A Field of Poppies (46 page)

“
The truth is that we’re the innocents who got caught in the middle of adult lies and crimes. When Daddy and your mother were young and in love, they didn’t mean to hurt each other. I don’t think they knew how to stand up to all those grownups, do you?”

“
I suppose not,” Poppy said.

“
My daddy is no more to blame for your father’s death than I am to blame for my Nana’s death. I keep thinking how much Daddy must have loved your mother to be willing to turn in his own mother for you.”

“
I know what he did,” Poppy said. “I was there. I heard everything that was said.”

“
Really?”

Poppy sighed. “Yes, really.”

“
And your heart is still angry?”

“
I guess it is,” Poppy said. There was a moment of silence before she heard a long, drawn-out sigh.

“
Okay, I understand that you have to feel what you feel. People should never pretend to love someone they don’t. Just look what happened to us because of that.”

Once again, Poppy was struck by her wisdom. “How old are you?”

The bubble of enthusiasm came out in Callie’s answer. “I’m fourteen, almost fifteen but I’m small for my age. Oh, there’s one more thing I wanted to tell you.”

“
What?”

“
They’re flying me to Charleston tomorrow. I’m going to have a kidney transplant in a couple of days.”

“
Isn’t that a good thing?”

“
Yes, but I have to face facts. A lot of things could go wrong. I might not make it through surgery, and I just wanted you to know what a special man our daddy is. I hope you find it in your heart to give him a chance, because if I die, not only will he be very sad, he’ll be alone.”

Tears welled, but Poppy blinked them away. “I’m sure you’re going to be fine.”

“
I hope so,” Callie said, and then giggled. “Bye Poppy. Thank you for talking to me.”

“
Yeah, sure,” Poppy mumbled.

The line clicked.

The girl was gone.

The timer went off.

Cookies needed to come out of the oven.

She hung up the phone and then got a potholder out of the drawer by the stove.

It was strange how life worked. One minute you’re hating with every cell in your body and the next thing you know, WHAM! sideswiped by logic.

She cried the rest of the way through the cookie baking and was trying to get herself together when the phone rang again.

She started to let it go to voicemail then realized if it was Mike, they’d be doing that phone tag dance all over again. She swiped the tears off her face and then took a deep breath.

“
Hello.”

Mike frowned. “Have you been crying?”

Poppy sighed. “How do you know this stuff?”

“
I hear it in your voice. Is something wrong? If you need me I can be there in about fifteen minutes.”

“
It’s just been a long day,” she said. “I baked cookies.”

“
Please say you need me so I’ll have a good excuse to come sample them.”

A slow smile spread across her face. “You can always come anyway.”

“
I called because I want to see you. I know I said I wanted to take you to Newport to eat steak, but I’d rather wait for better weather to make that drive.”

“
That’s okay. We can do it another time. I’m off work by 5:00 p.m. every day this coming week, and I’m off again next weekend.”

“
But in the meantime, who’s going to help you eat all those cookies?”

Poppy laughed, and it felt good to be laughing, like sparklers were going off in her belly – making her all tingly and hot.

“
I guess that would be you,” Poppy said.

“
What if I bring take-out to your house and we eat the cookies for dessert?”

“
That would be great.”

“
Would you rather have barbeque, pizza, or Chinese?” he asked.

“
Chinese.”

“
My kind of woman! See you in about an hour?”

“
Okay.”

This time when the line went dead, Poppy did a little dance, then stopped suddenly, feeling guilty that she’d felt joy when she was supposed to still be grieving. It took a few moments to remember Mama and Daddy would have been happy for her if they’d still been here, so she was going to be happy for herself.

****

Two orders of Spring rolls, Sesame Chicken and fried rice later, Mike and Poppy had run out of polite conversation. He’d dreamed of this moment, being alone with her in this house. He wanted to kiss her. But there was propriety - and those damn cookies yet to be eaten.

Poppy had removed the take-out boxes from the table and was pouring fresh coffee in their cups.

“
Cream or sugar?”

“
I’ll take you.”

She sloshed coffee onto the table then quickly wiped it up. For a second she was certain she’d heard him wrong.

“
I’m sorry. What?”

Mike stood up. “It’s like this, Poppy. You are driving me somewhat crazy.” He circled the table, slid one hand around her waist and the other behind her head. “Do you mind?”

She blinked.

“
I’ll take that as a no,” he said softly, and kissed her.

It lasted only a few seconds, but it was long enough to make him try it again. The second time when he came up for air, he tilted her head a bit to the right, and then went in for the kill.

That kiss put him somewhere in the red zone, which meant back off now before they both got burned.

“
Lord have mercy,” Mike said, and ran a thumb across her lower lip. “Do you know what I’m thinking?”

Poppy felt like she was floating. “Probably, but I think for tonight, you need to satisfy your hunger with cookies.”

Mike threw back his head and laughed, and once again, the sparklers went off in Poppy’s belly. This was going to be a good thing. She could feel it.

And she’d been right.

For Poppy, the ensuing month passed in a series of emotional mood swings. Even though phone calls from Justin had trickled down to what she referred to as a duty call once a week, she heard through the grapevine that Callie Caulfield’s kidney transplant had been a success. And there was Mike, patiently worming his way into her heart.

****

It had been quite a while since Wade Tiller had an occasion to go to Charleston, but never for a reason as momentous as the one that brought him and his family here today.

Somewhere beyond these walls, two of his children were having surgery and the thought of how many things that could go wrong was driving him quietly insane.

