Forever Love at Wildflower Lock (The Wildflower Lock #4)

Chapter 72

72

While Daisy had been grateful for Claire’s appearance and knew she needed to ring Bex later in the evening to fill her in, there was one person Daisy couldn’t cope with taking calls from, and that was her mother.

Pippa had left several messages apologising for the way she had acted on Sunday night, but so far Daisy had yet to respond to any of them. It was pride more than anything else. Daisy didn’t want to have to look her mother in the eye and tell her she was right. The relationship was over. She was too immature to make it last. It was silly, really. After all, her mother had been the one who said she should end things, but something about telling her made it all the more real, and Daisy didn’t want to deal with that.

Although the reality hit firmly at five thirty that evening when there was a sharp knock on her door.

When Daisy first moved into Wildflower Lock, any knock on the door would be a surprise. She didn’t know many people other than Yvonne and Theo. And even though Yvonne had moved into a home, meaning she no longer popped her head around the corner to say hello, there were plenty of people who did. A young family had moved into the mooring on the other side of the bridge at the beginning of the year and, as new boat owners, Daisy would regularly find herself embroiled in conversations with them about the transition to life on the canals. In fact, she was normally their first port of call when they wanted to know something. Francis on the Georgianna liked to rescue animals and Daisy had gone up in her estimations substantially since she’d adopted Johnny while Elliot, the elderly woodworker, had a permanent mooring though he used his boat as a workshop rather than to live in. Then there were Kate and Nick, who made the amazing quiches and dozens of other people Daisy now considered firm acquaintances if not friends. In terms of who would knock at the door, it could be anyone, and yet something about the knock was immediately recognisable. Daisy’s stomach twisted in knots. She checked her appearance in the mirror, only to decide it didn’t matter that much.

The second she opened the door, Johnny bounded up at her feet. She crouched down to rub behind his ears in the place she knew he loved.

‘Hey, you, are you ready to go for a walkie?’ she said. The dog moved as if to lick her face, but before he could, Daisy stood up and looked at Theo. ‘Thank you for bringing him over.’

‘Yes, well, I needed to drop this stuff off too,’ Theo gestured to the item he had placed on the stern behind him. A large suitcase. ‘There’re still a load more boxes at my place. I’ll move them all over while you’re walking him. I’ll lock up and put the key through the letterbox.’

His voice was so stoic, Daisy barely recognised it.

‘Oh, okay, yes, thank you.’ A dense weight had filled her from the chest down. ‘I hadn’t expected you to get it all sorted so soon.’

‘Like you said, there’s no point delaying things.’

Theo turned to leave, but it was like his body was directly connected to her heart. It was like he was pulling it out of her chest as he moved away from her.

‘Theo,’ Daisy called, unsure what she wanted to say, only knowing that she had to speak his name.

‘What, Daisy?’ He spun back around to face her. ‘What do you want? Do you even know? Because you know what? We were so good. I just want you to know that. Whatever it is you think you’ll find out there, there’s nothing better than what we had together. You’ll be disappointed, you know that, don’t you? You are going to end up regretting this.’

A moment later, he was marching away. The minute she closed the door, her knees buckled. As she remained there, crumpled on the ground next to Johnny, she whispered in the dog’s ear.

‘It’s best in the long run,’ she said. ‘We need to remember that, right, boy? It’s better for us all in the long run.’