“I don’t know if I can do it, Daisy,” she said.
“Do what?”
“Be his old lady. Be what he needs me to be.” Rubbing at her temple, she groaned. “Forget it.”
“You mean leave Fort Wills indefinitely and go and live life as his old lady.”
“Yeah, that’s what I mean. You know, I’m so stupid.”
“You’re not stupid.”
“Yeah, I am. All this time, I thought our parents were just being jerks about this whole thing, and look what’s happening.”
“So you’ve had a bit of a reality check. That’s not a bad thing.”
“It is a bad thing.” She looked away. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Hey.” Daisy put a hand over Tabitha’s clenched fist. “I get that you’ve been away for some time, but don’t shut me out. That’s not fair. I don’t do it to you, so don’t do it to me.”
“Oh, yeah, what about your dad?”
“We’re not talking about that. Stop with being a bitch to me, okay? I get it. You’ve got to make this big tough decision but no one is forcing you to do that.”
“Devil, my dad!”
“They’re not telling you to make it now. They’re making you aware of the decision you’ve got to make. They are trying to help you.”
Tabitha pressed her face into her hands.
“You’re making this a lot harder than it needs to be,” Daisy said.
“Oh, that’s easy for you to say. The love of your life is like a ten-minute walk away.”
“First, I haven’t even asked Anthony out, and don’t think I’ve forgotten our little agreement there either. I haven’t. If he turns me down, bikini dancing is in your future. Second, I don’t even know if he feels that way about me. I know you keep on saying it but it doesn’t mean it’s actually true, does it?”
“Oh, please, I know what I’m talking about.”
Tabitha screamed as Daisy suddenly launched herself at her, wrapping her arms around her.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Tabitha asked.
Daisy held her even tighter. “I’m holding on to you so you stay grounded. Remember, it’s what you told me to do? If you ever feel like you can’t cope, I can just hold on to you, and then all the bad stuff is going to go away.”
Tabitha wanted to fight her. To let all of her anger and pain out, but Daisy wasn’t the person she was angry at. No, she was mad at herself for thinking this would all be an easy choice for her. It wasn’t. She was fighting everything and everyone.
Letting go, she cried and Daisy held her. Lying in the grass, she didn’t let her friend go, not wanting to.
“I love you,” Tabitha said.
“I love you too,” Daisy said. “But I’ve got to know, how much did you want to hit me?”
“A lot. A whole lot.” Tabitha laughed. “I don’t hate you though.”
“Come on, you can’t hate me. I’m awesome.”
“You really are. I’m sorry for being a bitch.”
“I’m pretty sure I’ve covered the whole bitchy season myself. I may have been mean a time or two.”
“Make it three or four,” Tabitha said.
“Rude, totally rude.” Daisy patted her arm. “It’s good to have you back. I know you’ve got to make the ‘big decision.’” She lifted her fingers up to make quotation marks. “But I’m glad you’re here.”
“I am too.”
“Is that why you’re so angry,” Daisy asked. “You figured you would want to leave home and be with Simon?”
“You got it.” Tabitha blew out a long breath. “I thought I would hate this place so much that it would just be me getting up, waving goodbye, and getting on with my life. Now, ugh, this is my home.”
Daisy chuckled. “Try to say it without looking like you’ve given yourself a death sentence.”
“I haven’t. I missed you so much.” Tabitha hugged her friend close and they got to their feet. “Come on, it’s getting way too cold out here.”
“Angel’s at the clubhouse. She’s got a lot of leftovers she’s making a pie with.”
“Are you still going without meat?”
“Yep, so is my mom. You should see my dad. He keeps trying to tempt her.” Daisy laughed.
“And if Anthony is there, you have to ask him on a date.”
“I was thinking we’d save it ’til summer,” Daisy said.
“Why summer?”
“You and a bikini. I don’t expect you to wait around for me to forget. You are dancing.” Daisy pointed a finger at her chest.
“I will dance and I’m so confident he’ll say yes, I will dance in the cold.”
“And get grounded your first couple of days back.”
Tabitha opened her arms wide and took a little bow. “I’m that confident you will be eating your words.”
“You know what, I’m just going to go ahead and do it. To hell with all of this waiting around.”
Tabitha winked at her. They headed back to the clubhouse. For some reason, she felt like someone was watching her, and she turned back to see Luke coming out of the clearing. He’d been there all this time? She didn’t let Daisy know. Turning away, she focused on going home to the clubhouse.
Linking her arms with Daisy, they walked through the town. A couple of people welcomed her back, which made her so happy. This was the life she loved. Back in Piston County, no one knew her. She’d been a stranger, and rather than love the freedom, she’d only been made aware of where she didn’t belong.
Arriving at the clubhouse, she saw Lash out front, working on his bike. Nash, his brother, was there. Much to Tabitha’s surprise, so was Anthony. He wore a short-sleeved black shirt over his jeans. His arms were folded.
“He’s right there,” Tabitha said.
“How about we do it tomorrow?” Daisy asked.
“I’m not going to wait around. Yo, Anthony, Daisy wants to talk to you.” Her friend hit her in the chest. “Ouch.”
“That serves you right.”
Anthony approached.
“I hate you right now.”
“You love me, Daisy.”
He stopped.
“Hi,” Daisy said, her voice high-pitched.
Tabitha tried to contain her laughter.
“You’re back,” he said.
“Yep, in the flesh. I am real.” She offered him a wave.
Anthony’s gaze turned back to Daisy. Her friend’s hands shook.
“So, I wanted to talk to you. Right. Of course. Er, do you like food?”
“Yes.”
“Good, I like food obviously, and when two people like food, they eat it.”
A snort came out. Pressing a hand to her lips, Tabitha quickly apologized.
“This is stupid,” Daisy said. She took a deep breath. “Would you like to go out with me?”
“Yes.”
“See,” Daisy said, looking victorious, and then she frowned. “Wait, what?”
“Yes, I’ll go out with you. Tomorrow night, I’ll take you to the diner. I know you like their garden burgers.”