Daisy thought about that.
“Daisy, I also mean, no, Max is not the one for you.”
“But I did love him once.”
“But you don’t love him now.”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t.”
They drank their cocoa in silence.
“Honey, I still say you should marry Trav,” her mom said. “He’s asked you enough times.”
Daisy turned bleak eyes to her mom. “I don’t love him either.”
“You can learn to love him.”
Daisy shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “I don’t want to marry him and hope that one day I’ll love him. That’s not right.”
“He’s Bryce’s father!”
Daisy stood abruptly. “I’m going home.”
Her mom narrowed her eyes with her patented steely mom look. “Sit down. You’re not running out on this conversation.”
Daisy sat.
Her mom took a deep breath and looked at the ceiling. “I’m going to tell you something that I swore I would never tell you.”
That got her attention. Daisy sat there, riveted.
“You want to know how I knew marrying your dad was the right thing? I didn’t. Not until much later. I was pregnant with you, and he asked me to marry him, which I gratefully did.”
Daisy’s mouth dropped open in shock. “You were pregnant with me?”
Her mom looked a little miffed she’d been forced to share this news. “Yes. We called you a honeymoon baby, and no one knew the difference. You were conceived on impulse, much like Bryce, and I never regretted it. Not for one minute.” She lifted her chin defiantly.
Daisy’s mind reeled with this news. Suddenly her mom pushing her on Trav made so much sense.
“Is that why you’ve been telling me to marry Trav? You want me to have the kind of happily-ever-after that you did?”
“Well, yes.”
Daisy looked at her mom in a whole new light. She smiled at the wonder of it all. “I never knew you did anything impulsive. I thought that was my territory.”
Her mom grinned. “Well, where do you think you get it from?”
Daisy couldn’t believe it. All this time, she’d thought she was just a screw-up in her mom’s eyes, when her mom actually saw a lot they had in common. But she had screwed up. A lot worse than her mom ever had.
“Oh, Mom, I’ve really made a mess of things. Did you know I made stuff up on my blog because I thought you were so perfect, and I wanted to feel like that too?”
Her mom laughed. “Really? I thought it was because you enjoyed writing fiction. You always did have a great imagination.”
Maybe that’s what she should’ve been doing. Writing fiction instead of pretending her dream life was real. She drank her cocoa, and her mom did the same, eyeing her over the brim of her cup.
“Daisy, you’re a great mom. You’re doing beautifully with Bryce. That’s a huge accomplishment right there. You don’t have to be perfect to do a good job.”
“I always thought you were the perfect mom. You always tell me how to get Bryce calmed down, and it takes me forever to make that happen. You do it just like that.” She snapped her fingers.
Her mom smiled indulgently. “I’m relaxed. Babies sense that. You’re exhausted most of the time. I admire your fortitude. Even with lack of sleep and working hard at Garner’s, you’re still doing your best for him. It’s more than I did. I couldn’t handle the lack of sleep. Your grandmother took nights for me.”
Daisy’s eyes widened in surprise. “Grandma? I never knew that.”
“She lived with us for your entire first year. She took nights; I did days. And I wasn’t working a strenuous job. Your dad and I were just beginning to plan Garner’s. We had savings from his pro career.”
Her dad was the former quarterback for the New England Blazers. So it had been easier for her mom. She hadn’t been the perfect mom. And that meant Daisy wasn’t the most imperfect mom ever. A vague memory of her grandmother at the house tickled her brain. “She lived with us when Liz was a baby too, didn’t she? When I was three. I remember helping her make peanut butter jelly sandwiches for lunch.”
Her mom smiled. “I couldn’t have done it without her.” She squeezed Daisy’s hand. “And now I’m paying it forward. I have been a help with Bryce, haven’t I?”
She had. She hadn’t moved in—too much work at Garner’s for that—but she’d taken many afternoons and was always available on a moment’s notice.
