Daisy's Choice (A Tale of Three Hearts)

by Mynx, Sienna

  Pete glared.

  Janette sat forward. “What do you mean by that? He hasn’t won?”

  “Forget it,” Pete grumbled.

  “I think you and I should have a talk, Pete. A minute please.”

  Janette rose from her chair. Aiden glared at Pete but said nothing. He watched them leave before returning his eyes to Nina.

  “It’s really childish, you know. Goading him the way you do. That should be beneath a man with your means and all. At least you would think so,” Nina said.

  Aiden chuckled. “Yeah, but it’s so much fun.”

  ****

  Pete paced. Janette couldn’t believe the change in him at just the mere sight of the man. She knew that the two men had a rivalry, but she’d never seen Pete this worked up. He was red as a beet, fists clenched. It was sad because out of the Doyle men, mostly known in the Hollow for their quick tempers, Pete was the most sociable. “I think you should calm down.”

  “She has my daughter calling him daddy! Calm down? He’s lucky I don’t crack his damn jaw.”

  “First, we’re here to find out who’s the father. That’s not predetermined by either of you.”

  “But—”

  “Second, this is not a competition. There’s a child’s life at stake. She’s an innocent baby that didn’t know either one of you existed past a week ago. Are you going to come into a doctor’s office and get into a shouting match in front of her?”

  “You don’t know who he is and what he’s capable of.”

  “I’m not done. Hear me out. I don’t know him. That’s true, but I know you. Known you all your life, and I don’t like the way you handled things. All the way back to Vegas up until now, you’ve been all over the place. You've been punishing people, namely my sister, for something you too took part in.”

  “I see, you heard one side. You listened to Daisy’s side and decided it’s the only truth?”

  “I got eyes. You came back to town and don’t tell us nothing. I asked you right after you came back. I begged you for information on her. What did you tell me, Pete?”

  He grunted and looked away.

  “Remember? You said she left you and you didn’t know where she went. That’s all. You made me think she ran off to God knows where.”

  “She did!”

  “Then what? You caught an attack of conscious? ‘Cause I don’t know what you told daddy, but you broke his heart.”

  “Daisy broke his heart when she whored and slept with Aiden Keane.”

  “No, Pete. That can’t break my father’s love. But it broke yours. Right? That’s what this is about? Your hurt feelings! That man in there has an obsessive attachment to her, five years later. That’s all there is. Let me ask you a question.” She folded her arms. “Why didn’t you tell my sister about Nina? Nina say you two broke up, but I see that ain’t the truth. So now I’m wondering, what is really going on?”

  “Aiden Keane brought Nina here, Janette! He hired a man to go to Hollow Creek to offer her the same money he offered Daisy.”

  “He did what?” she frowned, looking back at the door.

  “He did it to get rid of me and to keep me from my child. Now I get here, and I see the little girl I’ve been careful with, being shoved on him. Tell me. How is that right? What the hell is wrong with Daisy!”

  “I agree. Amy should not be shoved between the two of you. I’m just as mad at Daisy for this. I had no idea Mr. Keane did that to Nina or you. I—”

  “Exactly, you don’t know what you are talking about, so back the hell off.”

  “Now wait a minute, cowboy!” Janette stepped in front of him. “That’s my sister and my niece in there and I won’t back the hell off. You… you’re going to back off!”

  Pete blew out a deep breath.

  “You aren’t the only important person in this. I don’t care how badly your feelings were hurt. I don’t care what score you got to settle with Aiden Keane. Go out in the parking lot and box it out and then get the hell over it.”

  “All I’m saying, Janette, is that you don’t know what that man is capable of. He plays mind games with Daisy. She’s blind to him.”

  “Oh, please. You’re the one that’s blind. Daisy was leading you by the nose in the Hollow. That girl, I love her, but she knows exactly what she’s doing. And, Pete, I trust my sister. I trusted her when she bought you home after all the tales of you and your brothers boozing and terrorizing folks in the Hills. I even accepted you after I heard how your mother said she was never to cross her doorstep. When Daisy said you were someone she loved, it was enough for me.”

  “Yeah, but it doesn’t change what Aiden Keane is. And I’m not like him!”

  “You sure about that, Pete? I’m getting to see a pattern between you two. Are you here because you want to know Amy and see if you are her father, or are you here to settle some old score between Daisy and Aiden?”

  “I’m here because your sister killed our first child and never told me! Then she ran off with this one and never told me! She’s a liar and evidently a whore.”

  Janette stepped back, stunned. It must have been her face that stopped him. She didn’t know. She couldn’t tell if he was speaking or not. All she heard was the accusation that Daisy, her Daisy, had an abortion. “She did what?”

  “Janette. I didn’t mean to say it that way. I'm sorry.”

  “Of course you did. This makes you the victim and Daisy deserving of your hate. Right?” She waved him off before he could say more. “That’s it. I don’t want to hear anymore,” Janette seethed. She went back into the doctor’s office.

