Surprise Bride and Groom

by Iris Abbott

  Daisy just shrugged. It was the first time Carson had ever called her that. Well, everyone reacted to stressful situations in different ways. Maybe this was Carson’s way of dealing with the aftermath.

  “Daisy?” Carson called out again. “The police want to speak with you right away. They need your statement.” The door opened and Carson walked inside. He abruptly stopped when he saw Renee.

  “Thank God you’re all right,” he said to his assistant. “One of the police officers mentioned that you were the one who’d called 911 and alerted them to the shots fired inside the bank.” He hugged his assistant before turning all his attention to Daisy.

  “The police are insisting that they be able to speak with you right away. You’re one of the last people left for them to interview.”

  Daisy nodded at him. “I just needed a moment away from everyone else. I’m ready to give my statement now.” Carson was standing close, too close for Daisy’s comfort.

  Eager to get some distance from the temptation he represented and pull herself together, Daisy retreated. She took three steps toward the door. That’s as far as she got before she felt Carson gently grasp her arm.

  ****

  “Daisy, wait!” He’d seen the blank mask slip in place over Daisy’s face as she turned away. He couldn’t let things continue between them the way they had the past several months.

  The danger of the situation they’d just faced had sparked something inside him. It made him want to live life to the fullest. That meant getting past a few demons from his past. And, most importantly, it meant exploring the undeniable spark of attraction that he felt whenever Daisy was near.

  The urgency in Carson’s voice must have gotten through to her, because Daisy stopped in her tracks. Without giving him one word of warning, Daisy launched herself into his arms. “Thank you so much for offering to be a hostage in my place. I was terrified when those men wanted to leave the bank with me.” She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in the side of his neck.

  Her soft and delicate body pressed into his, causing Carson’s breath to catch in his throat. She was a perfect fit for him, but somehow he’d always known that. Before today, if she had ended up in his arms, he would have found the strength to push her away. But that wasn’t happening, at least not after the day’s traumatic events.

  A clearing throat jerked Carson back to the reality of the present. He felt Daisy stiffen in his arms, so he let her go. He looked at his assistant. Renee gave them a curious look and then glanced at the open bathroom door.

  Carson was a little miffed to see Derek Barnes standing there with a big grin on his face. “Well, I must say that witnessing that smoldering embrace puts a wrinkle in my plans to ask Daisy out.”

  Carson glared at the other man. He hoped the hands-off message he was implying came through loud and clear.

  Derek threw back his head and laughed. “Sorry to ruin your post-trauma reunion.” His face suddenly sobered and all teasing completely evaporated. “There are two officers still remaining in the bank. They really need to take statements from both Daisy and Renee. The sooner the better,” he added. “So that they can get back to the station and process the bank robbers.”

  Daisy sent a guilty look to both Renee and Derek before quickly stepping away from Carson. “I’m sorry to have kept them from doing their job. I’ll go talk to them right away.”

  Carson waited for Daisy and Renee to move away from Derek and him before rehashing the disturbing events of that afternoon.

  Carson warily held out a hand to Derek. While waiting for the other man to shake his offered hand he thoroughly studied Derek Barnes. Carson owed most of the positive outcome from the attempted bank robbery to Derek. He’d been the one with a plan and the means for them to fight back.

  He wasn’t feeling too kindly toward the man, however, since he’d expressed more than a passing interest in Daisy. Carson planned to set Derek straight on that score before the other man left the bank.

  “Welcome back to Rancher’s Bend. We’re lucky you decided to bank with us on this particular day.” And even luckier that Derek was carrying a concealed weapon he knew how to use. “Are you back in town for good or just passing through?”

  “I’m here for a while anyway,” Derek confirmed. “You’re looking at Rancher’s Bend’s newest SWAT captain.”

  “Ah, no wonder you had the situation in there under control. That was some fantastic shooting, by the way. And I owe you extra thanks for helping me shield Daisy from those monsters.” Another shudder shook his wide shoulders at the thought of what could have happened to Daisy.

