Poppy's Passions

by Stephanie Beck

“I know.” She yawned so big Cody saw her tonsils. “You guys are happy, I like that. I’m going to keep making you as happy as I can. It’s nice to know we can be together and be content, but there is one thing…”

  “What’s that, babe?” The most eager to please, Trevor beat Cody to the question.

  “I’d like to get married if one of you boys can figure out a way. And I’d like to find a way to include your parents so they can all get married together too.”

  “We would all want that, sweetheart,” Michael said gently. “But it’s illegal.”

  “Oh, I know it wouldn’t be a legal marriage, but we could have a ceremony, make the promises to each other, right? The most important thing is that we love each other but I’m girl enough to want a wedding and all the fancy stuff, even if it’s just for us. And then it’ll feel more official when I change my name, because I want your name.”

  “Then it’s yours, darlin’,” Cody promised. “We’ll figure out a way to get everything together so by the time the babies are here you’ll be a Paraby.”

  “I’ll make some calls,” Trevor added. “I don’t think it’s too big of a request. How about Christmas? Too soon? It might take a little imagination, but I think we can make it happen.”

  “And your parents too. Your mom and dads never had the ceremony they should have. They’ve been together almost thirty-eight years, and I think that should be celebrated. And maybe after New Years, Trevor. I want the dress and you guys in tuxes, and pictures. Mary will want the same, so we’ll need time to do a little planning.”

  “You can have whatever you want, sweetheart.” Michael kissed her hand and took the words from Cody’s mouth. “You’re amazing, you know that, Poppy? The past few days were hell on you, I know they were, but here you are planning a wedding for everyone. That’s amazing.”

  “Naw, it’s just life.” She leaned and bumped Michael’s shoulder playfully. “I’ve decided I’m living my life for the people I love. I’ve got you three, your parents, and you know what? I’m going to make friends here, raise my kids, and be happy.”

  “Thank God,” Cody said. “We were sweating bullets, but we should’ve known you’d have everything figured out in that brilliant brain of yours.”

  “Yes, Cody, you should have.” He caught the kiss she blew his way and tucked it in his pocket. “It took a long time to get here, but I’m where I want to be, boys, and I’m going to stay.”

  “You’ll stay here with us at the ranch?” Cody asked.

  “It’s not just the ranch, Baby Boy, not anymore.” She looked completely content cuddled to Michael’s shoulder. “Now it’s my home.”

  Epilogue

  Two Years Later

  “Oh no, stop the dog, stop the dog!”

  Poppy watched, holding her sides against splitting laughter as Cody threw a snowball at the mini-golden doodle as the little guy lifted his leg to anoint the snowman version of Michael. Effeminately known as “Heidi,” the dog tripped over his feet and did a summersault before the snowball hit and distracted him, then took off after the babies again. The day dawned snowy, but just warm enough for her and Mary to bundle the active toddlers against the cold. To all of the females’ delight, all three grandpas and one daddy joined as well.

  A big black truck pulled into the driveway, Poppy’s excitement matching her daughters’ as it came to a halt. The two daddies absent from making snow angels finally appeared. Deirdre squealed and wiggled out of Duane’s arms. Miranda kicked and screamed until Paul set her on her booted feet. Poppy stayed with the adults and watched as the babies wadded through the snow to their daddies.

  Michael was out first, his head covered by the hat Poppy had knitted him for Christmas. He scooped up his girls and kissed them as they giggled. She couldn’t blame them, his kisses made her giggle too, even if in an entirely different way. The main event came when Trevor rounded the truck, arms full of beautifully wrapped gifts.

  He’d been in LA promoting his latest game. The long awaited blockbuster had been put on hold while he’d taken “paternity hiatus,” as he called the past eighteen months spent being the Mr. side of her Mom. She’d never felt outnumbered with her babies because Trevor never let her. From the very first day the girls came home, so tiny and needy, he’d been in the trenches, changing sheets at three AM, warming bottles, changing diapers, and organizing the other men in rotation to make sure she was never alone.

