As if in agreement, Sophie and Stone took a seat on the couch.
Poppie’s gaze flitted between them. “Stone, did Sophie ever tell you about that time her no-good ex-boyfriend reported me as a danger to myself?”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Stone said. “What kind of assholes have you dated?”
“Poppie, maybe tonight isn’t a good time to regale Stone with all of my past mistakes,” Sophie said.
“Nonsense. You two live together and all—it’s time he gets to hear some of the bad with the good.” Poppie tapped his chin. “It happened when my Sophie had gone out of town on a girl’s trip with the other officers in that book club she’s so fond of. What’s it called again?”
“Book Boyfriend Connoisseurs Club,” Sophie replied.
“Right. Right. Anyway, unbeknownst to me, she asked that boyfriend to stay at her place, under the pretext she was expecting a delivery she didn’t want to miss, but it was really so he could keep an eye on me. She thinks just because I’m old, it means I’m feeble.”
“Not feeble, just health impaired,” Sophie said. “It was right after you had that spell, and I was worried. I had no idea that asshole would do what he did.”
Poppie waved a dismissive hand. “Ah, I know your heart was in the right place.” He refocused on Stone. “There I was, taken away for a seventy-two-hour observation because I defended Sophie’s honor with a slingshot.”
“Her honor?” Stone asked. “Did I temporarily fall asleep and miss part of the story?”
Poppie glanced at him blankly. “How the blazes should I know if you snoozed?”
Sophie laid a hand on Stone’s arm. “I think the part you fell asleep on is the part where my ex tried to sneak another woman into my apartment, and Poppie caught him.” Poppie used to be the best storyteller ever, but lately, he skipped parts without realizing what he’d done.
“Now stay awake because the next part is what Sophie likes to call the black moment of this story.”
“I’m listening,” Stone said.
“That damn idiot called the cops. They locked me up in a damn hospital for seventy-two hours because they thought I was a danger to myself and others, and Sophie didn’t have cell service, so they had no one to release me to.”
“You’re kidding,” Stone said.
“The only one I was a danger to was that fool who laughed at me when I aimed my slingshot at him. That rock hit him between the eyes, it did.”
“Good for you,” Stone said. “Sounds like someone needs to have a chat with that young man.”
“Nah. He’s not worth going to jail over,” Poppie said. “Besides, Sophie hasn’t given me specifics, but she assures me she took care of the matter in her own way.” He winked at Sophie.
Sophie smiled, though the memory brought back a rush of protective feelings. “Of course I did. No one messes with my Poppie.”
Poppie’s eyes filled with an unspoken gratitude that warmed Sophie’s heart.
“How about we change the subject to something not such a buzzkill?” Sophie said.
“I’ll do you one better,” Poppie said. “I’ll get out of here and let you young folks get back to your evening. Don’t stay up too late, Sophie.”
After seeing Poppie out, Sophie turned to Stone with a grin. “Sorry about that. He does love to tell a story. He’s just not quite as adept at it as he used to be because his memory comes and goes. When I was little, he would read me bedtime stories. In fact, it was him who bought me my first Junie B. Jones book.” The memory filled her with a warm, nostalgic comfort.
Stone nodded. “Tell me more about how you took care of the idiot you dated.”
“Oh God. He’s in the past, and that’s where he’s going to stay.” She jumped up and walked to the table where she’d dropped the bag containing their new books. “How about we decide which one of these we want to read first?”
Sophie playfully tossed the books onto the couch next to Stone and to their surprise, a loud crack sounded as one of the couch legs buckled under the weight. Sophie burst into laughter, almost doubling over when Stone went sideways with the couch and ended up cattywampus, the books on top of him. The vasefull of fresh flowers on the end table tumbled, spilling water onto his bedding, rolled up and tucked next to the couch.
“You think this is funny, do you?” he said, a grin on his face as he struggled to stand.
She giggled one more time. “Ever since you came into my life, weird stuff has been happening non-stop.”
“I have no idea what you mean,” he said, glancing away from her and gathering the books.
