Chapter 22
Daisy Darling
Can you call me when you have a minute?
I’ve never pulled up someone’s contact so damn fast in my life.
“What’s wrong?” I bark into the phone once I hear the call connect. I’m still on edge from whatever the fuck happened with Daisy’s parents the other night. She talked me off the ledge of going over to give them a piece of my mind, but still, the feeling lingers.
“Nothing!” Daisy assures me. “Okay, there is something wrong, but it’s not earth shattering. Pump the brakes, mountain man.”
“Daisy,” I say gruffly. “What’s going on?”
“I forgot there’s an early release today for Thanksgiving break, and I’m stuck on a deadline for this arrangement.
My parents are MIA, and as much as I would love to use this to throw in their faces, I’m more worried about Hunter and Chase not having a ride home from school.
I don’t want them standing out in the cold waiting. And if the school calls my parents…”
“I’ll get them.”
“What? No, that’s fine, Gus. I wanted to see if you could maybe come pick up this delivery.”
I quickly run the plan through my head.
“I’m closer to the school,” I tell Daisy.
“So?” She sounds frustrated. I get it, I would be too if everyone else’s responsibilities fell to me without even the thought of a fucking thank you.
“So it makes more sense for me to get the boys. You finish up what you’re doing, deliver the flowers, and meet us back at my house. We can hang. I’ll have dinner for us.”
“This is turning into way more than I was planning when I texted you, August.”
“So?” I throw her sassy retort back at her.
“It’s Thanksgiving eve,” Daisy informs me. As if I wasn’t aware.
“Uh-huh.” I wedge the phone between my shoulder and ear while I start packing up my tools.
“Aren’t you going out?” she asks.
“You sure have a lot of questions for a girl on a deadline, darling. No, I’m not in the mood for Thanksgiving eve, not after last year’s shitshow. I think we’re all old enough to take a break.”
The truth is, it never even crossed my mind. I don’t find myself itching to go out at all now that I have the option of spending quiet nights with Daisy.
I listen to the sounds of papers rustling and the distinct swish of a shear slicing into a plant of some kind. “They probably need a snack, and I’d like to get their homework out of the way—”
“Daisy,” I interrupt. “I can handle a couple of preteens. Say thank you, and we’ll see you later.”
I’m halfway to my truck, waving a hand in Beth’s direction when Daisy finally says, “Thank you, August. Seriously.”
“Can I add a chocolate shake?” Hunter asks from the passenger seat.
“And a small chocolate shake please,” I sigh into the drive thru receiver. “Dude, how much do you eat?” I turn my head, looking past Chase in the middle, at Hunter.
“Says the guy who just ordered three burgers…for himself,” Hunter grumbles as I thank the cashier, and we’re directed to pull forward to the first window.
Chase huffs next to me, and I know it’s his version of a laugh. I bump his shoulder with my own. “Oh, you think he’s funny, huh?” Chase shakes his head with a smile.
Neither of the twins objected when I pulled up to the middle school to pick them up. In fact, they seemed stoked I was there. Not a single question was asked aside from who got to sit shotgun, and who would be squished in the middle.
It made me feel real good to be chosen by some twelve-year-olds.
So I drove the three of us to the best fast food place near Merrymount and told the boys they could order whatever they wanted.
Hunter, much like the first time he showed up at my house, has nine hundred questions ready to fire off at me whenever there’s a beat of silence. Chase nods along while halfway engrossed in the book he has perched on his lap.
They’re polar fucking opposites, but when I park and hand out their meals, the way they identically stuff French fries in their sandwiches and dip them into barbecue sauce has me howling.
“Who came up with that?” I ask.
“Chase invented it,” Hunter mumbles while chewing. “We—well, I—call it the Stiles Stack.”
“Hey.” I put my burger down. “Don’t fucking do that.”
“Do what?” Hunter tries to sound oblivious.
“Purposely exclude Chase again, and you can walk home. Got it?”
