last thing Poppy expected to hear. She didn’t even know how to process the unexpected news. “I’m so sorry. What happened?”
“She told her parents. They’re really strict. Religious. I was going to tell Mom and Turner, but he was never around or they were whispering…” Zoey sighed and clenched her fists. “I was scared to tell them. Casey and me got in a big fight ‘cause I hadn’t done it. I knew something was going on with Turner and you were gone. Faye was all a mess about the Kev stuff. It just didn’t feel like the right time, I guess… But Casey was mad, said maybe I hadn’t planned to ever tell them. I asked if there was any point. If we were never going to tell her parents, we were never gonna be free to be together, were we? We were fighting, I didn’t really mean it, I… Do you and Turner ever fight?”
Squirming a little, Poppy raised a shoulder. “Sometimes.”
“You ever say things you don’t mean?”
That curled her lips. “I say stupid things to your brother all the time.”
“I didn’t know she’d run home and tell her folks right then.”
“How did they take it?” Just the depth of Zoey’s exhale gave Poppy her answer. “Oh, honey.” Toeing off her shoes, she climbed onto the bed to gather Zoey into her arms. “Maybe they just need time. They’ll come around.”
“It doesn’t matter. They’re keeping Casey locked up at home. They don’t want her hanging out with anyone from school anymore.” She sighed. “I guess I was right that there wasn’t any point telling my family. I won’t ever love anyone else. What does it matter if they know?” She grabbed Poppy’s upper arms to thrust her back. “Did you tell Turner? Oh my God, you were having sex with him, weren’t you? Of course you told him!”
She started to scramble toward the edge of the bed, but Poppy caught her face in both hands to marry their eyes. “I didn’t tell him.”
Recognition flickered in Zoey’s eye. “We asked you to tell him and you didn’t want to. Were you in a fight?”
“I would’ve told him, no problem at all,” Poppy said, sweeping Zoey’s hair away from her face and lying down, tucking the teen’s head against her shoulder, holding her close as she continued to stroke her hair. “Why do you think I was so confident he’d accept the news? I’ve known Turner as an outsider and as the most important thing in his life, he’d never hurt you, Zoey. The man I love, he understands that love doesn’t come with conditions or limitations. He and I tried not to love each other. Tried to wish it away. None of this is convenient… for either of us.”
“But you love each other anyway.”
“Yes, we do.”
“Casey doesn’t want to fight for us.”
“How do you know?” Poppy asked, her fingers in Zoey’s hair. “Did you fight for her?” There was a long pause. “Think about it. You still have a question mark over your family, she doesn’t, she knows they don’t accept her. She probably feels alone.”
“You say my family are all accepting, but look at the way they’re treating you.”
“Charley is upset and there’s probably something going on with David I don’t know about. Faye is mad at your brother more than she’s mad at me. Your mom has been great. The kids too. Love is love, Zoey. Even if they are mad at me, they’re here. That means they haven’t given up on me.” That truth only dawned on her the moment she said the words. “If they had, they wouldn’t be sitting at my family’s dinner table. If they were through with me, the only reason any one of them might have come would’ve been to drag your brother back. So far, I haven’t heard anyone make that demand.”
“Emmie loves it here. It’s like a movie or something.”
“We get jaded about it because we’ve always been exposed to it, but, yeah, it is pretty great.”
“Casey would love it here,” Zoey murmured. “She loves the water.”
Ducking down, Poppy tried to make eye contact. “She’s welcome. If you want her here, we can make it happen.”
It was obvious that Zoey’s instinct was to be near the woman she loved. Everyone wanted the people they loved in times of crisis. But the relationship was fractured; asking Casey to cross the country might not be welcome. Turner had crossed the country for her, but that had been his choice. Casey couldn’t make