  ****

  Nina stuck her head out the door, looking to an upset Janette and then back out to her boyfriend. “Pete, they want to see you.”

  Nina came out into the hall. “What is it?”

  “He makes me crazy, Nina. I get so angry when he’s around. Fuck! Why can’t I stop it?”

  Nina stepped in front of him. “Hey, look at me. You’re a good person, but you’re human. This here is the one thing Aiden Keane can’t control. God’s in control, Pete, and trust me, he knows the better man.”

  Pete looked at her. “I didn’t mean it like it was a competition.”

  “I met her. She’s beautiful and she has your smile. You’re going to be a good father,” Nina smiled. He hugged her to him tightly.

  “Mr. Pete Doyle?” the nurse called from the open door. Pete let her go. “Yes, that’s me.”

  He and Nina went back inside. Shortly afterwards, the door opened again.

  “Mr. Keane,” the nurse said.

  Aiden rose, noting the icy look now given to him by both ladies, he followed.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “There. It didn’t hurt. Now did it?”

  Dr. Macey, seated on a small swivel stool before Amy, smiled up at her. A pair of wire framed glasses, with thick lens, rode on the tip of his nose. Amy’s bottom-lip dropped another inch. Her large liquid round eyes threatened to spill tears, but she held strong. Daisy felt a sense of pride at how tough her little girl could be. Seems like the adults around her could learn a lesson or two. She stroked her back and kissed the top of her head. “Momma’s so very proud of you.”

  Her tiny finger, with a ruby dot at its center, was held up for Daisy to inspect. The doctor dabbed it with a cotton ball. A finger prick was all they needed. A small smear and Amy’s future would forever be changed.

  “Kiss my booboo, mommy,” Amy said, showing her the finger. Daisy accepted the band-aid from the nurse; she fastened the pink and yellow princess adhesive around the pad of the tiny digit, and then planted a kiss. It brought the sunshine back in her daughter’s eyes. When the nurse gave her the lollipop to unwrap, all was forgotten. Amy grinned, inspecting her bandaged finger and licking her sucker. Daisy noticed the doctor scribbling in Amy’s folder. “How soon?”

  “We send it to the lab. Today is Friday, so we should have it back by Monday morning.”

  “Lab? I thought we could find out righ
t away,” Daisy coughed.

  “Well it takes…”

  “I need it faster than this!” Daisy’s voice cracked so shrill that even the nurse’s head turned. She covered her mouth and choked down a coughing fit. “Please. Can you put a rush on it? Please?”

  “Ms. Locke, you don’t look well. Cold? I’ll prescribe some antibiotics.”

  Daisy sniffed. “I’m fine. Please, doctor. I’ll pay extra or whatever. Just make it quick. Okay? Today. I want to know today.”

  “Yes, of course, Mrs. Locke. We’ll put a rush on it. Maybe we can have it by tomorrow afternoon. That’s the best I can do.”

  He passed her the prescription. Daisy nodded a thanks and helped Amy down. She would find Janette and leave. She needed to get the hell out of there fast.

  “Mommy, I want to show daddy my boo-boo.”

  “Hush, baby,” she said, pushing the door open. Out in the hall, she guided Amy toward the way they came. That’s when she saw Pete. He left an exam room and went into another. His hurried steps, plus the way he threw the door open, gave her pause. She knew exactly what kind of trouble that meant.

  “Excuse me.” Daisy stopped the nurse.

  “Yes?”

  “Can you take her to my sister? I need to use the bathroom. She’s in the waiting area.”

  The nurse smiled down at Amy who kept licking her sucker, unfazed by the hand-off. “C’mon, sweetie.”

  Daisy waited until she was gone to go after Pete.

  ****

  Aiden’s back was turned when the door opened. However, he knew without looking who had entered. He’d just given blood. Hand to sleeve, he rolled it downward not bothering to turn.

  “I know what you did,” Pete spoke.

  “Really? And what is it that I’ve done?”

  “What you always do. The only thing you can do.”

  Aiden looked back over his shoulder with a raised brow.

  Pete stepped forward. The rage that gripped him earlier wasn’t there. In fact, there was a confident calmness about him that Aiden found interesting. It was quite smug. “Your money. You think it can buy anything including my girlfriend.”

  “Ah.” Aiden turned and sighed. “This is about Nina.”

  “You damn right. You sent for Nina. You tried to bribe her into taking me back to Hollow Creek. Are you afraid to deal with me as a man?”

  “Pete, I’m a lot of things, but I’m not afraid of you.”

  “Oh yes you are and envious too,” Pete smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. “Here it is I thought you wanted to destroy me. But you just want to be me.”

  “That’s the Kentucky grass between your ears. Why would I care to destroy you?”

  Pete would not be budged. “Why? Because of her.”

  Aiden glared.