Hunter dips his head down and nods once with no further comment.
I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to threaten a kid, and Daisy will probably have something to say about how I just handled that, but right now I don’t care.
Hunter is capable of good. I see he has it in him.
And maybe he doesn’t let up on his brother’s lack of verbal bonding because it’s hard for him and he doesn’t know how to process it. But bullying isn’t the way.
“Stiles Stack has a nice ring to it,” I say before resuming eating.
I reach over and grab two fries to add to my burger.
When I take a bite after dipping in the apparently communal sauce Chase holds up for me, I realize it tastes as good as it sounds.
“Damn, ya know what? Chase, you had a genius idea with this.”
The time it takes for Hunter to recover from the scolding is short. Some would argue too short, but I kind of really like listening to this kid talk.
“He came up with it when we were eight! Dad used to take us to get food after our football practices, and we’d always try different combos.
This one was the best. We don’t play football anymore.
And Dad doesn’t really have time to take us out to eat either.
So this is cool. I forgot to say thanks. So…thanks.”
“Anytime, guys. I mean it, too.”
We ride back to my house listening to Hunter fill the cab with different stories covering a wide range of topics.
Hunter doesn’t realize it, but each one drives home my opinion about how much their parents continue to royally fucking suck, and how these boys and their sister have always deserved a hell of a lot better.
When we pull up my driveway, I notice Sawyer loitering on my front porch. I kill the engine and hop out.
“What’s up?” I call.
“Who do you got in your truck?” Sawyer asks, squinting to peer through the windshield.
“Hunter and Chase, Daisy’s—” I stop mid-sentence.
How the hell do I talk myself out of this? What logical reason, besides the truth, do I have to offer Sawyer as to why I’m carting around Daisy’s younger brothers?
“Brothers?” Sawyer finishes.
“Yeah,” I confirm with no other option coming to me in my time of need.
Shit, I wish I had a halfway decent working brain right about now.
“Should I be worried you kidnapped them as revenge against Daisy or something?” Sawyer cocks a brow.
“For fuck’s sake.” I slide my hand down my face.
A door slams, and I hear two sets of feet walking towards us. “Do we have to sit in the truck until Daisy shows up?” Hunter asks.
“No.” I turn towards the boys, gearing up to get through this awkward encounter. “Hunter, Chase, this is Sawyer.”
“We know Sawyer Hale,” Hunter informs me with a scoff. “Hey.”
“Hey, kid. Hey, Chase.” Sawyer offers a friendly wave, and I can’t control it. The feeling hits me like a tidal wave. I’m jealous of Sawyer. I don’t really like that he has a sense of familiarity with Daisy and her family.
“Oh. Right. Well,” I huff. “We’re gonna head inside since it’s cold as shit.
And you can…” I look at Sawyer, realizing he must be here for a reason.
Forgot about that. I pull my keys out of my pocket and toss them to Hunter.
“Go watch some TV. I’ll be inside in a minute. Key with the house on it is—”
“For the house. Yeah, dude. I could’ve guessed that. See ya, Sawyer,” Hunter snickers, and he and Chase make their way up the stairs and into the house.
“Bye, guys!” Sawyer calls. He then turns to me with a scowl. “What the hell are Daisy’s little brothers doing in your care?”
I don’t really like the way Sawyer just phrased that. I don’t appreciate the insinuation that I’m not capable of taking care of anyone. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re kidding, right? Last I checked, you and Daisy couldn’t handle being in the same room together. Unless…”
I don’t offer an alternative. I made a promise, and I intend to keep it. As much as Sawyer means to me, I won’t invite him into my business with Daisy.
“Something happened. With you and Daisy,” Sawyer guesses with annoying accuracy.
“I’m helping out where I can. Let’s not dive further into it.”
Sawyer heaves a sigh, and his hands land on his hips like an exhausted dad. He’s leaning into the role a little early, but this doesn’t feel like the time to touch on that…
“I knew it. That’s why I came over here.
