Found

ELEVEN-2

Obviously her former friend hadn’t noticed that there was anyone lying in the bed behind her brother. Though Charley was a pull no punches sort, so it wouldn’t surprise Poppy if her friend would carry on regardless.

“Poppy didn’t hide anything from me,” Turner said.

Surprised by his direct admission, Poppy definitely hadn’t expected he’d be so open without being pushed. Laying a hand on his back, she tried to remind him that she didn’t need any more grand gestures, he’d already done enough to prove the truth of his love.

“Because you weren’t close,” Charley said. “She hid this. The house. The family. The money. How could she do that to us?”

“Shrimp,” Turner said, the curl of amusement in the embers of the nickname. “I knew who she was. The house. The family. The money. I knew it all.”

“What?” Charley asked, faltering. Poppy couldn’t see her, but she hated the hurt and betrayal that came in that word. “She told you?”

“Yeah,” Turner said. “Because we were close, Char. Why do you think I came all the way here? I came because I didn’t want to live without her. I came because she’s the only remedy I’ll ever need.”

The silence continued for so long that Poppy didn’t know whether or not she was the one supposed to break it. From her angle, it seemed the siblings were intent on each other. Was Turner waiting for Charley to get it? If her friend was expecting an apology, Poppy knew she’d be waiting a long time. Already it was clear to her that Turner wouldn’t apologize to anyone for loving her.

“What is all the noise?” That was Faye, she must have joined the party. “You’ll wake the kids if you keep shouting, Charley. What is going on?”

“Turner knew the whole time,” Charley said. “He knew about this place, about who Poppy was.”

“Yeah, I figured,” Faye said. “They were together practically the whole time.”

“Figured that out, huh?” Turner asked, his voice lighter.

“I should’ve figured it out when Poppy tried to sell me that ‘I’m Charley’s friend’ line. You’d never be so upset about me tearing into one of her friends.”

“Yeah, we should talk more about that,” Turner said. “You laughed at me.”

“ ‘Cause I thought you were desperate. I knew it had been a while, but screwing around with a tenant, you were always completely against that.”

“Poppy was never a tenant,” Turner said. “Not really. First night in the Venture, she… It was obvious she needed someone looking out for her.”

The night she’d asked him to drink with her in the bedroom. Alone. Her lips curled. He’d been looking out for her. His question about a father or brothers made so much more sense now that she knew how he cared for his mother and sisters.

Poppy’s fingertips caressed his back. “I wanted you that night,” she murmured, enjoying the memory.

His chin moved toward his shoulder. “Yeah, I got that. Why do you think I left so fast?”

“Oh my God! She’s there? Spying on us?”

Turner pushed back and lay against the pillows and headboard, the blankets stopped at his abdomen. “She’s not spying,” he said. “s**t, Charley, Poppy’s my girlfriend, why shouldn’t she be in my bed?”

Although he asked Charley, it was the older sister who answered. “Maybe ‘cause her father could throw us out if you piss him off by screwing his little girl. She’s the youngest, you know.”

“Yeah,” Turner said. “She’s worth the risk. It’s Grammie’s house anyway, and Grammie loves me. She wants great grandchildren.”

Charley’s scoff of disgust was a prelude to her turning around.

Before she could storm out, Poppy sat up. “Charley,” she called out, stalling the woman. “I’m sorry. Really and truly I am.”

“You weren’t friends when you sent her to the Venture,” Turner said. “From the second we met, this end was inevitable.” He wrapped his fingers around hers. “Even if I tried to pretend otherwise.”

“I didn’t know we’d be this,” Poppy said, though she had suspected they could have a real future if he’d just stop fighting it. “I didn’t believe I’d ever come back to this life. I didn’t want to talk about it…” No response. “I guess I only told Turner because… I don’t know, I needed an anchor point… I needed him.”

“You used me to get close to him,” Charley muttered.

“Shrimp,” Turner declared. “Poppy lived in my building, she didn’t need to use anyone for anything. You want to point fingers? I was the one looking for any excuse to be near her. This wasn’t her. She didn’t chase me down. It was both of us. We tried to ignore it, but you can’t do that with something this real.”

As Turner sat up straight again, Poppy rose at his side. “Baby,” Poppy said, curving an arm around his shoulder, she kissed it in an attempt to calm him.

“No,” he said with a hint of anger. “She has to stop making this about her. We’re in love. We’re together. Deal with it.”

Charley whirled around fast. “And I suppose you’re so in love that you don’t care who she was screwing the whole time you were falling for her?”

His head shook a little. “This is about Leicester.” Turner coiled an arm around hers to pull her closer and kissed her knuckles. “You were right, baby.”

“Oh, so she’s already fed you a story?”

“Poppy was never with Leicester,” Turner said. “There’s no plainer way to put it. He’s full of shit.”

“Of course you wouldn’t believe him,” Charley said. “You’ve never liked him.”

“Why would you believe him?” Turner asked. “The guy’s a jerk. He’s a user, Charley. Did he tell you about being with Poppy before or after he found out her family were from money?”

“I heard the message,” Charley said, pinning Poppy under a glare. “When you told him to call you.”

Poppy was still putting the pieces together when Turner laughed. “I was standing right there when she left that message,” he said. “Mom was beside herself ‘cause you’d disappeared.”

“So it was Poppy who sent you to David’s? Were you trying to put a wedge between us?”

