by Jessa Chase
“He’s not a convicted felon, mother.”
“Just because he never got caught, I’m sure.”
“Mother-“
“Don’t ‘mother’ me, Claire. The apple never falls far from the tree and his father was worth less than nothing. I have no doubt in my mind that if he’s back it’s not for any good reason. And living off his older brother like a leech, from what I’m told.”
“He was injured on the battlefield, for the record. He’s not a leech. He’s a friggin’ war hero, mother.”
“Claire Weaver, you do not speak to me that way! And as for that boy, he’s clearly becoming a bad influence on you just like he did in high school.”
“Mother-“
“No. I’ve said my piece. You are a grown woman and you can make your choices, but don’t think for a moment that your father and I have to condone them, or support them. Or support you.”
She disconnected the phone with a defiant click that Claire imagined came with a resounding thump of the receiver down on the table on her mother’s end of things.
Claire stood facing her windowsill for a moment, her potted seedling still in her hand. She might have been in a little bit of shock, as she was having a hard time fully processing everything her mother had just said.
She was aware Daniel was in town, which was perfectly clear. And, as she had when Claire was in high school, she disapproved of any interaction between the two of them. Crystal clear.
She’d threatened to end Claire’s financial assistance, which had surprised her but probably shouldn’t have. After all, hadn’t that been the threat seven years before, when she’d threatened that Daniel would be the end of her bright ballet career?
Claire was way past caring. She was an adult now, and she was done cowering to her mother’s demands. She was done letting the older woman dictate how her life was run. The only power her parents had over her anymore was that they paid her bills and kept her studio running.
The studio was getting closer every month to being profitable, and she’d gladly take on a part-time position somewhere else in town to keep her bills paid if need be.
Claire suddenly felt a surprising sense of confidence in herself; it felt like a balloon of pride swelling up inside of her. Not only did she feel capable of handling her finances without her parents’ help, at that moment she was actually quite excited and enthusiastic to do so.
She almost hoped her mother made good on her threat and cut off financial ties. After all, she’d never really know what she was made of until she was tested, right?
DANIEL
The sun was shining high in the sky by the time Daniel made his way to downtown Madelia. He laughed at how unfitting the name was. Downtown really brought to mind thoughts of a bustling city, with people and businesses thriving. Madelia had hardly any of either.
And yet, he was still in a good mood. It was hard not to be after spending the night in Puyallup with Claire. For the first time since returning back to his childhood home, he really felt like his life was heading down the right track.
He was headed for the hardware store, to pick up the last handful of screws needed to shore up the front of the float where it would be connected to Logan’s truck. As he walked past the florist however, he decided that one last minute detour couldn’t hurt.
The bell above the shop jangled as he entered, and Felix Aldridge was manning the counter. The old man grinned a toothless grin up at Daniel.
“Hey there!” He said with a little wave. “What can I help you find today?”
“Just looking, Mr. Aldridge. I’m not really sure what I’m looking for, to be honest.” Daniel brushed his fingers along the array of Baby’s Breath, his eyes catching on a pretty spray of tulips. “How much are these?”
“It’s $15 for a dozen, a dollar more if you want ‘em all the same color.”
Daniel considered the flowers for another moment, realizing with a growing panic that he had no idea what kind of flowers Claire liked. But tulips were an easy one, right? Every girl liked tulips, he was sure of it.
While he was deep in thought, Mr. Aldridge made his way from the counter over to Daniel.
“What kind of girl are we buying for today? Is she sunshiny like daisies, or a traditional romantic like a red rose? Is she loving like a tulip or playful like a hyacinth?”
“She’s...” Daniel stopped, his mind racing for a description that fit her. “She’s smart, and beautiful. And spunky. And..amazing.”
Mr. Aldridge grinned. “Sounds pretty special. Let me show you what I have in the back. I think with a little creativity we can put something together that will be perfect.”
Daniel walked out of the florist’s shop with a colorful bouquet, a raucous blend of daisies, daffodils, big dinner plate sized peonies and teeny tiny orange poppies. It was bright and sunny and exactly everything that made Claire the woman she was.
He was back on his route to the hardware store when two older women stood in the middle of the sidewalk and refused to budge. They both wore coats too heavy for the seasonable weather, their necks wrapped in fur stoles that looked old and quite real.
“Excuse me,” Daniel murmured politely. With one of his hands occupied with the flowers, he really didn’t want to risk taking his wheeled knee walker down into the unevenness of where the sidewalk met the street.
“You are certainly not excused,” the taller of the two women snarled. “Daniel McAllister.”
Daniel ground his teeth and fought the instinct to fire back something equally rude. It wasn’t the first time he’d encountered someone in Madelia who believed themselves to be of a higher station than him. It probably wouldn’t be the last, either.
As a teenager he loved nothing more than to bathe the offenders in sarcasm, but as an adult he thought better of it. Best to kill them with kindness, he thought ruefully.
“I apologize, ladies, but it’s been a long time since I’ve been home. I don’t seem to recall either of your names.”
