Poppy's Passions

by Stephanie Beck

  “Nope, and don’t worry, I’m sure the guys won’t let you get too out of control. I don’t really know any better but they seem to.”

  “Those boys.” Her laugh made her sound younger. “I’m surrounded by the eternal means to keep me focused and in balance. Oh, and who is this coming my way? Harper Angel.”

  She sounded like she found a hundred dollar bill, and when Poppy looked up from grabbing a box of cereal, she had to admit it was a fine discovery.

  “Mary Paraby, you look well.” The tall, darkly handsome Latino man set a box of granola in his cart before approaching. “Your treatments are done?”

  “They are. You are looking at a cancer-free woman,” she announced, with a huge smile Poppy couldn’t help but mimic. “And the heat lamps you and Ayden put in are absolutely wonderful. Even though I’m feeling better, I love using them. Where is your handsome man today?”

  “He is, ah, right here,” Harper said as a slim, curly-haired blond man sidled to him with two gallons of milk.

  “Ah, pretty Mary Paraby.” The new man’s voice and grin were made for breaking hearts. “Looking much better, I see. How’ve you been?”

  “As I was telling Harper, I feel much better,” Mary said warmly. “Oh, and this is Poppy, my future daughter-in-law. Honey, these are the men who remodeled my bathroom last year. Ayden Clooney and Harper Angel. Ayden is from Dublin, isn’t that just wonderful?”

  “It’s nice to meet you both.” She gladly shook hands with the smiling men. “Mary’s bathroom is beautiful.”

  “You’ll have to tell whichever one you belong with that you’d like an upgrade for Christmas.” If she had to describe Ayden’s accent, it was pure sex.

  “Maybe.” It was impossible not to smile at the handsome Irish man and his friend.

  “And a granny too?” Ayden asked Mary. “I suppose you’ll be after the other two to find wives and get cousin-making soon?”

  “Yes, to the grandma part.” Mary paused, and Poppy wasn’t sure what she was going to say next. “But I don’t think the boys have to worry about pressure from me.”

  “Another arrangement like you have with your men?” Poppy blushed hard at Harper’s perceptiveness. “Don’t worry, corazon. We happen to be the only gay men in Morris. No judging here.”

  “I see.” That announcement had surely broken many female hearts in town. “And no judging here, either. I really don’t care what you do in your bedroom.”

  “Amen to that.” Ayden winked, his teasing reminding her of Trevor. “It’s nobody’s business but our own what happens behind closed doors and in back rows of movie theatres. Oh, and in cars, and parks after dark and—”

  “You are outrageous, young man.” Mary laughed and Poppy joined in as Harper shook his head at his lover’s list. “See, Poppy dear, very few people are as rude as Gerty. Most are perfectly willing to ignore what isn’t their business. Then, there’s Ayden, our comic relief.”

  “And sadly, this relief has to get back to work.” Ayden sighed. “Mary, love, I’m glad to see you doing well. Poppy, it was a delight to meet you. I’m sure we’ll run into each other often in this tiny town.”

  “That would be nice, just not in the parks after dark,” she said, shaking his work roughened hand again.

  “Cute.” The warmth in Harper’s smile told her not everyone appreciated Ayden’s humor. “Welcome to Morris. Mary, take care of yourself, and let us know if you need more work done at the ranch.”

  “Will do. You two have a happy Thanksgiving.” Along with Mary, Poppy watched the two men walk to the checkout counter.

  They stood close but didn’t touch. That would be too much for the other shoppers and, though he was silly, Poppy didn’t think Ayden would actively be inappropriate in public. She could be wrong though, she thought when very casually Ayden’s hand slipped across the tight expanse of Harper’s butt.

  “Those boys.” Mary chuckled. “They’ve been in town a few years. They do well with their construction company. There are two crews in town, Harper and Ayden, and the other is a very religious, conservative pair of brothers. We started with the brothers. Nice enough, but they kept trying to get me to leave with them to a women’s shelter. Finally, Paul fired them and Duane hired Ayden and Harper.”

