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“Thank you.” She began chewing on some toast, and she smiled.
“What is it?” he asked.
“They scraped off the burned parts. That is so sweet. I can now see why you needed a cook, and I’m so pleased I decided to make some stuff ahead in case I was ever ill. You guys would starve.”
“We need you,” Shawn said. He needed her.
He stayed silent, watching her eat, and happy that she was. He didn’t like to see her poorly.
Once she was finished, he took the tray and let Parker know that she wanted to see Stitch.
Parker commanded Stitch, and together they walked upstairs, and he smiled. Only Poppy could have all three of them wrapped around her little finger, and she didn’t even know it.
****
The moment Stitch saw Poppy, he jumped onto the bed. Parker allowed it for a couple of minutes, and then he commanded for Stitch to get off the bed and sit.
Poppy gave him sad eyes, and even though Stitch did as he asked, Parker relented and allowed the two to snuggle.
Stitch finally lay out beside her, putting his head on her lap.
“You’re going to spoil him.”
“I love him. He’s, like, the most adorable guy in the world.” She stroked behind his ears, and Stitch’s tongue came out.
“How are you feeling?” Parker asked, taking a seat.
“Much better. I’ll be walking around causing trouble before you know it.”
“That I’m looking forward to. I hated seeing you like this.” Parker watched her smile. “I know you hate me for getting all of your stuff from the trailer. Is it really so bad to make this place your home?”
“It’s not about making it my home. Mom lived there, you know? She loved that trailer.”
“She loved that trailer because of your dad, Poppy. If she was there, he’d go and visit. The one thing she always wanted was for you and your father to have a good relationship. I don’t think the trailer meant anything to her other than that.”
Poppy’s eyes grew wide. “She told you that?”
He nodded. “Yeah. She was feeling quite poorly as she lay in her bed, and I noticed she was glaring at everything around her. She told me that one of her biggest regrets was not moving out when she could. She gave your father too much credit. She always thought he’d come back, and you’d have a real family.” He didn’t know if he should tell her the rest but decided there was no point in keeping the truth from her. “She hated your father, Poppy. By the end, she wished he’d never come back. In the beginning, she’d had so much hope, but then over the years, he destroyed her feelings for him.”
Tears glistened in her eyes. “She always looked so happy.”
“He sometimes came home while you were at school. They’d fight because she wouldn’t allow him to charm her anymore. It was kind of sad how she spoke. She just wanted what was best for you. She asked that the moment we could, we get you out of that trailer.”
Poppy wiped away the tears, and he moved to the bed, taking her hand, and wiping away the sadness.
“Don’t cry, baby.”
“I only ever put up with him because I thought she loved him. I wish she’d told me differently.”
“He was still your father, Poppy. I hope in time you can be happy here. Don’t worry about what others think.” He gave her hand a final squeeze, and stood. “I’m going to let you get some rest. No partying, no crazy dancing. Just lots and lots of rest.”
She chuckled. “You’re so protective! I’ll be fine, I promise.”
He stood at the door and watched her for a few moments more.
Her eyes were closed, and Stitch was there, keeping an eye on her. Besides his brothers, he’d trust Stitch with his life.
Leaving the bedroom, he couldn’t help but smile. Her mother had said to tell her the truth when she was being stubborn. Cathy Williams had given them some advice to help with her daughter.
They had all come clean about their love and their intentions. In doing so, Cathy spent her final days telling them how certain things would go, and what they could do.
To Parker, she had done the most important thing: given all three of them her blessing to love her daughter.
Chapter Five
By the end of the week, Poppy was back to full health, and she was having to catch up with everything she had not been able to do. There was so much laundry to do, not to mention restocking the freezer for another such day.
She loved staying busy, and that was how she was.
Each of the ranch hands stopped by to ask her how she was feeling. They had missed her food. It turned out that Casey couldn’t heat up the leftovers properly either. She didn’t mind. Her place had always been in the kitchen. It was the one place her mother always loved being. Most of her memories were of seeing her mother at the small kitchen in the trailer, whipping up some concoction or another.
