A Field of Poppies (48 page)

Poppy gasped, her face turned red, and then she saw the devils dancing in Mike’s eyes and laughed. He took such joy in causing friendly chaos.

It wasn’t until John saw Poppy laugh that he knew what was happening was not only right, but good for her. What had begun as the Sadlers’ first holiday alone was turning into a celebration.

“
Mom and Dad would be real happy for you, Poppy,” he said.

“
I’m gonna be real happy, too, especially when we finish this dinner,” Mike said. “I’m starved. How about we continue to discuss all the lovey stuff after we have a tiny piece of that pie?”

****

It was because of her early celebration that Poppy wound up working at The Depot on Thanksgiving Day, giving another waitress the time off to spend with her family. No one really wanted to work on holidays, but it was an understood hazard in the food industry that, at one time or another, everyone pulled a holiday shift.

The day had started out slow. Very few diners were opting for breakfasts, choosing to save up their appetites for the feast ahead. By noon, the place was packed.

Poppy was juggling food and orders with her usual calm demeanor when she looked up and saw Justin Caulfield walk in with a pretty young teen on his arm. At that moment, her calm took a walk. The girl was as blonde and fragile as Poppy was dark and tall. It had to be Callie.

The urge to bolt was strong, but it was foolish. This meeting would have eventually happened anyway. Then to her horror, they were seated in her section and she could tell by the apologetic expression on Vic’s face that Justin had asked to be seated there.

Poppy sighed. The sooner she got this over with, the sooner they’d be gone. So she lifted her chin, grabbed menus and two glasses of water, and headed for the table.

“
Happy Thanksgiving,” she said, as she set the water on the table and handed them their menus.

She was about to recite the daily special when she saw the little red poppy fastened to the lapel of his suit and the words got tangled on her tongue. She took a deep breath and tried to focus again, then caught the girl looking at her with unconcealed interest.

Callie smiled. “Surprise?”

It was the understatement of the day. “Yes, it is a surprise.”

“
I hope it’s a good one,” Justin said. “I already asked your boss if you could take a break and eat with us, but he said you were too busy. I’m sorry. I didn’t want you waiting on us. I would have rather been able to treat you, instead.”

“
I had an early Thanksgiving with my brother and my... with a friend last week, but thank you for asking. The special of course is turkey with all the trimmings, but if you’d rather see a menu I can get one.”

Justin shook his head. “No, we’ll have the special, right, Callie?”

Callie nodded, but had other things on her mind. “Did you get my thank you note? I loved the angel bell. Did you know I collect angels?”

Poppy was a little surprised. “No, I didn’t know that. Yes, I got your note and I’m glad you liked it. I’d better turn in your order. What would you like to drink?”

“
I’ll have coffee and Callie will have water with some lemon.”

Poppy turned on her heel and headed for the kitchen, desperate to put space between them until she could get it together. It was obvious they could have had a far nicer meal in their home and that they were here because of her. She didn’t know what to make of the poppy he was wearing and wasn’t going to ask.

A short while later she returned with their food. “Is there anything else I can get you?”

“
This looks great,” Justin said.

“
You’re really pretty,” Callie said.

Poppy sighed. God love the kid, but she wasn’t going to let up.

“
Thank you. So are you.” Then she eyed the white-blonde hair and almost smiled. “I always wanted to be a blonde.”

“
And I always wanted to be a tall brunette so I would be like Daddy.”

Poppy flinched. She’d never thought about physically looking like him, and couldn’t bring herself to search for the resemblance. It had been bad enough sharing blood. God in heaven, how was this ever going to end?

“
Enjoy your food,” she said, and made another quick exit.

Callie sighed. “I think I ran her off.”

Justin grinned. “You just keep hammering away at her, honey. One of these days she’s bound to buckle.”

Callie nodded as she eyed his plate. “Are you going to eat that cranberry sauce?”

Justin laughed out loud. “I planned on it. If you run out, we’ll get you some more.”

Poppy heard the joy in his voice but refused to look. She didn’t want to like him. Not even the sound of his laughter. But she did her job and did it well, keeping their drinks topped off and hot bread on the table. When it came time for the complimentary pumpkin pie, she even added an extra dollop of whipped cream on Callie’s piece.

Justin saw it and smiled. He glanced up just as Poppy looked down. For a split second their gazes locked, and then she lifted her chin and looked away. But in that brief moment, he’d seen something that gave him hope and at the same time, made him sad. There was a very frightened child beneath that tough exterior.

He left a twenty-dollar tip and his phone number with a “call me sometime” written on the credit card receipt.

They were gone by the time she found it, which left her she with nothing but dirty dishes on which to vent her frustration, instead of the dirty look he would have gotten.

****

It was the morning of December 9
^th
when Poppy woke up and found Mike sitting cross-legged in the bed. He’d been watching her sleep. She rolled over with a frown.

“
Was my mouth open?”

“
Yes, and you were drooling. It was absolutely disgusting.”

She laughed and then hit him with a pillow, which prompted a tussle that ended in a deep, lingering kiss. When Mike finally pulled back and raised up on one elbow, Poppy was breathless.

“
Happy birthday, my sweet baby,” he said softly.

She beamed. “Oh my gosh, it is! I’d completely let it slip my mind.”

“
I guess it’s a good thing it didn’t slip my mind, too,” Mike said. “I can’t bake, so we’ll have to buy your cake at the bakery, but I did buy you a present.”

“
What is it?”

He thrust his hand under his pillow and pulled out a small black box.