“Daisy, the rest of your life is waiting for you to take the reins. Are you going to stay holed up at home, or are you going to get back out there?”
Daisy straightened. “What a question. I’ll get back out there.”
“That’s my girl. And give Trav another chance. I have a really good feeling about you two.”
“You’re just saying that because you want me to marry Bryce’s father.”
“I’d never push you if I didn’t think he was a major hunk.” She hid a smile by sipping her cocoa.
“Mom!”
“What? I did see him in full frontal glory.”
Daisy shuddered. “Oh. My. God. You did not just say that. You keep your eyes on Dad.”
“Nothing wrong with looking.”
“Blech! My mom cannot be checking out my…”
Her mom grinned. “Love?”
“My…something. I don’t know what he is.”
Her mom became serious. “I think it’s time you found out.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Trav knew he should cool it when it came to Daisy. She’d been depressed for a week now. He shouldn’t be so concerned. Ry kept telling him to cool it. Yet he couldn’t stop himself from checking in on her every day.
He rang the bell to her apartment.
Daisy opened it. “I’m fine, Trav. You don’t have to keep checking up on me.”
He stepped inside and gave her a quick once-over. She was wearing clean clothes—jeans and a fuzzy V-neck sweater—and she’d washed her hair. That was a step in the right direction.
“I’m not,” he said, slipping off his jacket. “I’m just visiting Bryce.”
He didn’t miss her eye roll as he headed for Bryce on his blanket doing what looked like baby pushups. “That’s new.”
She stood by his side, and he breathed in her citrusy scent. “I think he’s gonna crawl soon,” she said.
He turned to her in surprise and snapped his attention back to Bryce. “Really? Already?” He grinned and pounded his chest. “That’s my boy.”
“We’ve got to baby proof everything.” She sat cross-legged on the floor. “I mean everything. We are in for it.”
He sat next to her, imitating her position. “How ya doing?”
“Fine,” she said through her teeth.
“I was glad to hear you went back to work. Good to keep busy, be around other people.”
“Not when those people stare at you like you’re a freak because Jessica Larsen made you sound like a monster on national television.”
“No one thinks you’re a freak. They probably think you’re famous. They’re curious.”
She scoffed. “Freakishly famous.”
“They’re probably like”—he spoke behind his hand—“there goes that freakishly beautiful Garner girl.”
“That’s Liz.”
“With that freakishly hot bod.”
She smacked his chest and leaned her head against his shoulder. Bryce achieved liftoff and rocked back and forth on hands and knees.
“Oh!” Daisy exclaimed.
Bryce’s chest hit the blanket, butt up in the air, and he worked to push up again.
Daisy straightened and clapped her hands. “He’s so cute! Go, Bryce!”
Bryce pushed up and rocked back and forth.
They sat there watching Bryce work hard on crawling until the boy tired out and started crying. Daisy scooped him up and held him close, speaking softly to him.
Trav’s throat tightened at the sig
ht. He never wanted Bryce to know the pain of losing his mother.
“I’m still getting nasty emails,” Daisy told him.
He shook his head. “These people need to get a life. Did anyone threaten you?”
“No death threats,” she said, patting Bryce’s back. “Yet,” she added.
“If someone threatens you, forward it to Ry. He’ll track them down, and you can press charges.”
She crossed to the sofa and sat down. “Everyone hates me, Trav.” Her voice came out small.
He sat next to her on the sofa. “No one hates you.”
She nodded. “They do. They really do. And there’s nothing I can do about it. I screwed up, and people want me to pay for it.” She met his eyes. “If they only knew how I felt on the inside, they’d know I pay for it every minute of every day.”
Panic clutched at his heart. He found it hard to breathe. He jumped off the sofa and bolted for the kitchen, where he helped himself to a glass of water. He couldn’t let this go on. People were torturing her, remembering only her mistakes, ignoring what she’d done that was right and good. He’d been in a similar place as a teenager. It had gotten to the point where he didn’t even have to say anything, his reputation spoke for him, teachers dreaded having him in the classroom. Fathers didn’t want him to date their daughters, despite the fact he’d never been disrespectful to girls. He loved women. He loved Daisy.
