Chapter 25
Poppy
Hold On by Luke Grimes
“Can I tell Violet?” Walker asks, half grinning. “Because if I don’t, she’s gonna know something’s up and assume the worst. She has my location on her phone and will wonder why I’m at the hospital.”
Ollie shakes his head quickly. “Let me tell my sister first, or she’ll lose her damn mind.”
Walker laughs. “Yeah. That’s true. Carry on. But just so you know, her and Violet were at the bar when I left, and it’s only a matter of time before they realize where I am.”
Before anyone can say anything else, there’s noise in the hallway. Fast footsteps and voices. Then a sharp knock that barely waits for permission. The door swings open, and Violet barrels in first, Cami right behind her. They stop short and stare at all of us.
“So much for the no visitors sign,” the nurse says with a sigh.
“These visitors are welcome,” I tell her.
“There you are,” Violet says, breathless. Then she sees the baby. “Oh my God, Asher Walker. My ovaries hurt so bad right now seeing that baby, honey. Whose baby is this?”
Walker smirks. “Well, good thing you’re already pregnant.”
Violet fans herself dramatically. “I might just get pregnant again.”
“I don’t think that’s how that works,” Owen mutters.
Cami squints at Ollie. Then the baby. Then back at Ollie again. “Whose baby is this?” she asks, looking confused. “Are you guys okay? What are you doing here?”
Ollie runs a nervous hand down his face. “I was just about to call you.”
Cami shrugs. “Mom called me. Told me to come down, and then Violet realized Walker was here. What’s going on?”
Not a HIPAA violation at all, I think sarcastically. God, Theresa is the worst.
Ollie sighs. “Well...” He looks as if he’s struggling to tell her, and overwhelmed.
Owen answers around a mouthful of snacks he definitely did not have five minutes ago. “It’s their baby.”
The room goes silent.
“Whose baby?” Cami clarifies, her mouth dropping.
“I said,” Owen repeats patiently, “it’s their baby.”
Cami looks at me. Then Ollie. Then the baby. “I’m sorry,” she says. “I feel like I skipped a couple of chapters.”
Before anyone can explain, the door opens again, and Maggie comes bustling in, purse on her shoulder, slightly out of breath.
“I had to park practically a mile away,” she announces. Then she stops and stares. “Where did y’all get a baby?”
Owen looks up from my purse, grabs another snack, and shrugs. “Probably the stork.”
That kid is always hungry and apparently funny. But he’s taking this better than I could have imagined so there’s that.
Maggie stares at him and says playfully, “That probably checks out.”
Violet starts laughing, and Walker’s shoulders shake. Cami drops into a chair, rubbing her temples.
“Walker leaves the bar for thirty minutes,” she mutters, “and y’all acquire a whole human.”
Ollie looks down at the baby, then up at all of us, helpless and overwhelmed and smiling despite himself. I slide my hand into his and squeeze.
“Cami, this is our sister,” he says softly.
Cami opens her mouth and closes it again, just as shocked as I was. “I’m sorry?”
Ollie says, “Apparently our dad had a baby and then abandoned it. The mother left my name for some reason and Mom called me down here.”
Welcome to the weird family, I think. Apparently, we all just got a little weirder, and I wouldn’t have it any other way because we’re all here for each other. Weird, good or bad. It should be a wedding vow at this point. For better or worse. For weird or whatever.
Ollie gives them the basic version of what happens, and Cami looks like she still doesn’t believe it. “Are you messing with me right now?”
He shakes his head.
“Holy shit, you’re serious?” she asks, her eyes bugging. “We have a sister?”
Owen leans back in the hospital bed and messes with the buttons.
“Can I hold her?” she asks.
“Of course,” Ollie murmurs, picks her up, brings her to Cami, before laying her gently in her arms.
“She kind of looks like a potato.” Owen grins, looking over at her. "We can call her tator tot.”
I snort. “Well, she does need a name, but I’m not sure it’ll be tator tot.”
Cami reaches out, lays her hand on Ollie, and says, “Hey, are you okay?”
He nods. “Just shocked. Didn’t have this on the agenda for the day or my bingo card for this year.”
“And how do you feel about all this?” Cami asks, looking at me with a worried expression.
“I’m shocked. But here for Ollie,” I say firmly, sliding my arm around him.
Maggie looks emotional and fans herself. She whispers to Violet, “I just can’t...”
The knock on the hospital door comes way too soon. Again. I’m expecting Theresa, who has been dying to come in here, but for some reason, Ollie isn’t having it. I don’t know what she said or did before I got here, but he is not happy with her. Well, unhappier than usual, we’ll just put it that way.
I look up from where I’m perched on the edge of the bed, and Ollie looks up from the baby at the same time. Owen’s on the couch in the corner, legs dangling, working through his bag of pretzels like it’s his job.
The door opens, and in walks the hospital social worker wearing a badge, and a familiar face is right behind her, the CPS worker, Monica.
Owen squints. “Wow,” he says, looking at Monica. “Do we get a punch card or something? Like every five visits, we win a prize?”
I press my lips together. Ollie chokes back a laugh.
“Can we have a moment with Mr. and Mrs. Kendrick?” the hospital social worker gently asks the room.
