Fabulously Tanked by Piper Malone

Author:Piper Malone
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
ISBN: 9780991320196
Publisher: Piper malone
Published: 2018-04-11T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Five days had passed since Taylor stepped from the privacy of his home. When the world learned about his romance with Poppy, he could no longer face his community.

He hadn’t kissed anyone since Bridget. The odd sensation that he didn’t want to kiss anyone else after Poppy’s lips brushed against his was still with him.

His confidence, the willingness to consider a new relationship, vanished when he walked into the local diner and saw all eyes turning to him.

He nodded to the familiar faces that were now drawn with tight resignation. “Mornin’,” he offered.

Gossipy Mary Griffiths served his cup of coffee with a copy of the morning paper. The picture nearly knocked him off the stool. His fingers tangled in her hair. Her hands curled around his neck. They looked eager and passionate. They looked happy and connected.

They were being looked down on by an image of Bentley’s pinched face. Bastard.

“You know how the town feels about that girl,” Mary drawled as she wiped down the worn stainless steel counter.

Taylor eyed her over the edge of his coffee cup, opting not to take the bait. He threw a dollar on the counter and walked out with the paper.

Everywhere he went, he was met with speculative glares. At the feedstore, the old farmers grunted at him instead of asking about the cows.

The farmers market called and questioned if he still wanted to keep the stand for his cheese.

He was surrounded by unspoken accusations. The town saw pieces of an evening between two people and made up their own story.

The worst part of being the topic of conversation—again—was that Poppy was nowhere to be found. The world learned about their romance, and she seemed to disappear.

Every time his phone made a noise, he jumped. None of his text messages to Poppy were returned. All of the calls were from media outlets trying to get a statement, or from Helen, who was also trying to get the dirt.

After four days of her attempts to get him to talk, he’d had enough. Taylor was midway through his speech about privacy and respect when Helen cut him off.

“Hey, Taylor,” she said, sounding drawn away from the phone, “turn on the television.”

He argued for a minute before she shut him up with four small words.

“It’s Poppy. She’s crying.”

Taylor cradled the phone between his ear and shoulder, fumbling with the remote. The screen warmed up, and there was Poppy, sitting at a long conference table with Suzie. Her eyes were rimmed red, hands folded around a crumpled tissue.

Suzie glanced at Poppy before answering a question that had been asked by someone in the audience.

“We don’t know of any motive at this time. Prior to the incident, we did not receive any threats toward Poppy.”

Taylor’s heart kicked against his sternum. “Helen, what happened?” he pressed through gritted teeth.

“I’m not sure …” his sister replied. “I’m trying to search the Internet right now.”

Suzie thanked the audience for their help and quick response after confirming that they were working with authorities.

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