Chapter 10 #2
Maggie must sense I’m upset because she reaches out and squeezes my hand then she says what I’m holding back, saying, “Now, honey, you and I both can see that this is horse shit. Owen has everything he needs, wants, and more. Poppy works her butt off. And she has all of us, too. She has a huge support system. Walker and Violet, Jack and Cami, me, and of course, Ollie. You know the saying, ‘It takes a village?’ Well, Poppy’s village is mighty and strong. ”
Monica glances at Maggie and nods while she writes down more notes.
I give Maggie a look, like ‘what do I do?’
Monica’s gaze meets mine. “The initial report also indicates your home is in foreclosure.”
I swallow. “It is, but that is my father’s home, and we’re in the middle of moving.”
“And where will you and your brother be living?”
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. Because I don’t have the answer to that. I have no clue. And this looks bad. Really bad.
I realize, in that moment, that I can’t do this alone. Pride does not protect kids. Paperwork does. I need a plan.
“With Ollie,” Maggie says confidently and squeezes my shoulder.
I give her a look, confused and she side eyes me like, ‘go along with this.’
“Yeah...yes. We are moving in with my fri...Ollie,” I say as Maggie smiles and nods, encouraging me.
Like he’s been summoned, footsteps sound on the stairs.
“I heard my name?” Ollie asks as he comes up beside me, eyes flicking between us and over to the worker. The tension in the room is thick, and he must suspect something is up.
The CPS worker turns and glances over at him. “And you are?”
“Ollie Kendrick,” he says, reaching to shake Monica’s hand. She looks at him in confusion and back at me. Then she makes a note on her clipboard.
Damn, I wish I could see those notes.
Maggie looks back and forth between us and blurts out, “Ollie and Poppy are engaged. They’ve practically raised Owen like their child since he was a baby.”
Ollie doesn’t even hesitate. A brief moment of surprise crosses his face but without missing a beat he says, “That’s right. We’re engaged.”
His eyes give away nothing as if this is the truth, and I’m shocked at how easy he’s improving with this and just going along with it.
He steps beside me and puts his arm around my waist, grinning at me. “What’s going on, honey?”
Honey? What the heck? Engaged? They’re both insane.
I practically choke on air. “Uh, well. This is Monica. She’s a CPS worker investigating me... er... us... for Owen.”
He reaches for my hand and squeezes it, firmly, grounding me. “Wow, investigating us for what?”
“Child neglect,” Maggie says dryly.
“Whoa, who would make a false report of that? Isn’t it illegal to make false allegations like that?” Ollie asks, genuinely confused.
Monica peeks down at her notes and says, “We can’t really say who made the complaint.”
I see Maggie discreetly peering over her shoulder at her clipboard, her eyes widening. Her mouth opens and closes, her eyes narrowing. The worker pulls the clipboard closer and walks around, taking in my planner and laptop.
Ollie notices this and circles back to us. “Well, I’m sure this is all a misunderstanding,” Ollie says confidently. “Poppy and Owen are moving into the apartment above the shop. We were getting the new flooring put in and the walls are freshly painted. It’s looking great. You want to see it?”
The worker blinks in surprise and says, “I would.”
I would really like to see this, too. Because the last time I was up there, it looked like a frat house full of stale cigarette smoke, stains on the walls, carpet, and a moldy fridge.
I rented it to Ollie for practically nothing, and he’s been cleaning it up.
But I had no idea just how much he was cleaning it up.
He made no mention of paint and flooring to me.
He makes it sound actually livable. If she walks up there and sees how it was when he first took it over, there’s no way that’s going to fly with her.
He leads us all up the stairs, talking calmly about the apartment. This is all news to me as well, and I try to play it off like I already know all of this. I haven’t been up there. It’s his space and when we hang out, we usually hang out at my house, The Black Dog, or at Walker or Jack’s.
I stand there stupefied, Maggie and Mack beside me equally in shock, as we take in the upstairs apartment that looks nothing like the shit hole Ollie moved into last year.
It’s spotless for one and doesn’t even seem like the same place.
All the walls are painted a creamy white.
He has fresh carpet laid throughout and the tile has been redone in the kitchen and bathroom.
It’s not a big place, by any means, but it’s.
