Chapter Thirty-Three
Albright Ranch
One Month Later
Poppy grabbed the large basket and stepped off the porch.
It was early in the day, and the sunny weather was gloriously warm, with a bright blue sky and a soft breeze blowing across the field.
As she marched over to the new house that was being built on the northeastern side of the property, Poppy picked some of the prettiest wildflowers that were in full bloom right now.
Neil kept teasing her that he had a surprise for her and that she would absolutely love it, but Poppy had no idea what it could be. A new house? What was wrong with the old one?
Sophie and Benson walked next to her. Her little sister had taught the dog to walk on a leash without ripping her arm off.
Not surprisingly, in the short amount of time since their return to the ranch, Sophie had turned Benson into the most perfect dog.
Poppy loved the goofy animal, and Neil knew that, so maybe the surprise was a new puppy?
As they walked up to the house, Poppy was stunned to see that it looked nearly finished.
It was almost an exact replica of the one they currently lived in, which was even more confusing.
As much as she had tried to get any of the other men working on it to tell her what the surprise was, nobody wanted to say a word. Not even Paul.
Instead, they had roped her into helping with it, which was the reason she was going up there today.
Paul had told her that she could put some womanly touches in the new place, so the basket Poppy was carrying contained all the things she had made over the last few days—curtains, pillows, a tablecloth, a small quilt, and even a vase for the beautiful spring flowers.
Sophie stayed outside on the porch, teaching Benson another new trick, as Poppy walked in.
“Oh, these are nice!” Neil exclaimed when she stepped inside, holding said vase full of flowers. Poppy smiled at him and kept walking into the dining room. She assumed that based on the large table and chairs that were already inside of it.
“Make it look homey,” Paul said to her with a beaming smile as he put up some shelves along the wall leading into the kitchen. “If you don’t mind,” he added ever so politely.
“It would help me a great deal if I knew who this pretty house was for, you know?” Poppy said, expecting not to get an answer.
She sat the vase on the floor, put the basket onto a chair, and pulled out the tablecloth, which she shook out and spread across the table.
It fit perfectly, and when Poppy put the vase on top of it, she was rather pleased with the result.
“Oh, haven’t I told you?” Paul asked innocently as he collected all the leftover wooden pieces from the floor and shoved them together with the tools into a bucket. “It’s mine.”
Poppy’s eyebrows shot up.
“Yours?” she asked, perturbed. “So what’s the surprise?” Neil appeared in the doorway and grinned from ear to ear while Poppy pulled out the sets of curtains she had made for the two bedrooms.
“Haven’t we told you?” he asked. At that point, Poppy got the distinct impression that the two men were playing games with her. She would have crossed her arms if it weren’t for the curtains.
“Tell me!” she exclaimed when Paul walked over to Neil, and both of them were standing there grinning at each other.
“I’m getting married,” Paul finally said, and Poppy was so shocked, she almost dropped the curtains. But as she stared at him with an open mouth, she saw the beaming smile on his face. That man deserved all of the happiness he could get.
“What? When? To whom?” she exclaimed, excitedly clapping her hands. “How is this even possible? All you do is work? When did you meet her?”
Neil walked over to her and pulled her into his arms.
“Sometimes, unexpected opportunities present themselves,” he said, still grinning widely. Then he kissed her on the tip of her nose. “It worked for me. Maybe it’ll work for Paul, too.”
“I’m sure it’ll work for me,” he said, striking a silly pose, but then he blushed so profusely he almost shrunk into himself with embarrassment. “I hope it will.”
Poppy stared at both men in utter disbelief. Had he gone through an agency, too? She wanted to ask Paul, but that seemed too forward, and she didn’t want to invade his privacy.
“Why did you keep this from me for so long?” she scolded Neil and softly slapped his massive arm. He chuckled.
“We only just got news that she’s coming,” Neil explained with a shrug.
“Well, when is she coming?” Poppy asked, reminding herself to breathe. Paul suddenly seemed very anxious. He stared at the clock on the mantlepiece. It was only ten o’clock.
