Page 7 of Due North
“Poppy would love that, I’m sure. She used to go to daycare to play with her friends. She also got special services there. Oh, God, how am I going to get her the services she needs now?”
“What kind of services does she need?” Amity asked, sitting at the table again. “Speech or?”
“No,” I said, watching the little girl making herself comfy on Caleb’s lap. She had snugged herself into his chest and smiled up at him like he was Santa Claus. He tickled her belly until she giggled, the sound lifting a little bit of sadness from the room.
“Poppy Rose is profoundly deaf,” I said, swallowing around the lump in my throat. “She was born with a cleft palate and lip that was repaired last year. She’s also cognitively delayed, but the doctors think she will blossom once she learns more sign language and can communicate. She was learning sign language at daycare.”
The light went on in Amity’s eyes, and she smiled at the sweet baby on Caleb’s lap. “I understand now. Not to worry, we’ll find the people we need to help her. They’re out there, and it won’t take long to locate them. Have the courts placed Poppy with you for good now?”
“Allie had paperwork making me Poppy’s legal guardian upon her death. Social services placed her with me temporarily, but there will be a court hearing. I haven’t even had time to contact the lawyer. I had to make the arrangements to have Allie cremated and empty her apartment while caring for a three-year-old. I have a storage unit in Duluth filled with all of Allie’s belongings. I’ll need to deal with it at some point, but it’s so overwhelming.”
“It’s not when you trust your friends,” Caleb said quietly. “Things are slowing down here, so we all have extra time to help you through this. Right?”
“He’s right,” Heaven said from the doorway where she had Eden tucked on her hip. “Heavenly Lane is your home now, which means it’s also Poppy’s home. My daddy wouldn’t have it any other way, would he?” she asked, as Eden let out a happy shriek to see her grandma.
Amity pulled the little girl into her arms and hugged her, planting a kiss on her cheek.
Heaven skirted the table and pulled me up and into a hug, her tiny arm wrapped around my shoulder. “I’m serious, Cec,” she whispered. “We’re your tribe now. Let us help you. We’re all a bunch of mish-mashed orphans in one way or another. We have Amity and Ash to guide us, but we have each other to lean on. Heavenly Lane has always been a place where the underdog thrives and where the underestimated come to prove everyone else wrong.”
I leaned back and nodded, smiling at the tiny but fierce woman before me. “I know, Heaven,” I said, laughing for the first time in a week. “When I’m not overwhelmed with waves of grief and anger, I remember that, but those moments are few and far between. I love Poppy so much, but she’s a huge responsibility. I didn’t know how much until I started taking care of her. Just meeting her basic needs is a full-time job. How do you take care of Eden and work around this ranch?”
“I have a husband who helps and all the people here who support us. That’s what you’re going to do too.”
“Tex,” Amity said, “let’s take the girls into the living room to play for a bit. I’m sure they’d love to crawl around and play together.”
“I don’t think that’s going to work,” I said as Caleb stood up with Poppy Rose. “She doesn’t like to be away from me.”
Caleb took my shoulder and squeezed it gently. “We’ll give it a try. If she gets upset, I’ll bring her back. You need a break.”
I gazed up at Poppy, who was still sucking her thumb and resting on Caleb’s chest. She looked natural nestled against him, safe and secure. She was so sweet, and we would need everyone here to get us through this. “Okay,” I finally said. I stood up and signed to Poppyfun, play, love.
She immediately crossed her arms over her chest and squeezed, her face alight with joy as Amity and Caleb headed for the living room with the girls.
“What did you just sign to her?” Heaven asked, grabbing a piece of paper from the drawer and sitting down at the table.
“I told her she was going to go play and that I loved her.”
“She knew the love part by heart,” Dawn said with a wink. “You don’t have a thing to worry about with her.”
I bit my lip and checked the doorway, listening for crying, but all I heard were the squeals and chirps of the toys as they played. “I can’t believe Poppy went with Caleb without making a peep.”
“Tex has a way about him,” Heaven said with a smile on her lips. “You know how I’ve called him the baby whisperer since Eden was born. He’s the same way with the horses. It sounds dumb, but I swear to God there’s a string that connects him to everyone here. Like he inherently knows when someone needs him. It’s weird.”
“Not so weird,” Dawn said, shaking her head. “There’s a name for it. It’s safe to say he doesn’t know it, but he’s an empath.” She turned to me and took my hand. “You should have seen him this morning. He knew something was wrong with you, but he couldn’t find you. He was like a caged animal, and the room overflowed with frustration. After his frantic phone call, when I walked into that bunkhouse, he was a different person than he had been just an hour before in this kitchen. He was … um …” She motioned her hands around in the air for a moment. “The only way I can describe it is elemental. He had wrapped you around Poppy and had both of you in his arms by the time I got there to help. I didn’t know that Tex.”
Heaven held Dawn’s arm for a moment. “I would venture a guess that you met Caleb this morning for the first time. He’s always been Tex to us, but this morning, he was Caleb.”
“You’re so right,” Dawn said on a breath. “All I know is, you can trust him with Poppy, Cec.”
“I know,” I promised, nodding my head. “I know I can. I’m just so scared for her. Everything is new to her, but she doesn’t understand where her mother is or why her life has changed.”
Dawn rubbed my back again patiently. “She trusts you, though. I can tell by the way she clings to you and doesn’t let anyone else touch her.”
I laughed then and motioned to the doorway. “Except our cowboy in residence.”
Heaven grinned and winked at me. “Which is perfectly fine. Accept the help when she allows it and hold her to you when she doesn’t. That way, she knows that you’ll always be there for her. It will take time, but eventually, she’ll feel safer being away from you for longer periods.”
I nodded once and took a deep breath. “Lesson number one of motherhood given by the expert herself.”
