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Parker blows out a breath. “Guess we’ll never know.”
A heavy silence falls over the table as we all retreat into ourselves, processing the stark reality of this statement.
Poppy interrupts the quiet. “I think we need to see this Lacey woman with our own eyes.”
“It’s true, Pops.” Rome’s voice is quiet yet firm.
“I hear what you’re saying, Rome. But I still think we should meet her, vet her, before we do anything else. I mean, are you planning on calling her? Writing her back? Or did you already do that?” She glares first at me, then at Rome, her aquamarine eyes flashing.
“No, Poppy. We didn’t do anything.” I work hard to keep my voice neutral, even as hot aggravation builds in my gut. This is exactly why we put off having this conversation in the first freaking place.
“Parks? What do you think?” Rome cuts his gaze to Parker.
Parker shrugs, fingers drumming on the table to a beat only he can hear. “I don’t know, guys. I’ll do whatever y’all think is best.”
Parker the peacemaker, going with the flow.
“So—who’s going to Peachtree Grove? Rome?” Poppy turns to face Rome, one eyebrow lifted high.
“I really can’t go right now, Pops. Not with Skye being pregnant. Plus work. I don’t have that much time off yet and need to save it up for when the baby comes.”
Poppy huffs out an aggravated breath, then swivels to face me. “King? You going?”
“Umm ...” I bite at the corner of my lip, stare down at the wood grain of the table. Anywhere but at my sister, who’s royally pissed off.
“Since you apparently know the right thing to do all the damn time now.”
Her tone’s snippy, the words biting. Even if I maybe earned the wrath a little.
“I’ll go, I guess. Y’all want me to send you photos? Do a formal interview? What?” I look at each of them in turn. First Poppy, then Parker, then Rome.
Parker shrugs. “Sure. All of the above, I guess. I mean—she deserves a response to her letter, don’t you think? If it were me, I’d at least want to know why no one wrote back.”
Parker pointing out the obvious is a sharp punch straight to the gut, the remaining air sucked right out of the room. Sadness hangs over the table as we all sit with our grief.
Eventually I clear my throat, force words out. “Fine. I’ll go. Long as Beau can pick up the slack. Maybe y’all can take turns checking on things while I’m gone.”
Rome leans back in his chair. “We can do that, King. You probably won’t be gone long, right? A few days?”
“I reckon at least three. It’s a day’s drive to Peachtree Grove.”
Poppy rolls her eyes. “Of course you already know that.”
The comment pisses me off, but I let the jab slide. No use getting into a fight with my sister right now. She’ll cool off eventually; she always does.
“You gonna tell her you’re coming? Or is it gonna be a sneak attack?” Parker asks, grabbing for another slice of pizza. Good to see this conversation hasn’t dampened his appetite any.
“Sneak attack, I guess.” Because what would I say on the phone? Hey, bad news. Your birth mom’s dead.
Not that it’s going to be any better in person, I suppose. But I’ll have more time to figure it out, get the lay of the land, and check her out.
“I want a full report this time, King. And I’m serious. No. More. Secrets.” Poppy punches each word, leaning forward and locking her narrowed eyes on mine.
I nod. “Understood, Pops. Promise. I’ll get you a full report and try to get photos.”
“Fine.” She pushes away from the table, standing. Clearly pissed. “See y’all later.”
She stalks out of the kitchen, heading down the hallway. The screen door creaks open, and I wait for the inevitable bang as she storms out.
