Markus’s eyes twinkled. ‘Deal. I—’
Whatever he’d been about to say was cut off by the doorbell. The ring pealed through the house, somehow sounding louder than usual due to the time of night.
Maverick frowned, clearly not expecting anyone. But he rose from the table and went to answer the door.
Nina heard the tinkling laugh first. It carried through the front of the house to the kitchen. ‘I wonder who that is?’
Next to her, Poppy looked up at her with big, sad eyes. ‘It’s Shannon.’
Nina didn’t question how Poppy could possibly know that. And she didn’t ask why Poppy called her own mother ‘Shannon’ instead of ‘Mom’. Turning to Markus, she said, ‘Shannon Carlyle? Is she contracted for this shoot?’
‘Yeah. Her agency contacted me unsolicited.’ Markus crinkled his nose. ‘She’s kinda old news, but I hate to say no. Especially to someone who’s given her life to the business.’ He looked back and forth between Nina, who looked as sick as she felt, and Poppy, who looked as if she might burst into tears. ‘Why?’
It was Poppy who said, ‘She’s my mom.’
Markus looked at Poppy with genuine surprise. ‘What?’
‘Shit.’ In her panic, Nina forgot to watch her mouth.
Poppy’s eyes welled with tears. She looked up at Nina, and though she didn’t say anything, the plea was obvious.
Nina didn’t think. She didn’t try and placate Poppy or tell her that her mom had the legal right to visit. She scooped the five-year-old off her chair and headed for the back door.
‘Where are you going?’ Markus hissed. ‘Don’t leave me. You know I get awkward in tense situations.’
‘Tell them we went to the barn to check on Barbie,’ she hissed back, and disappeared outside.
She didn’t stop, didn’t pause to think that she had no right to make decisions for a child that wasn’t hers. She only had to see those tears …
She wasn’t sure if it was just the shock of the moment, or confusion, or if Nina’s own panic had somehow transferred to Poppy, but the kid started crying genuine tears. She flung her arms around Nina, buried her face against her neck, and sobbed with an abandon only children felt comfortable expressing.
Unsure of what to do, Nina hiked Poppy higher onto her hip as she walked. It was almost a mile to the barn, but she thought she could manage Poppy’s weight that far.
She used a tone she never knew she’d had, one that was soothing. ‘It’s okay, Poppy. We’re just going to take some time with the horses. We’re going to relax and maybe groom Zeph. How does that sound? And then tomorrow, when you feel better, we’ll say hi to your mom, okay?’
Poppy nodded against Nina’s neck, and even though she didn’t speak, she seemed to settle down a little. Her sobs quietened, then stopped altogether. But she didn’t loosen her arms around Nina’s neck or move her face away from where she’d hidden it.
Nina knew she’d overstepped. But she didn’t regret it,couldn’tregret it. She understood what it was to see your mother coming and feel sick to the stomach. She knew what it was to want to hide from the person who’d given you life. And she couldn’t have just sat there while Poppy suffered all those sick, confused feelings.
And if anyone had anything to say to her … Well, then she’d deal with it.
Maverick could only stare at Shannon in shock as she threw her arms around him and kissed him full on the mouth.
‘Hi, darlin’,’ she crooned, her high-pitched giggle zinging through the house.
‘Shannon.’ His voice could have frozen out a forest fire. The problem was, Shannon was pure ice already.
‘You look good, Mav,’ she said and turned those purposefully seductive brown eyes on him.
He didn’t feel the effect of them as he once – very foolishly and a long time ago – had. He asked, ‘What are you doing here?’
‘I’m in the Western Wear shoot!’ She laughed and, uninvited, started walking through the house – the house that he had once offered her as a home. ‘I couldn’t believe it when the offer came up. I thought it would be fun to surprise you both.’
Maverick followed her like a mistrustful dog might follow a newcomer in his home. ‘You’re supposed to give notice of visitation, Shannon,’ he said, hating that Poppy would be caught off-guard.
‘Oh.’ She made a small sound of distress. ‘I didn’t think you’d mind, Mav.’
She entered the kitchen a moment before him.
