Dreaming of Daisy (A Red Maple Falls Novel, #6)

by Theresa Paolo

  Daisy came to a stop and Nick finally looked away from her hair and toward the number on the door. They had made it to Betty’s room. He was about to ask her if she was ready to go in when she turned into a blur of blonde curls and took off in the opposite direction.

  He ran after her, until she finally stopped outside the elevators. A glassy sheen blanketed her eyes. An unmistaken fear shining beneath the surface. He reached out to her, wanting to offer comfort in the only way he knew how, but she spun away from him. She didn’t run though, she paced, back and forth and back and forth.

  He didn’t try to stop her. He knew all too well the overwhelming fear that took hold of you and refused to let go. There was nothing he could say or do right now to calm her. She needed to find the strength within her first.

  “I can’t do it,” she finally said, coming to a stop and pointing down toward where Betty’s room was. “I can’t go in there,” her voice rose and then she snapped her lips shut before continuing. “Go see my grandma in a hospital bed. She’s Betty Hayes for heaven’s sake. She’s indestructible. She shouldn’t be here.”

  It was a sentiment he understood all too well. He’d thought the same thing about his dad. The mind had a way of making a situation worse. Daisy had no reason to fear seeing Betty. If anything, he thought seeing her would make Daisy feel better.

  He ignored the beep of machines in the distance. He needed to find his own strength and overcome his fears because Daisy needed him right now. “You already saw her, though,” he said.

  She threw her hands out in front of her. “That was before they cut her open. Mason said she has tubes and…” She let out a breath and then sucked in another.

  The vision of his father hooked up to a million wires, tubes up his nose flashed in his mind. He closed his eyes for a second, forcing the gruesome images away, and when he opened his eyes, he rested his hand on Daisy’s shoulder. “Remember yesterday… You told me how people grow up?”

  Her eyebrows drew together. “What about it?”

  “If I learned anything this past year, it’s that being an adult means doing things you don’t want to. That scare you. That make you reach deep inside yourself to a strength you didn’t even know you had.”

  Her eyes met his and the fear morphed into sadness, regret even.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “About your dad. I wanted to come.”

  The vulnerability in her gaze told him this wasn’t an act. Her words were heartfelt and honest and they reached into the blackened corners of his soul.

  “It’s okay.” While it felt good to hear the words, to know she carried guilt, he didn’t say any of that for her sympathy. “Really, it’s fine.”

  “No.” She shook her head, her lips pursing together. “It’s not, but thank you for not making me feel like an awful human being for not at least picking up the phone.”

  A sincere smile played at the edge of her mouth… maybe the first genuine smile he had seen on her yet. It was brightness in a sea of sadness and in a time when she could have made it all about her and her own problems, she didn’t.

  Even when he wanted to hate her, he couldn’t.

  He was still angry. How couldn’t he be? The person he loved, who he’d grown up with and knew inside and out, had abandoned him and never cared to look back. But they were young, fresh out of high-school, and he’d already had their entire life planned. Could they really have been happy if she’d stayed? Or would she have grown to resent him? It was no secret that when Daisy wanted something, she went for it. Just like that kiss beneath the treehouse.

  Had he been too blinded by his own fantasies that he’d never thought to consider that Daisy might not have wanted the same things?

  She had made countless mistakes, but Nick was beginning to see that he’d made his fair share of them, too. Now it seemed Daisy was starting to own up to them and not hide behind excuses. And in a time when she had to face the fear of losing her grandmother, seeing Betty attached to a million machines, she still valued his forgiveness.

  He wasn’t ready to completely forgive her, not yet at least, but with some time, it was possible that he could. He imagined one day he would overcome the anger he’d held onto for so long, and finally put the past to rest.

  The intercom crackled to life above them, words plagued with static rambled off, a sound that would normally set him on edge, but this time it didn’t. It took a long time, but watching Daisy find her strength, helped him find his own.

  Hospitals would always cause him dread, it was a part of him now, but at least he could push that dread to the back of his mind.

