She tilted her head to the side and stared at him. “Do you really want his castoffs? Is that it? You see me and you, and you think we can, what? Be friends, be together? So what if Simon never comes back. You’d be happy being second best? Knowing that the moment he did come to town, he was where my heart truly lied.”
Some people believed she was cold by telling him exactly how this was going to go down. She wasn’t. The truth hurt, and rather than let Luke continue to believe there was even the merest hint of a chance with the two of them, she cut him down.
He deserved to find someone who could love him for him.
She would never love him.
One day, there might be a chance to fall in love with him, but again, it wouldn’t be the same. Her heart belonged to Simon, and being with anyone else just wouldn’t cut it.
“I will always go to him, always.” She turned her back on him and went into the store. It was time to take her son home to allow him to get well.
****
“You’re baking,” Anthony said.
Daisy looked up and shrugged. “You’re pointing out the obvious.”
“I heard what happened.”
“Of course you did. It if wasn’t down to a couple of prospects, I’m sure Rachel had a fun time sharing, or was it Darcy this time?”
“I heard my parents talking.”
“Right, of course, yes. You have those.” Daisy pounded the cookie dough, anger rushing through her body.
“Why are you so mad?”
“I’m trying to bake here and you’re distracting me. Don’t you have somewhere else to be?” she asked.
His brow went up.
“Of course not. That would be easier for me to be pissed at something.”
“You’re cursing out loud. I know something’s up.”
She slammed the bowl to the surface and gripped the edge of the table. The Skulls’ clubhouse had a large kitchen. For as long as she could remember, this place had been her home, her family. Every single year, the old ladies would gather together, cook up a whole lot of food to feed everyone. If some of the nomad crew stopped by, they’d be right there, enjoying it with them. Her mother though, Lacey, she didn’t cook. The one time she was allowed to cook something, she set it on fire and Whizz came to the rescue to put it out. No one was injured but Lacey had merely been allowed to taste test. She was too much of a hazard to be left alone in the kitchen.
Brushing the back of her hand across her brow, she shook her head. “I’m fine.”
“You’re lying.”
“So deal with it. People lie all the time and we have to put up with it. It’s the way of the world, remember?”
“It’s not like you to lie.”
“Well, it’s not like me to have to deal with everything I have to. I’m adapting.”
“You’re pissed off.”
She growled, glaring at him. “What do you want?”
“I want you to get it off your chest. I know it builds up inside you until you explode and when that happens. it’s not good.”
She took a deep breath. “It’s Tabs.”
“I know.”
“Then why ask?”
“You need someone to get it off your chest. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”
She picked up the wooden spoon. Baking usually helped to relax her. It wasn’t doing that. Far from it.
Pushing her hair out of her eyes, she sighed. “It has been five years, Anthony. Five years. I know something happened to make all the sticky details of Ryan’s death go away. I get it. He shouldn’t be hiding. He should be right back here with her, but still, he’s being selfish, doing what he wants to do, while we have to continue to pick up the pieces.”
“Are you pissed that he’s not dealing with her, or that we have to?” he asked.
“I don’t know and that’s what is so frustrating to me.” She dropped the spoon and stepped away from the dough. “I don’t even know if I want him to come back. He doesn’t deserve her. She’s twenty-three years old and hasn’t been on a single date. It has always been Simon and where is he now? Where was he when she went through all that crap? You and me. We’ve been the ones to keep her together. Miles as well. Us.”
“She’s ours, Daisy. You know this.”
“But what if he comes here, and she doesn’t get angry? What if she forgives him easily?”
“And you don’t want her to?”
“No.” She shook her head. “He did what he did, and how he created all this mess and then he just left, like it was no big fucking deal. Tabs has been through enough. If he truly loved her, he wouldn’t have left, and it makes me so mad because deep down, I know she’ll forgive him. They’re soul mates.” She shook her head and turned, needing some air. Opening the door, she stepped out into the night, bending over, putting her hands to her knees, and taking big gulps of air. Once, twice, three times.
Anthony followed her. He placed a hand on her back, and she kept on taking big gulps of air.
“It’s going to be okay.”
“You keep saying that, but I don’t see it. I really don’t. He has no right to her, or to Nathan. He just left.”
Anthony pulled her into his arms. “We’re going to be here for her. We always are.”
“But will she listen to us?”
“Tabitha will always make her own choices. You know this. We’re her friends. It’s our job to keep her up when she falls. It’s all we can do.”
Chapter Two
Tabitha wiped at her brow. Sweat still slid into her eyes but she wasn’t going to stop until every single weed was out of her garden path. She hated weeds; they always made her lawn untidy.
Sitting back onto her feet, she brushed the dirt off her gloves and rested her hands on her thighs, watching her son.
Nathan sat near a flower bed, digging into the soil and planting the flower bulbs she’d picked up at the florist the other day.
I can’t believe I’m actually gardening.
This was a far cry from the days of fighting and running around causing trouble. Tomorrow, she’d be taking him to the fair. He was excited about it. She hadn’t been back to see Daisy since their cross words and she wasn’t in a rush to go see how happy her best friend was.
Her back ached a little from being bent over for so long. Gardening helped her to pass the time. It gave Nathan time outside and she got a pretty decent-looking front yard out of it. She’d been blessed with an adorable kid.
“Do you want me to get you some lemonade, Mommy?” Nathan asked.
“Of course. I’d love it. Can you reach?”
“Yep, and I will only use the unbreakable glasses.”
She chuckled as he quickly brushed his hands and rushed inside. She’d be lucky if he remembered to wash his hands.
Getting stuck back in, she gave the dandelion weed she was currently fighting a nice big tug, grunting as she did.
She looked up as a large, somewhat wrinkled hand wrapped around the weed and pulled as if it was nothing more than a tiny little weed that hadn’t gotten a chance to grow.
Tiny, her father, smiled down at her as he threw it into the pile of other dandelions. “I’ve got to say, I didn’t exactly see you as the gardening type.”