The Birthday List(93)

I shrugged. “It was no big deal.”

“It was to me.” He held out his hand again. “Anyway, I’ll let you get back to your conversation. Nice to see you again.”

“Same to you.”

He nodded once more, then turned and left. Poppy’s, Jimmy’s and Randall’s eyes were on me, waiting for an explanation, but I stayed quiet and watched as Isaac left the restaurant.

When the door closed behind him, I picked up my coffee. “So, banana bread with chocolate chips? I’ll go get them.”

Before Jimmy and Randall could ask about Isaac, I ducked into the kitchen with Poppy right on my heels.

“What was that about?”

“Oh, nothing much. Just a kid who needed a break way back when.”

“Is that what a ‘once’ is? A break?”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “I had someone give me a once, and ever since, I’ve tried to pay it forward.”

“Oh,” she hummed. “Can you tell me about it?”

I didn’t like talking about how I’d nearly fucked up my life, but Poppy deserved to know. So I pulled out a stool from the table in the kitchen and took a seat, confessing something only a handful of people even knew.

“I always knew I wanted to be a cop. Ever since I was a kid. After high school, I wanted to go straight to the academy, but my parents wanted me to go to college and get my degree. Dad said that if I had my bachelor’s, it would help me move up the ranks on the force, so I agreed and enrolled at MSU. But I didn’t take it seriously. At least, not at first. I skipped too many classes and went to too many parties.”

Poppy took the stool next to mine. “Did you flunk out?”

I chuckled. “No, but I wasn’t pulling As, that’s for sure. But the partying got me in trouble. My freshman year, I went to a house party out of town. I had too much to drink but thought if I stayed on the back roads, I’d be fine. On my way back, I swerved to miss a deer, ran my truck into the ditch and got stuck in the snow.”

My stomach rolled when I thought about that night. I was lucky things hadn’t been worse. That I hadn’t hurt someone. That I hadn’t hurt myself. As it was, I hadn’t even wrecked my truck.

“The officer who found me could have taken me right to jail. She could have given me a DUI, and my future career as a cop would have been over. But she didn’t. She put her finger in my face and said, ‘This is your once.’ Then she drove me home, not to the dorms but to my parents’ house, and kept my truck keys for a month.”

“Were your parents pissed?”

“Worse,” I sighed. “They were disappointed.”

And from that night on, I’d tried to never disappoint them again. I’d gotten serious about school. I’d brought up my grades and kept myself out of trouble through graduation and into the academy. All because I’d been given a chance.

“So, you got a once and now you give them.”

I nodded. “If the situation calls for it. I respect the law and we have rules for a reason, but not everything is black and white. Some people, like Isaac, deserve a second chance.”

Poppy’s hand came to my face. “How’d I get so lucky to find you?”

“It’s the other way around, beautiful.”

She leaned forward, pressing her soft lips to mine as the kitchen door swung open.

“Kissing again?” Molly snickered.

“Always.” I wrapped my arms around Poppy’s waist, pulling her off her stool and between my legs to take her mouth. This time, there wasn’t a thing gentle or sweet about our kiss. This one was hot and deep—a kiss that left Poppy panting, Molly rolling her eyes and my dick hard behind my zipper.

“You’d better get me that banana bread,” I whispered. “Otherwise I’ll find something else to eat and we won’t be going to the football game.”

Poppy leaned in to my ear. “I’ll make you a deal. You taste the banana bread, and later I’ll do some tasting of my own.”

I groaned against her lips. I loved this woman.

And since I still wasn’t sure if I should say it, after the game, I’d show her just how much instead.




“What if they drop me?”

I kissed Poppy’s worried forehead. “They’re not going to drop you. If you feel like you’re starting to fall, just set your feet down.”

We were standing in a sea of people. Seventeen thousand Bobcat and Grizzly fans all had their eyes aimed on the football field, but I couldn’t look away from the beauty at my side.

After we’d left the restaurant, Poppy had pulled on a thick black beanie, and her hair was rolling over her shoulders in a loose cascade to her waist. Her nose was pink from the cold and she’d bundled up in her gray winter coat. Her jeans were tucked into a pair of black, knee-high snow boots.

She looked happy.

And I had the picture to prove it.

I’d taken a lot of pictures for Poppy these last few months—ones that she could count as her daily photo—but today’s was a favorite. It ranked just as high as the picture I’d taken a month ago of her and Nazboo cuddling together, asleep on my couch.

A cheer from the crowd snagged my attention away from Poppy. It was just a first down, but the Bobcats were getting closer to the end zone.