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He sat at the table, waiting.
Within minutes he heard her coming downstairs.
She entered the kitchen, and when she caught sight of him, she froze. “Oh, I thought you’d be out working.”
“Hoping to avoid a conversation?” he asked.
“I wouldn’t call it avoiding.” He gave her a pointed stare. “Okay, fine, yes, I was avoiding. Not on purpose though. It’s just … confusing.”
He pushed out a chair and pointed at her coffee. “Why don’t you sit down and talk to me? We’d talk for hours, Poppy. Nothing has changed.”
She put the laundry basket down before taking a seat. “Everything has changed though.”
“How has it?”
“The kiss. You guys and me. It’s all…”
“You had no idea at all that we wanted you? That we loved you?”
She shook her head. “I’d had … fantasies, obviously. You and your brothers are very attractive, but I never thought for a second that you’d want me in that way.”
He reached out, taking her hand. Turning it over, he traced one of the lines. He didn’t read palms, nor did he believe in any of that bullshit. “I’ve only ever wanted one person in my life, and that has always been you.”
“You’re a virgin?”
“Yep. I couldn’t bring myself to be with anyone else.” He smiled at her. “I know this is a lot to take in, which is why I’m going to offer to take you to see my mom.”
“Why?”
“Who would be better to tell you about all of this than a woman living it?”
She nodded. “I’d like that. I’d like to see your mother.”
“She’d love to see you.”
“Have you told your parents that all of you want me?” she asked.
“Yes. It was Mom who said you might need to talk to someone before you were able to accept it. Of course, we were all crazy and thought you’d fall in line and totally love it. Do you want to go straight away?”
“Yes. I’d like that.”
He got up and followed her out toward the truck. If anyone could help it would be his mother, and Shawn was willing to do whatever it took to get Poppy to consider what they were offering.
****
Parker wiped the sweat from his brow as he stepped back. The fence was repaired, but he saw the worry on his brother’s and dads’ faces.
They didn’t like this, and the more fence they had to repair the harder to ignore the threat it was becoming.
“I want you to start locking up your houses at night,” Elijah said. “Tell them what you found.” He looked toward Bruce.
“Three of our chickens were killed last night.”
“A fox?”
“They were on the table with an axe beside them. It was someone who killed them. I had to clean the blood up, and we had no choice but to tell Louise. We’ve already talked to Sheriff Dawes about it. We let him know that we’d give you the same warning,” Bruce said.
Parker didn’t like this. “Okay, so we’ve got someone or multiple someones who don’t have a problem with hurting animals. Sheriff Dawes can’t nail down anyone associated with animal cruelty?”
Elijah shook his head. “No one in town has any prior convictions or even warnings. This is the first time anything like this has happened.”
“They’re getting closer though,” Casey said. “The chicken coop is between our houses, a mile each way.”
“That’s what I figured, and your mother likes to go and talk with the chickens. She’s … distraught at losing three.”
Parker could imagine. He remembered the first time his dads brought them home. She said chickens were the kindest of creatures, and if you were kind to them from the start, they would never peck at your hands. They would always be loving toward you.
He loved animals of all kinds.
This cruelty was hard for him to stomach.
“Do you have any enemies?” Elijah asked.
“A couple of people in the town can’t stand us for being different. It’s not like we can narrow it down,” Parker said.
“No, this isn’t a town thing. This is someone trying to hurt us, and I want to know why,” Bruce said.
“There’s Ben,” Casey said. “He doesn’t like us, and would often bully Shawn and Poppy.”
“Yeah, but he’s not cruel to animals. I’ve seen that guy pick up a cat that someone ran over, and tend it,” Parker said. “He’s a cruel fucker to humans, but with animals he’s different.” He’d been about to go and tend the wounded cat when Ben had come running out of one of the houses. There was no denying the love that man had.
He was a pet person, not a people person.
“Do you think a woman is capable of this?” Casey asked.
“Anyone is capable of this,” Elijah said.
“Why a woman?” Parker asked.
“Sarah called Poppy a whore yesterday when she tried to get Shawn to go on a date. Do you think this could be related to an old lover or something?” Casey asked.
