“No one you know,” I say.
She shrugs a shoulder and goes back to helping Joey.
“How am I supposed to tell Kade that he’s…well, you know?”
I mouthher dadwhen Poppy isn’t looking.
“In your defense,” Joey starts, “he left and never came back.”
“But now that he’s back, how do I even start that conversation?”
These girls are the only ones that know Poppy is Kade’s. Well, them and Paul. But to Paul’s credit, he took care of Poppy like she was his. For the most part.
“Do you think he knows?” Georgia asks.
“How would he?” I ask. “She looks just like me.”
“Here’s your sandwich.” Poppy brings a plate with a sandwich, cut diagonally down the middle, with a blob of ketchup next to it.
“Thanks, baby.” I kiss her head as she goes back into the kitchen. “You’re a good chef.”
“Aunt Joey knows what she’s doing.”
Being a single mom, if she didn’t cook, she’d spend all her money on eating out. Not what you want to do with a three-year-old at home. At least Max is less picky than Poppy.
“Maybe you can come out to the ranch one day and talk to him,” Georgia suggests, pulling my attention back to the matter at hand.
“Might be kind of hard when he’s said one word to me since coming back.”
“Want me to handcuff him to his desk?” Georgia laughs. “That’ll get him to listen.”
I roll my eyes, taking another sip of wine. “Not exactly how I plan on that conversation going.”
“But it would mean you get to talk to him,” Rylee says. “He can’t run out on you if he’s locked up.”
“Mom, can I watch a movie during dinner?” Poppy asks.
“Sure.”
So much for limiting TV time today.
But my thoughts are too scrambled to worry about it as she settles into her spot on the couch and fires up the screen for her favorite.
I dig into my own dinner. Damn, Joey really does make a good grilled cheese.
The background noise of the movie lets us have our own conversation. I voice my biggest worry.
“What if Kade hates me and he takes it out on Poppy?”
“Do you really think he would do that?” Joey asks, tying her dark hair up before tearing a bite off her sandwich.
I shrug a shoulder. “I don’t know. Kade isn’t the same person as he was.”
I know nothing about his life. All I know is he took over the ranch and that’s it. Hell, he knows nothing about my life. Well, except for the fact that I have Poppy and work at the diner.
“Kade wouldn’t do that. If he has any ounce of love for you—at any point in his life—he wouldn’t hurt you by hurting Poppy,” Georgia says.
I blow out a breath. “Maybe the next time I see him, I can talk to him and see if we can set a time to have another talk.”