“I think it’s time for me to go,” Paul said as he dusted off his hat. He combed his fingers through his hair and put it back on his head. “How do I look?” he asked nervously.
Poppy noticed only then that he wasn’t wearing casual clothes. He was wearing his Sunday best. Her eyes grew wider, and she could only stare.
“You look great!” Neil confirmed as he pulled his friend into a tight hug.
“Today?” Poppy asked in disbelief. “She’s coming today? Weren’t you just putting up shelves?” Paul smiled awkwardly.
“I was too nervous,” he explained with a shrug. “I couldn’t sit still, so I did a little bit of work before I have to go to get her.”
Poppy felt the overwhelming urge to rush back into her kitchen.
“You are both terrible at this!” she scolded them, as she shoved the curtains back into the basket.
“You should have told me earlier! I would have made sure to bake something nice to welcome her properly! The poor thing will be surrounded by strangers in a strange house. Trust me, that’s not easy!
Do I even have enough time before you get back here?
” She huffed, lifted her skirt, whirled around, and ran toward the door. “Someone has to watch, Sophie!”
***
As it turned out, Poppy did in fact have plenty of time to prepare for the arrival of Paul’s fiancée—unless she was already his wife, and they had gotten married in a hurry on their way back home. All of this was so very exciting.
Poppy had baked three different pies and made almost double the amount of lunch for everybody. It was nearly time to sit down and eat, but then Neil popped his head through the door in the kitchen.
“I think they’re here,” he said, which got Poppy so thrilled she forgot all about eating. Two of the workers volunteered to take over and carry the dishes out to the dining room while Poppy grabbed yet another basket and filled it with two different pies, some cold cuts, and freshly baked rolls.
She dashed like a mad woman toward the new house, which was merely five minutes away from her place.
There, she set out the pies, plates, and even a carafe with fresh water she’d brought in from the newly dug well.
Then she walked out onto the porch where Neil, holding Sophie, and Barley already waited.
Poppy was so impatient, she could barely hold still as they all stood on the uncovered porch of the new house and watched as the dust cloud shrouding the buggy traveled ever closer.
“Are you happy?” Neil asked as he put his arm around her shoulder. “You seem very excited.” Poppy leaned back into his embrace and smiled at him.
“Very,” she replied honestly. “I’m mostly happy for Paul,” she added with a warm smile. “He’s a wonderful man, and he deserves a good wife and his own family. He deserves the best life,” she said with a nod.
“He sure does,” Neil said and kissed Poppy’s temple. “Are you curious about this new woman?”
“Yes!” Poppy exclaimed, which made Neil pull his head back a little.
“I can’t wait to meet her! We need more women around here.
I hope she’s nice and we can be friends.
I hope she likes to go to church, too. I miss that the most. Helena and I used to go together, and that was my favorite time of the whole week. ”
“Has she written to you lately?” Neil asked, nuzzling back into her hair. Poppy paused.
“Now that you ask, it’s been a while,” she murmured.
She felt a stab of sadness about that because they had written to each other often.
They had talked about everything, and Helena was still a very important person in her life.
It would be heartbreaking if their friendship ended because of distance.
Poppy was so engrossed in her thoughts about her friend that she didn’t pay attention to the buggy coming closer. Paul steered it in a large circle, so it came flush right next to the porch.
“Poppy!” a female voice called out to her, and Poppy almost thought her mind was playing tricks on her because that voice sounded just like Helena. Not wanting to be rude, she lifted her eyes.
And that’s exactly who she saw.
Helena’s bright green eyes sparkled as she eagerly began to climb out of the buggy, but Paul ran around it to grab her hand to help her down the step. She waited for him with a grateful smile, but as soon as her feet hit the porch, she pulled Poppy into a tight hug.
“Helena?” Poppy still couldn’t believe that her friend was actually here. Then something else clicked in her mind, and Poppy pushed Helena’s shoulder slightly away from her.
“Are you telling me that you are Paul’s new wife?” Poppy asked with a squeaky voice. She looked between her and Paul back and forth. Helena laughed a pearly laugh, then she nodded and glanced, almost shyly, to Paul, who beamed from ear to ear. That man was clearly smitten.
