Found

NINE

NINE

“Shh!” Noah whispered to her, his finger over his lips as he tried to stifle a giggle and hid behind her skirt.

Approaching the construction site slowly, Poppy could hear the men inside the structure winding down for the day, as she expected they would be. Before the guys could get more rowdy or use any more of the colorful language that had drifted her way, she stopped to look through an opening where one of the back windows would probably end up.

“Miss Poppy,” Aitken said, being the first to notice her, though the others were quick to turn, Turner included.

When he spotted her, he smiled and began to saunter over. “Hey, baby.”

“I have a surprise for you,” she said.

His brow arched. “Is it lingerie? Keep it for the bedroom, babe. I don’t want the guys around for that show.”

“No, it is not lingerie,” she said, ignoring the snickers from deeper within the house.

The little laugh from behind her thigh was stifled by fabric, though not enough that Turner didn’t hear it.

He stopped, wearing a frown. “Candy-Cane?”

Noah probably wasn’t identifiable from a laugh, but he’d given away his presence. She twisted to slip her hands under the little guy’s arms. “Ready?” she whispered and he nodded fast.

Picking him up, Poppy swung him around.

The moment Noah saw his uncle he shouted, “Boo!”

“Geez!” Turner called, exaggerating his shock. “Wow! My God!” Noah was in hysterics. He was heavy and she couldn’t see around him, but when Turner’s hands closed over hers, Poppy handed nephew over to uncle. “What are you doing here, Sport?”

“We came in a big plane,” Noah said, extending his arms outward from his sides. “Just us on the plane. Me and mommy and Grama.”

“Grama’s here?” he asked, curious when he looked at her.

“Everyone is,” Poppy said. “Noah’s sisters and yours too.”

“All of them?” he asked, nodding and gesturing to the construction guys, saying his goodbyes as they did the same in return.

Poppy backed away from the house to wait for Turner to bring Noah around.

“Aww,” the little guy said, disappointed. “I want to build the house too!”

“I’ll bring you down later, Sport,” Turner said, coming over and putting Noah down when he wriggled in a bid for freedom.

“I know the way, Uncle Turner. Follow me!”

Noah ran on ahead, then slowed to a pronounced march, proud of his role as leader.

“When did they get here?” Turner asked, threading his fingers through hers. “Why didn’t you tell me they were coming?”

“Talk to your buddy,” Poppy said. “I didn’t know. Preston set it all up with Tiller. They got here about an hour ago.”

“My family, taking over your house,” he muttered like that wasn’t such a good thing.

Poppy just laughed and rested her head on his arm. “Grammie’s already bequeathed anything that isn’t nailed down to Emmie who is rocking tiaras I didn’t even know we had.”

“s**t,” he breathed out, driving his fingers into his hair. “I’m sorry, baby.”

“You don’t have to be sorry. It’s the most fun I’ve had for weeks. I don’t think it’s possible not to fall in love with the three little ones on the spot. Noah’s been clamoring to come and visit you at the site. I thought it was best to wait until closer to the end of the day. I didn’t want him to get hurt and… uh…”

“And, uh, what?”

“It took a few quiet words from your mom to Faye before she’d let me walk him down here alone.”

He stopped to show his glare. “What? Are you kidding me?”

“It’s okay,” she said, still smiling as she stroked his jaw. “I’m in the doghouse. It’s nothing we didn’t know before this surprise.” Poppy got them walking again. “To be honest, I don’t know why I didn’t think of inviting them to the estate sooner. Having them here makes everything so much easier. We can keep everyone safe here. The kids have plenty of space to play. Anything they need can be brought in. It’s perfect.”

“Perfect,” he muttered. “One of them looks at you sideways and I’ll throw them the hell out.”

No matter how much he wanted to stand up for her, Poppy doubted he could do something like that to his mother and sisters. His dedication to his family was just one of the reasons she loved him.

“No. You won’t. I did wrong, Turner. I have to accept that. They have every right to be mad.”

“You were protecting yourself and your family. The point was to get away from this life. If you told the girls about it, they’d have treated you like the person you didn’t want to be.”

True, but they wouldn’t necessarily see it that way. “I told you the truth, which, by the way, we don’t have to tell them if you don’t want. I don’t want to be the cause of any friction in your relationships with them, so if you want them to think you were in the dark too, that’s okay.”

“I won’t apologize for you confiding in me. This is different. You’re supposed to confide in your guy, Candy. We were never just friends.”

They were supposed to be just friends. Friends with benefits later in their association, but friends all the same.