  “You saw her in Vegas. I don’t know when. Maybe it was when she was playing the slots or going to the bathroom. Who knows! But for some reason, you picked Daisy out, because you knew,” Pete smiled. “You knew that even with money you couldn’t buy love. You didn’t want to destroy me. You wanted to be me, with her.”

  Aiden smirked. “Is that right?”

  “She’ll never love you, not Daisy. She may have feelings for you, for your money, but she’ll see you just like Andy did and all those other hookers you got working for you,” Pete snickered. “Do you know why?”

  “Please, tell me why.”

  “Because Daisy will always remember your first time. She'll remember how it made her feel and what it cost her. Every time she looks at you, she’ll remember hers with me. The one I didn’t have to pay for.”

  Aiden’s smile faded. “This will be over real soon, little boy, and I trust you’ll be on your way.”

  “You ever go near Nina again and I’ll fucking kill you, man!”

  “I did you a favor. You were too busy playing old-times with Daisy and not telling her the truth. I just leveled the playing field. You should be thanking me. Nina seems really happy to be here.”

  “Twisted. That’s what you are. Sick bastard.”

  “Sticks and stones, Pete.”

  “You think you can play God? That your money can justify it all? Not this time. I knew it when I saw Amy. She’s mine. And you’ll know it soon too. Not even your money can change that.”

  “We’ll see. Soon.”

  Pete nodded.

  “While we wait, why don’t you do us all a favor and get over it.”

  “Over it?”

  “Daisy. She’s mine, has always been and always will be. I told you that in Vegas. Took you five years to figure it out.”

  “I don’t give a shit about you and Daisy anymore. It disgusts me that she would even go near you. Yeah, she’s sick in the head for wanting you!”

  “Well it’s good to know how you really feel, Pete.”

  Pete turned at the sound of her voice. Aiden’s eyes lifted to Daisy stepping in the room. She’d been listening outside of the door. She glared at him and then at Pete.

  “You told our daughter that this man was her father? That makes you sick! Makes you perverse!”

  “Oh go to hell! I’m sick alright. Sick of you playing the Saint. Sick of you being selective with the truth! You and these tantrums are so predictably stupid. Especially since I’m some common whore not worth your time!”

  “That’s not what I said.”

  “Save it! Why didn’t you tell me about Nina?”

  “Nina is none of your damn business. That’s why!”

  “And Aiden is none of yours! What I do with him is none of your damn business!”

  Pete smirked. “It will be if my daughter is involved. Let me tell you this. If she’s mine, he will not be around her. I promise you that. When a court learns what you did and how you ran with my kid, we'll see who becomes the real parent.”

  Daisy stepped with him to block his exit. “Don’t you ever threaten me with Amy. Do you hear me? Don’t you ever threaten me with my child. Throw your weight somewhere else, because a DNA test doesn’t make you lord and master over either our lives. You got that?”

  “It’s not a threat, Daisy.” He moved in close and looked her in the eye. “You’re out of control, and it’s evident that Amy doesn’t come first. It’s not a threat. It’s a promise, sweetheart.”

  He stormed out.

  ****

  She put her hand to her forehead. If there was ever any progress, it was all undone. She felt Aiden approaching and threw up her hand to stop him. “Don’t take another step.”

  “Let me explain.”

  “Save it! I heard. All of it. You bought her here? Paid for her to come?”

  “You had him around Amy confusing her. What was I supposed to do?”

  Daisy stared at him in disbelief. “You don’t see anything wrong with it. Do you? You can’t just throw money at your problems, Aiden. You created all this damn havoc in my life because you want what you want!” Her voice broke under the strain.

  “Havoc? I’m trying to love you.”

  “Trying? Aiden you’re killing everything that I want to believe about you. Every time I try to trust you, you go and do this.”

  “I didn’t give her any money. She came here because she wanted too, not because of no big scheme. There’s no crime here.”

  “You’re not listening! You never listen! What am I doing? This can’t work. We don’t fit.”

  “Daisy—”

  “You won’t change.”

  “I was going to tell you.” He reached for her and she swatted his hand away while backing to the door, her body now shaking with fever and anger. Daisy coughed through her reply. “When? After we made love again or before? I asked you on the beach to be honest with me. You opened up to me. No matter what any of them think, it was just you and me. Why can’t you just be honest, damn it! That was your chance, Aiden. You blew it!”

  His hand dropped away and he looked at her, totally confused. Wounded, Daisy saw the truth in his eyes. He just simply didn’t know how. And she
couldn't raise two children. She looked away, spent. My God, she had nothing left to give.

  “Why do you care? Answer that. You still want Pete? Do you? You heard him. What he thinks of you! That part of your life is over. Your life is with me.”

  “I’m not something you own, damn it!”

  “That’s not what I said.”

  “What have you done since you found me, Aiden? What? Opened your checkbook and wrote check after check to get into my life.”