“Can you stay, Cami?” Ollie asks.
“Of course,” she murmurs.
Owen shrugs. “Sure. I’ll just be over here mentally preparing for my free footlong sandwich for the next visit.”
Neither of their faces give anything away, and neither of them laughs.
Walker, Violet, and Maggie all file out to the waiting room, looking back at us and waving.
The hospital social worker explains that they can’t discharge us until CPS conducts an interview, given the circumstances and that this is standard protocol in situations like these.
But it all sounds like noise. It makes me swallow and look around, fear creeping in. I hate that CPS is involved, and I don’t want them around Owen—or this baby.
It makes me wonder how often things like this happen. How often do mothers abandon their babies and leave a note for the father to come, who had no idea there was even a baby in the first place?
I wish I knew what she was thinking and why she did this. Is she going to come back and take her from us? Are we going to fall unbelievably hard for this brand-new tiny human, only to have to fight for her, too? Because, I’m getting tired of fighting for everything that I have.
Monica stands there the whole time, face unreadable, eyes moving from Ollie to me to the baby and back again like she’s trying to solve a highly complex puzzle. Me, too, Monica. Me, too.
“I didn’t expect to see you again so soon,” she finally says. “I haven’t even completed my first investigation.”
“Yeah,” I say with a smile. “It’s weird. That seems to be our word of the day.”
She nods slowly and looks at me cautiously. “We’ve received recent additional information that your marriage may not be legitimate.”
I blink. “I’m sorry, what?”
Okay, now I’m getting pissed. Who does this lady think she is?
“There’s concern that some of these recent choices were made to influence an open CPS case,” she continues carefully.
I stare at her for a beat, then laugh. I can’t help it. Laughter just pours out of me, and Owen and Ollie look at me like they aren’t quite sure what to do.
“Who would fake this?” I say, gesturing vaguely at everything. “Literally, this is our life. It’s messy, wild, unplanned, and absolutely not something anyone would choose for appearances. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Ollie tightens his arm around the baby. “We’re not pretending,” he says calmly.
I continue, “Look, we are both good people. We stepped up and we’re doing it again.
We want to be where we are, as strange as it may look to someone on the outside, so you can put that down in your little notebook, too.
Because if anyone tries to come between me or either of these kids, I’ll fight them.
I’ll spend every dollar, I’ll go to court, I’ll do anything. Do you understand me, Monica?”
Monica looks surprised and still holds her expression blank. “Understood, Poppy. Understood.”
“Good. Because I mean it, whoever is feeding you bullcrap information needs to stop. It should be a crime to make false allegations,” I add, shaking my head, so angry now.
Ollie doesn’t look overwhelmed so much as frustrated by what she’s saying.
Monica studies us long and hard.
“And you’re happy about this baby?” she asks. "It’s my understanding that neither of you knew about her. You didn’t mention anything in our previous interviews about a baby.”
“I’m happy.” Ollie nods. “And we didn’t know. Otherwise, we would have said something. We’ve been forthcoming on everything. This isn’t something we could have predicted.”
I don’t even hesitate. “I’m happy. It’s a surprise, but this is our family.
We stick together and support each other through it all.
I love my husband, and this baby is our family.
The circumstances about how she got here really don’t matter.
She’s here, and she needs us. And our family sticks together. ”
“We’ll have a discussion and be back,” the hospital social worker says.
She makes a note and leaves with Monica without another word.
The door shuts, and the room goes quiet.
Ollie and I look at each other and have an entire conversation without speaking. Both of us are scared and worried.
I lean in and whisper, “We’ll do whatever it takes.”
He nods and squeezes my hand and agrees. “Whatever it takes.”
My lips find his, and it’s soft and grounding, like sealing our plan with the kiss. We hold the baby together like she’s the center of gravity, keeping us from floating apart.
“I already love her so much, Poppy,” he says softly, cradling her in his big hands.
“I know, me too,” I say, leaning into him.
“No one is taking her from us,” Cami agrees. “I’ll call Jack. We’ll be here. Whatever it takes.”
A few minutes later, the door opens again.
Monica steps back in and pauses. “The waiting room down the hall is full of people who seem to love and support you. You weren’t kidding when you said you had a great village.
It’s a rather large village. And they’re all supporting you more than I’ve ever seen people pull for someone. ”
Monica glances back down the hall and then back at us. Her expression doesn’t soften, but something shifts. “I’ll be in touch,” she says.
When she leaves for good, Owen grins. “Do you think the prize is still on the table?”
I laugh and pull him into a side hug. “If it is, you’re definitely winning it.”
“Who would have it out for us to call CPS?” Ollie says, shaking his head.
“I thought maybe it was Jeremy Toddy. Or a disgruntled customer.” I shrug.
“You think it could be your dad or the motorcycle club?” Ollie asks.
I shake my head. “Motorcycle clubs aren’t calling CPS for complaints. They handle their own business. And my dad is in hot water with CPS, so he’s not making complaints. He’s probably lying low.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Ollie says, kissing the top of my head, and I press closer to him, heart racing but steady.
This is chaotic, but this is us.
And no one is taking any of it away.