“Why?”
“Daisy, you managed to slip into the holy of holies when it comes to fetish fantasy, and I wasn’t with you.”
She snorted. “You can’t be serious.”
“It bites, literally.” Aimee exhaled with a shrug. “Pun totally intended.”
“I don’t get it, Aims. What’s with you and this fascination with vampires?”
Aimee shrugged. “They interest me.”
“Interest you?” Daisy raised an eyebrow.
Her friend blushed to the tips of her ears. “They more than interest me. I fantasize about how they feel, what they taste like to kiss, if their cocks are as hard and cold as ice when aroused. So when you got to enter the mecca of it all, I was jealous.” She shrugged again. “I still am.”
Talk about being knocked over with a feather. Aimee was sophisticated and classy. Even her auburn pixie cut and spray of freckles couldn’t diminish her professional air.
Daisy lifted her coffee mug. “And they say the freaks come out at night.”
“What were they like?” Aimee leaned in, keeping her voice low.
“Who?”
Aimee pulled a face. “Who do you think? The vampires? The backrooms?”
“I didn’t see all that much,” Daisy replied with a shrug. “Based on the sheer size of the place, I imagine the backrooms are more like a labyrinth. There was a sexual map of sorts, a mosaic inlaid into the floor that directs you to different corridors, or at least that’s what I assume. Kind of like the frescoed sex menus on the brothel walls in ancient Pompeii. Anyway, I only glimpsed one room and that was by mistake.”
“There are no mistakes. Only lessons. So spill.”
Embarrassed heat spread across Daisy’s chest at the thought of the ménage. She glanced at her hands, avoiding Aimee’s eyes and potential questions.
“Yeah, well, I wasn’t in the mood for an education on anything other than why Jace left.” Daisy sidestepped further.
“Which you didn’t get.”
“Don’t remind me.”
“Even so, he sounds exactly the same, Daisy. Chivalrous and hot as hell. Why else would he be concerned with your reasons for being there? He must know the danger involved in fetish play. People get hurt when they don’t know what they’re getting into.” She nodded. “Yup. Definitely chivalrous and hot.”
“And undead.”
Aimee lifted a hand. “What has that got to do with anything?”
“Aims, why don’t you go home? I’m sorry I dragged you out to hell’s half acre for nothing. It’s a long drive from Houston and I’m not really up for much of anything other than crawling back into bed.”
“Oh no you don’t, Daisy Lou Cochran. You are not dismissing me that easily.”
“Don’t call me Daisy Lou. You know I hate that.”
“It’s your middle name, so deal with it. You can also deal with the subject at hand. This isn’t some random vampire we’re talking about. It’s Jace. The man you were set to marry. The father of your child. The man you loved, and if my guess is correct and it usually is when it comes to you, the man you still love.”
Daisy tapped her nails on the side of her mug. “He’s a vampire now. Enough said.”
Aimee shook her head. “You’re going to have to do better than that.”
“What mother in their right mind would let a vampire anywhere near her child? Besides, you know my family history. There is no way I can double slap my father or my pack in the face. I won’t do it.”
“Double slap? I don’t understand?”
“You know, for someone so smart, you’re pretty thick, Dr. Aimee Dunne. My father would never forgive me if I allowed the ranch to revert to the Matthews pack, even if they are technically family, and I would never forgive myself if something happened to Jenny because I let Jace back into our lives. It’s too dangerous. Vampires are selfish and unpredictable.”
“Based on what you told me, that’s not how Jace presented himself. You were in his territory, Daisy. He could have done anything he wanted or left you as prey for some other vampire. He didn’t. Sounds to me as though your views are slightly slanted.”
Daisy shook her head. “Guilt and grudges are woven into the fabric of my life. Neither the Cochrans nor the Matthews forgive easily. Even if Jace’s parents wanted to bring him home, their pack would never accept him as one of their own again. Not for them and especially not for Jenny.”
“So you’ve decided to let your family’s prejudice and an outdated taboos dictate your fate?”
Daisy inhaled and let the breath out slowly. “No, not quite.”
