Rowdy(92)

She opened her mouth and then snapped it shut with her teeth clicking together. She narrowed her eyes at Rowdy. “Over my dead body.”

She turned on her combat-booted heel and headed back up the stairs. Rowdy let go of his hold on me and propped his hip on the edge of the desk. He changed the subject to the one I was trying to actively avoid thinking about.

“I think you should pack up Poppy and come stay at my apartment for a few days while the cops try and find that Oliver guy to serve him with the restraining order.”

Since my sister’s estranged husband wasn’t from the area and we couldn’t figure out how he had located Poppy, finding him was a much more difficult task than it should have been. And really a restraining order wasn’t any kind of guaranteed protection. Royal had been brutally clear with Poppy when she explained that all it did was enable the police to arrest Oliver for violating the order, but he could very well walk right through it if he was as intent on getting to her as he seemed to be.

I propped an elbow on the edge of the desk and looked up at him through my lashes. “Yeah. That would probably make her feel a little better about things.” I sighed. “It would probably make me feel better about things as well.”

He reached out and tugged lightly on the ends of my hair. “They’ll find him.”

“How do you think he even knew where to look for her, where I lived?”

“I dunno. Maybe he searched for you on the Internet. All he would have to do is search Google and you pop up as the manager of the shops here. I’m not sure how he narrowed it down to what apartment complex you live in, though. Do you think Poppy might have told someone she was staying with you?”

There was subtext there I didn’t want to hear even though it was loud and clear. I sighed and moved to rest my forehead against the hard muscle of his thigh.

“You think she talked to one of my parents, don’t you?”

He put his hand on the back of my head and massaged my scalp. “Walking away for you was different. You never cared what they thought, never wanted to fit into the mold that they had crafted for you. Poppy wasn’t like that. She valued your dad’s opinion. She wanted to please him and have him love her unconditionally. That’s a hard habit to break free from.”

I lifted my head up and stood so that I was right next to him. If we were anywhere but at work I probably would have jumped him and kissed him all over.

“Can you watch the front for me for just a second? I want to go upstairs and talk to her really quick.”

He nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. “Take it easy on her. I know it’s been a long time and a lot of miles for you, but try and remember what living under his thumb and under his roof was like.”

I couldn’t resist the urge to run my fingertips over the way his bicep flexed enticingly as I moved around him and made my way upstairs. The door to Cora’s office was open and she was on the phone at her desk. Poppy was standing in front of one of the fun-house mirrors making faces at herself, which made me laugh out loud and had her turning around to glare at me.

“What? Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do in them? I don’t know how anyone is going to use them when they try on clothes. They make your reflection crazy and totally unflattering.”

“There are normal mirrors in the dressing rooms. These are just for fun.”

She made her way over to me and took a seat on the vintage velour lounger that was now right in the middle of the room. It was covered in purple velvet and just as wacky and gaudy as the rest of the decor of the shop. It was a nice place for boyfriends and husbands to sit down while their ladies shopped.

“This place is so cool, Salem. I see so much of you in it. This really is the perfect place and the perfect job for you.”

“It’s going to be even better when the guys find time to add art to the collection, and I’m still working on Rowdy to convince the gang to make a sexy calendar.”

She laughed at that even though I was dead serious about it. Those boys would have them flying off the shelves if I could just get them to agree to it. I knew it was a long shot but I still really liked the idea.

I reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. “I want to ask you something and I want you to be honest with me, Poppy. Did you tell Mom or Dad you were here in Denver with me? I just want to know how Oliver would’ve found out exactly where my apartment was. Denver is a pretty big city. It’s not just like he stumbled upon it out of luck.”

I saw her pale under her caramel-colored complexion. Her honey-colored gaze got wide and I saw her bottom lip start to quiver. I squeezed her shoulder in comfort and pulled her forward into a one-armed hug.