CHAPTER 1
CRANK
I stoodby the front door of the Mercantile and peered through the window, hoping to catch my first glimpse of Poppy for the day. She came out of the back hallway right on schedule. I had her shifts marked down on my phone calendar, so I wouldn’t miss an opportunity to see her. Ruby thought it was the coffee that brought me into the Merc every morning, but it was the strawberry blonde with the curves I’d die for that had me coming back.
Poppy picked up the carafe of coffee and walked down the length of the counter, topping off mugs along the way. My pulse kicked up when her lips spread into one of her warm smiles. Thank fuck. She was grinning at Ruby instead of one of the male customers.
“Hey, Crank.” Juice came up behind me. “Are you going in or just planning on standing out here and drooling through the window all day?”
“Fuck you.” I pushed the door open and made my way to the back counter. Juice knew about my borderline obsession with Poppy. A few of the guys did, and they never missed the chance to give me shit about it.
“Are you actually going to make your move today?” Juice slid onto the stool next to me.
I was about to snap back and tell him to mind his own fucking business, that I’d handle things in my own way and in my own time, when Poppy stopped on the other side of the counter in front of us.
“Good morning, Juice. Morning, Crank.” Her plump pink lips spread into a friendly grin. “Just coffee for you, or can I get you a huckleberry muffin right out of the oven to go along with it?”
My breath caught as I glanced up and looked into her topaz eyes. They were the same color as the gemstone in my mom’s wedding ring—the one she’d given to me right before she died. The same ring I planned to put on Poppy’s finger one day.
Juice waited a beat, giving me the chance to speak first. But being around Poppy seemed to render me speechless. For a guy who’d never had a problem talking to women, I couldn’t understand the effect she had on me.
“Just coffee for me. Can I get a latte for Sammy, too? I’ll take both to go.” Juice landed an elbow to my ribs, urging me to order.
“I’d like to taste your muffin,” I said. “I mean, I’ll take your muffin. The huckleberry one.” Jesus Christ. Why did I get all tongue tied around her? I bit down on the inside of my cheek to prevent myself from saying another word.
Juice snickered, but Poppy offered a shy grin.
“Would you like to eat it here or take it with you?” She turned to put the carafe back on the burner, and the light streaming in from the window hit her hair. Usually, she wore it twisted up on top of her head, but today it hung all the way down her back. I’d devoted entire afternoons to dreaming about how many times I’d be able to wrap those long locks around my fists when I finally made her mine.
“Crank.” Juice kicked me with the toe of his boot. “Are you eating her muffin here?”
I gritted my teeth. As much as I wanted to spend all morning watching her wait on customers and move around the Merc, I had shit to do at the clubhouse.
“To go, please.” I only allowed myself small doses of being this close to Poppy.
“I’ll have that ready for you in just a few.” She turned back toward the huge espresso machine to start on the latte Juice had ordered.
“Why are you torturing yourself?” Juice leaned close and muttered low enough that only I could hear him.
I leaned against the back of my stool. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“How many days a week do you come in here for coffee?”
“What’s it matter to you?” He didn’t need to know I came in five days a week. On Mondays and Fridays, Poppy worked at Ruby’s cabins. I made my own coffee those days and drank it out of a thermos while I watched her from the cab of my truck or the back of my bike if the weather cooperated.
He shook his head. “Have you told her how you feel about her?”
“Not yet.”
“You’d better hurry up or someone else is going to beat you to it.” Juice nudged his chin toward the end of the counter where Poppy had stopped to talk to Sage.
My gut twisted into a tight, ugly knot. Ruby told me Poppy had sworn off dating bikers but hadn’t said anything about her not being interested in dating in general. I’d been biding my time until I could finally tell her how I felt about her.
It would mean leaving the Mustang Mountain Riders—something I really didn’t want to do. The guys were the onlyfamily I had. But Poppy… hell, over the past few months, she’d come to mean everything to me.
Sage grabbed a bag off the counter and turned to go. I let out a huge sigh of relief.
“Do you know if Poppy likes kids?” Juice teased. “A lot of women go for single dads.”
