Poppy's Present (Poppy's Place) (5 page)

Pleasure and silliness bubbled up, erupting in laughter. Poppy slammed her hand to her mouth a second before embracing the happiness. “So, it’s been a while, but obviously we still know what we’re doing. Middle Man, would you be a dear and bring over some ice cream. I’m in the licking mood.”

Trevor jumped to his feet and bounded across the room, his tanned butt bouncing with each step. “I did make dinner reservations, but I’m willing to say fuck them if it means licking. I hope your mood extends to chocolate soup because this stopped being ice cream a while ago.”

The next day would come soon enough. Trevor stood by her feet with a big bowl of drippy chocolate deliciousness. Today, they had important things to do.

Chapter Eight

Poppy gripped Michael’s hand tighter as they made their way deeper into the hospital. She should have known Rose would send their father to the same place they’d all worked in at one time. It was also the place she’d been shot by an irate racer. At least they’d painted and redecorated since then.

“Remember when that a-hole shot you?” Trevor said. “Damn that pissed me off.”

She’d never forget. Nightmares still woke her in the dead of night with sweat rolling down her back. Trevor stopped her and caught her chin in his fingers.

“I’m such a dick sometimes. You were so brave , and I’m so grateful you forgave me for all the stupid shit. Most days I still can’t believe you love me.”

He pressed a hard kiss to her lips, the pressure nearly too much, but quickly gone. His personality and actions roared louder than even he realized at times, but his love matched.

“It was a long time ago.” She stroked his cheek. “And I love you more every day. Even today. Thanks for coming along—I know how all of you are about hospitals.”

Trevor smirked. “Mike and I are fine, but we’ll keep an eye on Cody so he doesn’t pull one of his fainting tricks.”

“I’m not going to fainting,” Cody grumped. “Can we get going already? I don’t mean to rush, but the quicker we take care of this, the sooner we can get the hell out of here.”

She nodded and kept on toward the room number Rose had texted her, forcing her feet to maintain speed when she wanted to slow. Even though so much had changed since the last time she’d seen her father, so much more lingered. She didn’t require his permission or approval for how she lived her life, but some small corner of her heart wanted it.

Michael stopped them as she almost walked past the room. She looked from the door number to his face, his square jaw tight. Her husbands had never met her father, only heard about him secondhand. She’d agreed on the drive over to have all three join her and Rose, no matter what her sister wanted. Rose had asked for her help. Well, she came with three husbands. Poppy blew out a breath and knocked on the door. At the faint “come in” she looked around at her men, giving each one last smile before stepping inside.

Sunlight entered through the windows, warming the small space to uncomfortable levels, but the heat didn’t make her sweat. The small man in a gray track suit lying on the hospital bed had that covered.

Rose jumped to her feet, her hair perfectly curled, crisp white shirt tucked into charcoal slacks and impractical heels—the picture making Poppy thankful she’d put on the blue polo-collared dress with white belt Trevor suggested.

“Hi, Rose.” Poppy stepped in farther, leaving Michael’s side, but keeping a distance from the bed. “Hello, Father. You’re looking well, all things considered.”

“Why is she here?” Her father glared at her, though the question was clearly for Rose.

“You said not to call the others, so I asked Poppy to come. You have to be reasonable. She’s come to help move you into the new apartment at the assisted living complex.”

“I don’t wish to discuss this with strangers,” her father said.

“That’s entirely too bad. I attempted to be reasonable, but you refused. Now I’m giving you another option. You let Poppy and I move you to the apartment, or you are moving in with her in Montana.”

“Whoa,” Cody said.

Poppy lifted her hand without turning toward them, unsure of Rose’s game, let alone what their father’s response would be to such a threat.

“You wouldn’t dare,” he said.

“We already discussed it. Those are your choices. Poppy’s home—they have plenty of room, her father-in-law is a doctor, Poppy has nurse’s training and is able to stay home to care for you. It makes sense. If you don’t like that, you can move into the apartment where you would have paid assistance as needed.”