  For the first six months the added help had been essential, because the girls didn’t sleep for more than twenty minutes at a time. Then teething started, Dee developed croup and Da had done the same out of sympathy for her twin. She didn’t know how other women with sickly twins managed on their own or with even one husband. It had taken a full year for the twins to sleep through the night and that was when Trevor went back to programming.

  She hadn’t suddenly been left alone. Cody and Michael, who always helped, picked up where Trevor left off. They made sure household things were spread between them so nothing fell too heavily on one person, especially her.

  Not only were they a family, they were a well oiled machine of poopie diapers, sippy cups, and laundry loads. Together, no task was too hard, no walk too long because when she was tired, one of her husbands took over so she could rest, and when they were all too tired, grandma and grandpas sent them to bed.

  They were to the fun part now. The girls were happy and healthy and incredibly beautiful. The sleepless nights were distant enough she missed having someone itty-bitty in her arms. She loved the toddler stage, but she knew before long their family would need more.

  It made her sad that her family was missing all of the wonderful parts, but aside from birth announcements she’d had no contact with any of her sisters, let alone her father. It was their loss. She knew Alex’s cancer was in remission from one of the social networks over the internet. Her oldest nieces both had pages and kept her in the loop. They hadn’t needed Michael’s marrow in the end, the chemo enough to put the cancer to rest, but the offer had never been taken off the table. After everything her sisters said and did, she would never take out her frustrations on their children.

  “Daddy.” The girls kissed and squealed as Trevor and Michael both reciprocated.

  Finally, Trevor looked over at her and the familiar jolt was there. Ten days was a long time, longer than any of them had been apart since their marriage, and she could see the video chats, phone calls, and texts hadn’t lied. He’d missed her. He handed off Da and Poppy ran to him, launching into his open arms as Michael hustled the babies aside to give them some privacy.

  “I missed you.” She kissed his face all over just as their daughters had moments before. “Two weeks is too long.”

  “You have no fucking idea how much I missed you.” He held her too tight, but she didn’t care.

  They kissed and cuddled, and she laughed when he rolled her in the snow. The girls joined in, and before long a snow fight erupted and Mary was calling them inside for coco.

  “Coco.” Abandoning the snowball fight, Dee grabbed hold of Michael’s hand. “Coco? Cookie?”

  Da was beside Poppy, tugging on her hand to help her up. “Mommy, coco. Cookie?”

  Her babies, always working two fronts, she thought with a smile. They were no dummies and their chubby, pinchable cheeks and sweet personalities got them just about anything they wanted. Including coco and cookies on afternoons they played in the snow.

  After they’d opened gifts from Trevor and had a messy supper, she let Trevor take over the bath and bedtime ritual. He was good at it, and the little girls had missed him. The video phone was nice, but having Daddy in person to do all the voices in their bedtime story was better.

  Enjoying a quiet evening in front of the fire with a book, she looked up when Trevor’s stomping came from the hall. There was no subtlety in him and she didn’t expect it, not after ten days and excruciatingly long nights without him. Michael and Cody kept her busy but just like if either of them were absent, she’d fel
t like part of her was missing. There were a few sore feelings until she’d explained and promised Cody she would pout and mope when he went on his cattle buying trip to Ireland without her in a month.

  Trevor slouched into a chair, blowing out an exaggerated breath. Above him their wedding photo hung on the wall. All three men held her, their hands on her belly over her white gown. It had been a beautiful day, fresh snow the night before covering the ranch in a sparkling coat. Some choice people had attended—SaraJean from the creamery, Ayden and Harper, and a spiritual advisor Trevor found among his contacts.

  Had it been the white church wedding she’d pictured as a girl? No, but it had been beautiful in its own right, and beside the wedding photo was a picture of Mary, Thomas, Duane, and Paul on the same day, all dressed in their finest and smiling. Dee and Da were also shown, the stages of their lives so far diagramed in photos. It was her favorite wall, and with her men surrounding her, there was no place else she could ever want to be.

  “Fuck a duck.” Trevor effectively took her out of her musings. “It’s good to be home. Those two monkeys got bigger while I was gone, didn’t they?”