  “Women’s shelter?” She grabbed several more boxes of cereal while she waited for Mary’s reply.

  “They thought I was being abused.” Adding two cartons of oatmeal, Mary shook her head. “To be fair, I’d just started chemo and I looked and felt horrible and they were trying to help. Any other time, I’d have explained things to them. Then if they’d continued to preach and prod I would have fired them, but I was too sick so I let the boys take care of it for me.”

  “That’s what they’re there for,” she agreed.

  “Yes, exactly. I don’t need them to fight my battles. I don’t need their money or stuff. I’m a grown woman and I can take care of myself, thank you very much.”

  “Sing it, sister.” Poppy laughed and applauded when Mary gave a little mock bow.

  “Thank you. But I will say, this grown woman adores her men, and lives for their love. Love makes them fight my battles and take care of me. Just like my love makes me take extra time to buy half a dozen kinds of cereal. Love will have me canning jam in July while having a hot flash so my men will have what they like.”

  Poppy laughed again and stretched her aching back against the cart as she looked up. “Mary, I want to be you when I grow up.”

  She blushed at the compliment. “Aren’t you the sweetest thing? Now, enough, we’ve got four more aisles and a stop at the creamery too.”

  Without more distractions they finished their shopping quickly. At the register Sam took ten percent from their bill for their trouble. Poppy was surprised when Mary, usually engaging and forgiving, stayed rigid toward the grocer who all but begged forgiveness. She explained she was just starting to give the grocery store another chance after Gerty, who was conspicuously absent at checkout, called Cody a dirty little bastard ten years earlier. Again Poppy was reminded Mary was not one to anger.

  The creamery was as wonderful as promised. Quaint and friendly, she figured it would become her favorite place despite it displaying nearly every item she wasn’t supposed to eat. The owner had their order packaged and the bill noted in the leather ledger on the counter when they arrived. SaraJean was one of Mary’s favorite people, and Poppy understood why when she brought out a special “milkshake” she made with soy after she heard the newest Paraby couldn’t drink milk but enjoyed ice cream.

  Stress levels back in the manageable range, she joined Mary debating menu options during the drive home. She liked her sweet potatoes sweet. Mary liked hers savory, so back and forth they argued and finally decided they needed a sweet potato cook-off. She was pretty sure they would tie. There was no way in hell her boys were going to side with their mother against her and Paul, Duane, and Thomas were too smart to vote against their wife. Even if her delicious, banana-pecan sweet potatoes kicked Mary’s chipotle butter yams off the table.

  “Oh, good,” Mary said as she backed into her garage with skill Poppy envied. “All the boys are here to carry the bags. I could use a cup of coffee and some of those cookies SaraJean made. How about you?”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  Her three men peeked through the door connecting the garage and kitchen. It was the middle of the day and they should have been working, but they were waiting for her. She could see them in the rearview mirror, but from their drawn expressions she knew they couldn’t see her. Side by side the similarities in the three faces were startling.

  Their brow lines were similar and though their eyes were different colors they were the same shape. So handsome and all hers. She still didn’t know how it happened or what she was going to do with it, but she loved them all. Three men for one woman, yet she understood now that love multiplied to meet the need of the heart and her heart grew every day.

  Michael opened her door wh
en Mary cut the engine, and unlike when she left, Poppy didn’t have to force a smile when she looked up at him. “Hi, handsome.” He lifted her from the high truck and even though she didn’t need the help, she let him. “Did you miss me?”

  “I did.” The seriousness in his face said more than his words, and she knew he was trying not to pounce for answers.

  “It was fine.” She kissed his mouth before he could ask any questions. “I met a few people, bought tons of groceries, and had an excellent soy milkshake at the creamery. The only excitement was when I played backup for Mary in a stare-down against some crabby woman at the grocery store. Not that your mom needed it though, she’s scary.”

  “Damn right I am.” Mary laughed. “And if you don’t want that look pointed in your direction, Michael Thomas, you’d better help your brothers.”

  “I will, Mom,” Michael said, but kept his hold around Poppy’s waist. “You’re sure you’re okay?”