“Get out,” he said. “All of you get out, before I have you thrown out.”

Rose put her fists on her hips and scowled at him. “You’ve already tried that. It doesn’t work. This needs to be decided today.”

“I choose to move into your home,” he said stiffly. “If you insist I move in with somebody, it should be you.”

Rose shook her head. “That is not an option. We’re going to step out and have lunch. When we return, you need to have your decision made.”

She bent down, kissed his wrinkled cheek, and strode into the hallway without another word. With more questions than ever, Poppy followed, her men at her heels.

“What the hell was that?” She grabbed her sister’s elbow and spun her around.

Rose’s gaze darted around the empty hall. “It was necessary. We can’t do this here. Come on.”

“Yes, we can,” Michael said. “You ambushed her and now you can answer for it.”

Poppy had forgotten about her backup for a moment, so accustomed to dealing with her sister alone. She crossed her arms and stood her ground. “He’s right. Tell me.”

Rose stood straighter, still watching around them. “I will not go into family issues at my place of work. If you follow me to my home, I will explain everything.”

She strode away. Poppy didn’t know what was happening, but if Rose had returned to work at the hospital, her life had changed exponentially. She looked over her shoulder at her men. Each frowned but shrugged.

“I guess we follow and find out what the heck is going on. I’m so sorry—“

“Don’t be sorry,” Cody said. “This isn’t your fault. We’ll figure it out and put this all to rest.”

***

The last time Poppy had visited her sister’s home, she’d had to punch in a code to get into a multi-million dollar gated community. Now, she waited while Rose fumbled with keys to a modest apartment complex two blocks from the hospital.

“I’m the first place on the left,” Rose said, holding the door , but Trevor propped it open. “Thanks.”

“Greg left you so broke you had to move here? That doesn’t sound like him,” Trevor said.

Rose’s lips pressed so tight together they turned white. “That rat bastard ruined everything. He asked for a divorce six months ago and moved in with his girlfriend the next day. We’ve been in litigation ever since. He’ll pay one day.”

But not today. Poppy looked around the narrow hall as she waited for Rose. She couldn’t imagine falling so far and being so bitter on top of it all. Once inside the small apartment, she got another layer of her sister’s life. Brown boxes lined the hall, leaving little room to squeeze through the small kitchen into the living-dining room .

Rose pointed to a huge dining room table. “I have sandwiches and drinks in the kitchen.”

“You still have a lot of explaining to do,” Cody said.

“I have no reason to believe Father would move to Montana. He hasn’t said your name since you left,” Rose said, ignoring him and speaking straight to her. “I needed the threat to make him realize how serious this is.”

“Why can’t you move into his house? Why can’t he move here?” Poppy helped carry food to the table, falling into the familiar to ease the awkwardness.

“At the moment, my funds are tied up with my lawyers fighting the bastard. I work far too many hours to properly care for Dad. If his house were closer to the hospital, or any medical facility I could reasonably work for, I might consider it, but I don’t have time to keep up that big house either. I need him somewhere safe so I can focus on me.”

Poppy sat beside Cody, who stayed silent in the face of Rose’s explanations. The sandwich Michael set on her plate held little appeal, but she picked it up and took a bite. She chewed the cheese and ham as she took in the rest of the apartment. The dark leather sofa belonged in a much larger space, as did the television. She remembered them from the mansion. Aside from the similarly large coffee table, full of papers, the rest of the space was empty. The tiny kitchen, so different than any she’d seen Rose use, sparked more questions, but the row of medication bottles near the sink could provide answers.

“What else is going on?” Poppy asked. “It’s not like you to shirk responsibility, let alone try to force it off on me.”

Rose whirled toward her so quickly her hair snapped out of place. She flicked an auburn curl aside. “I am not shirking anything. I am being reasonable and practical.”