I wanted to have an honest, face-to-face conversation with you, but I’m guessing that’s all the answer I’ll be getting.
Listen, Gus. This…thing with Daisy. It’s not healthy.
You let her follow you around like a lost puppy when we were younger and then kicked her to the curb. ”
“I think it’s best you don’t speak on things you know nothing about.” I’m seething. He has no right, even if it is coming from a place of good intention.
Sawyer is apparently in a don’t-give-a-fuck mood today, because he keeps going.
“You fought and fought. And honestly, it was manageable. And I know Margot got it in your heads that you had to get along, but this sneaking around is bullshit. Things have gotten so tangled with the two of you that you’re babysitting now?
You know who this is going to hurt in the end when it all blows up in your faces?
Everyone. Including all of us around you. ”
“Back the hell off.” I step towards Sawyer.
He holds his hands up. “Fine. I’ll leave. I’m just saying, think about how this ends.”
I don’t bother with a response, stalking into my house. I grumble to myself about how bullshit that whole interaction was.
Sawyer and I don’t fight. But I’m not letting anyone swing in here telling me how my life is going to pan out. Especially not with Daisy.
Shit. Speaking of Daisy…
Me
All 3 of us are back at the house. Fed and happy. Hunter says there’s no homework during Thanksgiving break but I’ll let you be the judge of that.
If Sawyer’s attitude earlier didn’t put a damper on my night, the mood Daisy’s in right now would have done it.
She’s busy using Hunter and Chase as a buffer between us to avoid any sort of conversation surrounding the way she walked into this house looking like a ghost of herself. I clocked it immediately, and I can tell she’s not happy about being seen like that.
Daisy loves to hide in the comfort of the shadows. She forgets that I know it’s always the first place to look for her.
She jumps when I reach my arm across the back of the couch to rub her shoulder. I bet Daisy doesn’t even realize I noticed her staring blankly at the wall beside the TV.
“Hey,” I mouth silently to not disrupt Hunter and Chase watching the movie.
I motion with my head to her phone sitting on the arm of the couch beside her. I pick mine up and type out a quick text.
Me
What’s going on?
She rolls her eyes when she reads my text, and based on how fast it takes her to respond, I know I’m going to be annoyed.
Daisy Darling
Nothing.
I’m not buying it.
Me
Bullshit. I don’t want you leaving tonight. I’ll drive H & C home. You can ride with us, but you’re sleeping here.
Daisy Darling
Thought I always had a choice.
I exhale. “Daze, I need help in the kitchen.”
She doesn’t look in my direction. She keeps her eyes focused ahead. “No, you don’t.”
Hunter looks from his left to his right at each of us. “Are you guys fighting?”
For some reason, that triggers something in Daisy, causing her to spring up. “No! Absolutely not. We’ll be right back.” She practically sprints out of the living room, not waiting to see if I follow.
When I enter the kitchen on her heels, I continue my pursuit to get to the bottom of whatever storm cloud is hovering over her head.
“Daisy.”
“Stop!” she whisper-shouts.
I hold my hands up. “Sorry.”
Daisy grips the edge of the kitchen island, letting her head hang. “It’s okay. It’s just—I’m fine. But I’m not fine. I don’t let people see this. It’s killing me trying to put on a show out there.”
“You know how you appreciate honesty?”
The look she gives me when she turns her head confirms I’m about to play with fire.
“You’re doing a shit job of hiding whatever’s going on up there,” I say softly. I take a chance winding my fingers through her hair. Surprisingly, Daisy leans into my touch. When she closes her eyes, I revel at her beauty for a minute. Lost in a daze.
“I know,” she breathes. Those crystal clear blues shine up at me. An unspoken conversation passes between us. She’s not ready to talk, but she’s willing to let me sit with her through whatever this is. I’ll take it.
It’s at that moment that for the first time in a long time, I feel like I have Daisy Stiles.
And I don’t want to let her go.