“Well, if anyone’s going to be able to catch that fish, it’s us.” I lift my glass, clinking it with Alfie’s.
Those small-town cops are going to piss themselves when they hear my Tío E’s name. The law has been trying to nab him for as long as I can remember. They never can catch him doing anything, though. And the few times they’ve come close, detectives seem to go missing.
I pause at that thought. What if Poppy’s mom got too close to something she shouldn’t have? What if it really was the cartel?
Fuck, nope. I trust my family. They don’t lie. If it were the cartel, Tío E would have admitted it. He has this wholeno lyingthing he lives by. No matter how bad the truth is, he will tell it to you.
Chapter Thirty-Two
“Well, I don’t care why you’re back. I’m just glad you are,” Alice says, holding me tight.
I couldn’t sit around the cottage all day. So after Sammie left, I went up to the main house, took a ranch truck, and came to the diner Alice owns. It was her mother’s. When we were kids, we would come here after school almostevery day. It’s comfortable, but also one of the many places in this town full of memories.
“I just needed to grab some more stuff.” I shrug.
“And Sammie? What’s his reason for being in town?” Alice asks.
“I borrowed his plane,” I tell her.
“What are you doing, Poppy? He broke your heart last week. You didn’t tell me what he did but I know how devastated you were. So why have you already let him back in?” she huffs.
“Aren’t you supposed to be theglass half-fullone? The one who goes on and on about how love always wins?” I raise a brow at her.
“Do you?”
“Do I what?”
“Love him? I mean, you were devastated last week so obviously you have feelings for the guy, but is it love?”
“I’m pretty sure it is. And before you say it, I know it’s fast and stupid. But I can’t stop it.”
“Okay, it’s not stupid. Fast, sure. But love is love. I’m really torn if I’m supposed to love him too or hate him here, Poppy. What did he do that made you run?”
“It’s complicated. And it may be a misunderstanding.” I can’t tell her that I think his uncle is the leader of the cartel that killed my mother. Or that Sammie and his entire family are convinced that the cartel didn’t kill her. The question is: If they didn’t, who the hell did? And why?
“A misunderstanding. Okay, well, if you love him, then I will too. But if he breaks your heart again, I’m going to order Jaxson to kill him,” she says.
“Okay.” I smile. “Although I think Sammie and Jaxson have some weird bromance thing developing.”
“He is charming, your guy. I can see how he wins people over.” Alice shakes her head. “Okay, you want apple orpumpkin?” She points to the pies on the cake stands in front of me.
“Mmm, give me two pieces of the apple.”
“Two?”
“Yeah, I’m meeting Jaxson at my parents’ house,” I tell her.
I’ve avoided going to the house I grew up in. After my dad died, I went to live in the main house with my cousins and my aunt and uncle. As soon as I was eighteen, I moved into one of the cabins on the outskirts of the ranch. Not long after that, my aunt died and my uncle withdrew into a bottle of whiskey. He’s in a home now. The boys set him up so he’ll be well cared for, but he’s a shell of the man he was before my aunt died.
And this is the reason I think love is overrated. It destroys people. But also, now that I’m feeling the beginnings of a love that could develop into something that deep, it’s kind of magical. Or that could just be the orgasms talking, because they sure are some out-of-this-world experiences.
“You’re going to your parents’ house? Why?” Alice asks as she boxes up the pie.
“I want to take some pictures back to LA with me. I think it’s time I stop hiding from the past and start remembering my parents the way they were. Not the way they died.”
“That’s really good. I think that’s a great idea. Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you? I can call someone in to cover me here?”
“No, it’s fine. Jaxson is already on his way there.” It’s a small white lie. He’s not but he will be when I call him and tell him I need him to meet me.
