A Cowgirl's Secret - By Laura Marie Altom Page 0,32
way you feel, I’ll leave. I assume you won’t mind giving Kolt a ride home?”
“Of course, I don’t mind.”
She gathered her purse and keys from the bench beside the back door. “Please, thank your parents for me. And tell Kolt I said goodbye and I love him.”
“Aw, Daisy…” Damn if she didn’t have him feeling bad.
“What?” She stood in the open door. Luke knew he should ask her to stay, but he didn’t have it in him. Being polite just wasn’t in the cards. But what was? Clearly, he couldn’t maintain this level of animosity. For Kolt’s sake, Luke would have to find middle ground. “Okay, then,” Daisy said when he couldn’t find words. “Maybe I’ll see you tonight?”
“Yeah…maybe.”
She cast him one last wounded look before leaving.
FROM THE PARTY, DAISY WENT to Reasor’s for Doritos and Reese’s Pieces and coffee ice cream. Nothing soothed an aching heart like a good movie accompanied by a junk-food buffet.
She was standing in the checkout line when a man said from behind her, “Hey, there, pretty lady. Long time no see.”
The graveled tone gave her chills. She didn’t want to turn to see Henry, but she also didn’t want him for one second thinking she was afraid.
“Like that dress on you,” he whispered as they moved ahead in line. “Makes a nice showing of those curves you used to love for me to touch.”
“Back off,” Daisy said, trying to keep her cool despite her runaway pulse, “or I’ll scream for security.”
“You won’t do that, because if you did, everyone in the store would know what a dirty little girl you are.”
Bile rose, stinging her throat. She wanted to scream, but her vocal cords had frozen. Panic seized her, flooding her limbs with concrete. Run! her every instinct screamed, but her body refused to comply.
“Ma’am? Excuse me, ma’am? Are you ready?”
The checkout clerk’s prodding jolted Daisy from her horrifying past to the present.
“S-security,” she managed. “Is there a store officer?”
The middle-aged woman cocked her head toward a uniformed guard standing alongside the ATM machine. “Yes, but what do you need him for?”
Daisy turned to point at Henry, report what he’d done, only he wasn’t there. Had she imagined the whole thing? Hand to her temple, she tried to stop the store from spinning.
“Ma’am? You all right?”
“Y-yes. Fine.” Daisy paid for her few groceries, then returned to the ranch. The entire drive, she kept one eye on the road and the other on the rearview mirror. Only when she’d locked herself safely inside the house did her pulse slow.
“Heavens, girl,” her mother said from the sofa where she was curled up with a book. “You’re as pale as a jar of marshmallow creme. Are you coming down with something?”
“Maybe,” Daisy said, setting her groceries and purse on the floor.
“Where’s Kolt?”
“He’s still at the party. I’ve got a headache and didn’t want to spoil his fun. Luke’s bringing him by later.”
Nodding, her mother asked, “How are things going with Luke?”
“Could be better. If you don’t mind, I think I’ll lie down.” She’d almost reached the stairs when she couldn’t hold back tears a second longer.
“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Rising from the couch, Georgina pulled her into a hug.
Daisy wanted to keep all of the day’s troubles to herself, but she’d tried that tactic before with less than stellar results. First, Daisy shared what had happened at her son’s party. “I felt like a pariah. Like Luke’s whole family hates me. I don’t blame them, but what am I supposed to do? How can I ever make up for what I’ve done?”
“Give it time,” her mother counseled, helping Daisy sit on the nearest step. “Right now, Luke’s family is no doubt just as shocked as we were to learn Kolt’s been around all this time. What they don’t have is the love we all feel for you. Love makes forgiving come a little more easily.”
Groaning, Daisy covered her face with her hands. “Unfortunately, Kolt’s party was the high point of my day. I stopped by the grocery store and who should step up behind me in line? Henry.”
Her mother lurched back. “He didn’t threaten you, did he?”
Daisy shook her head. “Just said awful things.”
“Like what?” With her mother’s arms securely around her, Daisy told the worst, and felt surprisingly better for sharing her pain. When Daisy finished, Georgina said, “You should tell your brothers and Luke about this.”
“Please, no. It’s too humiliating.”
“Honey,” Georgina tucked Daisy’s hair behind her ears, “you have to get it through your thick head that