His eyes wandered down her body. She’d always been thin, but she might be even thinner now, he thought with a frown.
She sucked in a sharp breath. “J-Jed?”
He didn’t answer her.
“Is that you?”
“You know Jed?” Ellie asked.
“Um. I used to. Long time ago.”
Ten years. Ten years since he’d heard her voice.
“Really! That’s awesome,” Ellie said cheerfully.
No. It wasn’t. He still said nothing. Everyone started to realize he wasn’t reacting with enthusiasm.
Daisy cleared her throat. He recognized the sign of her nerves. She hugged herself. Nervous and uncertain. Somewhere deep inside him, feelings unfurled. He’d pushed them deep. Locked them away. But her presence awakened them.
The need to protect. To take command. To care for.
“Jed. How are you?”
“Fine,” he snapped. Why was she here? This couldn’t be a coincidence, no matter how she was playing it.
His Grandfather’s warnings came back to him, about how all sorts of people would come out from the past, wanting something from him when they realized he’d inherited a fortune. He’d never wanted his grandfather’s money, had always wanted to go his own way. He’d thought Daisy had understood that.
Until she’d left him. With just a note telling him that she could no longer wait. That she needed to get out of that town. That she’d fallen in love with Bobby-John Jones, the biggest dick in the county. That last bit wasn’t in the note, that was just his view of BJ.
His grandfather had told him back then that he’d always thought Daisy was with him for the money, that she saw him as her ticket out of her life. Had she searched him out now because she’d heard about his inheritance?
“Good. That’s good.”
“Wow, this is awkward,” Clint commented.
“Clint,” Charlie scolded.
“Well, it is. Obvious that they more than knew each other. Look at that body language and how tense they both are. Question is, would they rather tear each other’s heads or clothes off?”
“Clint!” Both Charlie and Abby protested this time. And Jed realized this couldn’t happen with an audience. Especially not around Clint, who was the nosiest, most interfering bastard on the planet. And he had a warped social filter.
“We need to talk. Alone,” he told her.
He put his plate down on the table and gently but firmly grasped her wrist and tugged her behind him towards the tree line.
She didn’t protest as he tugged her along. Her stomach bubbled with nausea. How had this happened? How was Jed here? Was he no longer in the Navy? Was his wife here with him? She studied him as they walked. The boy she’d known had been the promise of this man. He’d been much thinner back then. His shoulders were broad, his arms thick with muscle.
Suddenly, Jed came to a stop and she crashed into his broad back. His scent surrounded her. Sandalwood and leather. Manly. Sexy. She breathed him in before forcing herself to take a step back. Her entire body felt like it had been given an electric shock. A burst of adrenaline.
Like she’d eaten too much sugar and was on a high.
He turned, and grabbed hold of her. “You all right?” he asked gruffly.
“Yes. Sorry. You stopped so suddenly, it surprised me is all.”
He let her go and took a step back. “Not like you not to pay attention to your surroundings.”
No, it wasn’t. The only time she’d ever really let down her guard was when he was around. She didn’t tell him that.
“People change, I guess.”
“Over ten years? Yeah, they do.”
Silence fell. And it wasn’t a good silence. They stood a few feet apart from each other, not saying or doing anything. In the distance, from the direction of the cookout, came the sound of laughter. The food had smelled amazing and everyone she’d met so far had been friendly.
There wasn’t a friendly vibe coming from Jed.
“So, do you live here now?” she asked him, desperate to break the silence.
“Yes.”
“Not in San Diego?” That was where he’d lived a few years ago.
“No.”
All right then. This was like trying to pull teeth with tweezers.
“You’re no longer in the Navy?”
“No.”
“Did something happen and you can now only give one-word answers?” she said with exasperation.
He leaned forward slightly. “Nope.”
Ouch. That stung.
“What about your wife?” she asked bravely.
“Don’t have one.”
She took a step back, surprised at that. What had happened?
“You were engaged.”
He stiffened and she knew that she’d made a mistake. “How’d you know that?”
Shit. What could she say that didn’t make her sound like a desperate stalker? “I guess I heard it somewhere.”
“That so?”
Yeah. He totally didn’t buy her lame answer.
“I think it would be better if I left.”
“Why are you here?” he snapped.
“I’m renting a house from Ellie. In Russell. She invited me here.”
He shook his head. “Too much of a coincidence. I don’t like coincidences. There’s gotta be a reason you’re here after all this time. Is it the money, that it?”
“W-what money?”
“Fucking bullshit,” he muttered.
She took in a breath, trying to calm her bubbling stomach. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but I should go as it’s obvious you’re upset.”
“I’m not upset. But if you came here wanting something from me, just tellin’ you, you’re not gonna get it.”
She stared at him, unsure what to say. For the first time in years, she’d done something for herself. Moving here. Starting a new life. She was sick of being the person everyone came to, relied on, tired of making all the decisions.
And it seemed she’d made the wrong decision. Again.
