Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Reveal

Poppi arrived back at home with her bags full of her mom’s listed items. She came into the kitchen smiling and almost skipping.

“Well aren’t you in a good mood,” Valyn noticed, helping grab some of the bags.

“Oh my gosh mom, I met the most dreamy guy at the market. He had the bluest eyes and the most beautiful tan. I’ve never seen him around here before and he definitely didn’t strike me as a Texan, so I didn’t get his number or anything,” Poppi gushed.

“Well you still could have kept in touch. Who knows what that could have turned into Pops,” Valyn stated.

Poppi shrugged.

“Yeah, but I don’t have time for a summer romance if I am going to be a new little sister to MJ. I need to help him get acclimated to Texas. I plan to be an amazing host for him mom,” Poppi said.

Her mom put her hand over her heart.

“That makes me so happy to hear Poppi. Now let’s get this dinner started before MJ gets here. I think dad put him up in a hotel last night since his flight came in around midnight. So he is in Texas already. Fred will send him a car to get around town if he hasn’t already,” Valyn said.

Poppi wondered what he would be like. What he would look like. Fred was a very handsome man, so she assumed her stepbrother would be devilishly handsome as well. Her friends would absolutely grovel over him. She would need to get to know him better so she knew what he liked and then she could plan their summer. He would be working with their dad at the law firm four days a week, so she would be able to plan things while he was away at work. The first thing she wanted to do was to get him some cowboy boots. He couldn’t possibly help out on the ranch without them. MJ had a horse on their ranch named Racecar. Fred had said he named it when he was five years old. Poppi also had a horse named Thunder. She had named it that when she was about 8 years old because it sounded like thunder when she galloped. They would definitely take their horses out to the pastures this week.

Some of Fred’s family was joining the dinner party as well as Valyn’s. No one had seen MJ since he was 7 years old, so they all were very excited.

Poppi wore her blue and white short dress with puffy sleeves and some white cowboy boots. She did her hair in a high curly ponytail and only put on light make up. She could hear people starting to arrive. She glanced out her window to the barn. Her mother had set the 20 person table and the decor was beautiful. She made last minute touches and headed outside.

She was greeted by both sides of the family and made her way to her seat. Where was MJ?