Page 35 of Poppy Kisses (Return to Coal Haven #3)

Chapter Twenty-One

Jensen

My stomach bottomed out and the postcoital glow and optimism from minutes ago vanished. What the hell was she doing here?

Hassie watched me coast to where I normally parked, but her dually was blocking my spot. I gave her a little wave to try to keep the peace. Her returning smile was tight.

“Well, Hassie’s here.” My mom’s car was still parked by the shop.

My ex must’ve just arrived, or Mom would’ve texted.

Mom might’ve also made Hassie wait every minute of our date night to keep from bothering us.

I’d have to apologize to her for the unexpected guest later.

I hadn’t known my ex-wife would surprise us with a visit.

I swung around and parked by the shop too. Poppy was quiet. I killed the engine.

“I didn’t know.” I also didn’t want to get out of this vehicle. I had no desire to face Hassie or to figure out where Poppy and I were now after we’d just talked about where we were going.

Poppy wasn’t looking at me, but she also wasn’t looking toward Hassie. “It’s fine.” Her gaze stayed on her hands on her lap. “She’s Auggie’s mom.”

“She should still call first.”

Poppy finally lifted her tentative attention to meet mine. “Feels a little awkward.”

“That’s one word for it. Look, I don’t know why she suddenly showed up, but it’s suspicious that she finds out I’m getting married, and now she’s on my doorstep.” If this had been five years ago, I’d have been flattered. I might’ve even stayed married. Some efforts came too late.

“She must care about you.”

Only when it was convenient. Rather, in most cases, inconvenient. We were being watched, and I wanted to shield Poppy from any backlash. “We should go in. See if there’s a reason for her to be here.”

Poppy dropped her focus to her hands again.

I hopped out. I was running around to open her door, but she beat me to it.

She stuffed her hands in her pockets, but I took one last look at the legs that had been wrapped around me earlier.

I suppressed my sigh. Things couldn’t be fucked up between us. Not this soon.

“Hey,” Hassie drawled. The slight southern accent she’d picked up over the years didn’t grate on my nerves as much as it used to.

I had once viewed it as a sign that we were growing further apart and that she’d been getting closer to others in a way that had torn through me.

Now, it only highlighted the distance that had always been there.

Some closures couldn’t be forced. “Poppy. Long time, huh?”

“Hi, Hassie.” Poppy’s usual exuberance was gone, and I missed that light. This was the Poppy who left when life punched down. Could she trust in me a little longer? Figure this out together?

Hassie pointed a bright smile my way. “Erin said Saturdays are date night?”

I’d like to keep it that way. “Something wrong?” Might as well get straight to the point.

Her smile dipped. “I missed Auggie, and I have a break in my schedule.” She sucked in a deep breath.

“Actually, I’m on hiatus. I’ve been preparing for my next phase in life.

” She shrugged and stuffed her hands in the back pockets of her booty shorts.

“It’s a good time for the transition, so I’m opening a barrel racing training school. I can be closer to my son.”

“Auggie?” The incredulity in my voice made her brows lift.

The sassy attitude that drew men like moths to her flame flared in her expression. “I don’t have more than one.”

How often did she remember she was even a mom? Each year, I anticipated Auggie’s birthday phone call from her. Would this be the year she forgot?

Getting upset wouldn’t help.

“I should go in.” Poppy started for the house. She nodded between us. “Let you two talk.”

I wanted to yank her back into me. I’d dealt with Hassie on my own for so long, and no one understood. She was the belle of the ball, and I’d always been the average Joe who should’ve been grateful for her scraps of attention no matter how much I’d had to scramble for them.

I watched Poppy disappear inside, then I caught Hassie scrutinizing me.

“Where are you moving to?” I asked, bracing myself for her answer.

She snapped out of her inspection and adopted a smile that held a hint of sexiness. “Here, silly. I’m coming home.”

“What?” I’d carved out my own spot in Coal Haven, and Poppy was helping me secure it. Hassie moving back shouldn’t change a thing. So why did it feel like my world teetered on an edge?

“Honey wants to sell.” Honey was an older woman Hassie had befriended when we were kids.

Honey raised horses and competed with them.

Thankfully, our paths rarely crossed. “Said I can buy the house and the acreage the shop is on. She’ll still rent out the pastures, and eventually, if she sells, I get first dibs.

Then Auggie can get more experience with horses. ”

“What if he doesn’t want more experience with horses?”

She scoffed. “My kid is not going to spend more time playing soccer than he does riding.”

I ground my teeth together. There was nothing wrong with soccer, and it was a fuck ton cheaper. “He enjoys soccer. He’s not scared of it.”

She sauntered closer to me. “He just needs more time. Horses are therapy, and I’ll work with him.”

“It’s getting late. We can talk in the morning.

” I started for the house, not letting her cross to me.

Was Poppy talking to Mom? Did she retreat to the bedroom?

How was Auggie dealing with his mom’s arrival, or did she show after bedtime?

And if she arrived when she knew he’d be in bed, why?

Long day on the road, or was she up to something?