“We’re engaged,” she said hesitantly, as if she had to test the words on her tongue, but Poppy finally found her voice back.
“You’re engaged?” she exclaimed with the biggest smile. “How did that happen? When? How did you two? This is amazing! I need to hear all about it! Is that why you didn’t write to me anymore?”
Neil and Paul laughed at Poppy’s outburst, which seemed to break the ice, and Helena visibly relaxed. She leaned over to Sophie and tickled her cheek with a warm smile, though Sophie clamped her hands around Neil’s neck, not wanting to leave.
“I’m so sorry,” Helena said with an apologetic look on her face. “Paul and I have been writing so much, and then he asked me to marry him. But he wanted to keep it as a surprise for you, so I didn’t dare write you another letter, because you know me—”
“You would have told me!” Poppy finished the sentence for her. She turned around to Paul and gifted him with the warmest smile. “When did you start writing to each other?”
“Right after the horse auction.” Paul smiled at Helena, who promptly stretched her hand out to him to take his. Paul took it and gently pulled her to his side, which nearly pulled Poppy in with her. Poppy giggled and stepped back into her husband’s embrace.
“It started very innocently,” he continued.
“We talked about the weather and such, but we quickly learned that we had a lot of the same ideas and values in life. And then it turned into more.” Helena blushed profusely, which was not something Poppy had seen very often.
“You never told me how smart and lovely your friend is,” Paul said to her with a tilt of his head.
“I’m sure I did, but maybe you didn’t hear me,” Poppy shot back. Paul chuckled.
“Actually, you’re right. You did,” he admitted. “I just didn’t know her yet.”
Helena giggled nervously. Poppy was excited to see this new side of her friend.
“How about we go into your new house, and I show you around?” she exclaimed happily. “I never even knew who it was built for until this morning, can you believe it?”
Poppy took Helena’s hand and pulled her away from Paul, but then both women came face to face with Barley, who eyed Helena curiously.
“I saw you at the auction,” he said matter-of-factly as he crossed his arms with a wider stance.
“You did?” Helena asked. She seemed unsure about this boy, so Poppy filled her in.
“This is Barley, Paul’s son. He is a true hero,” she said, shooting Barley a pointed look. But it wasn’t necessary, because as soon as Helena heard the name, her face softened, and she sank down to her knees, spreading her arms wide open.
“Barley! I was waiting to meet you!” Helena exclaimed with a big smile. “I’ve heard so much about you! And how you saved Sophie! I’m Helena!”
Barley’s face went from shock to shyness in two seconds flat. He blushed, and his whole body went slack.
“I’ve heard about you, too,” he said quietly, not really moving from his spot. He shot Paul a quick glance. “Are you going to be my... my... mom?” he asked hesitantly.
Helena lowered her arms, scooted a little closer, and took his little hand in between both of hers, gently stroking it.
“I will be anything you need me to be,” she said softly. “We can be friends, or if you prefer it, I can be like your bigger sister. But if you’ll allow me, I’d like to try and be a good mom to you. I’ll leave it up to you. I won’t pressure you. Are you all right with that?”
Poppy looked at her friend and remembered why she loved her so much. Helena’s heart had so much love to give.
Barley contemplated what she had said, and suddenly, a single tear rolled over his cheek, which he quickly wiped away.
“I never had a mom,” he said so quietly it was almost a whisper. Helena nodded.
“Me neither,” she said with a sad expression. Barley’s eyes grew big.
“Maybe God wanted us to help each other,” he said, taking a step closer to her.
“I know for a fact that God wants us all to help each other,” Helena said with a warm smile as she opened her arms. “He brought me to you, didn’t he?”
Barley nodded, then he smiled at her shyly and walked slowly into her embrace.
Poppy couldn’t hold it in. She was so happy, she let her tears fall the way they fell. Looking up at Paul, she could see how proud he was.
“You’ve made the right choice,” Neil said to Paul with a smile. Paul nodded.
“The best choice,” he said.