The snake sprang forward and Poppy cried out in shock, shutting her eyes, fearing the worst. But then, in a split second, she heard a loud pop. And all was quiet again. The rattling sound had stopped. She opened her eyes to see the snake’s carcass splayed in front of her, mere inches from her right foot. Matt was a few feet away, gripping Timothy’s Glock pistol.
“When I went back into the trailer to find us some water, I figured it would be a good idea to bring the kid’s gun along just in case,” Matt said.
Poppy could barely speak her mouth was so dry, but she managed to get out a sincere “Thank you.”
“The sandstorm pretty much erased the tire tracks so we no longer know which way is the main road,” Matt said, frowning. “But our best bet is to follow the sun in the west and hope it takes us to some kind of road where we can flag down a car.”
Poppy nodded and climbed to her feet as Matt gently took her by the elbow to steady her, and they continued walking. Another hour passed as they slogged through the dirt and sand. Several times Poppy resisted the urge to ask Matt if they could stop and rest, maybe wait until the sun set and the high temperatures began to drop. But stuck out in the desert in the middle of night with all kinds of wild animals was not exactly a preferred option.
The only choice was to plow ahead.
Poppy’s ears perked up at a faint sound.
Was it another snake?
She scanned the ground around her fearfully, but there was nothing.
“Do you hear that?” Matt asked.
“Yes, what is it?”
Matt shook his head. “I don’t know.”
The sound grew in volume.
It wasn’t a rattling, but more like a chopping.
Whup. Whup. Whup.
Matt pointed at something in the sky.
It was dark and blurry, but Poppy thought it might be a bird of some kind. Or a desert illusion. After all, she was feeling faint from lack of water and might just be hallucinating. But Matt saw it, too, and then he frantically began waving his arms, trying to catch its attention.
Poppy rubbed her eyes and the image finally came into focus. It was a helicopter. For a moment, Poppy thought the chopper was going to fly overhead, oblivious to them, but then after passing them, it descended from the sky and landed on the flat desert surface a few hundred feet away from them.
Matt bolted forward, still flapping his arms as if he couldn’t believe the pilot had spotted them. Poppy followed as fast as she could in her weakened state.
She saw Roy Heller jump out of the helicopter followed by Iris and Violet. Matt gratefully pumped Roy’s hand as Iris and Violet joyfully raced over to Poppy, pulling her into a group hug as Poppy sobbed, so grateful to have made it out of this ordeal alive.
Finally, they broke apart.
“We were out for a joyride and saw your dressing-room trailer on its side from way up in the air, and thought you had been killed in a terrible accident. We were so panicked. Roy landed the helicopter, and that’s when we found Timothy barely conscious, and surmised what had happened,” Iris explained.
“Oh, Poppy, we were so worried!” Violet cried. “But Roy was confident all along that we would find you.”
Roy pushed past them and enveloped Poppy in an unexpected hug. “Actually I had my brave face on. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little concerned. I’m happy to see you alive, gorgeous.” He reached in to kiss her. Poppy instinctively turned her head and his lips landed squarely on her cheek.
Iris’s face blanched, but she remained uncharacteristically quiet.
Roy stepped back. “Sorry, too forward?”
Poppy nodded with an apologetic smile.
“She’s got a fella waiting for her at home,” Matt said.
“I see,” Roy said. “Well, let’s not keep him waiting.”
He gently put an arm around Poppy and escorted her back toward the helicopter with Matt leading the way and Iris and Violet falling in behind them.
“Is he better-looking than me?” Roy joked.
“I’m not answering that,” Poppy sighed.
Then Roy got serious. “Do you love him?”
Poppy thought about it.
“Yes, yes I do.”
It was the first time she had admitted it out loud to anyone, and it felt good.
It felt right.
Chapter 52
As Poppy stood at the island of her new kitchen tossing a salad in a large glass bowl with her tongs, she felt a pair of hands sliding around her waist, gently pulling her back into a strong chest as a face began nuzzling her neck.
“I can feel your heart beating,” Poppy said, setting down the tongs. “So I guess it must be working again.”
Sam spun her around and kissed her on the lips.
She could smell a hint of garlic.
“You snuck a piece of garlic bread while I was getting dressed, didn’t you?”
Sam shrugged. “Maybe. I’m not admitting to anything.”
He cupped a hand around her neck and drew her closer, kissing her again, this time more passionately.
She stepped away, putting a hand up to stop the foreplay before it got too out of hand. “We have guests arriving any minute now.”
“I know. I saw the table set for four. What a shame. I’m only here one more night so I was hoping we might enjoy a romantic dinner for two,” Sam whined.
“There will be plenty of time for those later. According to your doctor, you’ll be kicking around a while longer.”
“Yeah, but after such a major event like a heart attack, aren’t I supposed to be living my best life every day, or something like that?”
“You are. You’re helping me entertain some friends. That’s your best life, at least for tonight.”
Sam chuckled. Poppy opened the oven to check on her eggplant parmesan bubbling in a glass casserole dish, then she shut the door and went to open a bottle of Pinot Noir to let it breathe.
“The best