“I don’t want anything from you. I had no idea you lived here. Last I knew, you were living in San Diego and engaged. It’s obvious that you don’t want me here and so I’m going to leave. I. . .so. . .bye,” she said awkwardly.
Dork.
Her dignity lasted until she got to her car. She managed to hold it together until she reached the gate.
And then she lost it.
3
Daisy snuggled under the blanket and watched Ally James, librarian and super sleuth track down the bad guy. Man, she was smart. And composed. And beautiful. She had a mom who loved her, friends, a job and an awesome hobby.
She’s not real, Daisy. You’re jealous of a fictional character.
She also had a hot boyfriend. Even if he did nothing more than kiss her. Sometimes Daisy thought he should be a bit more domineering, take-charge. Jed would never allow someone he loved to get into such dangerous situations. . .and she really needed to stop thinking about Jed.
She sniffled and reached into her bowl of peanut butter M&Ms, shoving a handful in her mouth. She’d thought moving here would be a new chapter for her.
She’d never expected to see Jed again
Tears welled. Fuck. She needed to do something quick to squash them.
Reese's peanut butter cups. That’s what she needed. But they were in the kitchen and she was all comfy on the sofa. She paused Ally. She’d gotten her guy anyway.
Daisy sighed. “Stop being jealous, it’s pathetic. Maybe you’d have a boyfriend if you actually tried going out and meeting people.”
Kind of difficult to meet anyone when you were almost a total recluse. It had taken every ounce of courage she had to go to the cookout three nights ago. And she had none left. She probably wouldn’t leave the house for a month.
She shuffled into the kitchen, feeling way older than her twenty-seven years and opened a cupboard, pulling out a bag of individually wrapped Ree
se’s peanut butter cups. Yeah, she had a thing for peanut butter and chocolate. It was a match made in heaven.
Unlike her and Jed.
She groaned. “Jesus, that was cheesy.”
She decided she better grab a bag of gummy bears for good measure and poured them out into another bowl. She figured if you put it all in a bowl then it counted as real food rather than candy.
Ally would put candy in a bowl rather than eating it from the packet. Ally was class.
Not trailer trash.
The pain bit deep and she had to breathe through it.
As she walked back to the sofa, aware that she probably should have done more these past few days than sit and mope and stuff herself with sugar.
Tomorrow. Tomorrow, she’d pick herself back up and get on with her life. What did she care what Jed thought of her? He wasn’t part of her life anymore. This was Daisy time.
She was fine on her own. Just because society seemed to dictate that she should mate and procreate, didn’t mean she had to. There were plenty of single, happy people. She’d been single since she was seventeen and she was doing just fine. She looked down at her stained pajamas, the mess of candy wrappers and empty soda cans lining the coffee table.
Hmm. Maybe not fine. But she’d be okay. She always was.
She grabbed some gummy bears and scooped them into her mouth. Strawberry and orange burst on her tongue.
Delicious.
The skies opened and rain pelted the roof just as the doorbell sounded.
Shit. Who could that be? She glanced at the clock on the mantel. It was after ten. Her heart raced as she looked around for something that would serve as a weapon.
Whoever it was, she wasn’t answering the door. Nope. Not happening.
* * *
Jed pounded on the door to Ellie’s place. He wouldn’t think of it as Daisy’s, even though she was renting it from Ellie and Bear. He ground his teeth together. He’d had to get the address from Bear, but only after he’d promised Ellie that he wouldn’t be mean to Daisy.
He wasn’t going to be mean to her. He wasn’t an asshole. But he needed to make it clear that if she’d come here to get something from him, then she’d best just pack up and leave.
Rain pelted down. Well, maybe not tonight. It wouldn’t be safe driving on the roads at night in the rain. But tomorrow, she was gone.
And even though it had been ten years and he should have put all of this behind him, her turning up had rocked him. Something he did not like.
“Daisy, I know you’re in there. Let me in.”
He could see the light on inside. Unless she’d changed, Daisy was a night owl. If things had been different and she’d been his, he’d have had a fight on his hands getting her poor sleeping habits under control.
Of course, a few good spankings would have helped reinforce his rules. He breathed out deep. He needed to get rid of this rage. Anger was never a productive emotion. He was always cool and calm. Always.
Except, it seemed, when it came to her.
He knocked again. “Daisy. Open up. Now.”
If anyone needed some boundaries it was Daisy. She’d never had that from her parents. Her mom wasn’t even sure which one of her clients was her dad. He’d certainly not stuck around, and that was even if he knew he had a kid.
Her mother had mostly been drunk or high. From a young age Daisy had to look out for herself. And then once her siblings came along, she’d taken care of them as well. He wondered where Bradley and Sylvie were. They’d be what, twenty-three and twenty now? Something like that.
“Daisy!” Bang. Bang. Bang.
The door suddenly opened and he stood there, frozen with his fist in the air. She stared up at him, her gray eyes wide and frightened, her face pale, her worn pajamas stained and crinkled. Her short hair stood up in tufts as though she’d been pulling at it or running her fingers through it over and over.
