Poppy, on the other hand, ended up stranded in the countryside with the other passengers because their bus broke down and they have to wait for so long till it gets fixed. Poppy took her bags and walked instead but she got so tired from walking that she stopped to rest. A car drove by and it stopped when it reached Poppy. Branch, who is now wearing a blue tank top, a green vest, camo printed pants, and cowboy boots got out of the car. Poppy was shocked to see him stepping out of the car.

"Branch, what are you doing here?" She gasped.

"I was asking the same thing Poppy, what happened to you?" He asked her.

"I was on my way to visit a relative but the bus broke down." She answered.

"You could stay with me and my family in the farmhouse, if you want to." He spoke.

"Thanks, Branch, you're a lifesaver." She thanked him as he took her bags and packed them in the trunk. Poppy followed him into the front seat while he went back to the driver's seat.

Branch and Poppy talked with each other as they drove off through. They drove into a town near her home city, which didn't have a lot of luxuries due to its simple lifestyle but it feels comfortable. It was shown to be the largest farming settlement because of its many places, from common farms, ranches, vineyard, orchards, market gardens, hill farms, and plantations to mountains, hills, valleys, forests, and many more. Poppy marveled at the sight of the town within a largely rural area. The architecture has a fusion of the old-western theme and the modern. Poppy could see some schools, hospitals, a theatre, the marketplace, day spas, boutiques, shops, and many more buildings and landmarks. She also noticed that the town itself is so neat and tidy.

"First time being here?" Branch asked her.

"Yeah, I always want to live in a place that is so clean, like my grandma's home." Poppy answered.

"I can't wait for you to meet my family." Branch said.

The car finally arrived at a beautiful farm outside the town. It had a corral, a shed, a barn, stables, equipment shed, a garage, a ranch house, a farmhouse, a greenhouse, granaries, a chicken coop, rabbit hutches, piggery/pigsty, silos, zero-grazing unit, beehives, grazing fields, and dairy sheds. It also has an orchard, fish ponds, lumber shed, a watermill, a vineyard, and farm produce stores. Poppy is amazed by the rustic style of the place.

"This place is so beautiful!!" Poppy gasped.

"We don't own this place, but Rose let us live here so that we don't become homeless, but we have to work here too." Branch said.

The car stopped in front of the farmhouse. An older woman with dark skin, curly, mint green hair, and whitish streaks, tied in a bun stepped out of the house. She wears a pale-yellow dress with a scalloped hemline, flat shoes, and a red knit cardigan with pink glittery edges and a heart pattern.

"Bernardo, you came back from the city, what happened?" She asked him.

"Nothing much abuela, just earned for both the farm and us after delivering the crops and the other products to the supermarket." He answered as he and Poppy got off the car and took out her bags.

"Poppy, it's so good to see you again." She said as she hugged her. "I'm so grateful for becoming friends with mi niño."

"It's been so long, Grandma Rosiepuff." Poppy responded.

"How are things with your grandmother, mija?" Rosiepuff asked her.

"We had a hard life, she had this continuous feuding with my stepfamily who attempted to marry me off to Creek but I left before the day." She told her.

"Ay ay ay, that bruja always gets into everybody's nerves with her love for money." She sighed. "Come inside mija, we're having huevos rancheros today."

Poppy helped Branch carry her bags to his room. It is not so fancy but feels comfortable. She noticed that his room has some rope, survival equipment, notebooks full of his writing, small plants like blue agave and bunny ears cactus, a poster with photos of Lucha libre wrestlers, and other decorations. Poppy unpacked some of her bags and settled on the bed.

"Sorry if you have to be staying here with me because there's a lot of people in my family and Rose lives in the ranch house with her family and some farmhands that I work with." He apologized.

"It's okay, I am used to having my grandma or having my friends around during sleepovers but this one is different." She nodded. "Living in a large family."

"We are very close to each other, since my abuela is from Mexico and Mexicans like me and my family live together." He answered.

"Wow, that is very sweet." Poppy squealed.

"Yeah, let's go downstairs for breakfast." Branch said as they went downstairs. They went to the living room, which is combined with a dining set. Branch's relatives are waiting there as well.

"Hola Poppy, it's so good to finally meet you." Branch's aunt said.

"Hi, tia." Poppy said as she greeted all of them.