  “I promise. It was fun. I’ll tell you about it after the groceries are put away. Can you wait?”

  “I can wait if you don’t need to talk right now.”

  Her Michael was so sweetly strong and understanding that she threw herself in his arms again. He set her on her feet and joined the others toting the groceries. All three shooed her away when she tried to help, insisting she needed to go put her feet up. Mary did the same when she offered to help in the kitchen.

  The running around was more than she was accustomed to and the stress leading to the event had taken its toll. She stretched out on Mary’s living room sofa, absently flipping through a women’s magazine full of recipes promised to wow Thanksgiving and Christmas crowds.

  For anyone in almost any situation, a trip to the grocery store was mundane. Pedestrian or not, Poppy felt pride bubble because she did it and she took joy in the little things. The option to stay buried in their mountain home was one she’d considered. Mary admitted to wanting that on occasion, and really with a doctor in house and half a dozen others Poppy could make herself useful around the house and avoid going to town until the girls were ready for school. Maybe longer if she homeschooled. That option had crossed her mind in the first days when she’d cringed from embarrassment at the thought of what others might think.

  Every day those feelings ebbed, and today might have been errands but she couldn’t help feel like she’d done more than buy milk. She’d stepped off the mountain and into the world, or at least a small piece of it. In a world that knew her intimate business, she’d managed to hold her head up. Maybe it was just groceries to most, but to Poppy, she’d taken a big step in the rest of her life.

  Chapter 14

  “I don’t think she needs to be riding the damn thing right now,” Poppy heard Michael tell Cody as she and Trevor approached the horse stalls. “I know Buttercup won’t throw her, but couldn’t all the rocking make her sick or I don’t know, puncture something?”

  “You weren’t worried about that when I rode you half the night.” Feeling beautifully wicked she strode into the stable hall.

  “Yeah, ya sneaky fucker,” Trevor said, and she laughed when he pushed Michael’s shoulder. “We were going to try to talk her out of being pissed as a team, remember? It would have been great, Poppy, trust me.”

  “I believe you.” At first she’d envied their teasing and camaraderie because she’d never had it, but they made her part of it now and she loved the new feelings.

  “It’s been three days since she’s even looked at me, would you have said no?” Michael shoved his brother back and held out his arms for her. “Hi, beautiful. How are you feeling today?”

  “Fine.” She happily rubbed noses with him and moved her hands under his sweater to steal his warmth. “Are my hands cold?”

  “Yep, you should probably warm those up before you move any lower. So, are we all three out of the doghouse, or are you still mad?”

  She thought of the reason for their placement on her shit list. Three days earlier she’d had a doctor’s appointment. Due for full lab work and a pelvic exam in addition to her regular checkup, she’d planned to follow all the websites’ advice and not be intimate the eve of her appointment. She’d turned down sex with Cody and Trevor because of the pelvic, but they’d talked her into trying other ways.

  Learning the ins and outs of anal sex had been in turns uncomfortable and wicked, but she’d been intrigued enough to tough out the uncomfortable long enough for wicked to explode. On a late case, Michael missed the fun tutorial, but accompanied her to her appointment when the others had to work.

  Their compromise on the position of penetration made sense at the time, or so they’d convinced her.

  The next day in the waiting room, however, other natural functions occurred, and she was mortally embarrassed when what should have been an innocent enough bout of flatulence ended up soaking her pants. With the evidence of the night succumbing to gravity, she’d been desperately thinking of a way to escape, all the while mentally cursing the boys for not using condoms. That’s what she got for letting them sweet talk her into having their way. The nurse called her name before the old man who’d been in the little clinic’s only bathroom exited.

  Of course the nurse was Susie and she didn’t miss a damn thing. Immediately she noticed the uncomfortable way Poppy walked. The wet dot also didn’t go unnoticed which led to all sorts of questions. Poppy nearly died when she confessed what happened to Duane who, bless his heart, had been relieved and professionally reassuring. Michael laughed his ass off both in the clinic and the whole way home. He’d been forbidden from her bedroom along with the other two for the past few days.