He was still uncertain that giving in to the family’s insistence and letting Paul be the donor for Callie’s kidney had been the right move. Wade was the oldest and she was his daughter. It should have been his right. But that reason was also why he’d finally given in. Because she was his daughter, he wanted only the best for her, and a forty-eight year old kidney that he’d put through years of hard living and drinking was certainly not the best.

He kept watching Justin Caulfield’s face, looking for anger, waiting for him to assess blame for all those years of deception, but it just wasn’t there. Deborah might not have loved Justin when she married him, but between the two of them, she had damn sure married the best man.

His gaze shifted to his sons. In all the years since their birth, he had never seen them this quiet. They’d bunched up together on the single sofa, sitting with their elbows on their knees, their heads down, staring at the floor. If he had to guess, he would say they were praying. God knows he done nothing but pray ever since he’d found out he and Deborah had a daughter. Callie had the Caulfield name, but Wade had definitely marked her just as he’d marked his other children. There was no mistaking where the white-blonde hair and blue eyes had come from.

All of a sudden there was a flurry of activity out in the hall then one of the surgeons walked in.

“
Paul Tiller family?”

“
We’re here,” Wade said, as he stood up.

“
Paul did great. He’s in recovery. As soon as he’s taken to his room, they’ll let you know.”

“
What about the patient receiving the kidney? What about Callie?” Justin asked.

“
Are you her parent?”

“
Yes.”

“
All I know for sure is the transplant procedure is in progress. Her surgeon will be out when he’s finished to give you the details.”

Justin nodded, then turned and thumped Wade on the back. “Good news, right? One down. One to go.”

“
Yes, good news.” But Wade knew Justin was right. They were only halfway through this ordeal.

****

The waiting room was littered with empty paper cups, candy wrappers, paper plates and an empty pizza box. Eating had been a way to pass the time and keep emotions as low-key as possible. It has been more than four hours since the last surgeon had been in and Justin was literally sick at his stomach with fear. If he’d been waiting by himself, he would have already lost it. Wade’s sons kept a running commentary of what was happening in the NFL, what they’d done last week, and even a quick update on Paul, who’d finally been taken to his room. Wade had gone up to see him and had yet to come back.

Justin kept pacing from one end of the waiting room to the other, pausing every now and then to stare out the window. He felt so damn helpless.

“
Hey, Mr. Caulfield, there’s a surgeon out in the hall,” Ben said.

Justin recognized him as Callie’s surgeon and met him as he came into the waiting room.

“
Callie did great,” the surgeon said. “The transplant was a huge success. Her skin color already looks better. It’s amazing how the human body does work.”

“
Thank you! Thank you!” Justin said. “When can I see her?”

“
Soon. You know we’re going to have to isolate her for a while. We need to make sure she isn’t exposed to anything her body can’t handle. However, we’ll put a mask on you and you can walk beside her bed when we take her from recovery to ICU.”

Justin didn’t care if they made him wear Haz-Mat gear if that’s what it took to get her well.

“
So, I’ll have a nurse come get you when she’s ready. In the meantime, feel free to let all your family know that the surgery was a success.”

Justin nodded in agreement, but the truth was, there wasn’t anyone to call but Poppy and he was pretty sure she didn’t give a damn. He’d call his housekeeper later and let her know everything was okay, but the only other people who cared were in the waiting room with him.

The Tillers were grinning from ear to ear as they began to clean up the mess that they’d made.

“
Man, that is such good news, isn’t it, Mr. Caulfield?” Ben said.

Justin sat down. “Yes, Ben, it is amazing news. God is good.”

****

Back in Caulfield, Poppy’s relationship with Mike was heating up. Two weeks and a half-dozen dates later, she ended what Mike referred to as training camp by taking their relationship to bed. It was, for Poppy, the inevitability of her growing love for this big, crazy man. He’d saved her, he’d fed her, he’d loved her, and now he’d branded her. She would never be the same.

Oddly enough, it was also a turning point in how she felt about Justin. She kept remembering what her mother, Sunny, had written in her diary after she and Justin had first made love.
I felt my body take flight.

After making love with Mike, she now knew what her mother had meant, and was beginning to understand how love could blind the truest heart.

****

Poppy was eating breakfast one morning during the latter part of October when she happened to glance at the calendar. The moment she saw the date, she jumped up in a panic and dumped the rest of her food into the trash. Within moments she started to cry. It was her mother’s birthday and she’d forgotten. She cried all the way to work, managed to pull herself together enough that no one noticed, then skipped her lunch break to go to a florist to get flowers. Her anxiety was at an all-time high, fearing something would delay her at quitting time.

It didn’t happen.

The moment she clocked out, she made a flying trip to the cemetery, knowing they locked the gates at dusk.

The ground was still soggy from the last rain and the trees, having long since lost the glorious colors of autumn, were not only bare sentries to the passing of lives, but to the passing of seasons, as well.

She got out of her car and began to run, eyeing the sun as it continued to slide ever farther into the west. The weather they’d been having had barely begun to settle the bare mounds marking her parents’ graves. They were still as raw as the pain left behind from their passing.

Poppy laid the bouquet of lavender and yellow chrysanthemums onto the muddy mound, and then touched the headstone.

“
Happy birthday, Mama. You know I miss you. You know I love you. And you also know that I’m going to be okay because you raised me to be strong.” Her gaze slid to the other mound. “Hey, Daddy. I don’t know what all goes on in heaven, but I hope they allow dancing because you know how Mama loves to dance. I miss you so much and I’m trying to do what’s right. It breaks my heart that you died with the burden of my birth on your heart. I know about the other man who is my father, but you know I love you best.”