..beautiful. And it smells really clean.
My hand goes to my chest, and I take it all in, trying to blink back tears. I blow out a breath, and Ollie’s hand slides in mine. I try to act like I’m not surprised but fail. I’ve always been a terrible liar.
“I’m sorry. I just get so emotional when I see it,” I admit to the worker who is watching me as if I have a test to pass here. “Ollie worked so hard to make this beautiful for Owen and me. Thank you,” I say to Ollie and lean my head on his shoulder.
“Of course. Anything for my family,” he says naturally, as if this were normal.
But is it? Is it true? Because it feels true and dang I want it to be true. At this point, we have to keep this going. I give Maggie a look, and she’s taking all this in and watching us as if she were a proud parent.
“Well,” Monica says, making notes on her clipboard. “This is very nice.”
“What the hell?” I whisper, looking at Ollie with wide eyes.
He says nothing, kisses my forehead and continues with the charade. “We’re going to be so happy here, honey.”
We walk Monica back down to the shop, Maggie and Mack following us. Mack seems confused as well but it’s like she understood the assignment and isn’t saying anything.
“I’ll need to come back and speak with Owen. When would be a good time?” Monica asks.
“We could meet you one evening here around six,” I offer. “I have to look at his schedule.”
She nods. “That’ll work. I look forward to meeting him. I might call if I have any follow-up questions in the meantime.”
I nod, Ollie’s hand sliding into mine protectively. The warmth of it, already relaxing me. “Okay.”
She walks out the door, and I wait until I see her get into her car.
I whirl and look at Maggie, who is examining her nails and not meeting my eyes.
Mack sits in my chair at my desk and says, “Wow. You sure have some explaining to do, Maggs.”
“What? I was just trying to help,” she says with a smirk, pleased with herself.
“We’re not together, let alone engaged, Maggie!” I shriek.
Ollie grins. “Hey, I just went with it.”
I blow out a breath. “I know. And thank you. What you did upstairs is incredible. I don’t even know how to repay you for that.”
Ollie shrugs. “I had a buddy from the fire station whose parents own a hardware store. They gave me a great deal at cost, and I just worked on it a little bit at a time. It really wasn’t much.”
“No. It’s amazing. Thank you,” I say softly.
“I don’t think it was Coach Toddy,” Maggie says. “On her notes, it was an anonymous call from a female.”
Weird. I thought for sure that it was probably Jeremy Toddy turning us in for him losing his job, but apparently not.
I know it wasn’t Sully because he’s in hot water with abandoning Owen and wouldn’t draw attention to that fact.
Maybe Toddy had someone else call. A girlfriend maybe?
I try to think if he was married but I actually have no clue.
Not sure what woman would want to be with someone like Jeremy Toddy.
That night, too upset to even think about packing or cooking, I ride out to the ranch with Ollie and Owen to meet with Weston. He’s coming down from Bozeman and meeting us there.
We get to the main Wilder House lodge that Jack and Cami are staying in while their house is being built, and Tessa is there, cooking up a storm.
“Hey, Tessa.” I step inside and round the island to give her a hug. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”
“Poppy, I’ve missed you! What are you doing here?”
“We came out to visit,” I say, my eyes cutting to Owen, who is pleading with me to run down to the barn. “Go.”
He scampers off, yelling behind him, “Hi, Tessa! I gotta go see the horses. Bye!”
Tessa smiles. “Have fun!”
“Is Jack in the barn?” I ask, knowing that some of the wranglers will be down there.
“He is, and so is Cami,” she says as she pulls a tray of bread out of the oven.
Ollie’s quiet and sits at the table. I sit next to him and Tessa says, “Okay, spill. I know something is wrong. What is it?”
“We’re waiting to talk to Weston. I’m in a pickle with Owen, and I need him to help me get guardianship of Owen,” I say as I slide my hand over Ollie’s.
Tessa’s eyes watch our hands, and her eyes widen. “Are you two officially a couple or what?”
Panic flashes across my face before I can stop it.
Ollie clears his throat. “It’s… complicated.”
Tessa snorts. “That’s not a no.”
I squeeze Ollie’s hand a little tighter. “We’re figuring things out.”
Her smile softens instantly. “Well, it’s about damn time.”