Poppy’s form was in the window. She was chatting with Mom. She hadn’t gone to bed yet. I kicked up my pace and took the porch stairs in two bounds.

“Jensen, about that—”

I stepped into the house before Hassie finished. When I said we could talk in the morning, I meant it. I’d quit going by her schedule a long time ago.

Poppy glanced over, her smile tight. I wanted to cross to her and link our hands.

To show her that nothing would change. But I wasn’t letting my ex-wife force our hand in the tentative step forward we were taking in our relationship.

Mom looked up from where she perched on the edge of the couch.

Hassie crowded in the door behind me. I moved closer to Poppy.

“I was just asking how Bishop’s was,” Mom said as if she was oblivious to the tension, and I appreciated the effort. “It’s been so long since I’ve eaten there. I might have to make it a grandma and grandson date.”

“Auggie would love that,” I said.

“He was asleep when I arrived,” Hassie said. “I can’t wait to see him.”

Poppy inched toward her bedroom. “Good night, everyone.”

“Speaking of that.” Hassie’s voice stopped Poppy in her tracks. “Dad’s renters haven’t moved out yet, and I thought I could crash here.”

The room went silent. Shit. Renters were handy when I could talk Poppy into staying with me.

Now, it sucked. The last thing I wanted was to wake up and see Hassie, but I also didn’t want her to leave and have Auggie blame me.

“Poppy’s in the guest room,” I said carefully, “and she’s using the extra room upstairs for her office. ”

Hassie tipped her head as if she was waiting for me to rearrange our situation just for her. Her pale brows drew together, and she let out a curt laugh. “It’s a big house.”

It was my house.

Mom clapped her hands together. “Well, I certainly have space. Why don’t you crash with me? You can use the room Auggie uses when he sleeps over.”

Relief washed over me. “Thanks, Mom. That’s a great offer.”

Hassie recoiled like she didn’t expect me to give up on a solution to keep her under this roof. Her blue gaze darted back and forth between me and Poppy.

Poppy ducked her head and shrank in on herself. I had the urge to grab her hand, but that’d only make whatever was going on here worse. We had a deal, and I didn’t want her to renege on it.

“Okay, then. Erin, you’ve got a roomie.” She spun to me, standing in a way that made her tanned legs cross and all the muscles flex.

Once upon a time, I used to live for that flirty stance until I saw the calculation behind it.

It’d taken too many years to open my eyes.

“How ’bout I bring lunch tomorrow? I can see Auggie then. ”

I glanced at Poppy, but she looked like she was trying to become one with the paint on the walls. “Yeah, that’s fine,” I said, hoping what I said next would dissuade her, “but I’ll be working in the shop most of the day.”

“That’s fine,” Hassie said. “It’ll give me and Poppy a chance to catch up.”

Poppy’s flinch was subtle, but I caught it. Her confession about how my comments had made her so insecure ran through my head, amping up my remorse over it.

Before I could backpedal on my shop plans, Poppy caught my gaze and forced a smile. “Don’t plan anything around me. I don’t want to get in the way.” She gave a stilted wave. “Good night, everyone. Thanks again, Erin.”

She rushed out of the room, and it was all I could do to keep my feet rooted. If I chased her, she’d want to hide more. I’d give her this space while I got Hassie out of the house.

“Well,” Hassie said with too much cheer in her voice, “it’s a date. I’ll bring lunch by.”

“Glad everything worked out.” Mom rose. “I’m not sure if you know where I live, Hassie. Why don’t you follow me?”

Mom gave me a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“Thank you,” I said, hoping she could hear the depth of my gratitude. Thanks for watching Auggie. Thanks for getting Hassie out of my house. Thanks for making this all easier.

“Anytime.” She cast a worried gaze toward Poppy’s room, then slipped out the door, ushering Hassie with her.

Finally, I was alone. I watched their headlights disappear. The dread sinking through my gut didn’t diminish.

Fuck.

I went straight for the guest room and knocked.

Poppy popped the door open. She had her bonnet on, and her expression was tired.

I reached for her, but she swayed back. Was this too intimate? The rebuff hurt, but with the drama from tonight, I couldn’t blame her. Still, my old scars cracked open. “You okay?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

The way she brushed off my question made the hurt more acute. “Because my ex-wife showed up expecting to stay here only minutes after we decided to explore where all this was going.”

She let out a long exhale. “That was unexpected.”

“More than a little.” I rocked back and forth on my heels. “I don’t want this to change anything.”

“You don’t?” she asked hesitantly.

“Of course not.”

She nodded. “Okay. Me either. Um…thanks for the date.”

Her lack of conviction burrowed its way into the husband who’d found himself home alone one too many nights. I was going to ask her about next Saturday, but that was too close to feeling like I was begging. “You’re welcome. Good night, Poppy.”

“Night, Jensen.”

I turned away before she could shut the bedroom door in my face. Hassie would move on when she got bored. Auggie and I had never been enough for her to stay, and that likely hadn’t changed.

Would we be enough for Poppy to stay?