Blue Skies Over Wildflower Lock (The Wildflower Lock)

Chapter 84

Given how abruptly Daisy had fallen asleep, she hadn’t had the foresight to set an alarm to get some early-morning coffee shop trade in. And so, rather than waking up to the shrill tone of a phone, or even Johnny barking to go out, she was woken by a hammering on the door.

‘Hold on!’ Daisy hollered, still rubbing her eyes as she moved through the boat. Johnny was sitting by the door, his tail wagging profusely.

‘I take it that means it’s someone nice,’ Daisy said as she stroked his head. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll take you for a walk. Just let me see to this, and then we’ll go out.’

As well as forgetting to set an alarm, Daisy had also forgotten what her mother had said about returning early in the morning. And yet there she was, heavily laden with cups and bags. Daisy’s eyes scanned her mother, taking in everything from the takeaway cups and paper bag in her hand to a large duffle bag over her shoulder.

‘Mum? You know I have a coffee shop, don’t you?’ Daisy said as she looked at the drinks.

‘I do. Just like I know you need a day away from work. It’s not good living at your job like this. It doesn’t give you a chance to switch off properly, and I think that’s what you need to do. Now, why don’t you take your mocha, go get dressed and I’ll take Johnny here for a quick walk.’

It was ridiculous, her mother telling her what she should do, like she was a teenager, living at home again. But it was also amazing how relieved she felt to have her mother ordering her about in such a manner. She needed someone to take control of things. To stop her from having to think about every last detail of what had happened over the last few days.

After getting dressed, Daisy took a large gulp of the drink. It wasn’t as good as she could have made, but she hadn’t had to make it, and that was something. Her mother was still out walking Johnny, and Daisy took a moment to look at the other things her mother had brought, namely the big bag of pastries. Since moving to Wildflower Lock, one of the few things Daisy missed was the bakery she used to live above that would leave leftover pastries on her door at the end of the day. After a brief look at the selection inside, she decided on a pain aux raisins.

When her mother returned, Daisy was still chewing the first mouthful.

‘Well, you look better,’ she said.

‘Thank you for taking him out, Mum. Was he okay?’

‘Okay? He was fabulous. He’s a very good boy. We passed a couple of other dogs who weren’t on their leads and he didn’t bat an eyelid. I can’t believe you haven’t found his owner.’

‘I know,’ Daisy said. ‘I don’t suppose you want to take him, do you?’

As she said the words, a hint of hope flickered within her, but deep down she knew what her mother’s answer would be. There was no way she could manage a dog with the hours she worked. It wouldn’t be fair. All the late evenings and time spent in an empty house weren’t what he needed. And it wasn’t like her mum could take him to work with her.

‘I wish I could,’ her mother said. ‘He’s lovely.’

‘He really is.’

A silence swirled around them and Daisy wasn’t entirely sure what had caused it. She didn’t think she’d said anything that could have upset her mother. Did Pippa have a dog on the September Rose when she lived here before? She hadn’t seen one in any of the photographs, but that didn’t mean much.

Feeling the need to break the silence, Daisy pointed to the large duffle bag that her mother had placed on the ground when she’d come in.

‘What’s the bag for?’ she asked. ‘Are you going to stay with Nicholas after this?’

It was the only explanation Daisy could think of, though it didn’t really make any sense. If that was the case, her mother could have just left the bag in the car.

‘Actually, there’s something in there for you.’

‘For me?’

Pippa nodded again, but she didn’t say any more. Neither did she move towards the bag. There was a bizarre tension building around her. Almost as if she was nervous.

‘I don’t know why I didn’t give these to you before,’ she said eventually. ‘Well, I guess it was because I didn’t know why I even kept them.’

Daisy stayed silent. She could feel there was plenty more her mother needed to say, and the last thing she wanted was to make her feel any more uncomfortable than she already did.

‘I didn’t take any of them with me when I left, obviously.’ Her mother’s eyes were on the bag, rather than on Daisy. ‘I didn’t take anything. But when Johnny died – your father Johnny, that is – Fred, your grandfather, came and brought me these. I won’t lie, I thought about burning them. I really did. But by that time, you were already so in love with your art, and it seemed wrong to keep this from you forever. I kept telling myself, maybe when you finished your A levels, I’d give them to you, then when you got into college. But then I knew it would raise a whole host of questions I didn’t want to answer.’

Daisy was only half listening to her mother now. Instead, she was staring at the duffle bag, wondering what on earth could be inside that was making her act in such a way. Soon, it became too much.

‘Mum, what is it? What’s in the bag?’

Finally, her mother reached up, picked it off the ground, and handed it to Daisy.

‘Why don’t you have a look yourself?’