Page 46 of Chasing Love: The Owens
“Yeah, but Leia said her daddy was a bad man. The police came into their house and took him away, and she hasn’t seen him since.”
How did I ever think that little girls didn’t talk? Here I’ve only been thinking about my own feelings that are stirring for Delaney again, while both Delaney and her daughter have a whole heap of problems she’s sifting through. How would Wren feel if she saw me being arrested?
“That’s sad too.”
She shakes her head. “Not if he was bad.”
I remember when the world was black and white at that age and not shades of gray.
“Well, now that they’re here, maybe her mom will be happier.”
That feeling inside me that I could be the one to make her happy rises up, but I’m not sure she’ll ever trust me again.
“Go, Daddy, I gotta change.” She shoos me with her hand, and I leave, shutting the door.
I hate that Delaney is dealing with so much and wish she’d let me be a shoulder to lean on, but I understand that I haven’t earned her trust after I’m the one who severed our tie.
Chapter Twenty
Delaney
“Why do I have to take them?” I stare at the flowers in Poppy’s hands.
“They’re from Wren for Aunt Darla’s birthday, and Bennett forgot them.” She holds them out between us again.
I nudge them back toward her. “And you live right next door to him.”
She pushes them closer to me again. “Right, but I’m going out after work.”
I push them back her way. “Okay, but you live on the property. You can just drive them over and leave.” I give her a once-over. “And you’re going out in jean shorts and a T-shirt with The Perfect Petal logo on it?”
“Is that judgment I hear in your tone?” She tries to hand me the flowers again. “And you’re getting in your car to leave anyway. What’s the big deal?”
“Yes, it’s judgment because I know you, and you’d still go home and change even if you were going somewhere you couldn’t be late to. Besides, I take the outer drive, which goes nowhere near the residential homes by the lake.” I nudge them back at her.
Poppy pushes them closer to me once again. “It’s, like, two extra minutes to drop them off. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t really important.”
She gives me that pleading look that used to get me to do things I didn’t want to when we were younger. “You know what you’re asking me to do.”
“Come on, you guys have been getting along great. Laughing, joking, driving to the site every morning…” There’s a question in her tone.
“He is technically my boss.”
She clears her throat. “And me.”
“Yes, and you.”
Although Poppy doesn’t get my heart racing every time she stands two feet from me.
She opens the drawer behind the counter and hands me my purse, then takes out hers. “But I’ve never shoved my tongue down your throat.”
“Is there something you want to ask me, Poppy?” I arch an eyebrow.
She shrugs. “That depends, am I your BFF again?”
“Again? I never replaced you.” I position my purse crossways over my chest before helping her turn off the lights in the back.
“Jeez, B, turn your lights off. How quickly did he leave tonight?” Poppy points toward the light streaming in from the back hallway.
