Chapter 1

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MICHAEL

Talk about ‘forbidden fruit'…

That single thought went through his mind every time Michael laid eyes on the girl before him – Poppy Walters. There was something about her that just spoke to his soul in a weird way that he recognized. Sometimes, he and his sister, Madison, would exchange a look and could interpret it – but they were twins, so no one thought twice about it but Poppy.

"She's a force of nature," he whispered under his breath, feeling it with every ounce of his being. It was like the sky was a weird yellowish-green shade before a thunderstorm. Ominous, lingering, and you knew it was coming but didn't know how bad it would be.

Poppy looked over her shoulder at him, and he nearly laid a hand over his chest to calm the flapping of his heart deep within his chest. A small, upturned corner of her lip told him in no uncertain terms that she knew the effect she had on him. It hadn't been a secret either. Even her father had caught him sniffing around Poppy several times.

He couldn't help himself – and she certainly wasn't discouraging it. No, in fact, it was like she was feeling and interpreting the same things. His father had pulled him aside several times, reminding him of the rules for the Air Force Academy because he was leaving very soon. In fact, this birthday with Madison was the last they would celebrate together for several years, holding out for graduation from high school to go – and it was time.

His moment was nigh, as his father would say dramatically causing Michael to roll his eyes and share a grin with his dad which drove him nuts. Both he and Madison had his father's coloring, but their personality was an odd combination of both parents – and that was exactly why they were so spoiled. His mother could do nothing wrong, and everyone in town knew it.

That thought froze in his brain as Poppy looked at him once more, turned, and walked toward him, almost like a tiger about to play with her prey. Me, he swallowed. I'm the prey and would absolutely lie down, belly-up, and let her attack me.

"Michael," she breathed, giving him a half-lidded look that immediately drew him to his feet. Without a word, she took his hand and pulled him forward toward the hangar, not breaking the look they were sharing as she tugged him out of sight of the runway. She put her back against the building and continued to hold his hand like a puppeteer with her favorite marionette. He put his other hand on the building beside her, propping himself from her and fighting the urge to kiss her.

"Poppy…" he whispered huskily as her infinitely dark eyes swallowed him whole. He could drown in those black pools without a second thought and saw the corner of her lips turn upward.

"You look at me like you want something…"

"I'd have to be blinded not to seek you out, and even then, I'd still try…"

"This feeling…"

"Is incredible…"

"It's like I'm staring at part of my…"

"My soul…"

He could hear his father's voice in his head, warning him, cautioning him, urging him to take things slow. Yet when he looked at her, it was so hard to pull back or retreat when he felt like he was falling into an abyss that he desperately wanted to dive into.

"I'm going camping with Madison," she whispered, laying a hand on his chest that made him feel like a mature man, not a boy inside of a grown body – and that was dangerous for both of their futures. His dad was right, yet he was ensnared thick and unable to fight it.

"I'm flying out for the Academy…"

"So this will be our last chance to see the stars together for some time…"

"Poppy," he softly spoke, leaning forward helplessly, needing to kiss her. "I'm going to be gone…"

"Then leave me with a kiss, a memory to hold close, so I don't feel so isolated from you. Are you coming back?"

"My home is here," he answered, smelling her perfume and leaning closer as she angled her head up toward him in an age-old spell. "Of course, I'm coming back."

"To me…?" she breathed against his lips – and he was gone. Gosh, he loved this being unlike any other, and it was going to kill him to be apart from her. It was the craziest thing, too.

Madison used to say that being a twin was like being a part of a binary star, circling each other, and he agreed. Poppy, however, made him realize they were not stars orbiting each other tightly in succinct round orbits but comets. Beings of light with elliptical paths allowing for a strange attachment as he pulled from the other person. He saw this same thing occurring with his own eyes the moment Madison laid eyes on Emmett Wilkes. Their ‘orbits' would stretch, move, bend, and flex… and her path would suddenly include Emmett. He had seen it several times, and while he didn't believe in a bunch of meta-physical hooey – this was something that he knew deep in his soul.

Michael was meant to be with this woman before him – and froze.

"Poppy-girl? Where are you…" followed a split second later with a very upset exclamation. "What the…" before all Hell broke loose.

Michael heard his mother's exclamation, heard Poppy's mother shout something, and saw his father heading for him out of the corner of his eye as he started to turn from Poppy, every self-preservation instinct yanking him back from the edge of certain death.

Death rode a pale horse;he thought within a split second as his eyes widened in alarm. No, it doesn't - he wears khaki pants and a Flyboys T-shirt!

"Oh noooo… GAGE!"

"Gage! Honey!"

"GET AWAY FROM HER, MICHAEL!"

