Daisy Does It All (Clover Park, Book 2) Contemporary Romance (The Clover Park Series) (27 page)

She pulled into her parents’ driveway, only a ten-minute drive from Ry and Liz’s place, and knocked on the front door. She could’ve used her key, but she’d learned the hard way not to bust in on them without warning. The image of her parents naked on the sofa was burned into her brain. Seriously, there were four bedrooms upstairs.

Her dad answered. “Hey, sweetheart, good to see you. How’re you holding up?”

She stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “Fine.” Her standard answer nowadays. “How’re you guys?”

“Good.” He turned and called upstairs. “Heather, your daughter is here!”

“Which one?”

“Which one do you want it to be?” Daisy called.

Her mom came downstairs. “Daisy, just the one I hoped. Honey, we need to talk.”

“About what?”

“About this.” Her mom approached, lifting a lock of Daisy’s hair, pulling the sides of Ryan’s oversized sweatshirt. “This look is really not working for you.”

Daisy waved that away. “I’m heading back to my place after this. I’ll wear my own clothes again soon.”

Her mother stared. “And your hair. You’ve got to wash your hair. And brush it.”

“I will. Soon.”

Her mom put her hands on her hips. “Liz says you’re not leaving the house and you haven’t had anyone over.”

The freaking Garner police.

“I’m here, aren’t I?” Daisy huffed. “I left the house. Report back to Liz next time you talk about me.”

“You want some hot cocoa with marshmallows?” her mom asked, already heading for the kitchen.

The drink promised nostalgic comfort for all those winter days when her mom had cocoa warm and ready for them when they came in from the cold.

“Yes, please.” She followed her to the kitchen and sat in the cozy breakfast nook at the round wood table. She still always sat in her old spot, facing the window, where she had a view of the side yard, trees, and, in the warmer months, blooming azalea bushes.

Her dad stopped by. “I’m heading into town to pick up a new switchplate. Need anything?”

“We’re good, thanks,” her mom replied.

Her dad kissed her mom on the lips. Her parents’ marriage was strong. She could do with a little less PDA in front of the kids, but she was glad. It seemed like they’d always been this way. Totally in love. Working together, enjoying each other. She’d never heard them fight.

Her dad left, and then it was just Daisy and her mom.

Her mom bustled around the kitchen, preparing the cocoa. Daisy sat quietly, watching her mom work, the sight soothing her. A short while later, her mom joined her at the table with two steaming hot cups of cocoa.

Daisy took a sip. “Mom, how did you know marrying Dad was the right thing to do?”

Her mom looked surprised at the question. “Because we loved each other, of course.”

“Yes, but how did you know marriage was the right choice?” She stirred the mini marshmallows in her cocoa. “Was he, like, your soul mate? Like two halves coming together to make one whole?”

Her mom looked at her like she was an idiot.

Daisy pushed on. “Because Max says we’re soul mates. He wants to marry me.”

“Mr. Big Shot Producer,” her mom muttered. “No.”

“What do you mean no?”

“I mean, no, I don’t believe in soul mates, that is, one person just for you. I think people’s hearts are bigger than that. You can love many times over. The person that’s right for you is the person that you genuinely like and want to be with through thick and thin. And, of course, chemistry helps too.” She laughed.

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 sight. 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.”