  “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go see Betty.”

  Her lips parted as if she wanted to protest, but when he squeezed her shoulder she sucked in a breath and spun back around.

  “I want to say I’m ready.”

  He laughed and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to his side. “That’s the thing…. Even with the strength you’re never ready.”

  ***

  Daisy didn’t know if Nick’s words were comforting or alarming, but she pushed down the fear and melted into his side. His warmth wrapped around her like a comforting blanket and it was exactly what she needed to keep moving toward her grandmother’s hospital room.

  Mason had said Betty was fine, and Daisy would feel better when she saw her, but that didn’t do much to squash the morbid thoughts haunting her mind. Still she pressed on, doing exactly what Nick said, reaching deep within herself and finding strength she didn’t even know was there until they were standing outside Betty’s door.

  “You ready?” Nick asked. This was the boy she remembered. The boy who stood by her side and looked at her with gentle eyes. Who would stay with her in that doorway until she was ready to face her fears. He’d never forced her to do anything she didn’t want to do, instead he provided a warm embrace and reassuring words just as he was now.

  She glanced up at him, stricken by the concern etched at the corner of his eyes.

  She smiled but even she could tell it fell flat. “Do I have a choice?” she asked.

  He squeezed her shoulder and that simple gesture warmed her heart.

  “You always have a choice.”

  “No, you don’t!” Betty’s voice floated out the door, and the dread that was like a lead weight in Daisy’s stomach began to lighten. “If that is my granddaughter, she better get that cute little butt of hers in here right now and give me a hug.”

  The mind-numbing fear gave way to relieved laughs as Daisy and Nick laughed out loud. Daisy smacked her hand over her mouth to quiet down her outburst. It felt good to hear Betty’s voice, to let the fear go and let relief take over.

  “You heard the woman.” Nick held his hand out toward the room and stepped back. “After you.”

  Daisy, grateful that Nick helped get her this far, lifted on her tip toes and kissed his cheek. When she pulled back he smiled at her, and though she knew not everything righted between them and they had a long road ahead to get to that point, she felt the beginning of a new horizon.

  She walked into the room and what little remaining fear that was left immediately dispersed. Other than her hospital gown, Betty looked as she always did—happy, confident, and healthy.

  “I knew that was my Daisy,” Betty said to a nurse with long black hair and striking green eyes. “Hollie, this is my granddaughter, Daisy.”

  “It’s nice to meet you,” Daisy said. She looked over at Betty again, taking in her complexion, the movement of her eyes, the wires that were connected to her. She turned to Hollie and nodded toward Betty. “How she doing?”

  Hollie smiled. “Your grandma is one tough cookie.”

  “Damn straight “Betty exclaimed. “Now come here and give me a hug.”

  Hollie stepped around the bed. “I’ll get out of your way,” she said to Betty then turned to Daisy. “It was nice meeting you. I gave her some pain meds so she might get a little loopy. Nothing to be concerned about though.”<
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  “Thank you,” Daisy said, appreciating the heads up.

  “Now you,” Hollie pointed at Betty. “You behave yourself.”

  Betty met Hollie’s eyes in challenge. “What are you going to do if I don’t?”

  “I’ll take away your chocolate milk later,” Hollie said.

  Betty narrowed her gaze. “You play dirty. I like it.”

  Hollie laughed, and as she walked out Daisy heard her excitedly say Nick’s name. She couldn’t see them beyond the curtain, but she heard enough to know that it was a very friendly greeting.

  It was obvious Nick had spent a lot of time here, with his dad and all, but Daisy never stopped to think that maybe he didn’t come for her. Maybe he wanted an excuse to see Hollie. By the excited chatter outside the door, there was no denying they were friendly.

  Maybe their new beginning meant being able to watch each other be with different people. So why did the thought cause an uncomfortable knot to form in her stomach? It was silly really. Once Betty was back on her feet, and she had saved enough money, she’d be leaving. There was no reason why Nick shouldn’t see other people.

  It had been six years and he could do whatever he wanted. She lost her claim on him when she walked out the door and out of his life.