The second woman, a short fat busybody-looking old bat, snuffled her distaste in his very existence. “Learning a few niceties won’t make you any better than you were when you were a kid. You’re nothing but a trashy child from a trashy family. That’s all you are, and all you’ll ever be.”
God help him, but all he wanted to do was belt the two old women until they took back their words. Contrary to what they thought of him, however, he actually believed it was wrong to hit a woman. No matter how much they might deserve it, or how good it might feel in the moment.
“I’m not really sure what you’re after but I do need to be getting by,” Daniel said, his every word a struggle to maintain civility.
“I don’t care what you need, young man. You’ll stand there and listen to us and pretend to be something better than you are.”
“Claire’s mother is worried sick about her after hearing you were back in town,” the shorter woman said. “You’re going to give her a heart attack if you keep this up.”
“Just imagine the heartbreak you’ll put Claire through then,” the taller woman said. “And imagine how quickly her parents will pull funding for her little dance studio after they hear from us later today.”
She gestured to the bundle of flowers in his hands. “Know your place, boy, and stick to it. Leave Claire alone, or you’ll be responsible for whatever bad befalls her.”
As if on cue, the two women parted enough to let Daniel through. He bit his tongue long enough to get past the old biddies, finally able to let out his long pent in breath when he was clear.
Part of him wanted to forget about them and their harsh words, but his childhood insecurities had a long memory and even if they were subtler in his adulthood, they were in no way completely gone. He couldn’t stand it if he caused Claire any difficulties with her family.
He knew she struggled to keep the studio afloat and relied heavily on her parents’ financial assistance to stay open. The thought of her losing her studio because of him made his th
roat constrict painfully.
He knew what he had to do, even if the thought of it made him sick. He tossed the bouquet of flowers in a nearby trashcan, his stomach roiling in protest as he headed home.
CLAIRE
“Hey there,” Claire said with a sly smile as she entered the barn. “I missed you yesterday. I’m ready to finish this float today.”
Daniel didn’t move from his position by the float. He visibly stilled, and something about the way he was holding himself made Claire second guess herself instantly. She moved toward him regardless.
“Are you okay?”
Daniel finally moved, though he didn’t make eye contact with her as he adjusted himself and lifted another decoration onto the float.
“I’m fine.”
Claire bit her lip. His voice was flat and so completely unlike him that she began to question herself. Had she done something to irritate him? She thought back to her conversation with her mother, wondered for a moment if she’d decided to interfere more directly in Claire’s affairs.
“I can help with that,” she said cautiously. “Let me just-”
“I think you should just go.” Daniel’s voice was quiet but his words were unmistakable.
“I don’t understand, Daniel. Is this about the float, or did I do something?”
“You didn’t do anything. It’s just, it’s just over. You and me. Puyallup. It was a mistake and I’m sorry but it never should have happened. I’m not any good for you and I’m sick of trying to pretend that I am. You should just go and forget about any of it.”
Claire’s confusion turned to anger. It seemed more and more likely that her mother had done something, which should have allowed her to keep her temper in check with Daniel. It wasn’t his fault that the woman was an insufferable nosy old woman. But it irritated her more than a little than he appeared to be possibly bowing to her demands and allowing her to come between the two of them. Again.
“I don’t know what’s really going on here, but you aren’t acting like yourself. I know you can be a stubborn jackass sometimes, but right now you’re just being a plain jackass. I think I know why, and if this has anything to do with my mother, you have to tell me. You have to.”
Claire was fighting back tears and her newly blooming anger was helping her win the fight.
Daniel looked defeated, like he had no fight left in him. He dropped the cloth he had in his hands and moved to turn away from her.
“Just go,” he said, his voice a pleading whisper. “Please. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
Claire bit off a retort before it made it past her lips. She couldn’t berate him into changing his mind. Whatever decision he appeared to have made, it was his to make.
Even if it was the dumbest thing he could do.
Even if it was tearing her heart in two.
Without another word, Claire left the barn, swallowing her tears until she’d made it back to her car and slammed her door. Her vision was blurry as she drove away, and she swore to herself that it was the last damn time she would cry over a McAllister.
Chapter 10
DANIEL
“I feel like a complete jackass.” Daniel said with frustration as he tapped a beat against Logan’s dashboard. “That’s what she called me, actually, and it’s completely and totally accurate.”
“I don’t doubt it one bit,” Logan quipped back as he steered his truck down the freeway exit toward downtown Seattle. “What I don’t get is why you felt the need to act like a jackass to the one woman who deserves it the least from you.”
Daniel groaned. “I know. Trust me, I know. I’ve had this entire conversation in my head already, so I don’t really need it from you too.”
“Tough shit, little brother, because you’re going to sit there and listen anyway. What possessed you to say those things to her when you’ve spent most of the last decade regretting the first time you lost her?”
“Her parents are keeping her studio going right now,” he said quietly. “They’re paying for a lot of things, actually.”
“And?”
“And it was recently pointed out to me how much they would disapprove of her spending time with me again. That they might, well, that they might take their piggy bank and go home.”