  Derek gave him a long look. “So it’s like that, is it?” He raised a brow and waited for Carson’s response.

  Normally Carson would bristle at such a blatant question about his personal life. He owed the other man, however. “Not yet, but I think it can be. Daisy and I have been dancing around each other ever since she came back to town. I’m tired of the Texas two-step. It’s time to tango.”

  He ran a hand through his already tousled hair. He wasn’t one to normally talk about his feelings. But getting things off his chest actually felt good. “I never felt as scared or helpless as I did when the ringleader said he wanted to take Daisy hostage. I was flooded with what-ifs and should have beens,” he confessed. “And I don’t ever want to feel like that again.”

  The loud bell above the front door clanged. Both men moved out of the bathroom and glanced in that direction. They were just in time to see Daisy scamper out the front door.

  “Well good luck with that, man. Daisy’s a great catch, but that little filly is as skittish as they come. I’m afraid Travis did a real number on her.”

  Yes. Carson was aware of that. He had his work cut out for him. But he was never one to back down from a challenge. He wasn’t about to become a coward and stand down now.

  THREE

  Daisy sat in her car and cried for several minutes. Gut-wrenching sobs seemed to come from the depths of her very soul. The harsh, grating sounds that poured forth into the small confines of the car were earsplitting, but Daisy endured it.

  She was due for a good cry. If anybody needed the stress relief of one, it was Daisy. She had to get her rollercoaster emotions under control before she picked up Lucas.

  Finally, after about fifteen minutes, the tears dried up and the hideous sound effects slowed to just the occasional hiccup or sniff. Using a handful of tissues, Daisy dabbed at her eyes and blew her nose. She pulled down the car’s sun visor. The small mirror there only confirmed what she already knew. Thanks to the crying jag, she looked like a red, puffy-faced mess.

  It had been worth it, however. She felt marginally better after just letting go, and there was no way she could have fallen apart like that in front of Lucas. He’d already lost both of his parents. His father died in an accident and his mother abandoned him a year before that.

  There was no reason for the little boy to be worried about losing his aunt too. She didn’t have any plans of mentioning the attempted bank robbery to Lucas. Besides he was too young to really comprehend the gravity of the situation, anyway.

  Daisy took a deep breath and tried to center herself. She used bottled water and a fresh tissue to wash off the smudged mascara. It made her look like a demented raccoon: so much for being smudge-proof. When she was looking halfway normal again, Daisy reapplied a fresh coat of lip-gloss. She eyed the tube of mascara but left it lying in the bottom of her purse. She didn’t care if she ever wore the stuff again.

  Her emotions started to settle. Daisy felt much better now that the threat of being an escape ticket for two armed bank robbers wasn’t hanging over her head. She had Carson and Derek to thank for that, but mostly Carson. He could have stayed in the background and kept his mouth shut. And no one, least of all Daisy, would have blamed him.

  Thoughts of Carson warmed her insides. It was funny that the one man she’d spent almost two years avoiding was the one that gave her strength now, when she
needed it the most. She closed her eyes and relived the moment in the bathroom when he’d held her in his strong embrace. It made her warm and tingly all over. Tonight when she fell asleep she hoped she dreamed about the feel of Carson’s arms. That would be most welcome over a nightmare about two gun-wielding masked men robbing a bank.

  She started the car and pulled into the light flow of traffic. The trip to the daycare center wouldn’t even take three minutes. It was early yet, and there were only a few cars on the road. Not that rush-hour traffic was ever a problem in Rancher’s Bend. It was a quaint community fighting to hold onto its small-town charm.

  Recently things had started to change, however. Even Rancher’s Bend wasn’t immune to the poor economy and higher crime rate that seemed to be plaguing the country. The attempted bank robbery was a perfect example of how things were changing in the community.

  Daisy pondered on the fallout of today’s events while she drove. Even though the incompetent thieves had been arrested, they’d left a mess in their wake. The police had insisted on closing the bank until further notice. It was officially a crime scene. Forensics would need to go in and take photos and collect evidence.

