Daisy (Suitors of Seattle) (3 page)

Jasmine smiled happily, knowing her sister had listened to everything she’d said trying to make her nervous.  “How about if you find out he’s killed six men and buried them on his ranch?”

Daisy glared at her sister.  “Please just be quiet for a little while, Jasmine.”  She couldn’t listen to another ‘what if.’

Jasmine shrugged.  “I’m not sure if I can!”

Mary turned to Jasmine.  “You will be silent until we reach Billings.  I don’t want to hear another word out of you.”

Jasmine sighed and picked up the book she’d borrowed from the library.  Amaryllis had told her she’d charge her triple if she lost the book, just because she was so difficult. 

The train had left Seattle at six in the evening, and they were to arrive in Billings at nine the morning of January sixth.  Daisy wasn’t certain if Eli would marry her as soon as she arrived, or if he’d wait a day or two.  She really didn’t know what to expect at all, because taking her mother and sister with her had changed everything.  She had sent him a letter explaining that her mother and sister were coming with her, but she hadn’t had time to receive a response.

Chapter Two

When they pulled into the station in Billings, Daisy was tired, having barely slept on the train, but she thought that was probably good.  Maybe how nervous she was wouldn’t show through her exhaustion.

She stepped out onto the platform and immediately started searching the crowd for Eli.  She knew he had dark hair and eyes, which meant that his coloring was similar to hers, but that was all she knew.  Was he tall and thin?  Or short and stout?  She hoped she would take one look at him and know that he was the man she'd waited her whole life for, but really?  She didn’t expect to feel anything toward him.

She stood between her mother, who had rounded a great deal with the birth of eight daughters, and her younger sister who was much lighter complected than she was. 
After a minute or two, she saw a man striding toward her purposefully.  He stopped in front of her.  “Are you Daisy Sullivan?”

Daisy nodded, her heart sticking in her throat.  “Eli?” she asked, her voice extremely nervous.

He nodded, taking her by the waist and lifting her down from the platform.  She was shocked that he’d take liberties like that as soon as he met her with her mother watching, but she said nothing.  He was a handsome man, with short dark hair and a closely trimmed beard.  She’d never spent time with a man with a beard before, and she wanted to rub his face to feel it.  His eyes were brown, as he’d said, and she felt as if she were melting when she looked up into them.

He leaned down and brushed a quick kiss across her lips, his hands still at her waist and pulling her closer to him.  She put her hands on his shoulders to steady herself as she leaned into the kiss.  She forgot all about her mother and sister standing there as she kissed the man in front of her.

Having never been kissed, she was surprised by the intense feelings that washed over her at the feel of his lips on hers.  His tongue stroked against her lips and she parted the
m slightly, giving a moan of pleasure when his tongue entered her mouth to touch hers.  She had no idea where the feelings were coming from, but she didn’t ever want this man to stop kissing her.

The sound of a throat clearing behind her brought Daisy out of the moment.  She blushed and pulled away.  She stared up at him in surprise, unable to say
anything.  She knew her mother would get onto her for her lapse later, but she was truly attracted to this man. 

Mary stepped down from the platform and
glared up at Eli.  “Please unhand my daughter until you’ve married her!”

Eli looked at Mary and then back at Daisy.  The surprise was obvious in his eyes.  “Your mother?”
  It had never occurred to him that his bride would bring her mother with her.  She was young, yes, but certainly not that young…was she?

Daisy sighed.  “Didn’t you get my letter?”

“This is the first time I’ve been to town in two weeks.”  He wished he’d come in sooner so he’d know what was happening, though.

“My mother didn’t want me traveling this far alone, so she and my younger sister, Jasmine, accompanied me.”  Daisy hated to admit that her mother had come with her, but she knew there was no way out of it.  “This is my mother, Mary Sullivan.”  She nodded toward her mother.

Eli didn’t release her, but he did look toward her mother.  “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Sullivan.”  It wasn’t, but he’d play along.  What was he supposed to do with the woman now that she was here?

Jasmine stepped down from the platform.  “I’m Jasmine.” 

Eli looked at Jasmine.  “Hello.”

Jasmine smiled sweetly and curtseyed.  “It’s nice to meet you.  Are you really a rancher?  How many cows do you have?  Do you bathe at least once a week so you don’t always smell like manure?
  What does it smell like when you brand your cattle?  I caught my hair on fire once, and the smell was horrible.  Is it like that?”

