Read Online A Field of Poppies by Sharon Sala - Free Book Online

what a trial he’d been to the family through his teens and college years. That was then and this was now.
    She watched him stop to speak to Newton then take the cold drinks he was carrying, leaving the bodyguard standing in the hall with a disgruntled look on his face.
    Justin handed her the cold can that had been wrapped with a napkin and already opened for her convenience.
    “ Thank you,” she said, and drank thirstily.
    “ You’re welcome, Mother. Why don’t you go home and get some rest? It’s almost stopped raining.”
    She took another sip and then set it aside. “I believe I will. Let me tell Callie goodbye and get my bag. She’ll be thrilled you’re already here. You’re her favorite, you know.”
    Justin smiled. He knew his daughter idolized him. The feeling was mutual.
    As they walked into Callie’s room, he couldn’t help hoping one day they would all look back on this time as nothing but a bad memory and that she would grow up and grow old, giving him grandchildren to spoil.
    “ Daddy! You’re here,” Callie said, and then grabbed a washcloth to cover her mouth as she coughed. When she pulled it away, he could see tinges of red. The bleeding still hadn’t stopped.
    Amelia picked up her bag and then wiggled her fingers in what passed for a wave. “Callie, darling, since your daddy is here, I’m going home for the evening. Sleep well and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
    Callie managed a wan smile. “Okay, Nana, see you tomorrow.”
    Justin swooped past his mother and the nurse who had just changed Callie’s IV, ignored the dialysis machine and kissed his daughter on the forehead.
    “ Good evening, beautiful. I brought you a surprise,” he said, and pulled the angel out of his pocket.
    Callie beamed. “A new angel! Oh, look, her name is Faith! Just what I need to remind me I’ll get better! Thank you, Daddy! I love her.”
    “ And I love you,” Justin said. “So tell me what’s been going on. Did you eat your lunch? Have you been out of the bed today?”
    Justin listened with one ear as his daughter began to talk, but he was focused on something more pressing. The shadows beneath her eyes were deeper – even darker. Her skin was almost translucent – as if she was already teetering toward the other side. He felt like crying. Instead, he laughed at something she said and tried not to think of how many sunrises she had left. Tomorrow would take care of itself. It always did.
     
    ****
     
    After receiving a phone call from the funeral home regarding her mother’s body, Poppy made herself eat a bowl of soup. The relief of learning Jessup had already paid for the funeral was overwhelming. They gave her a list of things they needed her to bring to get her mother’s body ready for the viewing, and in an odd way, having purpose gave her strength. She hadn’t been able to help Mama die, but she could do something positive to help her get buried.
    It didn’t take long for the word to get out, because the phone had been ringing with sickening regularity. The first few calls were difficult and before they were over, both Poppy and the caller were in tears. But then they began to get easier. It wasn’t that Poppy was growing callus about the losses, it was just that she had no more tears to cry. The ache was still there in the pit of her stomach. The words were still as bitter on her tongue, but for now, she’d cried herself out. Everyone knew what to say about Helen. She’d had cancer. Cancer was a socially acceptable reason for dying. The sad thing was that no one knew what to say about Jessup. Murder did that to a family. It was as if by blood alone, the death had tainted them all.
    The first one to finally mention him was Hannah Crane, the wife of one of the men Jessup had worked with. She voiced her sympathies about Helen Sadler’s passing, and then eased into what happened to Jessup without mentioning the actual crime.
    “ Poppy honey, do they know yet who hurt your daddy?’
    Poppy