Chapter 16
Carrington House
Searcy, Arkansas
Bennett, Poppy, and Ben were in the middle of dinner. Ben recounted a funny story in his Next Level GT class when Bennett’s cell phone rang. Glancing at the screen, Bennett could not suppress the look of surprise that flew across his face.
Since he had resigned from office and was mainly just focused on them, the number of calls that Bennett fielded each day had dropped dramatically. It was rare now for him to get a call at night, so it had to be something serious.
“Who is it?” asked Poppy.
“Taylor,” replied Bennett, getting up and leaving the table to talk privately.
Poppy hated that even after several months of happy marital bliss, her first instinct at hearing Taylor’s name was always jealousy.
Memories of the past when Bennett seemed to get wrapped up in Taylor and forget about everything else still had a hold on her.
Determined to rise above them, Poppy forced herself to concentrate on Ben’s story and trust that the Taylor show days were behind them.
After a few minutes, Bennett came back into the kitchen. Poppy could tell by the look on his face that he was pretty worried. “Is everything okay?” she asked.
“That was Taylor. Baby Rosie is very sick. She has been diagnosed with aplastic anemia.”
“Oh no, that is terrible. What does that mean?” asked Poppy.
Before Bennett could answer, Ben asked, “Who is Rosie?”
Bennett and Poppy looked at each other as they tried to decide how best to answer that. Finally, Poppy said, “Rosie is Taylor and Greer’s daughter. She was born in late December.”
“Taylor? The lady Dad was married to before you?” asked Ben, looking confused.
“Yes, Dad and I will talk about this later.” Giving her son a reassuring smile, she added, “Why don’t you back up and start your story over? I know Dad will enjoy hearing it.”
Later that night, after they had sent Ben up to get his shower and get ready for bed, Poppy said, “Okay, since Ben is upstairs, tell me about Rosie.”
Bennett shrugged, saying, “All I know is that the baby needs a blood transfusion. I am not really clear on the science of it all, but the gist is that neither Taylor nor Greer are a match. Typically, when a kid has this, the parents give blood, and it fixes the problem. In this case, since neither is a match, they are frantically searching for someone who is. Taylor thought I might still have some contact in DC who might help her get a match quicker. The best option would be a family member. Most likely, they would work, but as we know, Taylor does not have that. They have reached out to Greer’s family, but no one has matched.
I will call my friends at the Capitol tomorrow and see if they can help. ”
“Do you know if this could be fatal if she does not get the transfusion quickly?” asked Poppy.
Shaking his head, Bennett said, “I did not ask that. Taylor is pretty upset. I gathered that the faster they get the transfusion, the better. Evidently, Rosie is in a lot of pain and has been crying for days. Taylor sounded like she was at the end of her rope.”
Poppy was silent for a moment and then said, “I can, or at least, I might be able to.”
“You can what?” asked Bennett, unsure what his wife was saying.
“I possibly can help, or Ben might be able to,” replied Poppy.
Giving her a look of confusion, Bennett asked, “How?”
“Because I mean because…” Suddenly, Poppy could not get the words to come out.
“Because of what?” demanded Bennett, getting frustrated from having trouble following what his wife was trying to say.
Taking a deep breath and letting it out, Poppy looked Bennett dead in the eye and said, “Because Jonathan Stroupe was my father.”
Whatever Bennett thought his wife would say, it sure as hell was not that. He knew better than to doubt his wife. She did not say things she did not absolutely believe. Giving her a frank look, he barked, “Explain.”
Over the next hour, Poppy told Bennett about finding her mother’s journal the day before she was to leave for school.
She explained that while she wanted to demand her grandmother tell her everything, she had held off because Gran was caring for her sister.
By the time her grandmother was in a mindset to talk about her mother’s secrets, Poppy had her own.
After a while, it did not seem so necessary to know who her father was.
She just let it all go until Gran had her heart attack.
Worried she might never know if Gran passed, Poppy waited until her grandmother was healed, gathered her courage, and broached the subject.
At first, Gran was defensive and did not want to answer.
Poppy wore her down. In the end, Gran told her that her mother had an affair with her boss, Jonathan Stroupe, and confirmed what Poppy had read in the diary.
They were very much in love. Gran said he was devastated after her mother’s death and begged them to let him have the child.
Of course, his wife, Janice Stroupe, was battling cancer and knew nothing of the affair.
Knowing that he could not care for a sick wife and three children and hold down a busy career as an attorney, Gran and Papa convinced him that Poppy was better off with them.
They argued his wife and children would never accept her.
In the end, he relented and gave up his parental rights.
Poppy also discovered that he had given them a substantial amount of money over time to help cover the cost of raising her.
Almost all the money went to keep the farm going.
No matter how hard they tried, each year, they went further and further into debt.
That was why when Papa died, Gran sold. She was trying to salvage something to send Poppy to school.
Ultimately, Stroupe took care of that as well.
