A Cowgirl's Secret(12)
“I want that, too,” Daisy said. And she did. Desperately.
“Wh-when your father died, his last wish was that I find you and heal whatever broke our family apart. Please come home, honey. I know you lead a busy life. I’m proud of the woman you’ve become. But if only for a short while, could you put all of that on hold to let me in?”
What could she say? Was this when Daisy asked her mother to move to California where Henry couldn’t find them? Or, did she take a deep breath and return to Weed Gulch?
“Don’t answer right away.” Fussing with her biscuit cutter, Georgina wasn’t the strong, self-assured woman Daisy remembered. Dark circles under her eyes told of her sleepless nights. Her normally fastidious braid sported escapee hairs on the right side. “In fact, never mind. It was a silly idea. Forget I ever asked.”
“No.” Daisy snatched a pea-size bite of dough, popping it in her mouth.
“What does that mean?” While placing the biscuits on a baking sheet, Georgina’s hands trembled. “You won’t consider moving?”
Daisy shook her head and smiled faintly. “I meant your question wasn’t silly, and that yes, I will stay with you.”
“Really?” Georgina’s voice had grown raspy with emotion.
Daisy nodded, holding out her arms for another of her mom’s comforting hugs. Yes, this decision was rash and not even remotely thought out, but she was home. And she wanted to stay—at least for a little while.
“AS MUCH AS I WANT to get on with getting to know my son, do you think this sudden move is wise?” Luke knew he shouldn’t have volunteered to make the long drive to Tulsa International Sunday night, but before Daisy returned with Kolt, Luke wanted to clear the air. The last time they’d talked, he’d said some harsh things he wasn’t proud of, but the woman made him feel like a grizzly with a thorn stuck in his paw. In the dim light reflecting from the truck’s gauges, he couldn’t help but notice how exhausted Daisy looked. Apparently the trip had been tougher than she’d let on. “Shouldn’t you take at least a month or two to let the idea of returning to Weed Gulch on even a semi-permanent basis sink in?”
“Probably,” she admitted, staring out the side window at the purple hues of the sun setting on rolling hills. The outside temperature was still warm enough to make a necessity of keeping the AC blowing steadily. “That said, if I don’t do it now, I’ll need to wait till Kolt’s next school year.”
“That’s my point,” he said with a glance in her direction. “Should you be making a major life decision so fast? Is our son up for the job of meeting all new friends and getting to know his father?”
“I’m sure my therapist would say no. I, however, have fences to mend and time’s ticking.”
“You keep saying, I. Have you put any thought into how Kolt’s going to take this?”
“Of course,” she snapped. “At first, it will be hard, but surrounded by family and horses and fresh air, he’ll learn to love Weed Gulch.”
“As much as you? Need I remind you of the not-so-small fact that you couldn’t wait even long enough to tell me goodbye before you got the hell out of our one-horse town?”
“I had my reasons.”
Luke snorted.
The woman was certifiable. Though the rock in his gut told him Daisy still had secrets causing the shadows beneath her eyes, he had to admit he couldn’t wait to start hanging out with their son.
Chapter Four
“For the record,” Barb said Monday morning, “I think this is a perfectly dreadful idea.”
“Duly noted.” Regardless, Daisy continued unloading her office-desk drawers into boxes. From the Remold Building’s twenty-second floor, the city view was surreal. The furnishings were sleek chrome, glass and rich leather. Their corporate clients expected the best and didn’t mind shelling out the big bucks required to obtain it.
Standing at just over five foot ten, Barb was a big, brassy redhead who hot-rolled her hair daily into a helmet of curls. Her clothes were all custom and her jewelry bodyguard-worthy. In court, her opponents nicknamed her Barbwire for her cutting legal mind. Outside of her workday, her heart was as big as her wallet. “Not only does your leaving put me in a major bind with the Hallworth case next week, but think about what this is going to do to Kolt. Everything he’s ever known is here, in San Francisco. He’s a city kid. How’s he going to take living in the sticks of Oklahoma?”