14. Daisy #2
I don’t want to end up beholden to anyone, but there isn’t a polite way to say no to this. “Then that would be really kind of him.”
Once we’re set with coffee and five slender portions of cake each, we take a seat by the window to stay inside and make use of the air-conditioning.
“You asked how I ended up with Knox,” Maren says. “It’s a new thing, but our families have been unpleasantly tangled for years.”
“Families can be complicated,” I say, thinking of Elsie’s father.
“That they can. I guess what you could say about me and Knox is that we’ve been aware of each other. How could we not be with a family history like ours? But it took some trouble and Knox saving me just before the eye of a hurricane hit to bring us together.”
I take a bite of the first cake, a delicious carrot cake that’s moist and has great cream cheese icing. “Doesn’t it worry you? Swinging from a family on one side of the law to…well…Knox?”
Maren chews thoughtfully on a bite of red velvet. “I’m going into this with my eyes wide open. My father may have been the sheriff before he died recently, but he—”
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry,” I say. The prickle of relief itches a little. The farther I am from law enforcement, the better.
Maren shrugs. “He wasn’t a good or honest man. Our relationship was pretty close to nonexistent. I’d be a liar if I said I was sad he was dead because he tried to kill me, and he killed Knox’s younger brother.”
Everything I thought Maren was about to say is the opposite of this. I was worried outside when Vandal told me about her connection to the sheriff, but a weight lifts off my shoulders as I realize there’s no chance of him bringing me any harm.
“Anyways, I wasn’t safe with my father. He tried to kill me.
How can I be any worse off with Knox? He’d lay down his life for me.
Even ran into a burning building to get to me, once.
” She taps the credit card on the table next to her phone.
“I know I’m not alone. And maybe better than that, there’s always going to be someone willing to stand beside or even in front of me if there’s trouble.
So, I guess the truth is, I feel safer now than I did before. ”
I take a sip of coffee. “When you put it like that, I guess I understand it.”
Maren smiles softly. “So, you and Vandal?”
I nearly choke on the bite of rich chocolate cake I was enjoying. I cover my mouth with my hand so I can answer quickly. “There is no me and Vandal.”
Maren raises an eyebrow conspiratorially. “Really? Because I’m certain there was a vibe between you. And maybe it’s because I’m pregnant, but seeing him lifting that precious little girl of yours up in the clubhouse and talk to her before coming over to us was freaking cute.”
“Oh my gosh, congratulations.” I remember how heady those early months of being pregnant felt.
Maren smiles. “Thank you. It caught us by surprise but is absolutely wanted. Maybe you and Vandal could give Elsie a sibling.”
And I think back to seeing Vandal’s thick muscles flex as he wrapped my little girl in his arms. I did some research on it, to see if I could figure out why my daughter imprinted on Vandal so hard.
But there’s research that says it’s quite normal when kids find someone they finally feel safe with after a period of not feeling safe at all.
And I suppose if I were small and felt vulnerable and fragile, clinging to the biggest man in the room who knows and remembers the name of your teddy bear would make me feel safe.
“I don’t think…” I struggle with what to say next. I barely know Maren, but the more time I spend with her, the more I think my initial opinion was correct. “Vandal is…”
“Knox is worried about him… If that’s what you’re not saying.” Maren places her fork down.
I let out a breath on a whoosh. “I was trying to think of the right way to say I don’t think he’s in the right place for the two of us right now.”
Maren places her elbows on the table and rests her chin on her fists. “You know, I can totally understand why he looks like a risk on paper. But from what Knox says, Vandal was the happiest guy in the club before. Singing. Always laughing.”
“What happened to him?”
Maren smiles sadly. “I think you should ask Vandal about that.”
“That’s fair.”
Two men come and lean on the glass fronting of the bakery just behind Maren. They’re facing the street, away from us.
“And you know, it’s perfectly okay to admit in a perfect world, you’d just, you know, bone the guy because he’s hot.”
I laugh at that, almost spitting my coffee. “Maren!”
She shrugs. “Vandal’s a good-looking guy. I don’t blame you for noticing.”
I can feel my cheeks heat. “He is, isn’t he?”
The two men move. One of them moves, shoving his hand into his pocket. And then I see it.
A tattoo I haven’t seen in two years.
A tattoo I never wanted to see again.
Maren continues to talk about Vandal, but I can’t hear a word she says for the whooshing sound rushing through my ears as my pulse pounds. I drop my head and stare at my cake like it’s the most perfect thing I’ve ever seen.
My ex had one in the exact same place, and it’s the symbol that he gave up his freedom for.