey and Casey were hot on her heels, Faye wasn’t far behind.
The eldest Maddox sister closed the door. “A secret wedding?”
Faye’s brow arch reminded Poppy of her love. “Bad idea?”
“No,” Faye said, starting across the room as Poppy was hugged by Charley, Zoey and Casey. “I love it. Turn always wants to be in the loop and here we’re a mile ahead of him on his own wedding.”
When Poppy was liberated from the group hug, the others stepped aside, letting Faye get closer. She took Poppy’s hand and pulled her to her feet.
“If it doesn’t work, he’ll disown us,” Poppy said. “Dumping me might be easy, but you all will have to deal with the fallout too.”
“He won’t hate it,” Faye said then shrugged. “If he does, we have an army to put him in his place.” As Poppy laughed again, Faye hugged her. “He won’t hate it.”
There were tears in Poppy’s eyes when she was released from the new embrace. Looking around, she found she wasn’t the only one overwhelmed. All the eyes in the room were wet.
“Geez, you’re all trying to break me,” Poppy s
aid, her emotions bubbling to the surface. “I thought Turner was the only one who knew how to devastate me with kindness. It must be in the Maddox blood.”
“Which means your kids will know how to do it too,” Charley said, sliding an arm around her to direct her over to sit on the edge of the bed. “Do you want to tell everyone the plan?”
“You didn’t tell them?”
“Only that you were planning the wedding without Turner.”
“I don’t have an exact plan yet,” Poppy said, glancing at each of the expectant women. “I want to do it at the Venture.”
“Where?” Faye asked. “There isn’t exactly a function room.”
“You could do it at Naughtie’s.”
“I thought we could have the reception there,” Poppy said. “The wedding will just be us. Grammie and my parents will be able to fly over in the jet. Even if they leave after Turner, they’ll still get there before him… He has the truck.”
“Right,” Zoey said, sitting next to her. “He’ll have to drive back!”
“Exactly,” Charley said. “This is so much fun!”
“Conspiring behind his back?” Faye asked with the same mischief as Charley. “It is.”
The sisters thought it was fun, Poppy hoped Turner would be likeminded. “Money is no object, I thought maybe we could do it on the roof,” Poppy said, bringing them back to the point. “I’ll talk to Ritchie when we’re back. See if we can maybe get some kind of gazebo or marquee or something that we can affix up there.”
“Something permanent?” Val asked with a hint of concern.
“I wouldn’t do anything to change the fabric of the building without Turner’s go ahead,” Poppy said to reassure her. “I’ll follow Ritchie’s lead… and talk to Naught about having the reception at the bar. I can cover the drinks, the food, decoration, whatever we need.”
“What about clothes?” Charley asked. “He won’t have anything to wear… neither will you.”
Her gown was already taken care of, though she didn’t say that. “I really don’t care what he wears,” Poppy said. “He’s more of a jeans and tee-shirt guy than a tux guy anyway, so I doubt he will either. He’ll be at the construction site all week. I already looped Grammie in, so she’ll make sure anyone who stays here can be fitted while Turner is at work, so he doesn’t see anything suspicious. Anyone who wants to stay on the estate can stay. All costs will be taken care of.”
Found (Lost & Found Book 2) Page 24