“Have you given your so-called cousin an answer yet?”
“Who? Seth?”
Aimee nodded.
“He hasn’t asked me to marry him, yet, but it’s coming. My father hinted at it before you and I left for New York.”
“And you’re planning to say yes?”
Daisy shrugged. “I guess. I’ll wait and see how I feel.”
Aimee laughed. “You mean you’re waiting until dear old dad knocks on your bedroom door with a wedding gown in one hand and a rifle in the other.”
Daisy snorted. “You know, I really hate how well you know me, sometimes.”
A child’s laughter caught their attention and Daisy looked out the back sliding doors to the backyard. “Looks like Dad and Jenny are home from their errands.”
Aimee covered Daisy’s hand. “She looks so much like Jace, it’s scary.”
With a sigh, Daisy smiled as she watched out the window. “I know. Do you know how hard it is to love someone who looks so much like the one person you want but can’t have?”
“No, but I can imagine.” Aimee squeezed her hand. “You’ve got it wrong, though, Dais. You can have him. You know where he is and how to find him. It’s your choice.”
Another car pulled up and Aimee made a face. “Looks like Seth is here, too. Is he joining us for dinner at Carson and Ellie’s?”
Daisy shook her head. “I wasn’t expecting him.”
Aimee gave Daisy’s a gentle shake. “I think I’ll get going after all. I assume you two have things to discuss, and I don’t want to be around for that conversation.”
“Some friend, deserting me in my hour of need.” Daisy laughed. “Can’t you stay? Seth won’t get too comfortable if you’re here. He knows you don’t like him.”
“At least he’s perceptive.” She grinned. “Drive in tomorrow, and I’ll take you out in Houston. Give you a chance to weigh your options.”
“Oh, no. The last time you treated me to a city slicker outing I ended up in a room with a vampire ménage!”
Aimee’s mouth dropped. “You little liar! You said you didn’t see much!”
“Sue me.” Daisy shrugged with a laugh.
Aimee pointed her spoon in Daily’s direction. “I’m a trained psychiatrist. I can always hypnotize you into talking, so don’t push me.”
“Ha.”
She considered her friend. “Or maybe I’ll hypnotize you into accepting you still love Jace regardless of what he’s become or what both packs say.”
“Not everyone is as free thinking as you, Aims. Or as accepting. Like I said, times may be changing everywhere else, but not out here.”
Aimee inhaled and then pushed her chair back from the table to get up. “Perhaps, but change has to start somewhere and like I said, it’s your choice.”
“What’s Daisy’s choice?” Seth asked coming in from the yard.
Aimee eyed the man. Seth Cochran was the poster child for trying too hard. A cowboy Casanova wannabe in a rented Stetson.
“Daisy has many choices, Seth. You’d do well to remember that,” she replied and then laid a hand on Daisy’s shoulder. “Promise me you’ll think about what I said. I know there’s a lot at stake, but then again, you’ll never know how much you could gain until you think outside the box.”
She pressed her cheek the side of her friend’s head. “I mean it. Call me tomorrow.”
/> Daisy blew her a kiss, but didn’t say a word. Aimee left through the sliders and she watched her hug both her dad and Jenny before driving off.
“What was that all about?” Seth asked, eyeing Aimee’s taillights.
Daisy got up from the table and walked to pour her cold coffee down the drain. “Nothing that concerns you.”
He stepped behind her and slipped his hands around her waist. “Everything that concerns you, concerns me. You should know that by now.”
She twisted out of his arms and moved to open the dishwasher to empty the clean contents, purposely avoiding Seth’s eyes as much as his hands.
“I’m glad Aimee left. It will give us a chance to talk,” he offered.
She looked up, glancing at her daughter skipping rope in the yard. “I can’t tonight, Seth. Jenny and I are going to her grandparents’ house for dinner.”
He reached out and ran a knuckle over her bare skin from her elbow to her shoulder.
“Why don’t you drop Jenny there for dinner and then let her stay the night? I’m sure they would be happy to have her and that way we can have dinner alone, maybe spend the night somewhere nice. Just the two of us.”