  “That was horrible,” she told them. “I know ya’ll think it was hilarious, but as the one actually standing in your father’s clinic, dripping and having to explain, I assure you it wasn’t fun. Between the four of us, yeah I probably would’ve laughed, but there is nothing funny about me looking like I wet my pants in public, let alone having to explain why it looks that way to the man who shares his cornflakes with me.”

  “You’re right, darlin’.” After three days Cody finally looked contrite. “We’re real sorry, and we’ll be more careful in the future.”

  “Damn right, you will. I am not doing that kind of explaining ever again.” She nodded in satisfaction and remembered the conversation she’d interrupted. “Apology accepted. Now, what’s going on here?”

  “Do you like to ride?” Trevor asked innocently, and then grinned. “Outside the bedroom I mean.”

  “Ha ha. Smartass. And yes, I do. We talked about it the other night, remember, Cody?” She moved her warmed hands lower down Michael’s furry chest and stomach, making quick, quiet work of his button and zipper before slipping into his boxers.

  “Oh, yeah. English and jumping, right?” Exiting the stall, Cody adjusted the cowboy hat he insisted wasn’t adorable when she commented on it. “I could have you riding Western with no trouble since you know horses.”

  “I like them, don’t get me wrong, but it’s too cold for riding outside. Mary says my blood will thicken up over time, but for now I’d prefer to do my riding inside.” She continued on Michael with long, hard strokes, the way she knew he liked it. Cody didn’t immediately jump on the double entendre, which was disappointing, but Michael was keeping her busy.

  She’d worried about hurting him until he took her in hand the night before and showed her exactly what he liked. The one-on-one time was happening more and more as the men were staying closer to home with winter weather setting in. Lots of hours were spent inside and while the nights were mainly together, several times in the past few weeks, the last three days excluded, she’d found herself happily entertaining Cody, Michael, or Trevor.

  She liked the change and enjoyed learning their likes, dislikes, strengths, and weaknesses in bed and around it. The intimate business took her away from her investigation lessons with Michael, but he was a patient, flexible teacher and did his fair share of distracting.

  “We’ve got a
n indoor arena the Four-H kids use at the other barn, if you’d like a little ride before you get bigger. Duane said it’s fine for a while longer, but he doesn’t recommend horse riding after six months. After eight he says all riding is out.” Cody locked the stall. She thought he’d missed all the naughty connotations of the conversation, until he turned with a grin that got bigger when he saw the near bliss expression on one brother’s face and eager anticipation on the other’s. “Oh, hell yes. Trev, get her pants.”

  “We’re on the same thought strain, Baby Boy.” Already moving to cradle her butt to his hips, Trevor snaked his hands to the snap of her jeans. “Already undone, naughty girl.”

  “More like a chubby girl,” she muttered. She didn’t let the new touches divert her from stroking the long, thick cock in her hands, though they were pretty darn distracting.

  “Tsk, tsk. Michael, keep her mouth busy before I have to spank her,” Cody said, and she helplessly moaned into Michael’s devouring mouth. “Hmm, she liked that idea, didn’t she, Middle Man?”

  “If the flood on my fingers is any indicator, our sweet little Poppy wants some discipline. But right now I want her mouth on me. On your knees, sweetheart.”

  Cody laid a thick warming blanket on the cement floor beneath her and after stepping out of her jeans, she did as she was told, continuing her steady pace with her hand on Michael as she took Trevor’s long cock in her mouth. He wasn’t as thick as the others but was longer, much longer than her mouth could take, so she swallowed to take his full length. Their sexy practice sessions during lazy afternoons were paying off in her new skill.

  He also liked to have his balls sucked and licked, and the masculine growls assured her she was doing it right. She loved the taste and feel of pleasuring each of them individually and together. The feminine power swelled in her each time the smells, touches, and sounds made her drip.

  Cool hands nudged her thighs apart and she shook with anticipation, eager to comply. Cody settled on his back, his tongue in line with the bottom of her sensitive clit. As the leader of the pack, so to speak, he was very gifted in following the every direction of her body. For all their talk and teasing, she knew at the heart of their relationship, her body was in charge.