AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Poppy felt that now-familiar unease settle in her stomach. They had been here to stay. Now she didn’t know what the hell to do. She wanted a place Rowdy could grow up strong and happy, with good friends who watched him grow, helped him become a good man. She’d thought that Stonewall Crossing would be all those things and more.
“I’m glad to hear that,” Toben said. “Did your mom tell you the Boones founded Stonewall Crossing?”
She heard Mitchell snort softly and stepped back, hard, on his toe with the heel of her boot. She didn’t need him complicating a situation that was already far beyond her normal level of complication.
If Toben heard him, and it would be pretty hard to miss, he gave no indication. For that, Poppy was thankful. And confused. Everything about this Toben was confusing and frustrating.
“Really?” Rowdy asked.
Toben nodded. “This place is part of your family. When you come riding at the Boone Ranch, you’ll get to meet a whole passel of aunts, uncles, great-uncles, cousins... You name it.”
Rowdy’s eyes were round. “You mean it’s not just Dot and Otis?” The relief in his voice made the three adults laugh.
“How many kids do you have?” Mitchell asked.
The hard look Toben leveled the man’s way made alarm bells go off. “One,” he answered, running a tentative hand over Rowdy’s riotous curls.
The look of awe on Toben’s face shook Poppy to the bone. The man Poppy had known wasn’t capable of real emotion. He was a player. Life had been a series of games, challenges and conquests. He’d never been careful with his words...or his choice of women. He’d have punched Mitchell by now, or insulted him.
Seeing him standing here looking at Rowdy like he was his whole world wasn’t something Poppy was prepared to handle. “Go on,” she encouraged. “Dinner will be ready soon.”
“Can he stay for dinner, Ma?” Rowdy asked. “Mitchell’s grilling since the stove keeps catching fire.”
“Not sure I got enough ribs, Rowdy.” Mitchell’s answer was quick.
> Toben’s jaw locked, but his attention stayed on Rowdy. “Better not. I like ribs. Might not be enough for you. Or Dot and Otis. Where are Dot and Otis?”
“Video game,” she and Rowdy answered in unison.
Toben shook his head, staring out over the three hundred acres she’d just purchased for her family with an appreciative eye. Poppy nodded. She didn’t get it either. When she’d been their age, she was climbing trees, skipping rocks and riding any animal she could climb onto.
“Let’s go,” Rowdy said, grabbing Toben’s hand and pulling him toward the far pasture. Cheeto was there, waiting for Rowdy, his head resting on the fence line and his ears cocked forward.
Toben kept holding Rowdy’s hand. And her son noticed. His happiness was all she wanted. Maybe...maybe Toben could be a part of that.
“He hasn’t changed much.” Mitchell’s words snapped her out of it.
“What was that?” she asked. “I don’t need you getting territorial, Mitchell. I need you to be my friend. I can’t be worried about you and Toben throwing punches to establish the pecking order around here. I’m the one in charge, got it?”
Mitchell smiled down at her. He was tall, well over six feet. “I hear you, Pops. Don’t get all riled up. I’ll behave.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, waiting.
“I’ll try. I get that he has a right to know his son. You just promise me you won’t let him worm his way back into your heart, and I’ll leave it alone.”
Poppy stared at Mitchell, horrified. “He was never in my heart—”
“Pops,” Mitchell interrupted. “Come on, now. I was there, remember?”
She glared, then stomped past him and into the house. His heavy footsteps told her he was following. “I don’t know where you come up with this stuff. I wasn’t heartbroken over him. I was heartsick for my baby. There’s a huge difference.” She’d been lying so long there was no way she was going to change her story now.
“Pops.” His tone was soothing.
“Don’t Pops me. Get the grill started while I get this corn cooking. Hopefully, I won’t burn down the damn house.” She turned her back on him, refusing to let the concern in his gray eyes soften her anger.
“Fine, fine.” Mitchell chuckled. “Wish I could skip the preseason exhibition tour. I don’t like leaving y’all alone right now.”
She spun on her heel then, outraged. “Mitchell Lee, we do just fine on our own, thank you. I love it when you visit. Rowdy loves it, too. But don’t think, for one minute, that I can’t manage my life without you.”
