58 - Raking It In

Annie shoved her box under her bed. There was enough gold to last the winter. It was also enough to live comfortably for a while. She'll need to keep a low profile. Taking her hat off, she brushed her loose bangs back. The purses and satchels would need to be destroyed.

The coins she counted on the bed was pushed into her small purse. Poppy had made a small purse for Annie. It was a scrap of dark blue silk Annie had found on the streets earlier in the year. She was going to throw it away but Poppy insisted on keeping it. After washing it, Poppy embroidered cherry blossoms and made it I to a small purse for her.

Annie tried to give it to Poppy but she refused. With the money, Poppy would now have to accept it. She changed into a simple brown dress. Running downstairs, she looked for Poppy. She was always in the kitchen, cooking. Since Annie didn't find her there, she looked to their living room to see Poppy sewing clothes.

Annie smiled and handed Poppy the purse. She looked up confused and tried to give it back. Annie shook her head. "Look inside, Poppy," she said. Poppy gave a weird look before opening the purse. Her eyes widen in surprise, her mouth gaping at the coins.

"How... How did you get this?"

"I found some work in town. This should be able to support us for now," she explained.

"This is... This is your money! We can't take this," Poppy said firmly as she pushed it back. Annie moved away. Poppy frowned and stood up to follow. "We can't accept this!"

Annie laughed as Poppy chased her around the room. After a while, Poppy stomped her foot in frustration. "Annie! We can't accept this!"

Annie crossed her arms and rested her cheek on her palm to ponder. "Well, I have been living here freely and eating a lot of food. With this, maybe I'll be able to eat better food and wear beautiful clothes you make!"

"But Annie," Poppy protested.

Annie sighed loudly. "Fine, give it here!" When Poppy was going to hand it, Annie smiled mischievously. "But I might buy stuff excessively. Like extra clothes... food... maybe even splurge on candy!"

Poppy took the purse back silently. She hated the twins always eating candy and she knew Annie would not eat the candy. Ollie was well behaved by eating veggies but Maddy had a sweet tooth and wanted only sweet things. With candy being a bribe, Poppy would lose for sure. "I'm only keeping it for safe keeping for you."

"Poppy," Annie protested. "I'm part of this family too. Can't I help out with you?"

Poppy gave her a long look. "What if you want to go back? When you find out who you are?"

Annie clasped her hands together. "If I do go back, I'm taking you all back too." When she saw Poppy smile sadly, Annie grabbed her hand. "Poppy, don't think about it now. We are family. Don't worry about this."

Poppy nodded and sat back at her sewing. "Thanks Annie. Oh! By the way, Ollie was looking for you. You had told him you would train him today?"

Annie looked outside to see the sun soon setting. "Oh yes! Thanks for reminding me! I'm on my way!"

"Don't forget about dinner!" Poppy reminded. Annie nodded and ran off towards their barn. Their house was small with two bedrooms. The main bedroom was for their father. When their father passed away, Annie and Poppy took the room. Ollie and Maddy took the other.

After the two bedrooms, they had a small kitchen and their living space. Behind the house, there was a barn. It was big enough to have horses. They had no livestock so it was used for storage. When she came here, she used the place to train and then started training Ollie. Finishing the training for the night, she will need to plan on how to use the money.