Daisy looked down at her hands.  What was wrong with Jasmine?  Why had her mother insisted on bringing her?  How could she get rid of her?

Mary glared at Jasmine.  “Hush now.”  She looked at Eli.  “Would you mind escorting us to the nearest hotel?”

Eli shrugged.  “I’d be happy to, ma’am.” 
He sent up a silent prayer of thanks that they weren’t both planning to stay with him.

He slipped his arm around Daisy’s waist, making it clear that he’d do what the others needed, but now that Daisy had arrived, he wasn’t about to let her go.  “We need our luggage, of course,” Mary insisted.

He sighed.  “I’ll go get your things, and then we’ll walk to the hotel.  I’ll have to walk back to get the wagon.  There’s not room enough for four people in my wagon unless someone wants to ride in the back.”

Daisy walked with him, leaving her mother and sister waiting.  “I’m so sorry they came with me.  I didn’t know how to stop them.”
  Her voice was low as she whispered to him, hoping her mother and sister wouldn’t hear her.

Eli looked down at her with a smile.  “I’m not angry with you.”  He found the luggage and got some help putting it into the wagon before wrapping his arm firmly around her shoulders again and walking back toward where her mother and sister waited.  “I still want to get married today.”
  He watched her face as he said the words, hoping she was in agreement.  By the way she’d responded to his kiss, he was pretty certain she was.

Daisy nodded.  “That’s what I want
, too.  Mama won’t leave until we’re married.  The sooner, the better.” 

He grinned.  “You don’t like your mother?”

She stopped walking while they were still out of earshot of her family.  “Honestly, that’s not it at all.  I love my mama.  Jasmine though…well…I have seven sisters, and she’s the last one I would have chosen to bring.  I begged Mama not to let her come, but she just wouldn’t listen to me.”  She sighed.  “Jasmine is going to be my maid of honor, whether I like it or not.”  She wrinkled her nose at him, leaving him in no doubt that she didn’t like it.

Eli laughed softly.  “We’ll get married today, and maybe they’ll leave on tomorrow’s train.”  He walked toward them.  “Let’s get you settled in the hotel, because I still plan on marrying today.”

Mary sighed.  “I was hoping you’d give us a couple of days to get to know you first.  I don’t think my daughter should marry a man we’ve all just met.”

Eli shrugged.  “The preacher is waiting for us.”  He led them to the hotel where Mary quickly secured a room for herself and Jasmine. 

“Are the two of you going to stay at the hotel tonight?” Mary asked.  Her eyes went to Eli as she asked the question.

“I have a ranch to see to.  I can’t stay in town overnight, ma’am.  Daisy and I will go to the ranch this evening.”
  His voice was kind, but he obviously wasn’t willing to listen to an argument about it.

Mary glared at him.  “Well then, maybe Jasmine and I should stay at the ranch tonight as well.”

Eli shook his head.  “I’m sorry, ma’am, but that’s not happening.  Tonight is my wedding night, and I don’t want my mother-in-law in the house with me.”  He knew Mary would consider his words rude, but at that point he didn’t care.  What man in his right mind wanted to be under the same roof with his mother-in-law when he made love to his new bride for the first time?

Mary gasped as if offended.  “Don’t be so crude!”

“I’m not being crude, ma’am.  I’m just telling it like it is.”  He leaned down and brushed a kiss across Daisy’s lips.  “I’m going to go get your luggage.  I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Daisy accompanied her mother and sister up the stairs to their rooms, a smile on her lips.  She loved how Eli was handling her mother.  She could think of no way that would be better.

Once they reached the room, Mary turned to Daisy.  “I don’t like him.”

Daisy shrugged.  “I’m sorry, Mama, but I do like him.”  She was surprised to hear the words come out of her mouth, because she’d never really stood up to her mother before.
  She wished her aunt was there to back her up like she had in Seattle, but Eli would back her up when he returned.

Mary shook her head.  “So you liked that he grabbed you and mauled you as soon as he met you?”

“She looked like she was enjoying herself,” Jasmine said.

“He didn’t maul me, Mama,” Daisy said, ignoring her younger sister as usual.  “He kissed me.  We’re going to be married soon, and he has every right to kiss me if he wants to.”

“He looked like he was trying to glue the two of you together,” Jasmine said.  “What did it feel like when he stuck his tongue in your mouth?  Did you like it?”