“Why did I tell you the truth?” she asked herself, letting go of his hand to coil both of her arms around one of his. “You just… I wanted so bad to be close to you.”

“No more apologies. It worked, didn’t it? We tell each other everything now.”

Not exactly everything. Poppy hadn’t admitted the truth of her love for him.

Noah spun around to come running back over, his arm stretched back toward the house. “That’s Poppy’s house, Uncle Turner.”

“Aunt Poppy,” he said, bending down to scoop the little guy up and swing him around to his back. “Did you like the plane, Sport?”

“It was just us. Grama says planes have other peoples on them.”

“Aunt Poppy has a private plane.”

“Uh, it’s my father’s, the company’s, I think.”

“You know what that means, little buddy,” Turner said as they ascended to the rear terrace. Poppy pointed to the door they needed to use. “We’ve got a plane in the family now.”

Noah tightened his arms around his uncle’s neck. “Is that why you marrying her, Uncle Turner?”

“Yep,” Turner said. “That and the rack.”

“First,” Poppy hissed. “Don’t listen to him, gorgeous boy. You go get your mommy. She’s in the drawing room.”

Turner put Noah on his feet. “What’s that?” the little one asked.

“Fancy name for a living room,” she said, guiding him through the dining room and pointing to the drawing room door. “Through there, honey.”

As he ran to push open the door, Poppy paused.

“What’s wrong?” Turner asked, laying a hand on her back. “Baby?”

“I should let you go in there alone.”

“You’re not afraid of sisters, you know how to handle them,” he said, pulling her to him to kiss her hair. “This is family, babe.”

“I’m not afraid. I just feel like maybe you should have some time alone with them, to explain what’s going on.”

“Doesn’t work that way,” he said, turning her back to the door frame to press her up against it.

“It doesn’t?”

He shook his head. “No. We deal with everything together.”

“We do?”

“Yeah,” he said, crouching lower until his mouth danced in front of hers. “ ‘Cause we’re together.”

It felt like a lifetime since they’d stood so close to each other. Every time he got up close, she was drugged by their attraction. How could one person touch every part of her, inside and out, all in the space of a second and without actually laying a finger on her?

“We’re together?” she asked, fighting her urge to lean on him.

One side of his mouth rose. “We are.”

His certainty was like a warm blanket. “Okay.”

“Okay,” he said, linking their fingers. “Come on.”

Leading her away from the threshold of the dining room, Turner took her to the drawing room, pushing the door further open to reveal all of the Maddoxes there waiting for them.

As soon as they saw her, conversation died. Val twisted around in her seat on one of the couches, seeking what silenced her daughters.

The moment she spotted her son, Val sprang to her feet. “My boy!”

“Ma,” he said, going over to his mother, taking Poppy with him.

“Come on, you three,” Charley said, opening her arms to herd Zoey and the twins toward the door.

“Charley,” Poppy said, appealing to her friend.

She didn’t respond and the four went out without another word.

Faye stood up next, Ashlee in her arms. “Emmie, Noah, upstairs.”

“But Momma—”

“No, upstairs. Apparently, we have to dress for dinner.”

“You don’t, at all,” Poppy said, but Faye kept on going.

“Faye,” Turner demanded, still Faye didn’t stop and disappeared out of the room with the kids.

Poppy couldn’t remember ever clearing a room so fast.

Turner whipped around to his mom. “What the hell?”

“Calm down,” Val said, gesturing with both hands, and looking to her. “Do we have time to sit for a minute?”

After checking the clock, Poppy nodded. “Yes. Dinner will be announced. As long as we’re in the room before my father, it’s fine.”

“I have to shower,” Turner said.

She smiled, thinking how the tables had turned. “You have time.”

Leaning in, he raised one shoulder in a half shrug. “Depends.”

“On?”

“If I’m showering alone.”

“Turner!” Poppy exclaimed, pushing him down onto the couch as Val sat. “Your mother is in the room.”

Turner yanked her down beside him before looking his mother in the eye. “There’s a lot of things we didn’t talk about, Ma. I know you knew stuff even if we didn’t talk about it, but now all the obstacles are out of the way, I’ve gotta lay it all out for you.”

“Go ahead, son.”

“Poppy and me had s*x,” he said like it was the most normal thing to confess to a parent. Mortified, Poppy pushed him, not that it did any good. “A lot. In a bunch of different places. Pretty much everywhere in the Venture. Standing, sitting, lying down. On the floor, on tables, against walls. Even on the workbench. Dad would be pissed.”

“What are you doing?” Poppy hissed. “Are you trying to kill me?”