  Daisy wasn’t exactly sure why. The two gunmen had been caught red-handed on the premises. And if that wasn’t enough, the ringleader had still been clutching one of the backpacks full of cash when the police came charging inside. And then there was a room full of witnesses who’d all verified what the two masked men had done and said.

  The many customers and employees of the bank had also proclaimed Carson and Derek heroes. Daisy couldn’t argue with that. She sighed. Carson would always be her hero now.

  She turned into the daycare’s large parking lot. There was a vacant spot right up front. Daisy parked and made one more attempt to shake off any negative energy that might be clinging to her. She did not want Lucas to be touched by any of the ugliness that had happened today.

  Walking inside the double glass doors at the entrance, Daisy’s steps instantly lightened. The bright yellow, green, and red walls of the daycare center even caused Daisy to smile. It was a small half smile, but still a smile nonetheless.

  She checked in with the lady at the front desk. “Hey, I’m here to get Lucas. I know I’m early but I want to go ahead and sign him out for the day.” She needed to see his happy, carefree smile. Nothing could make a person feel more on top of the world then the unconditional love of a child.

  Nancy got up and gave Daisy a hug. “Sweetie, I’m so glad to see that you’re okay. The news about the attempted bank robbery and hostage situation has been all over the local TV and radio stations.”

  Daisy shuddered. “Oh no! I hope no one said anything to Lucas. I don’t want him to be terrified every time I go to work.” She gave the woman a furious frown. She wasn’t going to be happy if Lucas had found out about the danger she’d been in.

  “You’ve got nothing to worry about, Daisy. We never listen to the news in front of the children. I promise you that he’s oblivious to all the chaos that occurred at the bank. It did bring a slight problem to our attention however. Tammy, the owner, did leave a message for you. She insists on speaking with you as soon as possible.”

  Daisy’s heart lurched into her throat. Lucas was not a problem child. He’d had a hard time settling into daycare at first. But just like most children, he’d adjusted over time. And Lucas had been going to this particular daycare ever since Daisy had become his guardian.

  “Uh-oh, that doesn’t sound too good. What’s wrong? Lucas isn’t having problems with the other children again, is he?” She certainly hoped not.

  Nancy patted her hand. “No, it’s nothing like that. It’s just that you never gave us any emergency contact information. And Tammy was fit to be tied when she found out today. If something had happened to you during the bank robbery, we wouldn’t have known who to contact or what to do with Lucas. And that’s a big problem that Tammy and the daycare center don’t want or need.”

  Daisy’s eyelids fluttered shut and she let out a little sigh of frustration. For most people, naming an emergency contact probably wasn’t a big deal. But for Daisy it was a major problem.

  She’d never known her father or his side of the family. Her mother had lived more in the bottle than out of it. She’d died from liver disease about a year before Daisy returned to Rancher’s Bend. So there was no help from that quarter.

  Her brother had been her only sibling. He was gone too. And who knew where Lucas’s mom, Amy, was? Daisy surely didn’t. As far as she knew, no one in Rancher’s Bend knew the wayward woman’s whereabouts.

  Daisy’s husband was now her ex-husband. The one man that she should have been able to count on was long gone. She’d put a lot of faith in Travis Carter. He’d eventually let her down, just like everyone else in Daisy’s life.

  Her childhood had been chaotic at best. It was little wonder she’d married her high school sweetheart at eighteen and moved to Dallas. In Travis Carter, Daisy thought she’d found the love and support she’d been seeking most of her life. And while things hadn’t been as rosy as Daisy first thought, at least they’d been manageable.

  That was until her husband had flatly refused to raise Lucas. And worse, he’d made Daisy choose between him and a defenseless little boy who had no one else. Of course Daisy had chosen Lucas. True to his word, Travis had immediately filed for divorce. How was that for love and support?

  Other than Mandy and Sara Beth, the two friends she’d reconnected with after moving back to town, Daisy really didn’t have anyone. She would have to speak with Mandy and Sara Beth to see if one of them would be willing to take in Lucas if something ever happened to her. Just the thought of the many excuses they might come up with tied her stomach in knots.