Dish in hand, she used it as a convenient prop to shift her arm away from his touch and open the cabinet.
“I don’t think so, Seth. Jenny was just there for the weekend while I was in New York.”
He eyed her. “So? I thought you wanted her to have a relationship with his parents.”
She straightened, taking in the sour set to his mouth. “His parents? Really, Seth. He has a name. It’s Jace. And yes, I want Jenny to know his family.”
“They’ve fed her nothing but bullshit about the man, so much so she idolizes him. A man who ran out on her mother. A father she’s never met!” he argued.
Daisy crossed her arms. “You know nothing about Jace or why he chose to leave. None of us do. Until we find out, I choose to give him the benefit of the doubt. For our daughter’s sake. Mine and Jace’s.” She stressed the words, staring him down.
“Fine, but three is a hard number to navigate, Daisy, and I’ve been juggling my place in this relationship for a year now. I deserve more.”
“Deserve?” she balked. “None of us knew anything about you until a year ago, Seth. No connection, no knowledge of family ties. Nothing. Just an ancestry.com genealogy and the right last name.
“I like you, Seth, but for the kind of commitment you’re asking, it’s going to take a lot more than that. It’s going to take time.”
He snorted. “Why are you questioning me now? After all this time? My credentials were good enough for your father. I have plans for this place and for us. Big plans. What happened in New York to make you come home like this?”
She closed the dishwasher door. “Nothing. Like I said, I need time. Besides, even if I decide to make you a permanent part of my future, this ranch and all its land aren’t part of the deal.”
Seth stormed out and got in his car. He pulled up the dirt drive with a spray of gravel making Jenny run in through the sliding doors, worry on her dirt-streaked face.
“Hey, Jenny-bean. You ready for a snack?” Daisy asked.
She nodded, her dark pigtails shining in the late afternoon sun. “Mommy, is Seth mad at us?”
“It’s nothing for you to worry about, honeybun. How about some chocolate pudding?” Daisy asked, turning for the fridge.
Jenny slid her eyes to the gravel drive. “I don’t want him to come back,”
“Jenny, that’s not very nice. Mr. Cochran has been a good friend to us.”
She sniffed. “He’s not nice. He’s mean and says bad things when you and Grandpa aren’t here.”
“What kind of bad things?” Daisy froze in front of the fridge, pudding cups in hand.
The four year old’s lip quivered. “He said I was flea-bitten and should be put down. I don’t have fleas, Mommy. I promise. Just mosquito bites.”
Daisy put the pudding cups on the counter and gathered her daughter to her arms. She picked her up, careful not to let her see the rage seething in her face.
“I know, sweetheart. Don’t listen to him. I promise he will never say anything like that to you again. Okay?”
Jenny nodded wiping her nose on the back of her hand.
“Eew! You know better than that, Miss Jenny-germ bug! Go wash your face and hands and I’ll get your snack.” She kissed the tip of her nose and put her down.
“Can I have whip cream?”
Daisy laughed. “Of course, you can.”
“Lots, okay? A whip cream mountain!” Jenny yelled running for the bathroom.
Daisy frowned. It seemed Aimee was right. She sighed, flipping a dishtowel over her shoulder, wondering if maybe her best friend was right about everything else, too.
4
“Seth just phoned,” Daisy’s father said, walking into the kitchen, wiping black axle grease from his hands. “Seems you two had words.”
“You could say that.” She turned from straightening the stovetop to look at him.
“Where’s the doodle bug?” he asked.
“Jenny’s already in bed. You missed dinner. I put a plate for you in the oven if you’re hungry.”
He stuffed his sweat-streaked work cloth into his back pocket. “I thought y’all were going to Carson and Elinor’s tonight?” He paused at the look on his daughter’s face. “You know what, don’t tell me. What I will hear is why you and Seth argued.”
Daisy leaned back against the kitchen counter, folding her arms at her chest. “Let me think. Oh, yeah, how about he’s a liar and a phony.”
