17. Poppy
17
POPPY
Am I sneaking out of my house like a teenager who is afraid to get caught doing something they shouldn’t be? Yes, absolutely.
I also have zero regrets while doing it. Especially with the piss-poor job that Logan did of lying to me about how that necklace ended up back in my hands. He always has a tell, which makes it impossible for him to get away with lying to me. Instead of calling him on it, I let him think my coffee is more important than getting to the bottom of it.
But I also know that Logan won’t tell me about his suspicions. Not when I’m pregnant with our baby. And definitely not when he thinks he may lose me because of it.
I’m not an idiot. I saw the look in his eyes when I pointed out the necklace to him and exactly where it’d last been. Logan’s mind is already racing with the potential of the drug dealer, Ortega, getting his hands on me. Which means that I have about an hour before I’m not able to leave the house at all, and I need to move fast if I’m going to get shit done.
I don’t go out of the house without protection. In fact, I have the mace that I bought before starting work at the police department. And I also grab the brass knuckles that Sam gave me for Christmas, when he also showed me how to use them.
In fact, I don’t even leave the house without an escort. Logan may be a cop and an all-around badass at that. But he isn’t my big brother.
“Sammy, I need your help.” Cutting to the chase as soon as he answers, I don’t bother hiding my smile when I hear him falling out of bed. Nor do I conceal the laugh when I hear a woman in the background outraged that he stopped what he was doing.
“P. Is the baby coming?” The shuffle of clothes being thrown on while he waits for an answer has me giggling.
“No, Sammy. But I need to leave the house, and you’re the only one who’s not going to turn around and blab to Logan that I’m leaving. So I need you to come get me. And you have to bring your truck because I can’t ride on your bike.”
He sighs on the other end, and I can feel the tension fading away as he realizes he isn’t about to help me deliver my baby.
“I’m at the club.” Sam grunts, and I hear the door slam behind him. “I didn’t bring my truck with me. Do you want me to go get it, or are we taking your car for whatever shenanigans you’re cooking up?”
For about a half second, I think about telling him that I’ll just ride on the back of his bike. Then I pull my head out of my ass and remember that no one will let me on the back of a motorcycle while I’m pregnant. Not only that, but I don’t really want to ride on the bike.
“We’ll take my SUV,” I tell him. “I gotta write Logan a note so he doesn’t freak out when he comes home, though.”
“A note?” Sam laughs. “You’re really hoping he doesn’t find out before you’re gone, huh?” Another door slams, and I decide to ignore his question since he is jumping right to it and heading this way.
“You’re hurrying right along, huh?” I mock him. “Gotta get away from one of the girls who throws themselves into your bed for your attention?”
Sam laughs. “They don’t throw themselves into my bed. It’s more like they slide into it naked. I gotta hang up. Be there in ten.”
He’s gone, leaving me there, staring down at the pajamas I still have on of Logan’s.
I really, really haven’t thought about it beyond getting someone here. It is a good thing I currently have a stomach the size of a basketball. No one will care if I wear a pair of leggings and one of Logan’s BPD shirts around.
When I hear the exhaust on Sam’s bike pulling up the driveway, I’ve managed to put pants on and have my hair wrapped in a messy braid that hangs over one shoulder.
“Why is it,” Sam starts talking as soon as he has his engine off and his helmet over his head. “That you look amazing, even when we both know you were still in pajamas when you called me?”
“Because I’m gorgeous.” I prop one hand on my hip, which is comical because I’m not even sure where my hips are anymore. Not with the massive child growing in my uterus. “And the curly hair means I can literally roll out of bed and still look like I spent an hour on it.”
My big brother takes the steps two at a time and pulls me into a hug. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in a month.” He lets me go to rub my stomach. “And how’s Sammy Jr. doing in there?”
“I’m not naming my child after you, heathen.” I slap his hand away. “Stop trying to use your Jedi mind tricks to make it happen.”
Laughing, Sam sets his helmet inside on the couch. “So where are we going?”
I grab my purse, hitting him dramatically with it. “Oops.” I smile. “Didn’t mean to do that.”
“Sure, you didn’t, P.” He holds the front door for me, while he strips out of his cut, the leather jacket that declares him a member of his club. “You gonna tell me where we’re going or not?”
