Chapter 27
Chapter 27
B ailey Dunbar Ridge had never made Easter dinner before. In fact she hadn’t celebrated Easter properly since she was a kid. And even then she’d been living in Africa. This was her first American Easter, her first Easter as a wife, her first Easter as a hostess, her first Easter with both sides of her family in attendance, as well as Sully’s relatives. The quick onslaught of realizations should have paralyzed her with fear, but Bailey was one of those people who found insurmountable odds inspiring.
For that reason it was no surprise that when Poppy arrived at the ranch, her sister ran her kitchen like a well-ordered factory. Everyone had been recruited and given a station. Cal was in charge of the meat. Because it was Texas, he had decided to deep fry a turkey, smoke a ham, and grill steaks. He and the menfolk were outside when Sully pulled up, laughing and talking loudly. Even so, everyone came to a standstill when George emerged, adding a surprised element to their party.
“George, my boy, how are you, son?” The Colonel asked, sounding delighted. Poppy wondered if it was because he liked George that much or because he was enraptured over the reminder of his best friend and former roommate.
“Colonel Caruthers, Sir,” George said, extending his hand for a hearty shake.
“Sasha,” The Colonel added, opening his arms for George’s sister.
“Uncle Bear,” she replied, tossing herself at him and returning his hearty hug.
Uncle Bear? Sully mouthed to Cal who shrugged in response. The Colonel wasn’t the sort to lend himself to nicknames, but he didn’t seem to mind this one. Poppy made the introductions to the newcomers and went to the kitchen to check on Bailey. Sasha decided to remain with the men, unsurprising since her friend probably possessed as many Y chromosomes as any of them. Not a wilting flower, was Sasha, and yet in a completely different way than Bailey. While Bailey could flatten a combatant with a punch and slit his throat without batting a lash, around normal people she was the soul of feminine politeness. Not so Sasha. She never met a bawdy joke she didn’t enjoy, and she could make grown men cry with the power of her words. Relished it, in fact. Poppy had the feeling she was one of Sasha’s only female friends, and if not for their family’s close acquaintance and many years of correspondence, they might not be. If they met now for the first time, would they get along? Would Poppy be able to see beyond the hard facade to the sweet girl within? Doubtful.
“Mama,” Poppy said, ignoring all the women in the room in favor of her mother, whom she saw far too little since becoming an adult. No one would know she was an adult now as she dropped her parcels on the table and snuggled into her mother’s embrace like a toddler.
“My baby girl,” her mother replied, tossing aside her paring knife to snuggle Poppy in return. After a long time being cuddled and coddled by her mommy, Poppy took a step back. “Let me inspect you.”
Poppy stood at attention, their family joke. After seeing so many men salute their father so many times over the years, the three girls had started doing it also, as a way to tease him. And though he pretended to be annoyed by the action, he always bit his cheek to hold back a smile.
Her mother was the one to walk around her in a circle now, scanning her body up and down for changes. At last she held Poppy’s cheeks between her hands and looked deep in her eyes. “Are you doing okay? Really?”
“Yes,” Poppy said, with a definitive nod. After a good night’s sleep and the money she made after delivering her pies this morning, she felt like a new creation, all of last night’s exhaustion faded to mist.
“And when do I get to meet this Sullivan Langford?” her mother asked, tone serious and intent.
“How about now, Ma’am?” Sully stood in the doorway, his shoulder pressed to the jamb. He had followed Poppy inside, unknown to her, for no other reason than he couldn’t seem to stay away. And now he finally glimpsed her mother, her beauty and softness stark contrast to her husband’s hard exterior. She had the kind of face that always seemed to be smiling or about to smile, as if everything was an inside joke only she knew. Unconsciously at his appearance, she put her arm around Poppy’s shoulder and drew her protectively close, and Sully got a sudden premonition. The father might be tough and scary, but it was the mother he’d have to watch out for. Hurt her child, and she’d cut you to pieces. He straightened and moved forward, hand outstretched.
“Mom, this is Sully,” Poppy said, linking her arm companionably with his.
“Ma’am,” Sully said. He resisted the urge to rifle his fingers through his hair, fluffing it after taking off his hat, feeling unaccountably nervous, or maybe not so unaccountably as her eyes shifted slowly between him and Poppy, assessing, searching for he didn’t know what.
When she finally extended her hand, it felt like a peace offering. “Sullivan, I’m Juniper Caruthers. I’m very pleased to meet you.”
He wondered if he’d passed some unwritten test, a suspicion confirmed when Poppy sagged against him slightly, as if in relief. Reflexively his arm eased around her and rubbed the painful little spot at the base of her spine, the one that always seemed to ache. She leaned into him farther, clutching at his arm as she arched closer. Juniper’s eyes took it all in, flicking from her daughter to Sully and back again.
