The Last Waltz

Chapter 6

A week later, Poppy was watching a scary movie with her parents on the computer when there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it!" Mason Stevens asked as he moved closer to his computer screen on the other side of the world. "Cassie, pause the movie," he insisted, even though he was blocking the entire computer with his body and her mother couldn't reach the keyboard.

"Don't open the door! You remember what just happened to the girl in the movie who opened the door late at night?" her father reminded her as he put his eye to the camera lens, looked around, and backed away a little.

"First of all, it's not late at night, and second of all, how can I answer your question of who it is unless I answer it?" Poppy rolled her eyes in a move that Mary would be proud of.

"I saw that eye roll!" Mason said. "Keep it up, and they'll stick in the back of your head."

"I'm not three, Dad! I'll leave you pulled up if you stay quiet! Promise?" Poppy looked at her father, who was not admiring his recent beard growth in the camera.

"Fine," he agreed. "Just go see who it is. We're dying here."

Poppy turned the computer away from the main room to face a wall, and she heard her father complaining to her mother in her earbuds about the ill-treatment.

She walked to the door and looked out the peephole to see Isaac Harrison on the other side. Poppy leaned against the door and took a moment to calm her erratic heart, but this did no good because he knocked again, which scared her and made her heart jump all over again.

"I heard you the first time," Poppy insisted as she threw open the door.

"Who is it?" her father whispered in her ear.

"It took you long enough to answer," Isaac said as he crossed his arms and made his stance wide.

"I was watching a movie with my parents. Come in," she said, standing back. She let him into the little living room of the cottage, which suddenly seemed much smaller with him in it.

"We can't see who it is, Poppy," her mother said, "but he sounds delightful. I was always a sucker for a Scottish accent," Cassie sighed.

"Are you, my wee lass," Mason purred.

"Eww, eww, eww!" Poppy said, ripping the earbuds from her ear, turning them off, and then marching over to the computer.

"That's gross, Dad! I have to go. We'll finish the movie tomorrow night. I mean it, Mom. Don't let him sneak and watch it without us."

"There's no 'us' in that statement. It'll just be you not watching it, tootles," her mother waved and suddenly disappeared from the computer screen as she exited the program. They were going to finish the movie without her!

Poppy rubbed her forehead in frustration, jumping when she heard Isaac's voice.

"It's important," he insisted.

Poppy brushed aside her conversation with her parents and picked up her plate and cup, taking them to the small kitchen with Isaac on her heels.

"What do you need?" she asked as her phone dinged. She picked it up to see a text from her mother.

"Don't think we won't be asking questions later, dear."

Poppy didn't respond to the text as she washed the dishes.

"It's Mary," Isaac said, crossing his arms again, which made his chest look huge in his tight T-shirt.

Poppy turned the water off and looked at him, waiting for him to continue. Evidently, he wasn't used to asking for help, and it was to his credit that he was doing it now and from someone he didn't particularly like either.

"She's locked herself in her room and won't talk to anyone. I think it's women's issues," Isaac said, uncomfortable with the subject.

"What about her aunt or grandmother?" Poppy asked as she moved to the bedroom on the other side of the kitchen and started packing a bag with everything Mary might need.

Isaac followed her to the door of her room but didn't cross the threshold as he looked around at the neat space. "They're gone, and she's asking for you. Mary says you're the only person she'll consider talking with." He watched her for a minute. "What are you doing?"

"I'm packing a bag for Mary. If it is a woman's issue, she will need a few things." Poppy brushed past him, ignoring the intimate feel of his being in her personal space as she moved the kitchen cupboard and started to add snacks to the bag.

"I don't think all that is necessary?" he frowned as she threw in a few chocolate bars.

"Are you a woman?" Poppy paused and looked at him. No, he was definitely not a woman, and she felt a little zing go through her at the thought. She had never felt a zing before, and it made her pause.

"What's wrong?" he asked, very aware of her every move.

"I'm only making sure I have everything," she threw in a few good mystery books just in case. "Am I following you?" she asked as she looked around.

"Shouldn't you put some clothes on?" he asked as he looked at Poppy's eyes and nowhere else.

Poppy looked down at herself and blushed crimson. She was wearing a little tank top without a bra and boxer shorts.

"Umm, yes," she squeaked as she scurried into the bedroom, closing the door behind her. She hurriedly put on blue jeans and a T-shirt and slid her feet into battered sneakers. The entire process only took her a few minutes.

"Ready!" she said, trying to forget her embarrassment as she grabbed the bag she had packed.

Isaac led the way to the door and held it open for her, reaching for the key in her hand and locking it behind them.

"Are you sure you have everything?" he asked as he held the Land Rover's door open for her.

"Yes," she assured him, climbing in and putting on her seat belt.

When he joined her, he filled the space, and she could feel her heart start to race again. He was a massive man, and small spaces made her feel his size even more.

"Are you sure you don't mind my helping Mary?" Poppy settled in, holding the bag on her lap.

"I do mind. You're not here long term, and I don't want Peter and Mary to get attached to you. They've lost enough in their short lives; they don't need to lose someone else." His voice was low and firm.

"Why do they have to lose me? Technology has made the world a much smaller place." Poppy thought of her large family and how they were always in each other's business, even though they were scattered across the globe.

"You're telling me that when you leave here, you will still stay in contact with them?" he asked disbelievingly.

At least his disapproval of her and Mary's friendship wasn't because he disapproved of her, although he still might.

"If that's what they want. My entire family is scattered across the world, and we still know each other's business. I was just watching a movie with my parents while they were in New York, and I'm here. It's doable." Poppy shrugged; for her, it was the norm. 

"I will do anything for those kids." Isaac's voice was heated. "My goal is to keep them safe and as happy as it is possible to be without your parents in your life. If Mary wants to spend time with you, I'll let her. If she needs your help, I will do everything in my power to make sure she has it."

Poppy looked out the window as the night flew by and wondered what it would be like to have someone like Isaac Harrison do everything within his power to ensure you were happy. What kind of love that must be.

"I hear what you are saying, and I promise that as long as they wish to be my friends, I will make sure that I can be there for them, and if they need anything, I will do all I can to help. I've only just met them, but I will admit that they have touched my heart." Poppy didn't look at him as she said the words, but she meant every single one.

He nodded, and they said nothing more as he pulled up in front of the castle.