Page 29 of Liam James
Poppy looked up, smiling. “Can we stay here forever?” she asked softly, eyes wide and serious.
Jenny’s throat tightened. “Maybe,” she whispered, pulling her close.
But she didn’t know if she was telling the truth.
23
Liam
The sheriff’s truck crunched up the gravel drive just as the sun dipped behind the trees. Forest and Fraiser stepped off the porch to meet, her voices low as they spoke.
I stayed near the door, watching Jenny and Poppy making sandwiches at the kitchen table. Poppy hadn’t said much since we got here. She was quiet, too quiet for someone her age.
The sheriff took off his hat as he stepped closer, his weathered face lined with something heavier than duty.
“Miss Kennedy,” he said to Jenny. “We found some things at Jarod’s property when we brought in the cadaver dogs.”
Jenny straightened slowly, her hand tightening on Poppy’s shoulder. “What things?”
Lane’s eyes flicked to Poppy, then back to Jenny. “Two sets of remains. Adult female. One was buried a few months ago. The other… more recent.”
Jenny’s face drained of color. “Oh God.”
Poppy tilted her head, confused. “What’s that mean?”
Jenny knelt beside her. “It just means they found someone, sweetheart.”
The sheriff cleared his throat. “We ID’d them from records. Jarod’s wife… and her mother. Both.”
Jenny closed her eyes like the words hit harder than she expected.
Poppy blinked, quiet for a long time before whispering, “They’re with Jesus?”
Jenny’s voice trembled. “Yeah, sweetie. They are.”
Lane gave us time, but her expression told me more was coming. “Jenny, CPS is starting the paperwork for temporary guardianship,” she said softly. “Given the circumstances, and what that little girl’s been through… they think she needs stability right now. Someone she trusts.”
Jenny’s lips parted, and took a deep breath. “Poppy stays with me. She trust me. I am stable enough for her.”
“I know that, but we have to convince CPS of that,” Lane said.
I caught Jenny’s gaze across the room. She looked like the ground had just shifted under her feet—torn between her job, her life back at the hospital, Poppy held onto her arm like she was the only safe thing in the world.
I wanted to tell her right then that she wasn’t alone. That whatever came next, I wasn’t going anywhere.
But the words stuck in my throat.
Instead, I walked over, resting my hand on Poppy’s hair, meeting Jenny’s eyes.
“We’ll figure it out,” I said quietly. “Together.”
Something flickered across her face—relief, maybe, or hope—but she didn’t answer.
24
Jenny
Poppy was asleep in the next room, her body curled beneath the quilt like the world hadn’t shattered around her. I sat on the porch steps, arms wrapped around my knees, staring out at the dark line of trees.