"We heard you left home because of that meretriz." She said.

"Yeah, she wanted to force me to marry Creek so that she, Vanessa and Bomb-Jaw can have a luxurious life." She answered.

"You're not alone in this, everybody hates her and her putas." She nodded. "Even we do."

"They're the reason many people not only quit the jobs in their businesses, but they also offended many people too." Another relative added.

"They are racists, but we know Adrielle married your father because of the money." One of Branch's uncles agreed with his wife.

"I know." Poppy nodded.

"My friend, Lucille quit her job because the restaurant your father owned and Adrielle stole from him, served sub-par products. I know she just to make a quick buck with it so nobody went there." One of Branch's cousins said.

"You knew that?" She asked him.

"Yeah, she and her daughters label everybody." He said disgustedly. "They offended a lot of people before she married your dad."

"When your stepsister, Vanessa stalked Branch, she called Abuela a cholo, and she retaliated at that traviesa by using the chancla against her." A younger cousin giggled.

"You should've seen that look on her face when the chancla hit her." He laughed.

"I remember seeing her with so many bruises that she ran up to my stepmom to tattletale your grandma at her." Poppy said.

"Your stepmom is a loco." The kid responded with a laugh.

"Vanessa got hit by the chancla one hundred times." He snickered.

"Abuela loves all of us but she practices old school methods of parenting, like scaring with scary stories and beating with a shoe for misbehaving." Branch smirked. "Trust me, these tontos are the usual target of this parenting."

"Bernardo!?" His cousins shouted.

"What, it's true." He shrugged. "I didn't get punished by the chancla except when I slipped and my slipper hit me on the face."

"Breakfast is ready." Rosiepuff called the entire family, who gathered together at the dining table. Poppy sat beside Branch as she got her huevos rancheros.

"Wow, these look delicious." Poppy said as she ate her breakfast.

"You really love my cooking, just like your grandmother, who is a dear friend of mine." Rosiepuff said.

"You both knew each other?" Poppy asked her.

"We were friends since middle school." She answered.

"I love cooking too, I took a course in HRM in college and graduated at the top of my class." Poppy said. "I got my inheritance from my grandma as a graduation gift."

"What were your plans to do with the money?" Rosiepuff asked her.

"I want to open up my restaurant." She answered. "But I ended up here instead."

"You could work here with us." Branch offered her.

"Thanks, but what happened to your bakery, grandma Rosiepuff?" Poppy asked her.

"We decided to live here because our apartments were demolished and stolen by Adrielle over and over again." She sighed. "And our bakery was taken from us as well."

"I'm sorry Mrs. Rivera." Poppy nodded. "She, Vanessa, and Bomb-Jaw don't know what family really is."

A loud neigh was heard and Branch peered at the window. He saw a herd of horses roaming in the fields.

"That must be Rose and she needs help with the horses." Branch gasped. "I gotta go now!"

"Can I help?" Poppy asked him.

"Sure, but you need to change your clothes." He answered.

Poppy went to Branch's room and she changed from a hoodie, T-shirt, pants, and sneakers, to a white cowboy hat with a pink band on it, a purple bandana around her neck, a blue vest and collared top, a pale blue denim skirt, and pink boots. She struggled with the buttons of her top but she ended up leaving it unbuttoned with the bottom part of the shirt tied together at the front. She walked outside the farmhouse with confidence but not before swallowing a pill before going out of the room. She walked around the place and there, she spotted some sheep, cattle, horses, and other animals roaming everywhere. She saw a group of farmhands working with Branch tried to calm down the horses but Rose and a pair of dark-skinned, stocky men rushed in to help out.

"Bernardo, let's just leave these horses alone so that they'll have time to get used to their new environment." She said as she closed the fence. "Tomorrow, we'll train them."

"Okay, Rose." He nodded in agreement.

"Sir Jones, this horse is very aggressive." A female ranch hand called out. "Where did she come from?"

"I dunno, I'll ask Delta Dawn about it, she'll be back from an issue she's dealing with." The older man answered.

Poppy noticed that Rose is wearing a sleeveless collared top which is tied at the front just like she did but it was buttoned, denim pants, and knee-high boots.

"Let's just go and do our other chores here around the place as the horses take their time to be accustomed to their new home." She said.