A Cowgirl's Secret - By Laura Marie Altom Page 0,27

on with you?” Luke asked. “Why this sudden concern for the kids? This is Weed Gulch. Aside from a few over-eager mini-van moms speeding in a school zone, there’s not a lot of crime in this neck of the woods.”

If he only knew just what caliber of criminal Henry truly was. A tremble began deep inside, manifesting in her shivering on a dangerously warm day.

“I’m thinking it’s time to call an ambulance,” Wren said to Luke. Robin cooed on a blanket alongside her.

“No,” Daisy snapped. “I’m fine.” She shook her head. “Just shaken. Henry—he’s not who you think he is.”

“What are you talking about?” Wren asked, sitting back on her heels. “Henry’s a loveable lug. He’s offered to babysit for us a couple of times when we needed someone in a pinch.”

Hands cradling her throbbing forehead, Daisy said, “H-Henry’s not who you think he is. H-he molested me. O-over and over. E-everyone thinks he’s this wonderful man, but he’s a monster. I haven’t had the courage to tell everyone, but seeing him around the kids… Before he left, he made threats and then just now, when I saw him touching the twins, I—I knew no matter what, the truth had to be told.”

“Oh, Daisy…” Wren looked to Robin, placing a protective hand on her tummy.

Daisy felt Luke tense beneath her. Every inch of him hardening as if bracing for a fight. “It all makes sense. You were a walking statistic. The partying. Taking stupid risks. Running away from everyone you loved when you should’ve run toward us.” On his feet, he slammed his right fist into his left palm.

“We have to tell someone,” Wren said, expression dazed. “The authorities have to be called.”

“D-don’t waste your breath.” Daisy informed them of the laws that made going after Henry difficult. For a woman as private as Daisy, the stares of passersby should’ve mortified her, instead, the release of such a long-held secret was liberating.

While racking sobs escaped her, Luke knelt beside her, holding her close. “Let it out… That’s it. No one’s ever going to hurt you again.”

“Wh-when I saw him,” she said against Luke’s chest, “something in me snapped. On the outside, I’ve grown so much, but on the inside, I’m still a scared little kid. He told me if I tattled on him, everyone I loved would hate me. Or worse, he’d hurt them. He made threats so many times I ingested his poison and deeply believed it. As much as my brothers love him, I still wonder what if they think I’m lying? After all, it’s my word against his. They no doubt view me as their nutty sister who ran off for greener pastures. Meanwhile, there’s wise, kind, dependable Henry—does he still carve all those stupid wood toys?”

Lips pressed tight, Luke nodded.

“H-he once told me Christmas was the happiest time of the year for him—not for the usual reasons, but because so many little boys and girls got to sit on Uncle Henry’s lap.” She shuddered. “Now, can you see why I left? I was eighteen and wild and had been so badly abused my head wasn’t on straight. Wh-when I found out I was pregnant, my only thought was running as far as I could. A-and then, the longer I stayed away, the more impossible returning became. I knew I’d disappointed so many people—most of all, you.”

“I get it,” Luke said, smoothing her hair from her forehead. “Still don’t like it, but I understand. Why didn’t you tell someone? A teacher, Doc Haven…me?”

Back in those days, Luke had loved Daisy with cutting clarity. With her brother as his best friend, Luke had known Daisy his whole life, but the summer before their freshman year in high school, she’d stopped being a pest to become his fascination. Long blond hair, limbs kissed sun-gold, her smile made him aspire to be more than a 4-H kid who spent every spare second with his horse.

“I know,” she said barely loud enough for him to hear.

But she didn’t—know. Henry’s actions had had a ripple effect. By causing her to leave, so many more lives had been hurt. Including Luke’s. Their son’s. Luke had spent years wondering what he’d done wrong. So much lost time and energy and, most of all, hope.

As much as Luke was firmly in Daisy’s proverbial court, he also knew that, beloved as Henry was in the Weed Gulch community, folks would take sides. Up to the day she left, Daisy had had a reputation for being the