Page 34 of A Flower for Angus

“Mom! Where are you?”

The squeal was so loud and indignant that Macy flinched and held the phone away from her ear.

“I’m in Scotland.”

“What are you doing in Scotland? I’ve been worried sick! We were told you might be dead and they were looking for your body. Oh God, Mom, I’ve never been so scared in my life. Are you hurt? Are you safe?”

“Calm down, honey, I’m not hurt and I’m very safe. I’m sorry I haven’t called, but I didn’t want to put you at risk. It’s better you didn’t know where I was going.”

“When are you coming home?”

“I don’t know, Andrea, not for a while though. I’ve found a safe haven and I plan on staying until things settle down for me in Chicago.”

“I miss you so much, Mom...”

The catch in her daughter’s voice made Poppy’s own throat constrict. “I know, honey, I miss you too. Listen, I can’t stay on the phone for too long, so I want you and Morgan to know what’s going on before I hang up. My employer has been kind enough to allow me to use his phone until I can safely get my own.”

“You’re working?”

“Yes, for now. Is Morgan close by? Can you put me on speaker so you both get the information at the same time?”

Morgan’s deep voice chimed in. “I’m here, Poppy. Go ahead.”

“I talked to Mack a few minutes ago, so I know you’ve been trying to block Adrian’s attempts to declare me dead, Morgan. You don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

Poppy went on to explain all that had happened since she left Toronto.

“It’s not right, Mom, you shouldn’t have to give up what Julian has left you for my lowlife stepbrother,” Andrea declared indignantly.

“I feel very at peace with my decision,” Poppy returned gently. “It’s like it was a yoke around my shoulders weighing me down, and now I feel lighter and happier. I’ll be perfectly fine without it.”

They talked for a few more minutes and then hung up. Poppy regretted not getting the chance to speak with her grandchildren, but there would be more time later. Her thoughts drifted to Angus as she made her way to the kitchen. He was such a kind, teasing, growly, funny man. She’d never met anyone like him before, and she couldn’t believe the way he made her body feel. It was as if he was something it had been craving all her life that she didn’t know she even needed or wanted.

Andrea’s father Sam had been a kind man, and very loving, but their relationship had been more like soulmate friends with benefits thrown in to make babies with. They had both wanted more children, and when it didn’t happen, she’d turned to her education in financial investments skills to fulfill her life. She didn’t regret a minute of her marriage to her Sam, but there had always been something missing. When his long battle with painful liver cancer had finally taken him away, she’d been relieved that his suffering was over.

Julian had come back into her life a year later at a time when she was very lonely, and had been going through some deep depression after the loss of Sam. He’d lost his wife when a chic restaurant in upper Chicago had been robbed while they were dining there, and some of the patrons had been shot by the unhinged gunman. Julian had been winged by a bullet and had come out of surgery to find out that his Lois hadn’t survived her injuries.

They were both lonely and drawn to each other once again. They had drifted naturally together, and then Julian had asked her to marry him. Adrian had been 16 at the time and had resented his father’s new wife. Julian’s mother and his son had both insisted on a prenup agreement and Julian had apologized for it, but Poppy didn’t care. She was comfortable with what Sam had left her and she hated being alone.

Julian was different than Sam. Where Sam had been open and friendly, Julian was closed and emotionally stunted, he could never laugh at himself. He had expectations of her as a society wife, in public and at home, and she’d dutifully done her best to be what he wanted. He did care for her though, even though Poppy hadn’t married him for love.

They had a decent 10 years together despite the tension that Adrian and Edna had created most of the time. Adrian had made it plain that Poppy was not his mother and never would be.

Poppy had started working with Julian in investments to fill her life. Numbers was something she had a knack for. She loved it—and she was good at it.

After she’d lost Julian, Poppy had decided she didn’t want to be with anyone again. Losing two husbands was hard enough for any woman. She wanted to create her own life this time instead of living in someone else’s shadow. Blending families was difficult at best and the strain between Andrea and Adrian, and then Julian and Morgan, had put her off the whole idea. She’d just stay single.

She’d never in a million years expected to meet someone like Angus. Avoiding him was difficult at Neamh, ignoring him was impossible. The only time she’d been completely sure he meant what he said was when he was spanking her. Her face flamed at the memory and she furtively rubbed the curve of her butt cheek. She could definitely tell she’d been smacked. Hiding her feelings from a man like Angus would be very difficult because he simply wouldn’t allow it.

Andrea had asked her when she was coming home. The answer to that was, she didn’t feel like coming home yet. As much as she missed her family she felt at home right here, and she wanted to take the time to explore everything there was to see around Inverness. After the threat of Adrian was past anyway. She shivered, the shock of Adrian wanting to actually kill her still lingering. Why were some men so greedy?

She found Lucerne in the kitchen setting out preparations for supper. After all the excitement of today, making haggis with Lucerne seemed so normal that it was almost a letdown, but that was on the agenda for this evening. Besides, she needed normal right now to take her mind off the rest of it. Trying to concentrate on something normal should ease the nagging headache that had started in Inverness after spotting Vince. She’d had them from time to time after Sam had passed away. After Julian, they’d only gotten worse and she’d had to see a doctor for pain meds. She was out right now.

“I’m ready to learn how to make haggis,” Poppy offered with a smile as she approached the kitchen counter to inspect everything.

Lucerne chuckled. “I’m ready too. I invited Dorothy for another lesson but she declined. That girl can’t seem to get the hang of it.”

Over the next hour Lucerne showed Poppy how to boil the bits of the sheep that she planned to use in her recipe.

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