“No!”

“Charley,” Turner snapped. “Poppy did what she needed to for the family. She didn’t broadcast your business, she told me in private. She didn’t want to, you’re just unlucky that I can read her so well. Something that comes from reading all the damn women in my family. Poppy and Leicester were never together.”

“You don’t know,” Charley said, shaking her head. “He called her back, they got together—”

“We were sleeping together by then,” Turner said. “Poppy and me were together.”

“So she cheated on you and you were just okay with that?” Charley said. “Wow, she must be something really special.”

“You think I’d have chased after a cheater? We never said we were exclusive, but we didn’t need to. When you’re actually in love with your partner, when you respect them, you don’t risk that for a cheap thrill.”

Shifting her mouth, Poppy rested it against his shoulder. “I called from your phone.”

“That’s right,” he said, hearing her without responding. “She called the f**k from my phone, he doesn’t even have her number.”

As she lay her head against the man holding her up, Poppy saw Charley falter. “My phone is still in the Venture,” Poppy said. “You can check it for yourself, David’s number isn’t saved. It won’t be in the call log either because I have never called him.”

“Charley,” Faye said, trying to put an arm around her.

“No!” Charley said, throwing up her arms to push her sister away. “This is bullshit! It’s all bullshit.”

Storming out of the room, Charley didn’t have far to go to get to her own space.

Faye moved forward a step. “She’s really screwed up by all this.”

“Because Leicester screwed her up,” Turner said. “Poppy didn’t lie, she didn’t tell the world the truth because she wanted to avoid this. Abernathy was just lurking, waiting to make her life hell.”

“I get it,” Faye said. “If she told us or the people at work about the money… She’s probably had a whole lifetime of people trying to take advantage of her.”

The walk the previous night must have been fruitful. Faye certainly seemed a lot more relaxed.

“Thank you,” Poppy said. “I didn’t know how I’d come to care for Charley or that I’d fall in love with her brother. There wasn’t even time to fill everyone in, my sister showed up and then Holden put out the bounty. It happened so fast. I thought leaving might save you all from the media intrusion. I’m sorry I was wrong.”

“But you brought us here, you didn’t just abandon us out there,” Faye said. Her brow twitched. “The press were only interested in Charley and people from your work. There was really no one who knew about the two of you?”

“I think Val knew something,” Poppy said.

Faye smiled. “Yeah, we talked about that last night. Moms know, it doesn’t mean Turner told her anything.”

“Thank you,” Turner said, gesturing toward his sister like he’d received vindication.

“Okay,” Poppy said, resting her lips on him again. “So I gave you a hard time.”

“You did give me a hard time,” he said, squeezing her knee. “I told you she just knew. I didn’t have to say anything.”

“No one else saw it.”

“The rest of us didn’t live with your best friend. Charley probably talked about you all the time,” Faye said. “I know I heard your name a bunch of times. When I was living at Turner’s, I was too caught up in my own crap to worry about anyone else’s.”

“How is that going?” Poppy asked. “Was Kev okay with you taking the kids out of state?”

“To care he’d have to first notice,” Faye said, folding her arms. “He’s shacked up with his slut.”

Poppy gasped. “No!”

Faye just nodded.

“You two should keep talking, but some of us have to be at work,” Turner said, giving her another squeeze. “Want to go grab me a towel, babe?”

“Right,” Poppy said. “Sorry. It’s okay, we’ll leave.”

Her love wasn’t wearing anything beneath the covers and with his sister in the room, he wouldn’t feel like baring all.

“I don’t care about your bits,” Faye said, backing toward the door as Poppy climbed out of bed, righting the silk that only just covered her a*s.

“Baby, don’t go wandering around the house like that,” Turner said like the thought pained him.

She smiled over her shoulder at him.

Faye laughed. “The only other guy here is Preston.”

“Yeah, and he’s bad enough,” Turner said. “There are staff guys around too. And, believe me, speaking on behalf of the help, we notice.”

Turning to take a few backward steps, Poppy laid faux heartbreak on him. “You notice other women?”

“If they were wandering around in their underwear, I would,” he said, propping his hands on the bed behind him. “Only to notice how they don’t measure up to you.”

“Good save,” Poppy said, though it amused Faye. “I’ll grab a robe from Grammie’s room and tell the kitchen to serve breakfast.” She stopped with Faye. “How long until the kids are up?”

Just then, an impressive little Ashlee toddled in between them, heading for Turner’s bed.

Her mom swooped down to sweep her up before she could get more than a few steps. “That’s far enough for you. I don’t want my child scarred before she’s potty-trained.”

“Then vamoose,” Turner said. “Who invited you anyway?”

Faye took Ashlee out and after casting one last look Turner’s way, Poppy went after her, closing the door behind herself. Sleeping with Turner had given her much more than it had taken away. At least they now knew just how much Charley resented their relationship and that the negative feeling had been fed by David Leicester, who was no doubt still dripping poison into Charley’s ear.

Her friend was smart, but her feelings were strong. Poppy didn’t want there to be lasting damage to the family that she loved, especially not damage caused by outsiders like her and David.

They’d fix it. Somehow. Charley wasn’t the only one on her mind either. With more family came more issues. Poppy had to make progress with some of them, in some way. First was breakfast, then it would be on to righting the wrongs of the world. Not everything was in her control, but if she could make a difference, she’d do her damndest.