The Last Waltz

Chapter 28

Poppy woke the children up early to say goodbye to Isaac. They all hugged him, and Poppy gave him a chaste kiss before sending him off with shouts of, 'be careful' and 'come home soon'.

She didn't wake Siobhan, who was upset that Isaac had left without telling her he was going.

The following week was as normal as most. The only difference was that Isaac wasn't there, and she realized how much she had missed him. He called her phone at exactly eight o'clock every evening, which was four o'clock for him in Chile.

On Wednesday, he told them he would be there longer than he had thought but wasn't sure about a return date. The devastation was worse than reported, and things were rough. Every pair of hands were needed. They were all disappointed but understood.

On Friday, Poppy dropped the kids off at school and went to the little cottage she rented in the village. She had one more month on the lease, so she still had a few things there. Since Siobhan was at the castle for the tour and she now knew Poppy's hiding place, Poppy decided to use the little garden to draw. It was chilly, but talking to everyone walking by was fun. They all raved about the party and told her how much fun they had had.

There were a few jokes about Isaac kicking her out because of the mess they had made of his castle, but Poppy assured him that she had one month left on the lease and was just checking up on the place.

The sun was shining, and she didn't have to pick the children up until that afternoon, so she had all day. At lunch, she wandered down to the pub and had a sandwich, enjoying the visit. On her way back to the cottage after lunch, Morgan Brown popped up in her path, blocking her way.

"What are you doing here!" she demanded, walking past him. How dare he show back up and approach her.

"I'm just visiting," he said as he threw his arm over her shoulder in a casual way, pulling her close and causing her to fall off balance. She was forced to put her hand on his arm to avoid falling. Poppy felt her anger rising.

"Let me go!" she hissed as she squirmed from under his arm, stomping on his foot to let him know that she meant business.

"Look. I'm sorry," he said, blocking her way and leaning down in front of her, lifting her chin up with his finger. The look he gave her was all remorse, but Poppy didn't believe it for a minute.

She swatted his hand away and pushed past him, hurrying to the cottage. The best thing she could do was put some distance between them. When he followed her, she was angry, but there was also a touch of fear. There was something different with him this time. She didn't think he would be so easy to fight off.

"What's the rush!" he called after her, catching up with her quickly.

As she pushed through the gate, he was right behind her. Letting the gate slam behind him, and the sound was ominous.

"GO AWAY!" she yelled as she turned to face him, hoping someone would hear her.

He backed her up against a tree and placed one hand to the side of her head. "And if I refuse to go?" He looked down at her and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear just as he had the last time he had cornered her, but his look was full of such hate and anger that it made Poppy start shaking in fear. She wouldn't be able to surprise him this time.

Poppy took the only move open to her with her back against a tree, brought her knee up, and caught him in the groin. He doubled over, and she got away for a moment, but by the time she had passed him, she was pushing into the cottage door.  Morgan didn't wait for her to get inside. Instead, he grabbed her by the hair and threw her down to the ground, where she hit her head against a rock, and her world started to spin.