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I didn’t know what the future held for Poppy, but I knew one thing for certain. I loved Emery, and if she wanted to help this little girl who’d already lost so much, I would be there supporting her every step of the way. So, for the next few days, I did what I could to distract Emery from worrying about Poppy.
But Poppy wasn’t the only thing on her mind.
She was worried about Knox and Adan. There was no way I could fix either situation. Adan had his thoughts about me and the club, and they weren’t going to change any time soon. And Knox was still struggling with the fact that we’d gone behind his back. I could only hope they would come around and see that I loved Emery, and I had her best interests at heart. I could say it all I wanted, but I knew them both well enough to know words weren’t enough.
I would have to show them, and her. And that’s exactly what I planned to do. I would show her every day, in every way I could, that she was it for me. I had that in mind when I decided to stop by the studio at the tail end of her appointment with Poppy. I wanted her to know I meant what I’d said. I would be there to help any way I could.
Besides, I kind of liked the kid, and I wanted to see for myself that she was okay. I tapped on the door, and when I opened it, I heard Emery laughing. I took that as a good sign. Poppy turned to me with her brows furrowed. “Your motorcycle is loud.”
“Hello to you, too.”
“It’s too loud.”
“It’s a motorcycle. Not much I can do about it.”
She considered my answer for a split second, then asked, “Do you still have the red seat?”
“I do.”
I glanced over at Emery, and my chest tightened when I saw she was smiling. Poppy nodded like she’d just confirmed something important. I started over to them, and Poppy pointed at the picture Emery had drawn. It was the same house she’d drawn weeks before, and my motorcycle was right there in the driveway, just like in the original drawing. “It’s still there.”
“I see that.”
I leaned in for a closer look and saw that this one was a little different. It still had flowers around the front porch, a swing in the tree, and a pool around back. But this one had three little bicycles leaning against the front railing. I looked at Emery, and then at Poppy, wondering who the three bikes belonged to.
“What’s with the bicycles?”
“Not my picture.” Poppy shrugged, then pointed to hers. “I don’t have bikes. They’re dangerous.”
“Dangerous, huh?”
“You can fall and hurt yourself.”
“You can fall walking.”
She crinkled her nose. “Only if you’re clumsy.”
“You could stumble on a rock.”
“You should watch where you’re going.”
“Have you ever ridden a bike?”
“No,” she answered with a slight pout.
“Would you want to try?”
“I don’t have a bike.”
I crossed my arms and smiled. “I might be able to help you out with that.”
“I don’t know how to ride.”
“Could help you out with that, too.”
“Okay.” Poppy acted unfazed as she pointed at Emery’s picture. “But I want the yellow one.”
“Understood.”