I pull keys out of my purse and hand them to him after he hangs up the leather jacket on one of the hangers by the door. “First, we’re gonna pick up some tacos. Then I need you to take me a few places to run some errands.”
Once I manage to get into the passenger side of my ride, after trying twice and giving up only to have Sam help me in, I buckle and wait for him.
“Tacos?” he asks when we are driving away. “You hate tacos.”
“Blame Logan’s demon spawn, Sammy. It’s terrible. I keep eating pizza with taco toppings, but even that doesn’t taste as good as regular tacos for this little boy.” I rest my head against the cool glass of the window and take a deep breath.
“Demon spawn?” Sam laughs. “Why in the hell are you calling your baby, a baby that you would kill someone for hurting, something like that?”
“Because I can’t have pizza and really enjoy it.” I whine, yes. But Sam is my brother. He is used to it. He’s been putting up with it for thirty years, and I’ve also been there for him every single time he felt like whining about his life. “Speaking of your life, when are you going to settle down? You know, find a nice woman whom I can bring into our family and pawn off my child on you two for a date night when it comes.”
Sam raises an eyebrow but doesn’t take his eyes off the road. “We weren’t speaking of my life. Which means your crazy brain went on a tangent again. I’m not settling down. Not until I find someone who makes me hate the thought of being on the back of my bike halfway across the state when I’m not needed at home.”
“Humph.” I pout. “What if I find you someone?”
Sam shook his head and then turned into the Taco Bell parking lot. “It’s not gonna happen. Now, let’s get your food so you can tell me what we’re doing.”
“Okay.” I sigh heavily and wait for him to roll down his window so I can embarrass him by ordering half the restaurant.
When we pull around and he has to pay for all my food, I slap him on the arm. “Don’t forget my fire sauce. I need the fire sauce, too.”
“You hate fire sauce,” he hisses but asks for fire sauce all the same.
“Demon. Spawn,” I remind him.
Then he takes the massive plastic bag full of tacos and plops it in my lap, carefully avoiding my belly.
“Thank you.” I smile at him and tear into the food. Instead of driving away, Sam pulls into one of the parking spots and shifts my SUV into park.
“Okay, P. Time to spill the beans. You could have had food delivered by one of those apps. Why did you ask me to come get you?”
I finish the first taco and burp loudly.
“Damn, girl.” He claps lightly. “A solid nine points for that one.”
“I wish Lo were here to see you say that because he tried to tell me that my burp game is weak. And we both know it would be ten times better if I didn’t have a baby taking up all the space in my lungs and stomach right now, giving me heartburn that would make a grown man faint.”
“You didn’t answer the question.” Sam sighs. “Come on, Poppy. You got me out of bed, where a more than willing woman would have stayed all day if I let her, and you dragged me along on this journey. You might as well tell me what we’re doing. I’m in. I’m here. I’m not gonna leave you on the side of the road.”
With a sigh, I pull the necklace out of the pocket on the side of my leggings and hold it out to him.
“Okay? Are we going jewelry shopping?” He holds out his hand and I hand him the old locket. “Why does this look so familiar?” Sam turns it over in his hand and inspects the clasp. When he opens it and there is nothing there, he holds it back out for me to take.
“Mom gave me this when I was little. Just some random piece she found at an estate sale or an antique store. But it was cute, and I loved it. I gave it to Lettie for her sixteenth birthday.”
The explanation gets him, and Sam freezes almost comically.
“I never got it back.” I put the bag of tacos down by my feet and hold the locket in both hands. “It came in the mail, delivered to the station. And Logan lied to me about it. So I know there’s something going on. Before he brings everyone and their brother down on my head so that he can protect me, I need to take this back to Lettie.”
Yes, I’m being completely irrational and hormonal. But it has to be done. She was my best friend when I was sixteen years old, and I believe in ghosts. If she had the locket on when she died, that means it’s haunted. I need to give it back to her.
“Is this thing haunted?” Sam nods toward the locket, and I grimace in response. “Shit, Poppy. You can’t have haunted things around a baby. You know that. We gotta burn that thing. Maybe douse it in holy water and bury it in salt. You don’t want ghosts around the baby. Even Lettie. We don’t know what being dead did to her attitude.”