“Daisy—”
“No, Dad. Jenny’s afraid of him. She broke down in tears this afternoon. She told me how mean-spirited and foul he is the minute you or I are out of earshot.”
Her father shook his head. “I can’t believe that. It doesn’t make sense.”
“So you’re saying your granddaughter is a liar?”
“No. I’m saying there’s more than one side to every story. Jenny is a sweet child, but she’s only four, and you’ve given her license to run wild. I think you owe it to Seth to let him explain. It might be a case of simple misunderstanding.”
“Dad, how is telling a four-year-old she should be put down, a misunderstanding? It took all my strength not to drive after the bastard and put him down with a load of buck shot.”
She puffed out a frustrated breath. “Thank God Jenny doesn’t know what putting something down means.”
Her father smirked, washing his hands. “Now I know where our little spitfire gets her vivid way of talking.”
“Stop, okay. Jenny may be a lot of things, but she doesn’t tell tales. Besides, there are other things as well. Did you know about his big plans for the ranch and the surrounding land?”
Her father’s head jerked up at that. “What plans?”
Daisy made a face. “See? He told me point blank he had big plans for the property, and it looks like he didn’t bother discussing it with either of us.”
She blew out a breath. “He’s a phony, Dad, and I won’t have him around Jenny. I trust him less now than when he first showed up at our door.”
Her father lifted a hand. “Now, don’t go flying off the handle like your mother, God rest her soul. Seth is out of line with Jenny, I agree, but it’s hard for a man to welcome another man’s child into his heart. Especially when her father is, well, let’s not rehash that.
“I know the Matthews pack has welcomed you with open arms and I’m grateful for that. My guess is they did so for Carson and Ellie’s sake, but the situation is what it is. If Jenny had been born a boy we wouldn’t be having this conversation and Seth would be out on his ear, but that’s not the case and you know it.”
Daisy’s lips parted but no words formed as she stared at her father. Her mind ran with disbelief and she counted her breaths not to scream.
“I’m going to ignore what you said, because I can’t believe you actually thought the words, let a
lone spoke them. From the moment Jace disappeared, I knew my happiness and wellbeing were bargaining chips when it came to the ranch, but Jenny? No, Dad. That’s where I draw the line. I won’t have it. Not now, not ever. Seth Cochran is no longer welcome in this house.”
Daisy stalked up the stairs and closed her bedroom door. Jenny was telling the truth, and her stomach roiled with the knowledge she let her own needs lead her blind, and at the expense of her daughter’s wellbeing.
Aimee would have a field day with this. With a tired sigh, she leaned against her bedroom door. Well, there was time enough for Aims to say I told you so, not that she would, but she’d definitely think it.
Daisy unbuttoned her blouse and shrugged the sleeveless cotton from her shoulders. Outside, the crickets began their nightly serenade and the first stars winked in the dark sky.
Jenny had been asleep for two hours and by now Dad was most likely settled into his chair with his plate of leftovers and the remote control. He’d be asleep in no time, which meant the house would be at peace, giving her time to think.
She finished stripping and padded naked into the bathroom, snapping on the light. A tired reflection stared back at her from the mirror. Jace said she looked good. She frowned. Not as good as he did, though.
Five years had left no trace on Jace’s face or his body. He was still tall and broad muscled, dark and as handsome as ever.
“He’s a vampire now, stupid. They don’t age,” she muttered.
She shook her head and turned on the shower. Stepping into the hot spray, she lifted her face to the welcoming stream, letting its soothing warmth soak into her muscles.
Her shoulders relaxed and she dipped her head back. The water cascaded over her face and chest, teasing her nipples. She palmed the soap and lathered her hands, skimming the whip cream bubbles over her breasts and torso.
She’d given birth four years ago, but her body still carried the gentle curves of motherhood. The soft swell of her belly and full breasts. Working the ranch left her fit, but she wasn’t the same girl Jace left at the altar. In more ways than just physical.
Daisy pictured him in the club’s backrooms. Lonely. Angry. Surprised. But one word nagged more than any other. Hungry.
The Red Veil Diaries (Volumes 1-4) Page 28
