Page 54 of More Than Falling in Love

She wipes her eyes.“Don’t stop.I want to know about your life.”

I nod.“It was a Saturday.I was in the garage, trying to get the lawnmower working, and she walked up and gave me a kiss and said she was headed to the grocery store.There was a shopping list in her hand.”The memory doesn’t have the sting it once had.“And she never came back.She’d been gone a week when she called and told me she’d met someone else.There was an apology in there somewhere, but a lot of good that did me.”

“How long ago did y’all get divorced?”

“I never filed.She never sent me anything, so we stayed married.I landed here at the ranch and buried myself in work.I did hear who she ran off with, which was kind of icing on the cake.I didn’t think he hated me that much.”

Poppy shakes her head.“He didn’t.”

“Yep.My brother ran off with my wife.Then it was radio silence until I got the call that she’d died.He was injured in the accident, died a few days later.That’s when I found out about Mason.”

“Is he…” She uses the hem of my shirt to wipe her face.“Did you talk to your brother?”

“Briefly.When Michelle left, she was pregnant.At first, she wasn’t sure who the dad was.But my brother had a motorcycle accident in his teens.The doctors pretty much ruled out the possibility of kids for him.”I thread my fingers through her hair.“Just to know, I did a DNA test.Mason is mine, but even if he were my nephew, things wouldn’t be different.But paternity made custody easier.”

“You went all that time without knowing?”

“Yeah.And Mason was sad about losing his mom, but I’m not sure his life was great.When we were driving back toward the ranch and he’d only known me a few days, he told me that his mom told him I was busy and that when I had time, I’d come visit.So she knew.She knew he was my kid.”I swallow the lump in my throat.“He said he was glad I wasn’t busy anymore.”I brush a tear off her cheek.“Having fun yet?Talking about my past is a barrel of laughs.”

She flashes a comforting smile, and I’m so tempted to forget all the reasons I can’t think of her as more than a friend.

Instead, I say, “So, now you can see why I’m not looking for a relationship.”

Shifting, she drapes her legs over the arm of the chair and looks me in the eye.“We are quite a pair.”

“Okay?”

“You’ve ruled out love because your childhood was bad, and your marriage, but I haven’t had one of those.I ruled out love because my childhood was good, great even.It sounds silly when I say it out loud.”

“You’ll find someone.”

“I told you the same thing and was met with your stubbornness.Can we just agree that neither of us are looking for love?We find our happiness in other things.Like friendships.”

I press a kiss to her forehead.“Deal.”Asking her to keep secrets feels unfair, but not many know my story.I inhale, trying to think of how to word my request.

She pats my chest.“I won’t say anything.To anyone.”

When I was nineteen, I was so sure I knew what love was.I didn’t, but I do now.I love Mason and wouldn’t hesitate to give up my life to save his.I love this ranch family I stumbled into and should probably tell them.And I love Poppy.Not just because she treats my kid like her own but because she accepts me as I am.It’ll be hard to watch her fall in love when someone worthy of her swoops in, but no amount of ache would change my mind about being her friend.

I hold her close, listening to the rain on the roof.“You always seem to know what I’m thinking.”

We sit like that for a while.Then the rain lets up, and my phone buzzes.

Parker:Storm is dying down.Mason and Mad Dog are about to leave for the fishing cabin.Do I need to stall them?

I show Poppy the message.“Hopefully your dad believes my totally truthful explanation of how I ended up without a shirt and you ended up with mine.”

I tap out a message to Parker and let her read it before hitting send.

Me:No need to stall.

She flashes that heart-stopping Poppy smile.“It’ll be fine.”

Chapter 19

Poppy

In the mess hall, I get in line behind Parker.“Hey there.You never texted me about how girls think.”

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