She had a smudge of something in the corner of her lips and he had to fight the ridiculous urge to lean forward and lick it off.
Not here for that.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Came to talk to you. Did you check to see who it was before you opened the door?”
She frowned, staring up at him incredulously. “You were yelling loud enough to wake the whole neighborhood. I knew who it was.”
Oh. Right.
“You should still check,” he grumbled, unable to let that pass, even as he told himself it wasn’t his place to lecture her. “And why did it take you so long to answer the door?”
“Umm, maybe because you were yelling loud enough to wake the neighborhood?” she replied sarcastically. “What do you want? I’m about to go to bed.”
“No, you’re not. You never go to bed before midnight.”
“Well, maybe I’m a different person than I was before. Maybe I go to bed early these days.”
He just looked at her disbelievingly.
“Why are you here, bashing my door down in the middle of a storm?”
He sighed. “First, this is just a bit of rain, not a storm. Second, if I wanted to bash your door in, then I would have. I’m coming in.”
He stepped forward but she didn’t shift out of the way, which honestly shocked him. He wasn’t used to not getting his way. He intimidated most people. And the way she’d reacted to him the other night, leaving without barely a word of protest, he’d figured she wouldn’t give him any trouble.
“No, you’re not,” she said stubbornly.
“It’s raining out here,” he pointed out.
“I can see that.”
“You want to have this conversation with me on your doorstep, standing in the rain?”
“You’re under a porch so technically the rain isn’t getting on you. And I don’t want to have any conversation with you.”
He ground his teeth together. Patience. Patience.
“Get out of the way, Daisy.”
“No.”
“You owe me a few minutes of your time, don’t you think?” He was seconds away from picking her up and moving her.
She just stared at him then she let out a long sigh that had him longing to bend her over his knee, but finally she stepped back and flung out a hand. “Be my guest.”
“Thank you,” he replied, stomping inside.
“Figured you weren’t going to leave until you had your say and I don’t want the neighbors calling the cops.”
“Worried about me going to jail?”
“Don’t have time for the paperwork,” she replied quickly.
He shouldn’t find her amusing. Only this was the Daisy he remembered. The one with too much sass and spit for her own good, as his grandfather would say.
He took off his jacket and hung it on a hook then sitting on the bench in the foyer, removed his boots.
“Make yourself at home,” she said sarcastically. She turned away, heading into the living room. He followed then came to a stop, looking around. There was a huge, soft pale pink blanket on the sofa, which she’d obviously been cuddled up in. Big throw pillows occupied most of the couch. Fairy lights had been strung across the mantel. She’d always loved fairy lights.
“See you’ve made yourself at home.”
“This is my home,” she shot back.
He took in the mess of wrappers and bowls filled with candy and chocolate.
“Looks like Willy Wonka threw up in here.”
“That’s ridiculous,” she said snootily, but she did start picking up empty cans of pop and candy wrappers.
“How much sugar have you had today?”
“Not nearly enough for this,” she muttered. She sent him a withering look before disappearing into the kitchen. He glanced around the rest of the house. It was huge. He wondered why she’d rented such a big place. . .unless. . .
“Do you have kids?” he asked as she returned. Bear and Ellie hadn’t said anything. But it would explain the big house and the excess of candy. Although, who would let their ki
ds eat this much crap?
“No.”
“Strange.”
“What? Why?” She gave him a puzzled look.
“Just figured Bobby-John would have knocked you up. From what I hear he thought condoms were the devil’s work.”
She made a funny face. What? She didn’t like to be reminded of her time with Bobby-John?
“He marry you?”
He told himself he didn’t care about her answer, but his hands were clenched into fists. To hide the telling sign, he strode to one of the overstuffed armchairs and sat. She remained standing, just staring down at him. If she thought the higher position gave her more power, she was sadly mistaken.
“No, he didn’t, uh, marry me.” She sounded off. He could always tell when she was lying, her nose tended to twitch and her voice grew higher. This wasn’t a lie, but it was something else. It was obvious she didn’t want to talk about Bobby-John.
“There. . .there’s something you need to know about Bobby-John. He—”
“Daisy, I’m not here to talk about Bobby-John,” he interrupted, even though he’d been the one to bring up BJ.
“Then why are you here?” she whispered.
“Here to tell you that if you’re here ‘cause of the money, then you are way off base thinking I have any feelings for you left. I don’t.”
As he spoke, her face grew confused.
“You said something about money the other night, but I still have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs. He clasped his hands together, dropping them between his legs.
“You know my grandfather died eight months ago?”
A strange look crossed her face. “Yes.”
At least she was that honest.
“Sorry for your loss,” she muttered.
He nodded. “I inherited everything from him.”
She stared at him for a moment then her eyes widened. “And you. . .you really think that I’m here because I want that money?”
“Can’t think of any other reason you would be.”
“You really think that little of me?”
“Don’t have reason to think any better of you.”
Daddy’s Lost Love Page 3