He actually funded the hardship scholarship she won.
He had cared and tried to help where he could.
He had orchestrated the job for Gran at the Carrington house so he could be near Poppy.
The thought that she might have had a relationship with him had he lived left Poppy feeling bereft.
The last thing she shared with Bennett was that Gran told her a few days before his death that Tatum had approached Gran, saying he was going to confront his father.
He wanted Poppy to be a part of the family.
She begged him not to do that. Gran felt it would disrupt Poppy’s life.
Selfishly, Gran worried they would take Poppy away from her.
Sadly, he died before he got the chance.
Once Poppy shared all of this, Bennett just stared at her. After a few minutes, Poppy said, “Say something.”
“I am thinking,” said Bennett. “This is a lot.”
“No kidding,” said Poppy. “So, if this is serious with Rosie, I should contact Taylor. Ben or I might be able to help as her closest biological relatives.”
Bennett continued staring into space and then said, “Oh my God, I get it now.”
“Get what?” asked Poppy, confused.
“The week before Tatum died, he came to me and told me he knew I was messing with you again. I thought he would be mad about it, but he wasn’t.
As you know, I ate every day you were working at Colton’s.
Most days, he came with me. He saw how I looked at you and realized we were a couple again.
Anyway, he pulled me into his office one day and said he knew we were back together.
He asked me to be careful. He realized what it would do to my future career if word got out that I was sleeping with a kid just out of high school. ”
“You have never told me this before. Why?” asked Poppy.
“Like I said, it was just days before his passing. Afterward, I was too focused on what came next,” replied Bennett.
“What was that?” asked Poppy.
“He made me promise to take care of his sister no matter what happened. He said he thought I would make a great husband for his sister and made me promise to always be there for her no matter what happened. I thought he was trying to warn me off you and push me toward Taylor. I thought he was talking about her. I realize now he was talking about you. Oh my God, he was talking about you. He was giving me his blessing to be with you.”
Taking Poppy in his arms, Bennett held her close. Somehow, suddenly, it all made sense. Bennett felt years lighter. He felt a closeness to his friend’s spirit that he had not felt in months.
Still holding her close, he said, “I knew from the minute I walked into your classroom last March and found out you were widowed that I was going to have to break my promise to my best friend. I had spent the last eleven years of my life trying to make sure that Taylor was taken care of. Knowing that I would leave her to be with you bothered me only because of that. Honestly, that was the hardest part of this. I was determined to find a way to be with you, come hell or high water.”
Leaning back, Poppy asked, “From the moment you found out I was a widow? You knew then we were going to be together?”
“Damn straight. Never doubted it. Seeing you was like seeing the sun come up. It was a chance for a new start. I was not going to let you go. Not without a fight. What did you think when you first saw me that day? Did you think we could work it out and have a future together?”
“Honestly, all my brain could focus on was how hot you were. It took all I had not to drag you to the front of the room, throw you across my desk, and have my wicked way with you. Remember, it had been a long sex drought at that point.”
“Why did you not say something? I would have been all yours.” Bennett grinned, giving her a brief kiss.
“Because you were a very married man, you belonged to someone else,” replied Poppy.
Nuzzling her neck, he said, “Baby, I have been all yours from the first time you stuck your tongue down my throat.”
Laughing, Poppy said, “Okay, gross. And also, so not true.”
"Yes, true," replied Bennett, giving her little kisses across her face. "Want to go upstairs and let me prove it to you?"
Giving him a quick kiss before pushing back, Poppy said, "Rain check. Right now, I need to know if you think I should contact Taylor."
Instantly, the conversation turned serious again. Sighing deeply, Bennett said, "I don't think you have a choice. One question. Why did you never approach Taylor about this after discovering who your father was?"
Poppy shrugged and said, "I did not want to hurt her.
She had already lost so much. Learning her father had cheated on her mom and she had a sister seemed like it would do more harm than good.
It might destroy her memories of her father.
I did not want to do that. Just because I knew our father was a cheater did not mean she had to. I guess I was protecting her.
"Now, though, if this information would help her child, that changes things," said Poppy.
"I agree,” replied Bennett. "It is too late to call them tonight. Why don't we fly down there tomorrow and tell her in person? Then, if she wants to see if you are a match, we will go from there."
Nodding in agreement, Poppy said, "That is a great idea.
I don't want Ben to know anything about this until we see how she reacts.
I think you should call Joules to see if she can go with us.
She can stay with Ben while the four of us talk.
Whatever Taylor decides, she will need her best friend there for moral support once it is over. "
"Perfect," replied Bennett. "Why don't you go on up? I will call Joules and be up shortly."
Giving Bennett a quick goodnight kiss, she headed upstairs, knowing that after tomorrow, no matter how Taylor reacted, she would have done the right thing and offered. Just thinking about the next day filled her with terror. But, if it helped save baby Rosie, it would all be worth it.