I knew Sam would understand more than Logan would. Sam believes in the afterlife, just like I do. There is a reason we never messed around with candles or played games like Bloody Mary. Down into the very pits of our souls, we both believe messing with the spirits is bad luck.
And yes, my parents and Evie have used that against me more than once in my life.
“I want to bury it with her at the cemetery, Sammy.” Wrapping my hand around the locket, I sit back in the seat and wait for him to take me.
I don’t need to tell him which cemetery it is, either. Once upon a time, Sammy was in love with Lettie. There isn’t a doubt in my mind that my brother would have swept her off her feet if he’d had the chance. But they never got their moment. And then, Lettie was gone.
I reach over the center console and pat my brother’s arm as he pulls back into traffic, heading toward the opposite end of Birch. “Thank you, Sammy. It means a lot.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He grunts but ruins the badass appeal by smiling afterward. “You’re gonna have to make sure your boyfriend doesn’t kick my ass for helping you stage your escape in the middle of house arrest.”
“It could be worse.” I shrug. “You could be stuck helping me deliver the baby when I go into labor.”
Sam laughs mirthlessly. “I will do a lot of things for you, P. Looking at a head coming out of your vagina is not one of them.”
We turn into the cemetery, and when he parks the car, he walks with me through the eerily quiet area until we get to Lettie’s grave.
“I come out here once a year to clean up,” I tell him when he eyes the pristine headstone suspiciously. “I was here last month, pulling weeds and making sure the fake flowers were all taken care of.”
“You’re a good egg, P.” Sam brushes some dead leaves off Lettie’s grave and offers me his hand so I can plop down.
Then, right at the base of her headstone, I dig a small hole and bury the locket.
“I’m sorry it took so long to get this back to you, Lettie.” I lean forward, resting my head against the warm piece of cement that announces my friend’s final resting place. “But it’s here now, and I promise I’ll bring the baby to see you as soon as he’s here safe. I might have to bring a chair or something, though, because I don’t think I can sit on the ground with him.”
I feel Sam at my back, and the comforting hand he has on my shoulder helps keep me from falling into pieces.
“You know, this is sweet and all. But what the fuck are you doing here?”
I scream at Logan’s interruption and slip. That’s about the time I slam my head into Lettie’s headstone and then grab my face in pain.
“What the hell, Lo,” I cry out as lights start to dance in front of my face. “You scared me and made me hurt myself.”
He is there, pushing Sam out of the way so he can help me up and inspect my face, but there isn’t an apology on his lips.
“Well?” he asks once I’m up on two feet and he sees that I’m not bleeding or broken. “What are you doing here?”
“I was bringing Lettie back her locket,” I tell him stubbornly. “And don’t you look at me like I kicked you in the balls, okay. I didn’t leave the house alone. I had Sammy come. You know, the brother who carries around just as many weapons as you do and isn’t afraid to use them if he needs to.”
The fierce look in Logan’s eyes does absolutely nothing to frighten me, and I don’t think he realizes just how much hot water he is currently standing in.
“You weren’t supposed to leave the house. You’re on bed rest. I don’t like it. You’re out doing crazy shit when you could have just asked and I would have done it for you.” He starts rambling, pulling my arm gently to get me to follow him.
But I’m not moving, and unfortunately for him, I’m a million months pregnant.
“No,” I snap. “I’m not something for you to just order about like a toy, and I’m not acting like a child. I was smart in my decision to leave the house. I got protection.” I wave my hand toward Sam, who stands there with his arms crossed over his chest, but wisely stays silent. “I wanted tacos, that your demon spawn makes me crave, and I wanted to visit my friend’s grave. Your sister’s grave.” I pull my arm away from Logan.
“And if you didn’t want to put up with my craziness, then you shouldn’t have been sneaking into my house in the middle of the night so that you could play a game of Hide the Pickle. Because that’s what got us into this whole mess in the first place.”
I poke him in the chest again just for good measure and walk away, studiously ignoring my father and all of the men standing there just in case I burst into tears.
Logan can’t just let it go, though. No, he has to follow me out and pull me into his arms, even if I elbow him in the gut.
“It was the best mistake I ever made ’cause now I get to keep you forever, you pain in the ass.”