  She ignored the weird tug in her stomach and went over to Betty’s side. Very gingerly, afraid of touching a wire or hurting her grandmother, she leaned over and gave her a hug.

  “You just missed your grandfather,” Betty said. “They had to kick the old bag out to go get some coffee. He’s driving me crazy.”

  Daisy pulled back slowly and carefully. She brushed her grandmother’s short hair off her forehead and to the side like she usually styled it. “He’s concerned. Are you in pain?”

  “They have me on some great drugs. I’m high as a kite right now.”

  Daisy smiled, but she could tell it fell short. The nerves from earlier had taken a toll on her. Plus, knowing Nick was out in the hallway with Hollie was affecting her more than she cared to admit.

  “Oh, honey,” Betty said, taking hold of her hand. “I’m not dying.”

  “I know that,” Daisy said.

  “Do you? Because you look like you’re already envisioning my funeral.”

  “Bite your tongue.”

  “I’m just saying… I want to be buried with my favorite blanket and my favorite pair of slippers.”

  “Grandma, how can you joke about something like that?”

  “If I took everything seriously I would have been in a grave a long time ago. Oh!” she exclaimed, her gaze drifting behind Daisy. “If it isn’t Nicholas. Now isn’t this a pleasant surprise.”

  “Hi ma’am. I wanted to come by and see how you were doing.”

  “How many times do I have to tell you not to call me ma’am? Makes me feel old.”

  “Grandma,” Daisy said. “You are—”

  Betty held her hand up, cutting Daisy off. “Don’t you say it.”

  “That answers my question,” Nick said. “You are perfectly fine.”

  “You think a broken hip is going to keep me down? Nonsense. And now that my favorite duo is here, I couldn’t be better. Did you two come together?” There was way too much excitement in Betty’s voice. If she only knew that Nick was just in the hallway with Hollie.

  “Yes, we did,” Nick answered.

  “Well, isn’t that funny?” Betty said a ridiculous smile on her face.

  “Isn’t what funny?” Daisy asked.

  Betty waved her finger between the two of them. “How life brought you two back together.”

  “We’re not together,” Daisy said.

  “Thank god for that,” Nick added, and Daisy spun around, eyes shooting lasers at him.

  She thought they were passed the petty stabs but apparently, he wasn’t. Maybe seeing Hollie made him forget about the tender moment she thought they shared earlier.

  She wasn’t going to sit back and take it. Two could play this game. “You’d be lucky to be with me,” Daisy said.

  “Oh yeah, so lucky you’d sneak out on me in the middle of the night without a word.”

  She gasped as the red hot curveball of the past hit her in the face. Maybe she deserved it, but that didn’t lessen the sting.

  She planted her hands on her hips and made a sweeping motion with her eyes toward the door. “Seems you’ve been doing just fine since I left.”

  “What are you talking about?” he asked.

  “‘Oh Nick! It’s so good to see you,’” she mimicked Hollie from earlier.

  “Jealous?” he asked.

  “Definitely not.” That was ridiculous. Of course she wasn’t jealous. Or maybe she was but there was no way in hell she was going to admit that to him.

  He eyed her curiously. “You’re sure acting like you are.”

  “If you say so.” She crossed her arms over her chest and turned away from him, unable to look at him a second longer.

  “What are you two carrying on about?” Betty asked.

  “Your granddaughter is jealous of Hollie.”

  “Am not!” Daisy realized how juvenile she sounded, but she couldn’t take it back now. “She’s very pretty,” she added like that would coverup the green-eyed monster that was trying to control her every word.

  “Isn’t she?” Betty said. “You should’ve seen her in her wedding gown. Just absolutely stunning.”

  Daisy’s head snapped up. “Wedding gown?”

  “She married her husband, Mark, over the summer. Nice guy,” Nick said. “Had lunch with him a few times in the cafeteria.”

  The tight set of Daisy’s jaw eased at the information. “Oh.” Heat exploded in her cheeks, spreading across to her ears and down her chest. “Why didn’t you say that?” she asked finally able to look at him again.