  “I’ll get back to Tammy soon. I promise.” She would bring up the delicate topic of conversation with her two friends as soon as possible. They had probably heard about the trouble at the bank. They’d want to make sure she was all right. And of course they would want the inside scoop on everything that happened.

  “I’m going to get Lucas now. I’ll see you later, Nancy.” She quickly walked down the hall toward Lucas’s classroom. She had to be out of there before Tammy showed up. It would be too embarrassing for her to have to admit to someone else out loud that she and Lucas had no one.

  When she reached the classroom, instead of going in she watched Lucas through the glass inset of the door. He was laughing and playing with the other six children in the room. He looked like a happy, well-adjusted, normal child. It warmed Daisy’s heart. When she saw that boyish grin and heard his childish laughter full of glee, she knew all the sacrifices she’d made, including her marriage, had been well worth it.

  Just then her nephew looked up and caught Daisy peeking through the door. Lucas flashed Daisy a big smile, said something to his teacher, and then ran to open the door. “How come you’re early, Aunt Daisy?”

  He gave her a serious look and the smile all but disappeared. “I don’t have to go to the doctor for a shot or anything, do I?”

  Daisy ruffled his hair. “Of course not, sweetheart. I would have told you this morning if that was the case. The bank closed early today. And I rushed right over to pick up my best man.”

  Lucas giggled, showing off his baby teeth as he did so. “Let’s go to the park and get an ice cream,” Lucas begged. “Please, please, Aunt Daisy.”

  She put a finger to her chin and pretended to think it over. After a few seconds she cheerfully agreed. “That sounds like fun. And as luck would have it, today’s weather is just right for a trip to the park.”

  In truth it was a fantastic idea. She was not looking forward to staring at the walls of the cramped home she shared with Lucas. After the incident at the bank she was feeling a little claustrophobic. Some time outside in the bright October sunlight and fresh air would do her good.

  “Yeah!” Lucas was so excited he was hopping from foot to foot.

  “Go get your lunch box,�
� Daisy reminded him. “And say goodbye to your teacher.” Daisy waved at the woman who was busy keeping a close eye on two rather rambunctious little boys.

  Lucas ran up to his daycare teacher and gave her a big hug. Then he grabbed his insulated lunch bag and skipped back to the door. He grabbed Daisy’s hand and hurried her down the hall and out the front door.

  “Whoa, slow down, mister. The park isn’t going anywhere,” Daisy teased.

  “I know, but I am so excited!” He danced from foot to foot.

  “You’ve never been this eager about the park before. Ice cream maybe, but the park, umm, I don’t think so. What’s going on with you, Lucas?”

  They stopped next to Daisy’s car. She waited for Lucas to climb in before she made sure he was securely buckled into his car seat.

  “Charlie says there’s a place in the park now just for dogs. And his mom and dad let him go pet them yesterday. I wanna pet the dogs!”

  Ah, the new dog park she’d heard about several months ago must have finally opened. “We’ll see, Lucas. I’m not making any promises about the petting. Not everyone wants strangers playing with their dogs.” And not every dog was friendly either. Daisy certainly didn’t want Lucas to get bitten. That would be the ultimate topper to an already horrific day.

  The young boy sighed when Daisy shut the car door.

  “I wish I could have a dog of my own,” he wistfully admitted once Daisy was seated behind the wheel of the car.

  Daisy felt like letting out a big sigh too. She managed to hold it inside. They’d been over this a few times the past several months. “I know you do, Lucas. But remember, our house is a rental and pets aren’t allowed. Plus, there’s barely enough room for the two of us. If we had a furry friend living with us, the poor animal would probably be bouncing off the walls.”

  “Oh, man,” Lucas complained. The good-natured complaint was tempered by boyish giggling.

  Daisy guessed he was picturing all kinds of dogs, both big and small, running around their little two-bedroom house. And she bet his imagination had the dogs bouncing from room to room via the walls. The crazy cartoon images in Daisy’s head were enough to make her laugh too. After the horror of that afternoon it felt good to laugh.