Page 52 of A Flower for Angus

“Aye, sir. Thank ye, sir, ye are very kind.” Dal left in a hurry, still rubbing his arse cheek.

Angus eyes narrowed at Darro. “Care to explain what that was all about, lad?”

Darro snorted, his eyes twinkling as he headed for the coffee pot. “When ye accused me of taking yer biccies, I made it my business to find out who had. When I learned that Dal had given a few biccies to Henry now and then to give to his granddaughter who’s been sick with RSV, I admired his charitable intentions, but not his method of delivery.”

Understanding dawned. “Ah, I see.” Angus shook his head. “That lad is always surprisin’ me. Somehow, I missed that, I should have known about Henry.”

“A man tends to miss more than he otherwise would when a lass is turning him inside out,” Darro replied with a chuckle. Then he turned serious. “I sent Vince back to Chicago to see what he could find out about the situation there. I suspect Poppy will have to go back at some point.”

“Aye,” Angus agreed with a frown. “But when she does, I’m plannin’ on goin’ with her. Can ye get by without me for a while?”

Darro nodded. “Of course. If ye are sure that’s what ye want. Poppy’s life is in shambles and has been for the last year. If ye have marriage on yer mind, how can ye be sure ye won’t be a rebound?”

“The real problem is gettin’ her to even let me court her, yet alone marry her,” Angus scoffed. “She’s no lookin’ fer another husband.”

“Are ye sure she’s the one?”

Angus cocked his head sideways. “At my age, lad, there is no‘the one’any more. “That’s fer the younger generations just startin’ out. They haven’t figured out that there might be more than one. We are no promised tomorrow, lad. Life is full of twists and turns that sidetrack us from our original goals.” He shook his head ruefully. “I told ye about my Dublin lassie. Back in the day, I thought she was‘the one’until her daddy rode me out of town on a rail, so to speak.”

Darro chuckled. “Aye, ye told me.”

“I had a lot of good years with Rosie and she blessed me with my bairns and a good life. She’s gone now, somethin’ I never expected to happen. Now, I’ve been handed another flower, thanks to the good lord’s mercies. Right now, she is ‘the one’, and if I can find a way to convince her that she’s mine, she’ll be the one fer the rest of our lives,” he finished. “And now, that’s enough of the mushy stuff, there’s work to be done.”

“Well, it’s time fer breakfast, so let’s head to the house. Lucerne and I intend to set down some rules fer my employee and she may not like it much, but it might give ye more opportunities to convince her.”

“I’m starvin’, let’s see what the lasses have fer us this morning,” Angus replied with relish.

“Ye’re always starving, ye old coot,” Darro replied with affection.

“Like I said, ye’re a slavedriver.”

***

THE PILL DOC HAD GIVENPoppy worked a miracle. When the sun peeked through her curtains and bathed her face in warmth and light, she stretched and rolled languidly onto her back. For a few precious seconds she was at peace—until the previous night came rushing back, dragging her miserable life to the forefront of her mind once again.

With a groan, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and glanced at her watch. It was almost 7:00 am. She was supposed to fix breakfast this morning!

Now that she was awake, she could smell coffee and the heavenly scent of bacon on the air. Lucerne hadn’t awakened her on purpose, for which she was grateful. It had been a long time since she’d been able to sleep in, mostly because her mind wouldn’t let her rest at night.

She padded to the dresser and picked out some clothes to take into the bathroom with her. First a hot shower, then she’d head to the kitchen for some toast and coffee. Maybe she’d add a few slices of bacon this morning. It did smell good and Doc wanted her to eat more.

After getting dressed in modest jeans and a cool blouse for her housekeeping duties, she headed to the kitchen.

She could hear Angus talking before she got there, teasing the kids and bantering with Darro. What he’d done for her at the lake yesterday brought a pink blush to her cheeks and she had to admit, it had put her to sleep immediately. She wondered if that type of massage would do it all the time or if she was just so tired that the blissful after affect had knocked her out?

That she could get used to.

In fact, she could get used to Angus on a full-time basis. She carried so much baggage though, he didn’t deserve that. His dominant, protective attitude was actually a part of his charm, although she would never admit it. It’s when men got really bossy that their over protectiveness became annoying. So how would that work long-term? Was spanking her for punishment a part of his personality too? One thing she knew for sure, she had no intention of getting married anytime soon, if ever. Even if Angus was growing on her.

As she rounded the corner and took a left into the kitchen, he stood up to greet her. “Good mornin’, lass. Did ye sleep well?” The corners of his mouth tipped up with his usual grin.

“Very well, thank you.” He was dressed in a red shirt and jeans this morning and looking good enough to make her pulse race faster. “You look dressed up, are you going somewhere?”

He nodded his head. “Aye, I’m takin’ ye into town to get yer script filled.”

Annoyance shot through her as she headed to the coffee pot. She hadn’t asked him to do that, and he hadn’t asked her if he could. Besides, she was perfectly able to drive her rental into town alone. “I can manage on my own, thank you.”

Darro intervened at that point. “I’m glad ye slept well, Poppy. When ye get yer coffee and sit down, Lucerne and I need to go over a few things with you.”

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