“Sounds noble. And stupid. You’re rarely stupid, so do you really think they’d do that?”
“I do. They were hell on her the last time, and back then she didn’t have a business she loved that she could lose. She didn’t have an expansion she cared about, or dreams of going back to school that she’d see dashed. I just couldn’t be the reason she lost all that. I went about it in a stupid way, but that doesn’t mean I was wrong to do it.”
“No, you were wrong to do it because it was the wrong thing to do. If her parents are petty enough to take away something she loves because she loves you, I have no doubt in my mind that she’ll find some other way to make it work. She’s a smart girl, she’s resourceful and quick on her feet.”
Daniel nodded, every word making him feel worse than he did before.
“You need to have a little faith in her. A little faith in both of you.”
Daniel smiled then. “When did you get to be so smart about love, big brother?
“About the time that Kate hit her head and agreed to fall in love with my stubborn hide. You learn a lot along the way, trust me. You don’t have to be perfect at it all right away; Claire’s one of the most understanding women I’ve ever met. Just try not to screw things up too often, and buy her flowers as often as possible.”
*
Daniel didn’t end up sitting very long in the waiting room of the vet center before Doug the prosthetic specialist pulled him back to his office.
“Welcome back, Daniel,” he said with an enthusiastic smile that made the freckles across his nose dance back and forth. “I think you’re going to be pleasantly surprised by what I have for you today.”
They walked through the big double doors into the back area, where Doug had a table set up with the tools of his trade. He spotted the prosthetic and felt his heart skip a beat.
“Today’s the big day huh,” Daniel said with more than a little apprehension.
“Well, today’s the first of a couple of big days,” Doug countered. “This prosthetic is only temporary. You’ll have a few of these before we’re done; while your leg continues to heal it will change shape, shrink a little even. But this is your first big step, so I hope you’re excited.”
“Excited. Nauseous. Same thing, right?” Daniel said with a shaky laugh.
Doug adopted a serious face and a tone to go with it. “Don’t worry. We have all the time in the world today to get this right. No rush.”
Doug sat in a chair and motioned for Daniel to sit in the one facing him. Daniel was surprised by how easily he was able to unstrap from the knee walker and sit. It was almost becoming second nature, he thought to himself with pride. He could only hope he’d be able to say the same thing when it came to the prosthetic.
“Okay, so like I said this one is temporary. As your suture line continues to heal and the swelling continues to reduce, you’ll come back for a new fitting. Swing yourself up here and let me take a look.”
Daniel bit off his characteristically sarcastic retort. Truth be told, he was always a little nervous in the vet center, primarily because whenever he was here he was doing and trying new and terrifying things like walking and sharing his feelings.
He’d come back a few times since first meeting his counselor, had taken meetings with physicians, and Doug as well. It was all scary, it was all life changing, and even though it terrified him, it was also exciting. And he knew if he was going to do something about the Claire situation, he’d want to be doing it on two feet.
Doug ran his fingers along Daniel’s amputation site, tugging loose the elastic bandage he had wrapped around the stump. “Good technique here, Daniel. I was going to suggest a ‘shrinker sock’ if you were still struggling with the banda
ges.”
“My sister-in-law is a doctor, so I’ve been pretty lucky with that.”
“Still staying with your brother and his wife at their place?”
“Yep. Not forever,” Daniel said quickly. “But they don’t mind me there so much, and it’s been...nice.”
Doug grinned. “I’m glad to hear it. Support is going to be a really important factor in your success. The kind of support your family gives you, and the kind your awesome new prosthetic gives you.”
“Amputation jokes. Nice.”
“It’s literally my job. Comes with the territory. Your suture line looks really good.”
The skin along his stump was still incredibly sensitive when unwrapped, but it was a lot more tolerable than it had been at the last appointment with Doug. Regardless, Daniel found it hard to speak for a moment.
“Here, put this on first,” Doug said as he handed Daniel a dark blue padded liner. “This will envelope your stump and make the socket fit better. It also makes it more comfortable.”
As Daniel tugged the liner onto his stump, Doug moved his rolling chair over to the table and grabbed the prosthetic.
“So the socket we went with for you is called a Patellar-Tendon-Bearing socket, but all you need to remember is PTB. Considering the activity level you were shooting for last time we talked, I think you’re really going to like it.”
He lined up the socket with Daniel’s stump. It was made with a clear sturdy-looking plastic, and ended with what looked like an aluminum tube that then in turn ended in a bare mannequin foot with a rotating ankle joint.
“So this is the bit that was created with lasers from the fitting we did last time.”
“Oh, I remember that,” Daniel said with a laugh. He hadn’t had such an invasive measuring of his body since he was 18 years old and had his first set of uniforms fitted to him.
“It’s all very ‘space-agey’ and cool, made to fit you down to an error rate of one millimeter. Trust me on that. The result is a socket that fits you like a glove and even takes into account your own unique pressure points.” Doug reached for a tight black elastic sleeve and wound it up his new leg, until it was positioned so that it covered both his knee and the upper end of the socket.