  He shrugged, a soft, gentle gleam in his eyes. The edge of his mouth quirked. “What can I say? Jealousy looks good on you.”

  “I wasn’t jealous,” she said but even she didn’t believe her own words. Nick held her gaze from across the room and there was no denying the truth. She was jealous and if she had to guess it was written all over her face.

  “I want pizza,” Betty said.

  Daisy’s eyebrows furrowed and both she and Nick turned to Betty.

  “Are they not feeding you in here?” Daisy asked.

  “I like pizza.”

  Nick laughed. “I think the pain meds are kicking in.”

  Betty waved Daisy over and Daisy went right to her side.

  “What is it Grandma?”

  “Daisy sweetie, when I get back on my feet you have to show me around New York and we’ll eat pizza.”

  Nick glanced over at her, and a new rush of heat flooded her cheeks. She diverted her attention and took Betty’s hand in hers, giving it a gentle pat. “Whatever you want, Grandma.”

  Betty’s eyes slipped shut, and while Daisy felt guilt for leaving so soon, there was no use sitting around while her grandma slept.

  Daisy looked to Nick. “I think we should let her get some sleep now.”

  “I was just about to say the same,” Nick said.

  Daisy bent down and gave Betty a kiss on the cheek then went to walk away when Betty stirred. She opened her eyes, her face lighting up like a kid on Christmas. “I always knew you two would find your way back to each other,” she said. “Soulmates always do.”

  Daisy stood there stunned, trying to find words to disagree with her, but Betty’s eyes fell shut again and a tiny snore slipped out before she could.

  “She must be high off her ass if she thinks we’d ever get back together,” Nick said, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had been filling the air. There was humor in his voice this time and lacked the anger from prior conversations.

  She laughed, ready for this new beginning where they could laugh together and make fun without offending each other. “Tell me about it.”

  She followed Nick out, but her mind was still back in Betty’s room. Soulmates. It
was a ridiculous notion. Two people destined to be together, unable to feel whole without the other person… It seriously was crazy.

  But she couldn’t deny that the past six years she’d felt off balanced, unhinged, like a part of her was missing. No matter how hard she tried to fill the unexplainable void nothing ever could. But standing in a hospital hallway with Nick for five minutes, he’d managed to pull her crumbling pieces together, and despite the situation, for the first time in a very long time, she’d felt whole.

  Chapter 10

  Daisy headed to Kate’s studio and shop located on Main Street in the heart of Red Maple Falls. She’d been in town for a few days now and felt like she hadn’t seen her sisters at all. Hadley was dropping off one of her foster dogs so Daisy would have to catch her another day. By the looks of it she’d have quite a few days to do so.

  Betty would be moved to a nursing home where she had six weeks of physical therapy ahead of her. Ever since the surgery, her grandfather hadn’t been home. Daisy liked to think it had nothing to do with her cooking.

  The parking lot for Serenity Glass Blowing Studio and The Chain and Spoke was full so Daisy found an open spot on Main Street in front of The Happy Apple. She slid out of the car and immediately heard her name.

  “That wouldn’t be little Daisy Hayes, now would it?” She turned to see Old Man Simpson, a town regular.

  He gave a wave as he came toward her on the sidewalk. It was strange to see him sober and fully clothed; she’d been so used to seeing him driving his tractor drunk down Main Street in his underwear.

  “Hi, Mr. Simpson,” she said as he approached. His hair and beard were tinted yellow by years of cigarette smoke, but they were clean and trimmed. Caleb helped him get sober by giving him something to live for. The town drunk was now a proprietor. The moonshine that he made himself then overindulged on was now being bottled and sold in a few locations across the state.

  Daisy had heard he still overindulged every now and again but not every day like he used to.

  “How is Red Maple Falls superstar?”

  Daisy chocked on a laugh. “Superstar? Not quite.”

  “Not many of us can say we’ve left this town, let alone stand on a big fancy Broadway stage.”