The ranchers were all sorry for Poppy feeling sick, and sent her wishes of feeling better. Parker arrived as the last ranch hand left for the day. The truck didn’t have all that much stuff in it. In fact, by the time they moved it into the sitting room, he saw how little she owned.
Shawn had come down to help, and each of them stood in three separate points of the sitting room, staring at a few items of clothing, pots and pans, some cushions, and a few pictures.
Casey picked up the bag full of pictures, taking them to her room. While she was passed out, he placed them inside her new bedroom.
He was going to take care of her. They were all going to take care of her, and if she thought for a second she had a choice in the matter, he’d make sure she knew how mistaken she was.
****
“I don’t need a babysitter,” Poppy said a couple of days later.
Shawn sat in a chair beside her bed and stared at his best friend. “You’re still angry that we got rid of your trailer and moved you here?”
“That was my home. I can’t stay here.”
“You’re staying here.”
“When did you get so bossy?” she asked.
“Right around the time that you got stupid thinking you can take care of yourself.” He glared at her. The last thing he wanted to do was fight with her, but she was being so incredibly stubborn about this. Casey and Parker had tried to reason with her, and in the end, they’d sent him in.
“I can take care of myself. I’ve been doing it for a long time, Shawn. I took care of my mother.”
“And you know what? You don’t need to keep doing it on your own. You’re not alone!”
She folded her arms and stared out of the window.
Shawn stood, paced the room, and then took a seat beside her. “What would have happened if you’d have fallen over? You were sick and you admitted you were dizzy. You can’t even remember Casey bringing you here, or us putting you to bed. We took care of you, and made sure you were safe. I don’t want to lose you, Poppy. What if you’d hit your head and were bleeding? Be angry if you want. You’re not going back home.”
“This is not your decision.”
“I know you’re not stupid.”
“Don’t call me stupid, Shawn. I mean it.”
“I did say I knew you weren’t stupid. Now you can live here, and everything will be fine.”
“People already think I’m sleeping with you and your brothers. Half of the women pretend to be pissed with you guys, but they all want you. If they can’t have all of you, then they want one of you.”
Shawn took her hand. “I don’t care what other people think. You shouldn’t either. They judge on the littlest thing.” He pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “I’ll go and get you that breakfast.”
He moved toward the door about to leave when she spoke.
“Thank you, Shawn, for taking care of me. Please tell your brothers the same.”
“You can tell them yourself,” he said, smiling. Parker and Casey were eating burned toast when he entered the kitchen. “I can’t give Poppy that.”
“We got some perfectly toasted,” Parker said. “This is the stuff we burned. How is she?”
Shawn filled a glass with some juice. “She said thank you for taking care of her. She’s still pissed that we’ve gotten rid of her trailer, and I imagine she’ll have a few choice things to say about that.”
“Obviously,” Casey said. “She’s a little wildcat. I’m surprised she’s not here ripping us a new one.”
“She’s worried about what people will think,” Shawn said.
This time Parker sighed. “I hate people. Can I just say that for the record?”
“You’re not being recorded,” Casey said. “You can say whatever you want. What she needs to realize is the people saying this shit are jealous. They want what she has.”
“Either way, she may look for an apartment or a different trailer,” Shawn said, giving the warning. “She’s very determined.”
“She’s not going anywhere.”
Shawn finished putting the fruit on the tray and made his way back upstairs. Casey could say what he wanted to. When Poppy put her mind to something, no one could change it.
She sat up when he entered the room, and put a pillow over her lap for the tray. Shawn didn’t leave, putting the tray on her lap and taking a seat once again.
“How is everything on the ranch?” she asked.
“It’s great. Stitch is missing you, just so you know.”
Stitch often lay on the kitchen floor, looking all sad for her to come back and play.
She smiled. “I miss him, too. Can he come up here?” she asked, pressing a hand to the bed.
“It’s probably not a good idea, but I’ll bring him up.”