Page 6 of Poppy Kisses
I clenched my jaw and tugged the brim of my hat down. Delores chattered about how busy it’d been all morning and she couldn’t wait to see her grandkids.
“They’re going to help me move,” she said.
That got my attention. Delores had been working the checkouts for as long as I could remember. “You’re moving?”
She beamed, the apples of her cheeks pushing her glasses up. “To Indiana, where Kellie and the kids are. She has crazy hours, and I can watch the kids.”
“That’ll be nice, but we’re going to miss you.”
She shrugged and hit the total. “I want to give her the help I wished I had when I was younger. We could all use an extra hand, and you know, we all deserve it.”
I tapped my debit card on the machine and tucked my wallet back. My gaze caught on the retreating back of Isabel.
Isabull. How had I said it wrong? “Thanks, Delores.”
“Anytime, Jensen, and if I don’t see you again, take care. Good luck with Hollis Cabinets. I tell everyone about you.” She’d been saying that for years. Hearing best wishes about my cabinet business would have left me with more optimism any other day, but after overhearing why I’d lost a nice contract, it was a dash of salt on an open wound. Now I was down one more advertising avenue.
“I appreciate it. Have a great time with your grandkids. Tell Kellie hi.”
I pushed my cart out.
How did I keep fucking up? I checked and triple-checked my work. And errors still got through. Errors that didn’t matter with the work but with the customer service. I was nice, dammit.
Yet it wasn’t enough.
Where did a guy go to get help with shit he should’ve learned in school? With basic speaking and writing?
How fucking humiliating.
I had not said Isabull.
At least Auggie was getting help so he wouldn’t face these issues when he grew up. I got in my pickup and drove toward home. I hit the highway, and as I passed the motel, the blue SUV caught my eye. Was that Poppy’s?
Poppy, my son’s tutor. Poppy, who might be moving to town. Poppy, who might have some insight on how to keep me from sabotaging my business.
ChapterTwo
Poppy
If I sat in my car any longer and stared at this house, the renters would call the police on me.
I chewed on my lower lip.
This place was called the Perez house, thanks to the original contractor and occupant who’d lived here long ago. He’d made it the classiest farmhouse around, with two stories and proud peaks on the roof. Quaint shutters added to the homey feel, but overall, it had a run-down air to it. Still majestic, just old.
But it would be perfect. I could live here and work here. The patio would be ideal for those summer days when kids were going nuts inside. The overhang would provide enough shade to see our computer screens while the side of the house blocked the north wind.
It used to be Aunt Linda’s home before she married Darren. My grandparents had bought the place after Linda and Darren had moved out, and it was one of the several included in my grandma’s trust.
This house would go to me. If I was married for at least a year. I could live there now—if I was already married. I checked Linda’s message from weeks ago.
Linda: The renter is moving out at the end of May, and I’d like to have another renter in by the end of June.
I had no husband, yet I’d quit my job before I could get fired and left Wyoming on a wing and a prayer that I’d land a husband between now and the end of May. That was barely over a month away.
Of course that hadn’t been why I’d uprooted to start again. But it hadn’t not been the reason. The distant possibility of a decent home had been enough.
Yet, here I was, staying with Alder. He and Daisy had three spare bedrooms, but the one across from where I was sleeping was getting turned into a nursery. Daisy wasn’t due for six months, but the clock was ticking. I loved Daisy’s little girl and I enjoyed witnessing my brother get used to fatherhood through his stepdaughter, but I couldn’t overstay my welcome. They’d only just rekindled a romance that hadn’t burned out since they’d been high school sweethearts.