  “Yep,” she replied. “At least seven pounds apiece.”

  “And they got their PhDs in anthropology.” Michael smirked, more easygoing after two years in her company, a change she took great pride in. “It was only ten days, Trevor. Think about when you do your promotion tour next month.”

  “Nope.” He shook his head. “Not doing it. I already told them, no fucking way am I going to be away from my wife and kids for six weeks. They can get a cardboard cutout of me, and that’ll have to work.”

  “Oh, Trevor, it’ll be okay.” She’d been dreading the trip, but she understood that he needed to do what he enjoyed. “You can go, we’ll be fine.”

  “I won’t be.” Her heart clenched at the intensity she saw when his dark eyes locked on her. “I’m not fine without you and the girls. I told them in a few years, when the girls are bigger and can travel with us, I’ll consider a tour. I’ll program and do stuff from here, and weekend things once in a while, but if they try to press for a full promo tour, I’m telling them to fuck squirrels.”

  “The poor squirrels.” She laughed and set her book aside.

  Trevor adjusted in the chair and patted his lap. She didn’t move. He crooked his finger, telling her with the motion and his eyes to “come here.” She stayed where she was.

  “What the hell, babe? I don’t even know why you’re still dressed at this point. Another four seconds and that shirt’s going to be ripped off. Isn’t that my shirt anyway?”

  “I missed you, so I stole it.” She shrugged, not feeling at all guilty because he didn’t mind. “The girls liked their baby dolls.” The plans she had in mind for the night required distraction.

  “Yeah.” He took the bait. “The guy at the toy store was pissed by the time I found the dolls I wanted, but they had to be blondes with green eyes and freckles. None of the other ones looked right. They’re sleeping with them right now. Da didn’t even throw hers out of her crib. Now, are you coming over here or am I going to you?”

  “Did I get a present?” Poppy asked innocently.

  “I already gave you the necklace. You know, the one that matches the ring I gave you two years ago?”

  “You mean the ring I gave her,” Cody countered.

  “Ha, I have the paperwork that proves I gave it to her,” Michael finished, just like he always did when it came to her ring. She’d married them all with her heart in a Valentine’s Day ceremony before the girls were born, but according to the law, she’d married Michael. His pension and insurance through his police force retirement plan didn’t pay to girlfriends and though it wasn’t a lot and made no difference to Poppy, it was a matter of pride for Michael to be able to provide for her and the babies.

  The ring she wore was a symbol from all three men. A flashy, perfect diamond from Trevor. Michael added a sapphire to match her eyes, and Cody, her thoughtful man, had chosen an aquamarine stone. Trevor joked about Cody getting a stone to match his eyes, but it was really the babies’ birthstone.

  Trevor sighed theatrically, and she knew he’d spotted her game. They always knew when she was hinting at something. “What the hell else was I supposed to get you? What does she want, boys?”

  Michael and Cody looked at each other, at Trevor, then at her. She did her best to keep her expression innocent, but they could read her like an open book. Emotions were always on her face, but this time the secret was specific so while something showed, she was confident they wouldn’t know it until she spilled.

  “Do you know, Cody?” Trevor demanded, Baby Boy looking awful thoughtful over in his corner across the coffee table from her.

  “Maybe.” The way he watched her made her wonder if he already knew. He was uncanny in the way he read her at times. “Come sit on my lap, darlin’, and we’ll pretend I’m Santa. You know I won’t tell you ‘no.’”

  “My lap,” Trevor demanded. “Fuck you, Cody. I’ve been gone two weeks.”

  She stood and led Trevor to sit on the couch between Cody and Michael, then straddled his lap, touching all three but didn’t say anything for a long moment.

  “Honey, we’re just teasing.” Her silence apparently made Trevor nervous and he rushed in with reassurances. “If there’s something you need, anything you want, or want to do, you know we’ll do whatever we can to make it happen. There is very little you need permission for. Hell, permission isn’t even the right word. You’re a grown woman, and if there’s something you want you have our support. Do you want your bathroom done? We ran into Ayden in town, and he said something about it.”

