Chapter 6

* * *

POPPY

Texting Madison,Poppy hoped for a bit more insight into the rumors floating around town. She had heard from her father that Michael was working on getting his instructor permit and had thrown himself into the business. She heard from others that he was seen around town more and more, almost like his old self, except every time she went to Flyboys to take off for a location – Michael wasn't there. He was either at lunch, out flying, busy, or simply off work today.

How's it going?

How's Michael – is it nice having him home again?

I missed the twerp more than I imagined I would.

We should meet for lunch or something – my treat.

Ooooh! I'd love that.

Expensive girl date, for the win!

Keep it cheap… LOL.

Meh. What fun are you?

I'd love to talk…

Not about my brother tho…

Poppy nearly did a double take.

Madison was drawing a line and protecting him as well – from her? That surprised her. She was always picking on Michael, taunting him, or goading him. The two bickered quite a bit when they were growing up, but now she was acting as his shield?

How about our other favorite subject - Emmett? I got some dirt from Aurora…

SPILL. THE. BEANS. NOW.

LOL – he got hired at the FBI in Tyler. The man is stepping on up in the world, so when are you going to finally talk to him?

Oh, look at the time. I should go…

Dork.

These are text messages. Go where you want now and text me back.

Poppy laughed easily as Madison sent her a winking emoji as her reply. Yup. That said enough. Her crush on Emmett Wilkes was encompassing and had been for a while. Every time she saw the dark-haired tall man, Madison would start tripping over herself to get seen, and Poppy understood only too well now.

* * *

It was almosta week later before Poppy finally corralled Madison into lunch – and she stared at her friend, shocked, as bombshell after bombshell fell from Madison's lips. Michael's twin had always been a go-getter and ambitious, but to see the fire in her friend's eyes and hear the details of what was going on behind the scenes was staggering.

"You are too busy traveling everywhere," Madison said with a mouthful of salad, pointing her fork at Poppy. "I've missed this… us."

"Me too."

"I'm going into business for myself – and we open in a month…" Madison said casually, shoving another massive bite of chef salad with too-much ranch on it into her mouth, chewing obnoxiously as she smirked.

"What? You are?"

"Yup! I bought a franchise, and we open on May fourth of this year. Remember that bunker near campus…"

"The old taco place?"

"That's the one," Madison grinned. "That's going to be the newest coffee shop in town called The Coffee Loft – and guess what?"

"I can't imagine…"

"We are doing a Star Wars-themed opening!"

"Shut the front door," Poppy exclaimed in delight. "You love Star Wars!"

"Omigosh girl… you have no idea how much either," Madison gushed openly, closing her eyes and setting down her fork, only to put her hands on her heart dramatically. "Handsome rogues, heroes, feisty heroines, adventure, suspense, romance… all rolled into science fiction. Oh yes, that checks off every single one of my boxes."

Poppy laughed easily in sheer delight.

"It doesn't hurt that Emmett looks like a happier version of Kylo Ren, either. Fans were robbed right after our onscreen kiss, you know? There should be a redemption arc for your main squeeze – which makes me curious. Is Emmett the bad guy, or is it all that dark hair, the brooding expression, and the towering height?"

"Oh, mercy, no," Madison chuckled, winking at her. "Am I so obvious?"

"A little – but it's our secret."

Both women laughed, sharing a smile. It took a few moments for Poppy to gather up the courage to bring up Michael, and she did. It was something she couldn't resist. Just seeing Madison's familiar expressions reminded her of Michael. The two were not identical but somewhat similar in appearance. It was the little things that were uncanny… a certain smirk or a look were recognizable.

"How's Michael really doing?" Poppy began. "No one says anything, and I'm worried something is wrong." Madison picked at her salad for several moments and then looked at her – hard.

"He's been through a rough spot, but then again, I'm starting to wonder if that is part of growing up," Madison began sagely. "I think having my backside handed to me by starting up this business has really made me come out of my comfort zone… and I sometimes wonder if that is what my brother is going through as well. He's changed, and I don't think it's bad."

"Everyone keeps saying he's changed, but what has changed?"

"He's more determined," Madison began and hesitated. "There's an edge to him that wasn't there before. Like he's been through hell and barely got out alive. I've never seen him so… fractured…" and her friend paused, searching for the words to say aloud.

"Fractured?" Poppy whispered, her heart breaking silently. "What do you mean?"

"When he came home, it was like something was broken in his personality, in his head, but your dad has really taken him under his wing…"

"What?"

"You didn't know?"

"I knew they worked together, but…"

"Your dad helped pull him out of whatever mess he was drowning in mentally. He talks to him, tells my overprotective mom to get out of the room, and the ten of them go out for a beer every once in a while."

"Ten of them?

"They pile into a few cars and head out together on Fridays. My dad, your father, Michael, Uncle Thumper, Firefly, Valkyrie, Romeo, Ricochet, Ghost, and Caboose. The team has a beer, some pub food, and it's like a bonding thing – I think."

"Michael is going with them?"

"Yup – and it's been good for him. The stammer he had when he came home is fading, and I don't know if it was PTSD or some sort of…"

"Wait. What? Michael was stuttering?"

Madison's face took on his harsh look as she stared at Poppy with a startling expression. It was almost as if Madison was sizing her up to see if she was a threat to her brother.

"Do not bring it up," Madison enunciated bluntly in a hushed voice. "I didn't tell you. You did not hear it from me. Do not bring it up, comment on it, or even mention it or anything else that has been talked about tonight. If you felt anything for him, you will let him continue to pick himself back up off the ground. Do you understand me, Penelope Walters?"

"First off – I adore your brother," Poppy leaned forward, hissing at her friend. "Secondly, since when do you ever refer to me as Penelope, you twit. You don't like Maddie – and I don't like Penelope. It's pretentious and stuffy." Both women sat back, looking at each other and finally, Madison smirked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Are you coming to my grand opening?"

"Am I invited?"

"Yes."

"Is your brother going to be there?"

"I hope at some point – yes."

"Do you have a problem with me talking to him?"

"Not if you are serious about him. I think it would be incredible to see the two of you finally figure things out. I don't know what that looks like or how to cross that ‘great divide' between the two of you, but…"

"But… what?"

"I think he still misses you."

"I miss him," Poppy admitted quietly, staring down at her hands in her lap. "I've tried to go see him, but…"

"Keep trying, and don't give up."

"Apply that same advice to your crush on Emmett Wilkes."

"I'm trying," Madison said glumly. "I really am…"

* * *

One month later,Poppy was standing in the line outside of Madison's café. The line was quite long, and she was really relieved that she worked for herself. If this was her ten-minute break, she would have never made it inside. As it was, she would be doing a review of the location and adding it to her post regarding the Tyler area for travel.

Only to see a dark head she recognized being yanked forward not a second before she heard a familiar voice.

"Employee coming through! Coming through!" Michael was calling out loudly, walking past everyone who had been waiting for quite some time in line, heading up to the very front like he was God's gift to humanity. "I'll be right back with a treat for you all!"

For a split second, Michael's eyes met hers and widened slightly, almost in alarm, right before Emmett Wilkes tried to jerk his arm from Michael's grasp.

"What are you doing?" Emmett hissed in disbelief, passing her spot in line.

"Getting us in here – so shut up and follow me," Michael snapped hotly, completely ignoring her. Frankly, Poppy was not surprised in the slightest. The infernal man had gone out of his way to do that several times, so what was once more?

"Madison's going to be furious at you!"

"She'll live…" Michael tossed over his shoulder, moving further away.

Poppy listened to the ripple of voices that ran down the line of potential customers and knew this wasn't good. Perhaps she would do an individual review for Madison's café instead of lumping it into her Tyler, Texas post. She wanted her friend's café to succeed and knew there were bound to be opening day ‘hiccups' to deal with – but five minutes later, still standing in line, she never expected to see an ambulance arriving with lights and sirens flashing.

"What in the world…?"

"What's happening?"

"Oh my gosh, we are never going to get inside at this rate…"

"I'm outta here…"

Poppy quickly spoke up in defense of her friend – while at the same time watching to make sure it wasn't Michael being taken into that ambulance.

"I'd wait, watch to see what is happening, and usually they give out a bunch of free coffee vouchers when something occurs out of their control," Poppy said loudly, moving forward as she spotted Michael.

"Michael! Michael!" she began, waving at him. "Get some of your sister's business cards and help me handle this!"

For a moment, Poppy almost expected him to ignore her once more, to leave her standing there among the chaos and in disbelief, she saw Emmett Wilkes being carried out on a stretcher that looked almost too small for his frame, clutching himself. Her mouth dropped open in shock.

What exactly happened inside the building?!

Michael walked up to her with two pens and a handful of business cards with a logo in the corner. He gave her a hard look, handed her half the stack, and pressed his lips together.

"Let's fix this for Madison," she whispered supportively, knowing now wasn't the time or place for a reunion while his twin sister's new franchise was falling apart before their eyes.

"Sign it, date it, and give them thirty days to redeem it for a free small cup of coffee," he ordered – and she agreed, trying not to fall into his beautiful gaze or melt at the sensation of being so close to him. "Poppy… thanks."

"Of course."

She turned from him, determined not to let him down, and moved down the line, explaining what was going on.

"Everyone, because of the long wait and whatever is happening, Miss Petersen wants to assure you that you will love the café. Please take this card and come back for a free coffee on the house within the next thirty days…"

Poppy heard Michael saying the same thing as he moved down the line, at her side, handing out business cards just as quickly as possible. He was nearly repeating her words verbatim, scribbling his name on the card, and making small talk to alleviate the strain of chaos unfolding around them.

She could hear Emmett in the background, several others pushing past, the police sirens in the distance, just as a news crew in a van arrived. Oh yes, this was going to be quite a mess to recover from.

"Is Madison okay?" she hissed.

"Would you be?"

"No."

"Then ‘No'…"

Madison was always high-strung when she was growing up. When she was put on the spot in school or felt cornered, her friend would break down crying. Big crocodile tears. Madison had been called a crybaby all through elementary school and part of middle school, and Michael would blab like his mother did when she was nervous. Poppy always thought it was adorable, but knew the duo hated their weaknesses that made them exceedingly normal.

"You look good…"

"Same…"

"Michael…"

"Not now," he bit out, shutting her down quickly as they neared the end of the long line. "I can't do this now. I really need to go check on my sister and…"

"Go," she interrupted softly, reaching out to touch his shoulder in support. "Be there for Madison. Trust me to have your back, and I'll handle the rest of this crowd."

"Are you sure?"

"Very. Text me later."

"Will do – and thanks, Poppy. This means a lot."

"Go," she said simply, taking the rest of the business cards from him. Michael turned and ran off into the throng of people surrounding the ambulance, police cars, and news crew.

* * *

Hours later,Michael never texted her.