Val laughed. “There’s no reason to hide anymore, and he might be surprised about his father,” she said, taking a deep breath. “My boy’s telling me all the things he’s wanted to tell me for weeks.”

“Months,” Turner said. “I’ve never felt like the way Poppy makes me feel. It’s true, you were right. When it’s real, there isn’t any doubt. Just by existing, she makes my life better.”

“Did you tell her all of this?”

“She’s a stubborn woman, Ma. She doesn’t always hear me.”

“I hear you,” Poppy said. “I just have other things to consider.”

He laid a possessive arm across her lap. “Like what?”

Poppy wrapped her arms around his. “Like we live a thousand miles apart for starters.”

“I already told you we’ll live wherever you want to live. I got a job within twelve hours of scaling your castle walls. I could’ve had a lease within twenty-four hours, but you wouldn’t let me sign anything.”

“You own a building,” Poppy said, using his arm to pull them closer together. “You don’t want to live out here.”

“I want to live where you want.”

“You did notice how your sisters reacted when I walked in the room, didn’t you? You have your work cut out for you, First. If your family hate me, there is no chance for us.”

Turner set his sights on his mom. “What is going on with them? Why the cold shoulder? They should hear Poppy out.”

“I can’t justify what I did.”

Val raised her brows. “What makes you think they’re angry with Poppy, son?” That startled both of them. “Faye’s pissed about the whole situation. That you were ashamed of your feelings for Poppy.”

“That wasn’t it at all.”

“If we’d known about this, as a family… Faye and Charley are arguing a lot. Charley is upset at Poppy and I think there’s something going on related to David Leicester, though I don’t have a clue how he’s involved in any of this. Zoey and the twins are their usual teenage selves. There hasn’t been much time to talk to them about their feelings… Autumn asked what was happening, I said we’d need a report from you. I knew you loved Poppy, I’ve known that for a while, but it wasn’t my place to tell the girls. Especially if you decided not to be together, that might just confuse them.”

“We’re together, Ma.”

“Turner,” Poppy said, giving his arm a shake. “We don’t know that for sure yet.”

He didn’t respond to her and just kept on addressing his mother. “They can be mad at me, that’s fine. I can handle pissed off sisters.”

“This is new to them,” Val said. “They’ve never had to share you like this. And, in the past, you’d never have left the state without dragging each of them aside and giving them fifteen instructions about looking out for each other. When you were just gone, they were scared. Faye’s way of processing fear is to get angry, you know that, and this time you’re the target.”

“That’s fine,” Turner said.

Val’s attention shifted past her son to seek Poppy. “Charley is a more complicated matter.” Zoey would be too. “It’s up to you to decide how much you care about fighting for this family. Maddoxes don’t give up, not when it comes to each other. Are we worth fighting for?”

“The happiness of your family is worth the sacrifice of my own,” Poppy said. “You were a happy family before I came along. I’m sorry I ruined that.”

“You are a part of this family,” Val said, leaning over Turner to squeeze Poppy’s arm. “You have me, Turner, and the munchkins on your side. Faye is more on your side than Turner’s. I’m sure Zoey and the twins will come around when they understand why you both did what you did. Charley is ruled by her emotions, she’s confused, this is all happening fast. She doesn’t process quickly, she never has. It takes time for her. That’s all she needs. Time.”

“All of you are welcome here for as long as you want,” Poppy said. “While all this Holden stuff is going on for sure. Beyond that…”

Val’s next exhale showed her frustration. “Turner, what do you want from the future?”

“What?”

“You spend a lot of time talking about making Poppy happy, fulfilling her wants for the future. She hears that and believes anything she says will just add to your burden. If you want your life to stay exactly the same way, you have to stop implying to her there’s a chance of anything else.”

“Implying?” he asked, offended. “Ma, what the hell are you talking about? Poppy can have anything she wants.”

“But would you be happier if nothing changed?”

“I want Poppy. Wherever we are, I don’t care. As long as it’s me and Poppy, that’s all I care about.”

“Just you and Poppy?”

“Val,” Poppy said with a tinge of warning. “What happened to future trust?”

“If you and Turner fall apart before you get a chance with each other, we won’t have a future, will we?”

“Fall apart? What—”

“Turner, you should take your shower,” Poppy said, standing up. “I have to get changed.”

“You told Faye we didn’t have to change for dinner,” Turner said.

Finding a glittering Granger Girl smile, Poppy held onto her composure. “Guests can come in their pajamas. Daughters of the host wear their Sunday best.”

Leaving the room, she went up the stairs and into Grammie’s suite. Time to get ready for dinner. For the families to come together for the first time. Poppy didn’t have a clue what the evening held.