Poppy's father, Houdini, was advancing on him rapidly, and he could see flames in the other man's eyes and understood. Poppy was a priceless treasure to be cherished, and someone was bothering her, Michael would be possessive and protective like this.

"Mikey, baby, you need to leave Poppy alone, honey…"

"Mike? Oh, mannnn… Mikey, I've told you to quit kissing on Poppy – I also told you that her daddy would tan your hide…" He felt his father come racing to his side, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck like he was ten years old, dragging him away from Houdini as the other man seized his daughter's arm.

"Told ya'…" Madison jeered loudly – and Michael glared at his sister. She wouldn't want this to happen if it was her and her precious Emmett.

"Y'all are too young to be doing all of this…" his father started, slapping Michael's hand away as he tried to free himself. "Nineteen! You're an adult, and she's a minor for another two days. That means jail time if you cross the line, kiddo! And Houdini is crazy enough to press charges. Poppy is his only child!"

"I'm not going to press charges – BECAUSE IT WILL NOT GET THAT FAR!" Houdini snapped angrily.

"Moooommm… tell Dad to stop," Poppy uttered in a plaintive voice. "I like Michael."

You could have heard his trajectory, his path, come to a complete and screeching halt with those three words. He stopped struggling against the painful, skin-pinching hold his dad had on him and looked at them strangely. Poppy… liked him?

Liked?

"I thought you said you ‘loved' me…" Michael uttered openly, hearing the pain of rejection in his voice and not bothering to hide it as Poppy looked at him pleadingly. He felt adrift, suddenly alone, and heard his father's voice as he released him.

"Go apologize to her father… and breathe. Your time will come, but you must save face, build trust, and earn that man's respect if you are ever going to show your face around the Walters family. I know you are hurting, but do this, Mikey – and trust in me to help you, son…"

Michael looked his father in the eye, took a deep breath, and nodded.

"Stay focused," his father urged under his breath, encouraging him like he'd done so many times in the past. He knew these men, served with these men, and had never led him wrong. He'd been encouraging him for months to back away and leave Poppy alone, and this had to be why. His father knew she didn't love him and didn't have the heart to shatter his son's heart.

"I apologize, Mr. Walters. It was a sincere misunderstanding," Michael said coolly, not bothering to look at Poppy. If she didn't feel the same way, he wasn't about to let her trample further on his broken heart. No, right now, he just wanted to get away from everyone and lick his wounds.

"What?" Poppy blustered, her expression horrified as she stared at him. Michael could feel her eyes on him, fighting that pulling sensation with everything in him as he stared down her father, squaring his shoulders.

"It will not happen again, sir," He said firmly, not looking away from Houdini's face – and Poppy's mother, Abby, walked over to lay a calming hand on his shoulder.

"Daddy?" Poppy whispered tearfully, turning to her father for a hug as she began crying.

"Poppy, go with your mother."

"I was supposed to solo."

"Alpo, can you take my girl up?" Houdini asked grimly, his eyes moving from Michael to look at his friend.

"You know it, brother," his father nodded. "I've got you – and thank you for not beating my kid to a pulp."

The conversation flowed around them as their parents chatted back and forth. He watched Poppy walk away, looking over her shoulder at him with such hurt that he wanted to run after her. He was placing every ounce of his trust in his father because he made some good points.

Poppy wasn't eighteen yet – and he was considered an adult. He was flying out to the Academy soon and couldn't have a commitment back home – and obviously, the commitment he thought they were establishing was one-sided.

"She's never gonna forget that, you dork," Madison slowly walked over, taking a seat in the distance beside him – smiling.

"Shut up, Mads…" Michael grumbled, throwing a rock.

"You quit egging him on," his mother grumbled, turning back to the others. His mind was playing all the ‘what if' scenarios in his mind and none of them were coming up with any answers. He was going to simply have to let Poppy, his first love, go because she didn't feel the same. It wasn't his time, wasn't his place, and this would always be his home – the last thing he wanted was to be unwelcomed by people he once considered close.

Michael stepped forward, interrupting the conversation.

"Mr. Walters, uh, Houdini, sir?"

He could see the man tense as Poppy's mother, Abby, gave him an obvious look, arching an eyebrow. He turned and looked at him, waiting.

"Yes, Michael? What do you need, son?"

"I know I'm young – and I know I'm not who you would choose for Poppy, but someday I'll be back, and we'll be having a whole different conversation about your daughter. I just wanted to thank you for not busting my lip in front of my parents and my dumb sister."

"Why, you little… Grow up," Houdini said bluntly, extending his hand toward Michael. "Grow up, learn to be a man, make a few mistakes, get your butt handed to you in a fair-fight, and if you decide we need to talk again? Then we'll do so – man to man. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir."