“Oh? Are you thinking about it?”
“Yeah, I guess. It would mean I could come back to school. Life could kind of carry on.”
“I’d love to have you back, you know that. But you need to do what’s going to make you happy. Life’s too short to be miserable, Popsicle.”
“Whoa, when did you get all wise and start seeing the positive side of things? Anything to do with a certain Brit?”
He laughs. “You know it. What’s for dinner? It smells incredible.”
We walk inside the house with me tucked under his arm and still unable to wipe the smile off my face. I know that Auntie Trish and Uncle Evan are my family, that the kids are my family. But there’s something about being with Jake that just makes me feel safe, secure, loved in his own unique Jake way.
The seven of us sit around the dining room table and eat Auntie Trish’s homemade pie as if we’re a normal family. It’s… nice. Normal.
Jake tells stories about what the team has been up to along with tales about him and Amalie moving into their new house and all the kinds of grown-up things I never expected him to do. But it seems that what they say is true, the right woman really can work wonders on a guy.
By the time we’re full and the kids are sent to start getting ready for bed, Uncle Evan excuses himself to the living room after Jake and I insist that we’ll do the cleaning. We’re just about to get up and make a start when Auntie Trish stops us.
“That can wait, can I talk to you both first?”
I glance from her and to Jake who looks as confused as I feel before we agree and follow her down to her office.
She closes the door behind us and gestures for us to take a seat on her couch while she wheels over her desk chair. I can’t help feeling like one of the students she looks after at college. I feel like I’m about to get a speech about something important that might just help change my life.
“I don’t think it’s really my place to explain all of this to you both, but with the circumstances as they are, I think it’s only fair that you finally learned the truth.”
Auntie Trish looks at me as a swarm of butterflies take flight in my stomach. What the hell is she about to tell us.
Jake reaches over and takes my hand, clearly sensing that something big is about to happen too.
“Poppy, my brother isn’t your dad.”
“What?” I gasp, sitting forward for a beat while that bit of information filters through my brain before falling back on the couch in shock.
“So who is?” Jake asks as my head spins.
“Yours, Jake.” His hand tightens on mine as the silence in the small room becomes deafening. “So… you’re saying that we have… the same dad?”
Jake looks at me for a second before turning back to Auntie Trish.
“But I’ve never met my dad.”
“Not that you would remember, no. But he was here when both of you were born.”
“Fuck,” Jake mutters, running his hand down his face. “Where is he? What happened to him?”
“He went to prison when you were only one.”
“And what about after that?”
Auntie Trish looks down at her hands for a beat. “I’m really sorry. He fell into the wrong crowd, prison only made it worse. He’s not…”
“He’s dead?” Jake asks bluntly. “Of course he is,” he mutters to himself. I don’t think Auntie Trish hears, but I do.
Scooting closer, I wrap my arm around his shoulders. “I’m sorry, Jake.”
“Nothing to be sorry about.” He drops a kiss to my head.
“You knew him?” I ask Auntie Trish.
“We all went to school together,” she says, repeating her words from the other night. “He was your mom’s boyfriend all through high school. Childhood sweethearts that everyone thought would go the distance.”
“What happened?”
“Your mom,” she says with a sigh, looking to Jake. “From as early as I can remember they had their fierce sisterly rivalry going on. Everything was a challenge, just like your dad was. In the end, he didn’t stand a chance. When Kate first announced she was pregnant, she didn’t say who the dad was, but it soon came out. It was a mess, as you can probably imagine. But your mom took him back and a year later, announced she was pregnant with you,” she explains, looking at me.
“So why keep it a secret?”
“Your dad was gone by then and Will and your mom had got together while she was pregnant, so they just decided to raise you as theirs and let Kate get on with her life. For whatever reason I still don’t fully understand, they thought it was for the best.”
“Wow,” I breathe, falling back against the couch once more when Jake does.
“I know. I’ve thought you should have known for years, forever really. I know it wasn’t really for me to say but…”
“Thank you. You did the right thing.”
She smiles at both of us, but it doesn’t meet her eyes.
“I’ll leave you two to mull all this over. Call me if you need me. Jake, you’re welcome to stay as long as you like.”
She leaves the room, pulling the door closed behind her. The click of the lock cutting through the silent room.
“Well, I guess that explains a lot,” Jake whispers, still staring ahead as if it’s not really sunk in yet.
“Yeah. I always wondered why my mom treated you the way she did, how she could shove you out in that trailer. I guess this answers all those questions.”
“Yeah.” He turns to me. I expect to find a haunted look on his face after all those revelations. After all, Jake just gained and lost a parent in the blink of an eye when he could really use a decent one, much like I could, I guess. But when our eyes lock, all I find staring back at me is happiness.
A shriek rips past my lips when I’m suddenly pulled into his arms.
“You’re my fucking sister,” he says as if it’s the most incredible thing he’s ever heard. “I’ve got a sister.”
I can’t help but laugh into his chest at the awe in his voice. Rosewood’s king, bad-boy Jake Thorn is totally bowled over by the fact I’m his sister. Me.
When he finally releases me, I find he’s still got the smile on his face but also that his eyes are full of unshed tears.
“You know what this means?” he asks me excitedly.
“Uh…” I hesitate, trying to figure out where he might be going with this.
“You’re Poppy Thorn.”
“Huh, I guess I am.”
“Has a good ring to it, right.”
“It does. Although realistically, it couldn’t be any worse than Poppy Poore. What was my mother thinking giving me his name?” I’m not sure it’s totally appropriate to joke about it yet but when I meet Jake’s eyes, both of us burst out laughing.
It feels so good after the past week of drama to just laugh. Even if it is at my own expense.
“You should totally change that, you know?”
Our laughter eventually fades off into the distance and sadly, my reality comes creeping back in.
“What are you going to do, Pops?”
My heart clenches painfully in my chest at the concern in his eyes. Suddenly, Jada’s offer doesn’t seem so crazy. Yes, I’d be leaving Austin, Sofia, and Cooper here, but I’d be leaving them in a loving home where they’re going to get the care they deserve, and I could be with my friends, my brother. I shake my head, still not quite able to process everything. I could return to school and pick up where I left off, there would be no starting over and being the new kid.