by Anna Argent
Declan rolled his wide shoulders. “When we showed up today, she was leaving. As soon as I saw her, I knew she’d been crying. So, whatever it is you’re doing to make it happen, stop. Or I’ll make you cry.”
“This is insane—immature and insane. I’d never hurt Daisy.”
“Claim, protect and provide.”
Mark knew the saying. He’d grown up in Whisper Lake and the Grace family wove through every part of the town’s fabric. “What does the Grace family motto have to do with me and Daisy?”
“I claimed Daisy as my baby sister the day she was born. I’ve protected her ever since, and if I need to provide you with a beating to keep you from hurting her, then I will.”
Daisy had walked in just in time to hear that last part.
“Declan Grace!” she practically shouted. “What is wrong with you?”
“He made you cry. You can’t tell me he didn’t.”
Daisy went up on her tiptoes and balled up Declan’s shirt in her fist to drag him down to her height. “I’m a grown woman.”
He scoffed at that. “Hardly.”
She ignored him. “And I don’t need my big brother threatening anyone on my behalf. Whatever did or didn’t happen between me and Mark is our business. Not yours. Stop acting like Mom.”
Mark saw the instant that Declan realized the truth. His face went red and his voice took on a lethally quiet tone. He straightened slowly, giving Daisy no choice but to let him go. “You fucked her, didn’t you?”
Hearing the crude word spoken aloud to describe what had happened between them was appalling to Mark.
He cared for her. He wanted her to be happy and safe. He wanted to fall asleep with her in his arms and wake up to her smile.
“We’re just friends,” Daisy said, using the label he’d given their relationship.
Denial swept through Mark as hot and fast as a brush fire. They were more than just friends. He didn’t know exactly what to call it, but he didn’t want to fall asleep cuddling his friends.
Declan bristled. “Is that right, Mark? Are you and Daisy here just friends? Because I’ve watched you two together all day, and what I see is a man looking guilty and a woman doing optical yoga in order not to meet his gaze. Tell me I’m wrong.” He glared at Daisy.
Mark’s need to defend Daisy forced him to step between them. Anger roiled beneath his skin, and it was all he could do to keep his tone civil. “She doesn’t answer to you. Neither do I. If you want to be mad, fine. If you want to leave, fine. But as long as you’re a guest in my house, you’ll treat Daisy with the respect she deserves.”
Declan’s face shifted as his anger fell away and a wide grin spread across his mouth. “Well, son of a bitch. About damn time.”
Daisy tugged on Mark’s arm to get him to back away from her brother. “I don’t need you to defend me—either of you.”
“Yes, you do,” they both said in unison.
At least they agreed on something.
“Time for what?” asked Mark, still trying to figure out Declan’s earlier statement.
The man shook his head and pressed his lips together as if trying to keep in a juicy secret. “Nope. Nuh-uh. You’ll figure it out soon enough.”
“You don’t just get to issue statements like that and not explain yourself. About time for what?” Daisy demanded.
Mason walked through the door. “Time for bed. We’re up in six hours, so sleep fast.”
Mark lowered his voice so it wouldn’t carry to the whole group. “This conversation isn’t over.”
Declan put his arm around Daisy, grinning like a fool. “I think I’m going to put my bed in the same room with Mark, just so he doesn’t get any ideas about sneaking around in the middle of the night. Flora will bunk with you and keep you in check.”
Daisy rolled her eyes. “Oh, for heaven’s sake. I’m not sixteen. I don’t need a chaperone.”
“It’s not you I’m worried about, runt. It’s your white knight, here, all eager to defend your honor.”
She sighed. “Please. I’ve had about as much testosterone as I can stand for one day. I’m going to bed.”
Mark watched her leave, trying hard not to let his gaze drop down to the lovely sway of her ass—at least not while her brother was watching him.
Declan nudged him hard in the shoulder, but he smiled as he did it. “If you don’t get your shit together soon, you’re going to miss your last chance with her.”
“We’re just friends,” Mark said, though the words felt empty and wrong now.
“Oh, really? Then ask yourself this: How are you going to feel when your friend walks away and never comes back? How did you feel when she almost did that very thing this morning?”
That sick feeling of loss swelled in Mark’s gut all over again, and he knew he was in trouble. He couldn’t keep Daisy here forever and stop her from living her life, but he didn’t know how to let her go, either.
Daisy had forgotten how much she enjoyed hanging out with her cousin Flora. Since they’d graduated high school together, they’d each gone their separate ways—Daisy had apprenticed with one of her father’s electricians, and Flora had taken over the Dockside Diner when the previous owner retired. They’d both been so busy getting their careers off the ground that they didn’t spend as much time together as they had when they were kids.
“This is nice,” Daisy said as she spread a coat of drywall mud along a seam.
Flora wiped sweat from her forehead, leaving a white streak behind. “What? Working without all the bossy men around? I couldn’t agree more.”
“No, being with you. We should do this more often.”
“I would prefer pedicures to installing drywall, but count me in either way.”
“How is the diner business going?”
