Daisy stood at the edge of the roof. Twin looks of disbelief held their expressions as they watched their sister sob. A part of him wanted to snarl at her sisters and drive them away. He wouldn’t see Poppy hurt further. But it was not his place, and they deserved to have their say.
Sensing his tension, Poppy stilled and lifted her head. Tears gleamed on her reddened cheeks. She flinched, her hands tightening on his shoulders. Win leaned in close. “I will send them away if you want me to.”
“No. Thank you. I should talk to them.”
“As you wish.”
Miranda and Daisy waited for him to approach. They were beautiful women. Stunning, really. Yet he remembered them as girls. Miranda started when he reached out, but she let his hand rest on her cheek.
“We ought to have insisted on bringing you into our house when we left,” he said. “I’ve always regretted that.”
Her green eyes widened. “No, brother. My life had to be as it was. Or I would never have found Archer.”
He found himself smiling. “I still view you as the little girl who taught me to polka, and yet you are far wiser than me.” When her hand clasped his, he leaned closer. “You know, I do not think I’d change a thing either. As you said, one change and the whole story alters.”
Miranda’s shrewd eyes lit with amusement. “Well played, Winston.”
“I’ve no idea what you mean.”
Daisy peered at him, her blue eyes glittering in the way of the GIMs. “Don’t you?”
He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “None whatsoever.”
Her sisters were here. Horribly, she could not stop sobbing. Her emotions were out of the gate now, stampeding with impunity. Now she clung to Daisy like a child. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered against the plump smoothness of Daisy’s cheek. “I-I did not mean to hurt you two.”
“We know that. You’ve always tried to balance the world’s troubles on your shoulders. You are so strong, sister mine.” Daisy’s blond curls trembled as she shook her head. “Rock of Gibraltar and all that. I have always been in awe of your strength.”
Poppy made a noise of irritation. “It isn’t strength. It’s tenacity. It simply isn’t in me to let go of an endeavor once I start.” A lump formed in her throat and made her words thick. “But it is not strength. Each day I feel weaker. So very weary.” She clenched her fist, and snow began to fall again, landing in icy flakes upon her skin. “I’d like nothing more than to lay my head down and forget the world, truth be told.”
Miranda’s voice was soft. “And yet how can a person keep holding on without strength?” Her green eyes assessed Poppy from beneath dark lashes. “You simply have to learn how to lean on one of us now and then.”
Poppy stared down at her workworn hand with its short clipped nails. Her wedding ring gleamed on her finger. It was a glorious ring, a delicate gold band that held a fiery orange cabochon carnelian surrounded by diamonds. She’d been speechless when Win had slipped it on her finger, for it spoke of beauty, grace, and strength. His eyes had been dark when he looked at her, and in that moment, she felt as though she was his whole world, that no one existed for him but her, just as he was the only thing right and perfect in her life. “It is only a ring,” he whispered, his fingers warm upon hers. “Not nearly enough to encompass my love for you. But wear it and know that I am yours. Always.”
She’d lost that because she hadn’t opened herself up fully. Was it as simple as saying what one felt? Her lips twisted in distaste, but she had to try.
“We always end up bickering,” she said to her sisters as she stared at her hand. “But I…” She gathered herself and met her sisters’ wary gazes. “I have always wished I could be more like the two of you, able to find light in the darkness.” Daisy’s eyes widened, and Poppy forged on. “If I pushed you two, it was because I never wanted anything to snuff out your light. I wanted you to be strong and be more than I ever could. And… well, now you both are.”
Daisy’s lips parted, shock apparently rendering her silent for once. Poppy’s face heated, and then Daisy smiled. “Good Lord, but you’ll have me watering like a pot in a moment.”