Chapter 6 – Poppy
“Mama, I don’t want to leave,” Brady spluttered, coming up for air.
The goggles smooshed his head, making chunks of wet hair stick up at odd angles.
Small shark fins tipped the corners, completing the ensemble.
“Cousin Penny’s building a pool in the basement.
It will be warm in the winter! We can swim during a snowstorm. ”
My heart warmed. Today was our last in Chicago.
After two weeks, we would be back home. Back to safety, routine, and a place where I could be at peace.
For the first time leaving North Dakota, the trip had gone better than I anticipated.
Penelope and Alessandro adored my son, and it was safe enough here.
“We’ll come back when her pool is finished,” I promised. “But Auntie Rosa misses her little buddy, plus Cousin Theo said the cats need you.”
A solemn look crossed his face. “They probably are too wild for Cousin to manage.”
I nodded, keeping my lips pressed in a serious line. “Definitely too wild. They need a cowpoke to wrangle ‘em.”
“And Theo isn’t a good cowboy.” Brady pulled himself out of the pool and shook his body like the farm dogs. “Okay, we’ll go back to work on them cats.”
Oh, that grammar.
The plague on my stupid cousins for thinking it was funny to teach him bad English.
“Good plan.” I held open my arms, and he flew at me. The sun had just dried off my skin, but I relished the wet embrace. Just as quickly, he was back, tearing full speed ahead and jumping in the pool. The puddle jumper floaty kept him from going under all the way.
Leaning back, I let the sunlight fall on the drops of water.
This was nice.
A family who welcomed me, who kept me safe.
I might have abandoned my own. I wasn’t there to bury my father, and my brother still hadn’t spoken to me.
But I had people in my life who would move heaven and earth because they loved me.
I pushed away the twinge of guilt to focus on returning home.
A short flight, and then a drive from Fargo to Carrington, and we would start homeschooling first grade next week.
Simple. Elegant. A dang good plan.
A throat clearing jarred me from the mental tangle of thoughts. “Hello, Poppy.”
I jumped and reached for my cover-up dress. “Hi, Ivan, what a surprise!” I stammered.
He kept his eyes focused on mine as I drew the robe over my shoulders. Part of me, a wild, reckless voice, wondered why he didn’t lower them.
“Shepherd said I could find you out here.”
Knowing that my cheeks were red, I drew a deep breath to steady my voice. “Yep, just one more pool day before we leave. The weather is lovely.”
“Mama! I can’t reach my sinky shark,” Brady yelped, smashing the water with his palm.
“I told you not to drop it,” I called over my shoulder, before turning back to the intruder. “Were you looking for Alessandro?”
Ivan shifted. It was only then that I noticed the bouquet of wildflowers in his hand. “No, I’m here for you.”
It was hard to say if the bells in my head were a warning or excitement.
It would be embarrassing if this man knew how many times I thought of him the last few days, lying in bed, or even out here, basking in the sunshine.
I would have thought he’d be around, since Brady formed some attachment to him.
But after the farmer’s market, he was strangely absent.
“Well, you found me,” I said lamely.
Ivan handed me the flowers. They were gorgeous.
A riot of color wrapped in simple brown paper.
There were ones I grew in my own flowerbeds, but the yellow blooms seemed vaguely familiar.
I bent my face over the mass, inhaling deeply.
The scent transported me to the rolling fields and meadows of home.
There was an earthy quality that couldn’t be captured by a florist’s arrangement.
“They’re beautiful,” I breathed. “Thank you.”
“I was hoping you’d join me for dinner,” Ivan added, slipping his hands into his pockets. His smile was lopsided. My own lips tipped up in response to his cheeky grin. “I’m sorry I didn’t come over sooner.”
He might not have raked me with a look, but I caved, soaking in the sight of him.
His stance was loose. Those broad shoulders seemed like iron under his shirt. It might be eighty degrees out, but he wore a long sleeve button-up shirt tucked into his jeans.
He looked…uncomfortable.
“Sit down,” I said quickly, gesturing to the lounge chair next to me. “And I’m not sure about dinner. It’s our last night. We have some plans, but nothing’s set in stone.”