“No, you aren’t. If you were being reasonable and practical, you’d have Father move here. I’m betting there’s a second bedroom, and this is minutes from where he’ll need rehab. You could even have a nurse come in.” Poppy picked up her soda. “I can see his point. He should be here.”

Rose’s eyes narrowed, and Poppy braced for something vile. Her sister hated to be challenged.

“What are the pills all about?” Trevor asked, cutting the pregnant pause. “You either have a drug problem or some serious crap.”

Rose whipped toward him and this time, she winced. Poppy had never been more grateful for her men and the way they worked together.

“That’s none of your business.”

“It could be,” Michael said. “If you’re abusing drugs, that would be grounds to have the power of attorney revoked and another sister brought in to manage your father’s affairs.”

“How would you know that?”

“He’s in law school,” Poppy said. “Tell me about the medication. Are you ill?”

Rose set her sandwich down. “This isn’t about me.”

“You made it about you by lying to me and bringing us here,” she said. “Give me a reason to help you in all of this.”

“Fine.” She tore off a piece of bread. “I have cancer. So far, the doctors have only found it in my neck, but we are treating it aggressively. Between treatments, work, and the divorce, I have neither the time nor energy to take care of Father. I cannot do it, but he asked me not to bring in the other sisters. The assisted living complex is the only place he can have some sort of normal life and hope to get back to his own.”

“And you didn’t tell him?” Poppy asked.

Rose glared. “No, I have chosen not to.”

“Right, and you didn’t tell us either. This whole trip started because of a lie, albeit one of omission,” Trevor said.

Cancer.
Poppy’s heart broke for her sister. Would the damn stuff ever leave their family alone? Rose’s choices made more sense now.

“I should have told the truth,” Rose said, her neck stiff and straight. “I apologize for not doing so from the start. I’ll understand if you leave.”

Trevor started to stand, but Poppy shook her head and he sat back down.

“I’ll help,” Poppy said. “But no more lies. From here on out, you need to tell Father the truth. He’ll understand, Rose, and he’ll want to help you.”

Rose averted her eyes and shook her head. “You don’t understand.”

“Yes, I do.” Poppy reached across the table and squeezed her wrist. “Dad loves you.”

She looked up, tears in her eyes. “Greg and the boys left, even knowing about my diagnosis.”

The confession broke Poppy’s heart. “I’m so sorry. You’re going to have to trust Father will be different. He’s always been different for you.”

“I never should have looked you up,” Rose said. “It wasn’t fair to you. I’ll tell him the truth and let the chips fall. It’s the right thing to do, and I haven’t made it a habit of doing that lately. Please, finish eating, and we’ll head back to the hospital.”

Knowing the full story gave Poppy more confidence. She strode along beside Rose, her sister sweating but not backing down. They stepped into the room together, Cody, Michael, and Trevor at their heels. Their father sat at a card table near the window overlooking the parking lot. He didn’t turn when they entered.

“Father, have you made your decision?” Rose asked without delay.

“I think you’re bluffing,” he said slowly. “I am going to go home to my house, and you’ll help me.”

“I already told you that’s not possible,” Rose said, but stopped short of giving the full explanation.

“I’m not going home with her.”

Poppy stood straighter. She refused to let him talk around her or to take his insults. “I may be your only choice. I promise to give you the same loving, tender care you gave me growing up.”

He scowled at her, the left side of his face only a touch lower than the right. “You paint yourself the victim, but I don’t see it. You’re a victim only of your poor life choices.”

Michael, Trevor, and Cody stepped up beside her, but Poppy could laugh. “I don’t paint myself as a victim. I haven’t for a long time. It’s hard to claim that when I’m married to three men who adore me, spoil me, and have made me a mother to three amazing girls. Let me put it this way. I’m willing to bring you home, Father, because it’s the right thing to do. Isn’t that why you brought me home after Mother died? It was the right thing to do?”