Page 128 of The Birthday List (Maysen Jar 1)

“Same to you.”

He nodded once more, then turned and left. Poppy’s, Jimmy’s and Randall’s eyes were on me, waiting for an explanation, but I stayed quiet and watched as Isaac left the restaurant.

When the door closed behind him, I picked up my coffee. “So, banana bread with chocolate chips? I’ll go get them.”

Before Jimmy and Randall could ask about Isaac, I ducked into the kitchen with Poppy right on my heels.

“What was that about?”

“Oh, nothing much. Just a kid who needed a break way back when.”

“Is that what a ‘once’ is? A break?”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “I had someone give me a once, and ever since, I’ve tried to pay it forward.”

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“Oh,” she hummed. “Can you tell me about it?”

I didn’t like talking about how I’d nearly fucked up my life, but Poppy deserved to know. So I pulled out a stool from the table in the kitchen and took a seat, confessing something only a handful of people even knew.

“I always knew I wanted to be a cop. Ever since I was a kid. After high school, I wanted to go straight to the academy, but my parents wanted me to go to college and get my degree. Dad said that if I had my bachelor’s, it would help me move up the ranks on the force, so I agreed and enrolled at MSU. But I didn’t take it seriously. At least, not at first. I skipped too many classes and went to too many parties.”

Poppy took the stool next to mine. “Did you flunk out?”

I chuckled. “No, but I wasn’t pulling As, that’s for sure. But the partying got me in trouble. My freshman year, I went to a house party out of town. I had too much to drink but thought if I stayed on the back roads, I’d be fine. On my way back, I swerved to miss a deer, ran my truck into the ditch and got stuck in the snow.”

My stomach rolled when I thought about that night. I was lucky things hadn’t been worse. That I hadn’t hurt someone. That I hadn’t hurt myself. As it was, I hadn’t even wrecked my truck.

“The officer who found me could have taken me right to jail. She could have given me a DUI, and my future career as a cop would have been over. But she didn’t. She put her finger in my face and said, ‘This is your once.’ Then she drove me home, not to the dorms but to my parents’ house, and kept my truck keys for a month.”

“Were your parents pissed?”

“Worse,” I sighed. “They were disappointed.”

And from that night on, I’d tried to never disappoint them again. I’d gotten serious about school. I’d brought up my grades and kept myself out of trouble through graduation and into the academy. All because I’d been given a chance.

“So, you got a once and now you give them.”

I nodded. “If the situation calls for it. I respect the law and we have rules for a reason, but not everything is black and white. Some people, like Isaac, deserve a second chance.”

Poppy’s hand came to my face. “How’d I get so lucky to find you?”

“It’s the other way around, beautiful.”

She leaned forward, pressing her soft lips to mine as the kitchen door swung open.

“Kissing again?” Molly snickered.

“Always.” I wrapped my arms around Poppy’s waist, pulling her off her stool and between my legs to take her mouth. This time, there wasn’t a thing gentle or sweet about our kiss. This one was hot and deep—a kiss that left Poppy panting, Molly rolling her eyes and my dick hard behind my zipper.

“You’d better get me that banana bread,” I whispered. “Otherwise I’ll find something else to eat and we won’t be going to the football game.”

Poppy leaned in to my ear. “I’ll make you a deal. You taste the banana bread, and later I’ll do some tasting of my own.”

I groaned against her lips. I loved this woman.

And since I still wasn’t sure if I should say it, after the game, I’d show her just how much instead.