“Busy. The renovations are finally done and the place looks great—very 1950s retro. And the Coffee Council drinks enough coffee to pay the bills between tourist seasons, so I can’t complain.”
The Coffee Council was a group of old men in Whisper Lake who met every morning for coffee and talked about fishing and how to solve the world’s problems. Mostly widowers and retirees, the men had plenty of time on their hands and they started each day at the diner, sometimes staying well into the lunch hour.
“How goes the electrician thing?” Flora asked.
“Most of my jobs are still subcontracting for our dads’ construction projects, but I’m branching out a little. I’ve got a couple of builders in Superstition Creek who I’m starting to build a rep with. They still only call me in when their regular guys are booked, but it’s a start.”
Flora poked her head out of the door of the bedroom they were working in and looked both ways. When she came back, she lowered her voice. “How is Mark doing? Word around town is that he’s still a wreck over Janey’s death.”
“He’s better now than he was when I got here, but he still has a long way to go.”
“And are you planning on staying with him the whole way?”
Daisy shook her head. “I can’t. I have to get back to work. Lake season starts in a few weeks, and all of the people who need docks wired or repairs on their summer cabins done will be calling. I need the work too bad to be unavailable.”
“But you wish you could be.” Flora studied Daisy for a minute, frowning. “Holy shit! You still have a thing for him, don’t you?”
“No,” Daisy said automatically, immediately feeling bad for lying. “And if Aunt Bonnie heard you talk like that, you’d be eating soap.”
Flora grinned. “You’re not going to tell her. I know too much dirt on you. It would be mutually assured destruction.”
Daisy grinned because it was true. They’d both done things in high school their parents would have flipped over, and there was no statute of limitations on bad behavior in the Grace family.
Flora worked in silence for a second. “So, what’s the plan?”
“We finish this room, then head to the next.”
�
��No, the plan for winning Mark’s heart.”
“No plan. I thought for a second that there might be hope, but I was wrong.”
Flora’s eyebrows waggled. “Sexy hope?”
Daisy flung a blob of drywall compound at her cousin. It hit Flora square in the chest and stuck fast. “None of your business.”
“I’ll take that as a big, fat yes.” Her grin widened. “Was he any good? I’ve heard rumors, and I’ve always wondered—”
“Well stop. Keep your dirty mind off of him.”
Flora laughed. “So territorial. It appears as if someone has staked a claim.”
Claim, protect, provide. The family motto was drilled into them from birth, and while at one time it might have only applied to the men in the family, that tradition had ended with Grandad. Every Grace alive knew what their role in the universe was: Claim the people you love as your own, protect them with your life, and make sure that every one of their needs is provided for. Period. End of story.
If only it were that easy.
Daisy finished the run and ripped a strip of tape against the blade of her knife. She wasn’t planning to share her feelings with her cousin, but they’d been friends since they were born and old habits died hard.
She lowered her voice so it wouldn’t flow to where the men worked downstairs. “Mark still loves Janey. There’s no room for me in his life. The sooner I learn to accept that, the sooner I can get over him. Again.”
★★★
Mark hadn’t meant to eavesdrop. All he’d wanted to do was make sure Daisy and Flora were staying hydrated.
The icy water bottles in his hands nearly slipped free as he heard Daisy’s comment.
There’s no room for me in his life.
He came to a dead stop. Even his heartbeat froze in his chest.
Was that how Daisy felt? That there was no room for her in his life? Was it even true?
Janey’s death had ripped a part of him out, leaving him bleeding and in agony. Nothing had filled that void, but Daisy’s presence had at least made it possible to think about something other than the pain. She’d even made him smile—something he’d thought he’d never feel again.
The idea that she would leave thinking that he didn’t want her in his life made him sick. After all she’d done…how could she not realize how important she was to him?
Mark had made a mess out of their relationship by sleeping with her, and it was his responsibility to fix it.
Because, if Daisy left and never came back, he didn’t think he’d survive losing her, too.
Somehow, he would repair the damage he’d done, because if he didn’t have Daisy in his life, he knew he would never smile again.
Chapter Twelve
The rest of the weekend passed in a haze of sweat, grime and sore muscles. Daisy thanked her brothers and cousins for coming and kissed them all goodbye. They’d done an inhuman amount of work this weekend, and now Mark’s home was finally livable.
There was still plenty of work to be done—painting, refinishing wood floors, some tile and new counters for the kitchen and bathrooms—but all the systems worked, all the lights were installed, the walls were up, and most of the tasks that remained were purely cosmetic.
Declan had offered to stay until after she left, but she knew that she couldn’t walk away from Mark with things the way they were.
Unfinished. Unresolved. Unhappy.
She could feel him standing behind her on the porch as she gave her family one more wave. The sun was going down soon, and there wasn’t much time left before she had to leave too, or risk the winding, steep roads in the dark. As the last of the trucks’ tail lights disappeared behind the trees, her decision to stay behind seemed like a worse one with every passing second.
“I owe them,” Mark said. “It would have taken weeks to do what they managed in just a couple of days.”