Poppy gasped, and sat up.

He opened the box, revealing a perfect one-carat emerald-cut diamond. His voice began to shake, but his hands were steady as he took it out.

“
Even though we met under the worst of circumstances, you have become the best thing in my life. I love you, Poppy Sadler, so very much that I can’t imagine my life without you in it. Will you marry me? Will you be my wife?”

“
Yes, yes, yes,” Poppy said, and was crying and laughing at the same time when he slipped the ring on her finger.

“
It fits,” she cried.

“
Just like us,” he said, and then he kissed her, just to seal the deal.

****

By the time Christmas had come and gone, Poppy’s engagement was common knowledge and Mike was in permanent residence. After everything she’d lost, he’d instinctively known she would want the grounding of familiar surroundings. Rather than coaxing her into his north-side apartment on the other side of the river, he moved his things into her simple house down in Coal Town.

Little by little, they began doing small repairs, adding shelves, painting walls, and even putting down new carpet in the living room so the floors would be warmer. Their next project on the list was a fresh paint job on the outside of the house, but they were waiting for better weather.

Across the river, the bare bones of a new house were slowly rising above the treetops. By now everyone knew it belonged to Justin Caulfield.

At first Poppy had been irked, then finally let it slide, accepting the fact that he would be part of her view for the rest of her life. She hadn’t thought about it working both ways.

By the time May rolled around, Mike and Poppy’s house had a fresh coat of white paint, and they’d added neat black shutters to the front windows. She’d found two old wicker chairs at a used furniture shop and painted them both red. The little house stood out from all the rest on the street like a new penny, prompting one neighbor to clean up their yard while another painted the fence around their house. Gladys even got into the swing and planted flowers up both sides of her walk.

John popped in and out of their lives with regularity and Poppy was beginning to feel like life was worth living again.

If it hadn’t been for Justin Caulfield’s persistent presence, life would have been just about perfect.

****

It was the weekend of Memorial Day.

Mike got a call before daylight that a body had been found in an abandoned warehouse on the north side of Caulfield and the M.E. was calling it a homicide. Reluctant to leave without telling her where he was going, he finally kissed her awake.

Poppy rolled over and kissed him back. She was beginning to get the hang of the abruptness of his job.

“
What’s wrong?” she asked, rubbing sleep out of her eyes.

“
Hey sweetheart, I’ve got a case. Don’t know when I’ll be home but I’ll call you later, okay?”

Poppy threw her arms around his neck. “Be careful. I love you,” and tasted coffee on his lips.

It was all Mike could do to tear himself away from her sleepy-eyed look and that long, love-tangled hair.

“
I’m always careful and I love you, too. Stay in bed. It’s still dark. Remember you’re off for the next two days.”

Thankful for the reminder, she snuggled back down beneath the covers, heard his car start up and drive away, then soon fell back asleep. It was two hours later before the phone began to ring.

Her voice was still husky from sleep as she grabbed for the receiver.

“
Hello?”

“
Poppy, it’s me, Kenny Duroy.”

Her heart skipped a beat as she sat straight up in bed. “What’s wrong?”

“
Mike’s been shot. They just took him into surgery, but I promised him I would call you so you could be here when he gets out.”

Panic splintered into a thousand different directions as she threw back the covers, stripping off her pajamas and grabbing clothes as she talked.

“
What happened?”

“
The shooter was hiding in the warehouse all the time we were working the crime scene. Mike heard something and went to investigate and that’s when we heard the shots.”

She yanked a pair of jeans up over her long legs and grabbed her t-shirt off the doorknob. “Did you get him? The shooter, I mean?”

“
Yeah. The bastard is dead.”

“
I’m on my way.”

Poppy had gone into survivor mode. She was dry-eyed all the way to the hospital, focusing on stopping for lights and obeying the laws of traffic because she had to. But when she got to the surgery floor, everything inside her began to come unwound. There was a large crowd near the entrance to the surgery unit, more than half of whom were wearing uniforms of the Caulfield P.D.

It felt like she was moving in slow motion as she walked toward them. Her thoughts had gone into freefall while her body was going numb. She couldn’t believe God was actually putting her through this again. Then she saw Kenny coming toward her and clutched his arm to steady her shaking legs.

He saw the shock in her eyes and quickly led her toward a sofa.

“
Where was he shot?” Poppy asked.

“
One in the chest. One in the leg.”

She was unable to hear this without remembering Jessup.

“
How close to his heart?”

“
Nicked a lung for sure, but it missed his heart. Not sure about anything else. Is there someone I can call? Do you have some family or friends you want to be here with you, too?”

Justin’s face flashed through her mind, and then she shook her head.

“
There’s no one.”

“
Well, you have us,” Kenny said, and gestured toward the crowd of uniformed officers. “We’re here for Mike and for you. If you need anything to drink or a place to lie down, just let me know. I’ll make it happen.”

“
What about his parents? Did anyone call his parents?”

Poppy had spoken to them a time or two on the phone, but they had yet to meet. They weren’t in good health and for the past five years had been living in Michigan to be closer to his sister, who had the only grandchildren in the family.

Kenny nodded. “Yes, they were notified. I was told they’re not well enough to fly.”

She could imagine their fear, living so far away and unable to be here with him. Her grip tightened on his arm.

“
Is there anything you’re not telling me?”

“
No, honey, no! I swear. You know as much as the rest of us. But Mike’s tough, as tough as they come. I have to believe he’s going to pull through this just fine.”