  “Nope, not my bathroom, although that would be nice.” She kissed each one before leaning back. “I want another baby.”

  The three men groaned in unison but she’d expected them to. The pregnancy had gone very well all things considered, but she knew the delivery hadn’t only been difficult for her. It rained six inches the night before her water broke, so the ride to town had been harried and dangerous. Then, when they arrived, the babies, who only days before were head down, ready for a natural birth, turned breech.

  Duane decided on a C-section, during which Cody passed out. Minor infections set in after, but by the babies’ first month of life she was back on her feet and healthy. The brothers had a hard time remembering the “everything was eventually fine” part.

  “Sweetie.” Clearly gearing up to dissuade her, Michael put his hand on her thigh.

  “Nope, it’s the right time. I talked to Duane this morning, and he said I’m in perfect shape to have another baby,” she broke in. “By the time the new baby gets here Dee and Da will be potty trained and sleeping in toddler beds. Mary said she’d help. Apparently, twin girls are nothing compared to trying to teach you three to drown cheerios. Thomas said he doesn’t mind moving his storage room upstairs so we can use it for another bedroom. Paul said—”

  “Shit, you talked to everyone else first?” Trevor demanded.

  “Just anticipating the arguments.”

  “Did you know?” Michael asked Cody.

  “I figured. Paul was giving me grief the other day about saving my strength, getting enough protein, that kind of stuff. Actually, I thought she might already be pregnant.” He raised his eyebrow in silent question.

  “Duane just removed my IUD today.” She crossed her heart with her finger in promise. “So unless ya’ll are up for abstinence or have super-strength condoms, I’m open for baby business.”

  “When have condoms worked for us with you?” Trevor rolled his eyes. “Do we even have any?”

  “Mom and Dads probably do,” Michael said. She frowned, not foreseeing they would consider that route. “It’s been a while since I had to bum a condom from one of them. I wonder if Thomas would still lecture me on a man’s duty to a woman’s pleasure.”

  “It’s not worth the chance.” Cody lifted her off Trevor’s lap to his own. “I’m on for ano
ther baby if you want, darlin’. We make beautiful babies.”

  “Fuck you, Baby Boy.” Trevor lifted her back. “We make beautiful babies, babe, and a big family works for me, you know that. I’ll give you all the babies you want.”

  “No, fuck both of you.” Michael stood with her wrapped in his arms. “They’re all talk. Let’s get started. Dee and Da need a ‘La.’”

  “Yeah, Lola.” Trevor jumped to follow, Cody hot on his heels as she tried unsuccessfully to bite back her satisfied grin.

  “Or Larissa,” Cody added.

  “I’m thinking we’d better stick with girls too.” She held tight to Michael as she smiled at Trevor and Cody over his shoulder. “I don’t think the world can handle more Paraby brothers.”

  About Stephanie Beck

  Even before she understood what all the thrusting meant, Stephanie Beck loved reading romance. When the stories didn’t end the way she wanted, writing her own was the perfect solution. From ridiculous humor to erotica, Stephanie loves being transported within a story. When she’s not elbow deep in words, her husband and three children command her attention. After they are sleeping she knits or bakes cookies…or squeezes in more writing.

  Stephanie’s Website:

  www.stephaniebeck.net

  Reader eMail:

  stephaniebeckauthor@gmail.com

  Coming Soon

  Mary’s Men, the prequel to Poppy’s Passions

  Three husbands—a dream come true or a pipe dream destined to break them all?

  Mary Duncan likes to think she’s as open as any modern 1960’s woman, but when her boyfriend presents his vision of “family” she finds herself between twin brothers and a cousin—all willing to love her if she’ll have them…together.

  Loving Thomas and Paul comes easily, the sexy twins everything she’d never hoped to dream. If not for her new mother-in-law, the gossiping townsfolk, and the wall of silence from her own family, Mary would be in Montana heaven. Just as the young group finally start to find their footing with the new relationship, Duane Paraby returns from Vietnam, reluctant to join the relationship, but an integral part Mary refuses to give up.