Ivan folded stiffly onto the seat. “I understand.”
I braced my poor heart to keep from escaping my chest. This man was dangerous, and not because he was an acquaintance of the don’s.
My history with men was short, and since Brady came into my life, it was nonexistent.
I didn’t trust myself to be ready for male attention, let alone from such a dominating presence like the man next to me.
“We’re having a bonfire, roasting wieners and smores,” I explained.
Before I could do something stupid, like invite him to join, Brady splashed over. The stone pavers sopped up the water draining from his floaty.
“Mama, the shark is too deep,” he insisted. “It’s going to drown.”
I opened my mouth to tell him I was not getting back in the pool, but Ivan beat me to it.
“Sharks thrive in the deep, cold water,” he explained. That thick accent made his tongue roll over the words with a delicious sound. “Are you sure he doesn’t have a kingdom down there?”
Brady studied his buddy. “Maybe. But I can’t go down and see.”
“Your shark is the king, ruling over his subjects, right?” Ivan cocked his head. “The fishes and creatures of the deep.”
“Yes, but I’m his king,” Brady said eagerly. “He doesn’t bite me. Because I’ll bite back!”
“Show me your teeth, little chomper,” Ivan coaxed.
Brady flashed a mouth full of baby teeth, short and cute and perfectly formed.
Saints. My heart melted in a pool of gushy warmth.
It was one thing to have a male give me attention. I was kind of pretty, and guys seemed to think they could push me into doing anything. But the way Ivan connected with Brady wasn’t a ploy to catch my attention. It was genuine.
And it made me like the mobster despite myself.
“Go tell your subject that he’d better behave or there will be heavy consequences for mutiny,” Ivan warned.
“Okay!” Brady sang out, rushing back to the pool. With a war cry, he flung himself into the water.
I swiped the splashed water off my calves. “I’ve been fishing that sinky toy out of the pool all morning. Next time, I’ll find a net on a pole.”
My nervous laughter died under the serious weight of those piercing black eyes.
“Your son is strong.”
Not cute. Not naughty.
Strong.
“He is,” I agreed.
Ivan shifted. “I’ve….”
“Yes?” Saints, why did I sound breathless?
Ivan gave me a hesitant smile. “I’ve enjoyed getting to know you. Both of you.”
“He’s mutinous! I have to bite him!” Brady hollered.
“Let’s catch him.” Ivan stood and popped the buttons off his shirt with quick movements.
The moment the black material fell away, the sunlight danced over the living piece of art. Muscles carved his frame. His skin was a canvas of pictures, swirling and dancing as he moved.
I looked away quickly, but not before my mouth freaking watered and a flash of heat sizzled through me.
I might not have dated much, but this was a far cry from the specimens I usually chose.
It surprised me how much I liked his looks. Cowboys might be wild, but they didn’t look that…dangerous.
With a graceful arc, Ivan dove into the pool in his jeans, leaving combat boots, socks, keys, and phone on the lounge chair next to his phone.
I pressed my nose once more into the flowers. Maybe I should invite him to dinner. And then we could grab drinks after—
You’re leaving tomorrow.
Ivan came up with the traitorous shark king and presented him to Brady as a prize. My son grabbed the plastic sinky toy, biting it with a ruthless ferocity.
I brushed the tips of my fingers over the yellow blooms. They were like…they were like the red ones I grew. Grabbing my phone, I typed in two words.
Sure enough, these were yellow poppies.
“But we didn’t go to the zoo again. Cousin Alessandro was busy, and Penny wanted him to come,” Brady was explaining. “I wanted to see the sharks!”
“When we come back this fall, we’ll go,” I called out, making the decision right then and there that we would come back.
Come back sooner than I planned. I told myself it was for Penelope and Alessandro.
Brady was my world, and maybe if they saw us more than a couple times a year, they would consider adoption as well.
That was the reason I agreed to return so soon to the Windy City.
It had nothing to do with the flowers.
Or the idea of spending more time with the flower giver.
I shot another look at the pool to confirm that idea.