Mary looked at Jasmine.  “Hush now.”

Jasmine shrugged.  “Well I want to know.”

Mary turned back to Daisy.  “A man who will t
hose that kind of liberties as soon as he meets a woman isn’t respecting her enough.”

Daisy shook her head.  “He’s thinking of me as his wife already.  I like him.”
  She wasn’t willing to listen to any more criticism of him.  She was marrying Eli, and that’s all there was to it.

“I can’t talk you out of marrying him, can I?”

“No, you can’t.  I came here to marry Eli, and that’s what I’m going to do.  I like him, and I want to stay here with him.”

Mary sighed.  “Then at least wait for a day or two.  We’ll get to know him a little better, and then you can marry him.”
 

Eli stood outside the door, waiting to hear what Daisy would say.  He’d made it clear to her what he wanted, so he wanted to know what she would say to her mother.  Her voice rang out strong.  “I promised to marry him today, Mama.  I’m sorry that you don’t like it, but I’m a grown woman, and I’m marrying him.”

Eli grinned and stepped into the room.  “I have your luggage, ma’am.”

Daisy turned to him and smiled.  “My trunks are being stored at the general store.  I have clothes to change into today in my mother’s things.”

Eli nodded.  “I’ll give you an hour to get ready while I go to the store and get your trunks loaded onto my wagon.”  His eyes met Daisy’s.  “Is an hour long enough for you?”  He obviously only cared about Daisy’s opinion and not the others.

Daisy nodded at the same time as her mother said, “Not nearly!”

Eli smiled.  “I’ll be back in an hour then.”  He whistled happily as he left the room, heading straight for the mercantile.  He was thrilled with his little bride.

Back in the room, Daisy put her wedding gown on and sat at the small vanity fixing her hair, ignoring her mother’s pleas for her to change her mind.  Jasmine’s eyes were dancing with mischief as she pulled her gown over her head.  It took Mary a few minutes to realize her arguments were not being heard, and she changed herself.  “Daisy, we forgot to bring daisies for you to carry!  You can’t get married without daisies.”

Daisy shrugged.  She did like the flower she was named after, but not enough to not marry because she didn’t have them.  “It’ll be fine, Mama.  I won’t be any less married for lack of daisies.”  Daisy giggled softly.

“What’s so funny?” Mary asked.

“Just the way I said that made me think of the word lackadaisical.  And that’s how I feel about my lack of daisies.”

Jasmine rolled her eyes.  “You aren’t as witty as you think you are!”

Mary chuckled.  “I think she’s very funny.”  They all hurried around the room dressing.  Once Mary was ready, she helped Daisy with her hair.  “Why do none of my girls give me any real time to plan a wedding?”  She looked at Jasmine.  “You’re giving me a good six months to plan your wedding.  Do you hear me?”

Jasmine shrugged.  “However long it takes.”

Mary sighed.  “Three days.  You’re going to give me three days, aren’t you?”

“I’ll do my best to give you at least that long, Mama.”

“If you give me a whole six months and marry a man in Seattle, you’ll be my favorite daughter forever.”

Daisy’s face split into a grin.  She’d thought a lot about getting rid of her status as a “flower” and how much she’d miss her family, but she hadn’t yet realized that she was done with Jasmine.  She would only have to put up with her on the rare occasion now. 

Jasmine shrugged.  “I don’t need to be your favorite daughter, as long as I’m not your least favorite.  I’m sure Daisy just got herself classified as least favorite by moving to Montana, so I’m good!”

Mary sighed, pushing the last pin into Daisy’s hair.  “We really do need daisies for your hair.”

Jasmine walked to a trunk and opened it, pulling a bouquet of daisies from it.  “I went to the florist and got these right before we left yesterday.  They traveled well.”

Daisy stared at the flowers in her sister’s hands in shock.  “You got me daisies?”
  What was she up to?    There had to be an ulterior motive.

Jasmine shrugged.  “I didn’t think anyone else would remember.” 

“That was really thoughtful.  Thank you, Jasmine.”  Daisy knew her voice betrayed her surprise, but she couldn’t stop it. 

“I can be thoughtful sometimes, too!” Jasmine protested.

Mary took one of the daisies from Jasmine and carefully pressed it behind Daisy’s ear.  “And you can carry the rest.”  She beamed at Jasmine.  “That was very thoughtful.  I’m proud of you, Jasmine.”