Geez, he was an idiot. Why had he acted like love was something invented by corporations? He loved Daisy so much it made him hurt when she hurt. When she was happy, he was happy. Wasn’t that what love was, caring about someone else as much or more than yourself?
He returned to her side. Bryce was sound asleep in her arms.
“Here, let me.” He reached for his son.
She shook her head. “He’ll wake up,” she whispered.
He ignored her and lifted Bryce from her arms, carrying him to the bedroom, where he deposited him gently in the crib. The little guy curled on his side in blissful sleep.
He returned to Daisy and sat on the sofa. She sat there, mouth agape, staring at him. “How did you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Move him without waking him. I always have to hold him at least a half hour.”
He shrugged. “I always do that.”
“Wish that worked for me.”
“He’s probably in heaven in your arms and gets mad when he has to leave.”
She snorted.
“I know I would be.” He scooted down and put his head in her lap. She stroked his hair. “Daze, I love you.”
Her hand stilled, and he read not joy in her face, but pain. She stared across the room, not meeting his eyes. “Don’t love me, Trav. I don’t deserve you.”
He sat up. “Yes, you do. I don’t deserve you.”
“Don’t. Don’t just say that because I said it. Besides, you’re wrong. It’ll be a long time before I can earn anyone’s love and respect. I’m bad news.”
He took her hand. “I used to have a bad rep, you know.”
She shook her head. “It’s not the same. You were just a kid.”
“Grown-ups make mistakes too. You’re human. The important thing is you won’t make the same mistake again.”
She sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder. “I’m so tired. Can I just rest here, just like this?”
“Yeah, you can.” He slipped an arm around her shoulders and held her like that. He wasn’t upset that she didn’t say she loved him back. He understood her well because she was very much like him. She’d had a shattering blow to her confidence and needed to feel whole again. He couldn’t pull her out of her funk alone, but, based on his experience in straightening out his own life, he had an idea of who could.
~ ~ ~
Daisy felt Trav’s absence keenly. He hadn’t checked in on her all week, and he’d been brusque when he took Bryce for his usual Sunday daddy-son day yesterday. While she’d been so busy being annoyed with him for checking in on her, she hadn’t taken the time to appreciate why he did it. He’d offered his love, and she’d thrown it back in his face.
She grabbed some Sno-Caps from the cabinet and settled on the sofa. Maybe she should call him. No. She didn’t deserve his love. She didn’t deserve anything. She tossed back the Sno-Caps and chewed.
The doorbell rang, and she leaped to answer it, hoping it didn’t wake Bryce. She swung open the front door. Trav stood there holding a large cardboard box. He smiled. She smiled back, her throat tight. He was here. He hadn’t given up on her.
“Hey to you, too.” He muscled past her with the box and set it on the kitchen table. “Open it.”
She pulled open the folded-over flaps. Letters. Lots and lots of letters. All addressed to her.
“What in the world?” She lifted an envelope and slowly pulled out a letter. In bold letters at the top it read: Why Daisy Garner Kicks Ass…
She read the note from Mrs. Peters, her first-grade teacher, with Trav looking over her shoulder. The shaky scrawl came right to the point:
Daisy was the kind of girl that the boys loved to chase and pull her pigtails. But unlike some little girls, who tattled and cried, Daisy fought back, stealing baseball caps and spitting in their juice as our juice helper. I knew then that this girl was going to be strong and feisty just like the woman she is today.
Rock on, Daisy.
Mrs. Bertha Peters
Daisy clapped a hand over her mouth, torn between a laugh and a cry.
“You spit in their juice?” Trav asked. “I’m glad I never crossed you back then.”
Daisy laughed. “I did. And Mrs. Peters never said a word. I thought she didn’t know.” She pulled out the next letter from Sally Phillips, the town clerk.
