I hold the truck door for Poppy, and she hesitates before climbing in. “You know I hate surprises, Ollie.”
“I know,” I say easily. “But I think you’re going to like this one.”
Owen bounces in the back seat the whole drive, peppering me with questions I dodge badly on purpose. When we finallycrest the rise in the field, the cabin comes into view, tucked near the cottonwoods like it belongs there.
Poppy goes still beside me.
She looks from the cabin to me, confused. “What is this?”
I park and cut the engine. “This,” I say, turning to face them both, “is ours.”
Her mouth parts. Her eyes go wide. “Ollie,” she whispers. “Are you serious?”
But I’m watching Owen now. He’s leaning forward between the seats, staring out the windshield like he’s afraid it might disappear if he blinks. “You mean… like… we’d live here?”
I turn fully toward him. “Only if you want to.”
That gets her attention.
Owen looks at me, searching my face. “We wouldn’t have to move again?”
“No,” I say quietly. “This would be home. Our family’s land.”
He swallows. “With you?”
“With me,” I promise. “And your sister and Ellie.”
His shoulders drop like something heavy just slid off them. “Then yeah,” he says quickly. “I want that.”
Poppy’s hand tightens around mine.
I look back at her, my chest full. “Cami and Jack offered us twenty acres. There’s a cabin. It’s not perfect, but it’s solid. A place to live while we save up to build something bigger for our family.”
Her eyes fill instantly. “You’re kidding.”
I shake my head. “Nope.”
She steps out of the truck, still holding my hand like she’s afraid this is a trick. Owen bolts ahead, circling the cabin, already claiming it in his head.
“Why would they do this for us?” she whispers, voice shaking.
“Because they love us,” I say simply. “And because they’re our family.”
She looks back at Owen, laughing now as he runs up onto the porch. Her eyes shine when she turns back to me. “Ollie…”
“And because I think they want you to have what you never got,” I add softly.
She meets my gaze. “And what do you want?”
“A future,” I say. “A place that’s ours.”
Owen comes bounding back. “Can I pick my room?”
I laugh. “We’ll see.”
Poppy laughs too, breathless and disbelieving. “I want this so much,” she says.
I lift my hand and wipe a tear from her cheek. “We’re going to be happy here,” I tell her. “All of us. Together.”