Ivan had Brady by the hands and was towing him from one end to the other. My son’s squeals of delight and demands to go faster filled the air with a joyous perfume. I inhaled the wildflowers once more.
Okay, so maybe I wouldn’t mind more of this.
The sun shifted slightly in the sky as Ivan continued to play with Brady in the pool. The sounds of splashing and laughter never ceased. They had moved on from shark-towing to a new game that involved Ivan pretending to be a sea monster.
“I’m gonna get you!” Brady shrieked, paddling away in his floaty as Ivan submerged, only his eyes visible above the water line.
I settled deeper into my lounge chair, the bouquet resting in my lap. Ivan genuinely invested in playing an elaborate game of sea monsters, shipwrecks, and buried treasure with my son. There was nothing fake about it.
I wonder if he has children.
That was the kind of thing one generally found out when considering a first date. I thought about asking him, but then, it also didn’t matter. As long as he was single and not a player, which I didn’t get the vibe that he was, his past didn’t matter.
The yellow poppies seemed to glow. After only a few short interactions, this stranger decided he wanted to spend more time with me. The small touches were most definitely not accidental. I wanted…more.
What could possibly be bad about this?
Ivan surfaced with a dramatic roar, and Brady squealed with delight. “Mama! Look! He’s a kraken!”
“I see that,” I called back, unable to stop the smile spreading across my face.
Time slipped by as the boys played. I considered things I hadn’t thought about in a long time.
Romance was never in the cards for me, but why not?
What was I hiding from? My father was dead; he couldn’t force me to marry someone against my will.
I had a thriving family and a happy home.
But there was that one piece to the puzzle that was still missing.
There was no MMC in the plot that was my life.
Well, if he wants to see me, I’m a package deal. Dating had to be good for Brady too.
I worried my lip. What if my son became more attached, but things didn’t work out? Having a child didn’t deter this man, it seemed, which was great! But saints above! Things were so complicated.
By the time the boys exited the pool, Brady was tuckered out and smiling happily. “I’m hungry.”
“Hi, hungry, I’m mom,” I responded.
My son rolled his eyes. “I want food.”
“Can you rephrase that politely?” I arched a brow, not cowed by his demands.
“May I please go get a snack?” Brady insisted.
“Yes, but leave your floaty and goggles out here,” I said.
The child ripped them off with such force that his hair snarled in the goggles. His yelp of dismay was comical.
I sat up to help, but Ivan was already there.
Already helping.
I chewed my lower lip some more and studied the fine specimen.
The jeans sagged low on his hips. Black boxers peeped from the top, hiding the trails of ink that spread lower, how low they went, what the artwork looked like down there.
My teeth dug into my bottom lip as a telltale buzz hummed deep in my core.
Ivan smoothed back the wild tangle of hair off Brady’s head.
Maybe I was imagining it, but I thought he sucked in a sharp breath.
I realized a second later that he was staring at Brady’s birthmark.
It was big, but not too red now. The pediatrician thought the hemangioma would fade as he grew.
I didn’t want other kids teasing him, which was part of the reason I let his hair be this long.
“Want a snack?” Brady offered, and I smiled at his manners.
“No, I’m good,” Ivan said gruffly.
His voice was strange, almost choked.
Brady dashed away into the house. The offer for Ivan to join us tonight was on the tip of my tongue when he held out the goggles to me.
“I have to go,” he said, tone hardened.
I started slightly. “Oh, okay, well, thank you so much for today.”
He nodded, and I took the goggles. Several strands of hair stuck to Ivan’s wet finger as he turned to scoop up his belongings. I wanted to say something, but Ivan’s sudden military shortness was off putting.
“About tonight,” I began.
“Have your last supper,” he interrupted.
“Oh, okay,” I said again.
Ivan began to walk around the house. I stood there, staring at his inked back and the water droplets drying there.
I forgot to thank him for the poppies. Maybe Alessandro could give me his number.
Or maybe today was just a fantasy. Maybe I was meant to be alone. It was the life I chose for myself after all.
I hugged myself, crushing the flowers to my chest. It was a good life, even if that one puzzle piece was forever out of my grasp.