She didn’t turn around and face him. She couldn’t yet. She needed a little more time to firm her resolve and remember reality. They were friends. Nothing more.
“You know that’s not how things work with us Graces. Not one of them will expect anything in return. You’re a friend. You needed help. They came and helped. It’s just that simple.”
“I thanked them all, but it doesn’t seem like enough,” he said.
“Invite them out to come hunt sometime. They’d love that.”
“And you? How do I repay what you’ve done for me?”
Love me.
She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth to hold back the words. “I came for Ellen. All I wanted was to convince you to go to her wedding. You don’t owe me anything.”
His hands closed over her shoulders. Her tank top left her skin bare to his touch, reminding her all too well of just how good he could make her feel.
She’d showered so she wouldn’t have to face the long drive home covered in dirt and sweat, and her wet hair left a chill down her spine. Or maybe that was an impending sense of loss—the one she knew she’d feel once she could no longer see his face or hear his voice.
Daisy hated it that she couldn’t stop loving Mark.
His deep voice curled around her like a warm breeze. “I owe you more than I can say, honey. You brought back my smile.”
She closed her eyes in an effort to remember reality, but all she could see behind her closed lids was a whole life of what could have been. Had he not been so wounded, maybe he would have loved her. If Janey had lived, maybe Daisy would have been able to move on and find a man that could belong to her and only her.
She deserved that. Needed that.
“You’re going to heal just fine, with or without me,” she said.
He pulled her back against his chest, giving her the strong, solid heat of his body. It soaked through her wet tank top and made shivers dance along her spine.
Mark mistook that for a chill and wrapped his arms around her tighter. “That’s not true. I need you, Daisy. I need you to remind me that the sun will keep rising, and that each day is another chance for happiness.”
She did all that? There was no way she had that kind of magic in her. She was just good ol’ Daisy Mae Grace, hard-working, smart and loyal to those she loved. Or as her mother referred to her, a happy force of nature who refused to stop until everyone around her was also happy.
But it hadn’t worked this time. Mark was still grieving, still haunted.
She had to clear her throat so she could speak. “All you need is more time. I’m no magic pill.”
He turned her around in his arms so she faced him. His hair was still wet, too, almost black. The strong line of his jaw and the sharp angles of his handsome face were imprinted on her forever. And when she looked at him, her heart ached knowing he could never be hers.
He tipped her chin up so she had no choice but to look into his eyes. So blue. So deep. So hurt. “You are magic. I never thought I’d get to a place where I didn’t dread the next sunrise. Since you came, I looked forward to getting up every morning, knowing that there would be good coffee and even better company to share it with. That may not seem like a big deal, but in my bleak, lonely world before you came, it was unthinkable.”
“You shouldn’t be out here alone. It’s not healthy for you. Come home. Let your family and friends love you through this rough patch in your life.”
He closed his eyes and shook his head. “I’m not ready yet. I may never be. I loved that town and always thought I’d live and die there, but I can’t be there and not think about her—the place she had her hair done, the bank where she worked…the church where we were supposed to marry.”
The church where his sister would marry in a couple of weeks.
No wonder Mark didn’t want to attend, even though it was his own sister’s wedding. How could he not watch Ellen walk down the aisle and think about how Janey would never have that chance?
Daisy gathered every bit of strength she had left in her. “I’ll make sure Ellen understands and that her big day is perfect, even thou
gh you can’t be there.”
He nodded and cupped her face in his big hands. “Thank you, Daisy. That means the world to me. So do you.”
She couldn’t take his sweetness. It reminded her too much of what could never be. “I should go now.”
His gaze held hers. His hands cradled her head like he couldn’t stand to let go. She knew it was only because he didn’t want to be alone again—that it had nothing to do with her specifically.
Still, her heart couldn’t tell the difference, and it began to pound hard in excitement.
Mark lowered his head and brushed a soft kiss against her mouth.
Every nerve ending in her body lit up like Christmas and sang. She quivered under the power his kiss had over her, unable to control the visceral reaction.
He lifted his head for a moment, searching her eyes for something. She would have given him anything he wanted, but she had no idea what it was.
She opened her mouth to ask, but before she could, he kissed her again, and this time, it wasn’t just a brush of lips on lips. It was deep, sweet, potent.
Consuming.
His tongue swept in, dancing on her startled gasp. He tasted of honey and lost chances, and she couldn’t get enough.
She went up on tiptoe to deepen the kiss, knowing that every second she walked down this path was earning her a day of heartache later.
She didn’t care. Couldn’t care. The man she loved was kissing her, holding her in his arms and giving her everything she’d ever wanted. How could she possibly refuse?
Her body shimmered in his grasp. His hands slid over her back and pulled her tight against him.
He was hard. There was no mistaking the thick ridge of his erection, and she was thrilled by the knowledge that she could excite the man of her dreams to that extent.
“Tell me to stop,” he whispered against her mouth. “Tell me to stop and I will.”
She didn’t want that. She wanted him. All of him.