The same thing at the top in bold letters: Why Daisy Garner Kicks Ass. Trav must have printed out a bunch of these and went around town gathering responses. She glanced at Trav, who was reading the letter, and her eyes teared up. He chuckled as he read, so she read on to see what was so funny.
Now maybe I shouldn’t have talked to that reporter about you, Daisy. I’m afraid I got a little excited about being on TV, so I understand perfectly why you might have lied to get on TV too. I’m telling everyone who comes into Town Hall how it was all just a silly mistake; then I remind them of that time when you were ten and sat right outside this very room handing out Vote for Sally Phillips for Town Clerk buttons to everyone who came in since you had newly decided to be a democrat. I didn’t have the heart to tell you I was running unopposed because who wanted to stand in the way of all that fiery passion once you discovered your political path? Never lose that fire, Daisy. Hold it close to your heart. The world needs more people like you that act from the heart.
Sincerely,
Sally Phillips, Town Clerk
Her knees went weak, and she slowly sank to a kitchen chair. She pulled out the next letter, and the next, and the next. From everyone in town—Alan Zinkman the mailman, Gary from the health food store, her old soccer coach. Her family, his family, her friends. Everyone. And then she got to the letter from Chief Bailey.
She turned to Trav. “He says we should read it together.”
He scooted closer.
Why Daisy Garner Kicks Ass…(And Trav does too)
She smiled at Trav and kept reading.
Daisy and Trav, when I heard you two had a kid, I thought, look out, Clover Park. You both had your fair share of trouble, but you want to know something? I always saw, in both of you, the good in you. I tried to scare you straight. Trav, I think that worked for you. But, Daisy, you don’t scare so easily. You’re tough, stubborn, strong. That’s what’s gonna see you through this mess with that TV show. Maybe when you come out the other side, you’ll find yourself on a new path. The one that Trav’s been walking all this time. Daisy and Trav, you kick ass because no matter what comes down the pike, you just keep going. As for Bryce, all I can say is what goes around, comes around. But maybe you’ll remember to see the good in him
too.
Chief Glenn Bailey
“Oh gawd,” Daisy said. “I’m gonna start bawling.”
Trav looked at her with alarm. “This is supposed to make you feel better.”
She threw her arms around him. “It does. I can’t believe you did this. Why?”
He pulled back to gaze into her eyes. “I’ve been in your shoes. In fact, I’ve been beneath your shoes. I pulled some crazy shit when I was a teenager, and the people of this town helped me get it together. They believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. I wanted that for you. And I didn’t do this to take care of you. I did it because I believe in you.” He grabbed a handful of letters. “And all these people believe in you too.”
She opened her mouth and shut it. She’d turned her back on Clover Park the very first moment she could make her escape. And now her hometown, her community, was truly welcoming her back with open arms even knowing how she’d screwed up again.
And Trav—the guy she’d pushed away with every word of committed, stable future that had come out of his mouth—was, amazingly, still here. She was so glad he was. He wasn’t like Max. He’d never turn on her or abandon her. He’d shown her that in every way he could from that first night they’d been together. She’d listened to those messages he’d left on her cell after she’d skipped town. They were sweet, but she’d been too afraid to give a relationship a chance.
Trav’s first message: “Look, I never do bar hookups, but I’ve always liked you.” And the next: “Daze, this wasn’t a one-night stand for me. I want to see you again.” And his last try: “I don’t know what that night meant to you, but…anyway, call me if you want to go out sometime. Take care of yourself.”
Now her voice came out choked with tears. “I-I don’t know what to say. This is all so…”
He pulled an envelope from his back pocket and handed it to her. “Here, read mine.”
With shaking hands, she took it from him.
~ ~ ~
Trav shoved his hands in his pockets, hoping to hell that she wouldn’t judge him, that she’d understand.
Daisy Does It All (Clover Park, Book 2) Contemporary Romance (The Clover Park Series) Page 22
