Dreaming of His Snowed In Kiss - Jessie Gussman Page 0,4

been some goth, and Satan worshiping going on, along with a lot of other things that still felt heavy in his heart and soul. They were the kind of things a person couldn’t shed just because they had a new home and a new life.

Poppy’s sunshine threatened the dark corners of his heart.

Poppy drew his gaze as she slipped a spoonful of mashed potatoes into Trevor’s mouth. He ate, but his eyes were big and shifted from her to West and back again.

Poor kid didn’t understand why his mom was no longer taking care of him and why he wasn’t someplace familiar and beloved.

He was too little to have things explained to him, and even Garrett, who—at three—seemed to understand, didn’t take it easier.

He still cried every night. Sometimes, he cried in the afternoon, too.

The food smelled good though, and West figured he might as well sit down with the kids and try to make it seem at least a little normal. He wasn’t sure exactly what was going to happen to the kids if or, more likely, when Minnie lost her cancer fight, and he’d been up to his eyeballs in trying to catch up to the kids and hadn’t had a chance to talk to Minnie about it anyway.

Not that he wanted to bring it up.

“It must have been quite a surprise for you to see Minnie and her four children at church last Sunday,” Poppy said, grinning, of course, and seeming to just want to make conversation.

He could adult. Really.

“It was. I think it would be a surprise for anyone.”

“Are any of these children yours?” Poppy asked, just as casually, spooning more mashed potatoes into Trevor’s mouth.

West’s mouth dropped.

Of course, that was what people probably thought.

“No.”

Poppy’s eyes slipped to his, like she didn’t quite believe him and was checking his face to make sure he wasn’t messing with her.

“It seems odd that she would go to you, then? She’s not your sister, is she?”

Now her questions were probing instead of making conversation, but he supposed these were questions everyone had. Questions that should be answered.

“After my parents were killed in a car accident, my siblings and I were split up and put in foster care. Minnie was in the house I was sent to.” And that’s all he was gonna say about that. To Poppy anyway. Someone as cute and sweet as her wouldn’t understand the things he’d gone through. The things he’d done.

Poppy jerked her head in acknowledgment of his words. Then her face crumpled up a little bit as she asked softly, “How is she?”

He shook his head. She wasn’t good. “She has a doctor’s appointment tomorrow. I guess we’ll know better then.”

They didn’t talk any more throughout lunch, as Poppy fed the baby and didn’t say anything.

West ate. He was hungry, and he didn’t resent her help exactly. Just didn’t always appreciate her constant smile and happy attitude.

“I want to go outside and play,” Warren said as he scraped his plate.

“Do you want something more to eat?” Poppy asked, ignoring his statement.

Gabriella had finished her bottle, which West had managed to hold with one hand while eating with the other, and he pulled it out of her mouth, taking his napkin and putting it on his shoulder for a burp rag.

In his experience, he needed one. Unless he wanted to change his clothes.

The other option was smelling like baby puke for the rest of the day.

That had happened.

Twice.

Then he’d gotten smart.

The napkin wasn’t guaranteed to keep that from happening, but he couldn’t remember where he’d put the last burp rag, and he wasn’t going looking for it right now. If this was going to be a longtime thing, he needed to get more organized.

It wasn’t going to be a longtime thing.

“Once everyone’s done eating, we’ll put Trevor and Garrett to bed, and you and I can go outside for a bit, okay, bud?”

Warren chewed on his lip. “What about Gabby?”

West couldn’t help it; one side of his mouth pulled back.

He’d said the same thing to Warren yesterday after lunch, only Gabby hadn’t gone down for a nap, so he’d ended up spending the afternoon inside, and he and Warren hadn’t made it out.

In fact, his stock hadn’t gotten fed or checked until after he’d managed to get everybody down for the night last night, which had been late.

“Hopefully, she’ll go to sleep, too.” He didn’t know what else to say. He couldn’t hardly go outside and carry a baby and work at the same