Cal arrived with a tray of turkey to stick in the warming oven. “Here you go, Little Bit,” he announced. “We’re almost ready out there, although we’re going to have to add another place setting.”
“Oh? One of the hands joining us?” Bailey asked absently.
“Didn’t Poppy tell you? It’s George.”
The kitchen came to a stand still as everyone looked first at Cal and then at Poppy and Sully. “Surprise,” she said weakly.
“Hear that, Mom? George is here,” Bailey called, barely able to contain a laugh.
“The elusive George. Hmm,” Juniper said, one side of her mouth quirking so Sully caught sight of a Poppy dimple. Her gaze bounced between Poppy and Sully again, curious and amused this time.
“How are you holding up there, Sullivan?” Bailey asked, her hand never pausing on the gravy she whisked.
Sully took Poppy’s hand and gave her a sweet smile. “Any friend of Poppy’s is a friend of mine.”
“I’d say he’s holding up mighty fine,” Cal said, stealing a deviled egg on his way back out of the kitchen.
Poppy wasn’t needed in the kitchen, mostly because she’d brought all the desserts, a sum total of four pies, two cakes, a pan of brownies, and two massive trays of cookies. Texans seemed to like to eat pastries as quickly as she could bake them; in this way they were a perfect match. Once outside, she and Sully separated, reluctantly on Sully’s part, it seemed. His eyes strayed to her more than once, questioning and possessive. Poppy couldn’t decide if she was heartened or annoyed by those glances. Sully was an alpha. George’s surprise appearance would no doubt cause him to perform a bit of chest beating.
George and Sasha were still enmeshed in a conversation with her newly chatty father and Cal’s brother, Cam. George’s eyes followed her much the way Sully’s did. Poppy made her way over to her other sister, Jane, and Jane’s fiancé, Blue, hovering at the periphery of the group, seemingly lost in their love-struck little world.
“There she is,” Blue said, cheerful for someone surrounded by so many members of her family. Poppy tipped her head closer and sniffed his drink. “Sweet tea,” he added helpfully.
“From Long Island?” she asked.
He laughed. “No, but I think the sugar is being sucked up through my molars and going straight to my brain. Cal must sweeten this according to his body size.” He tipped back another sip and grimaced at the overt sugariness.
“How are you holding up, Poppinfresh?” Jane asked, circling her in a hug. Jane was older than Poppy, but smaller and more delicate, a pixie next to her own Mrs. Butterworth frame.
“George is here,” Poppy said, not needing to add anything else. Her family rarely saw each other, but they tried to keep current on each other’s lives. Jane knew the tricky situation with George, his devastation, and Poppy’s subsequent guilt.
“How’s Sully taking that?” Jane whispered. Their trio glanced at Sully who quickly turned away, having been caught staring.
“Really well, apparently,” Blue observed. “Any better and he’s going to toss a net over Poppy and blow dart her with love potion.”
“I actually know how to blow dart,” Jane volunteered.
“Of course you do, baby mine,” Blue said, giving her hand a squeeze.
“Blue, your assignment is to stick close to me and be a buffer,” Poppy hissed, grabbing his arm and giving it a tug.
Blue studied her, his eyes uncharacteristically serious. “One condition.”
“We’re practically family, and you’re giving me conditions?” Poppy asked, abashed.
“That’s why I’m giving you conditions. Stop calling me New Nick.” Old Nick was Jane’s last boyfriend. Poppy and Bailey said it was too much trouble to learn a new name. This moment marked the first time Poppy had ever called him Blue, a sign of her desperation.
“You’re sucking the joy from my holiday,” Poppy pouted. Blue quirked an eyebrow at her and she huffed a sigh. “Fine, Blue, I will stop calling you New Nick.”
“All right then,” Blue said happily, patting her gently on the head. “Would it help you make a decision between them if I told you their credit scores?”
“Maybe,” Poppy said, sounding intrigued.
“Poppy,” Jane exclaimed, letting go of her to shove Blue’s shoulder. “Don’t encourage his cyber stalking.”
Poppy rolled her eyes at Blue. “She makes it so easy,” Blue said, hooking his arm around Jane and pulling her close for a kiss on her temple.
“Oh, you were teasing me that time. So you didn’t actually hack both of my sister’s suitors,” Jane said, pinning him with a stare.
Blue cleared his throat and downed the remainder of his tea, buying time. When he finally swallowed, he clinked his ice in the glass. “Look at that, I’m in need of a refill. Anything for you ladies?”
“No chance, it’s go time,” Poppy said, grabbing his arm to detain him as Bailey stepped forward and clanged the dinner bell.