by K. M. Morgan
Other than that, everything was working out well for Daisy and Gavin. Most of the time, Daisy was able to push those concerns to the back of her mind. On a two hour car ride alone however, her worries knew how to sneak up on her.
***
There was flip side to thinking about the rocky relationship Gavin had with his father. It also made Daisy reflect on her own childhood.
“Hello,” Jim McDare said, on Daisy’s speaker phone.
Daisy’s father was the exact opposite of Gavin’s dad. Jim was a history teacher at Cozy Creek high school. When Daisy was growing up, he never pressured Daisy to become a teacher herself. Instead, he encouraged her to follow her heart.
“It’s Daisy,” she replied, into her cell phone.
“Is everything ok honey?”
That wasn’t the only major difference between Gavin’s father and Daisy’s father when they were kids. While Gavin’s dad had been distant with him, Daisy’s dad was almost too involved in her life. There was a time in every child’s life when they wanted their space, to figure things out for themselves, and were desperate for independence. Naturally, that was the exact period of Daisy’s life when she saw her father the most—during her school years.
Daisy sat in her car and recalled those days as she spoke with him on the phone.
“Yeah. There’s just something I want to tell you,” Daisy revealed.
“What is it?” Jim wondered.
Daisy thought back again on her school days. Unfortunately, just as Daisy was at the most awkward and emotional stage in her life, her father seemed to be around every corner. For a time, she wished she could go to a different school. She realized now that her father meant well, but at the time, she felt stifled.
It was funny how Daisy’s opinion of the situation changed over the years. At the time, she felt humiliated to have her father teaching at her school. Now as an adult, she realized it was a blessing in disguise. Having her dad in the same building day in and day out kept her on her best behavior. She knew she couldn’t get away with anything—that she’d never be allowed to fall in with the wrong crowd. Anything she did would get back to her father sooner rather than later.
Given the choice, Daisy would take her situation over Gavin’s any day. Even more, hearing about Gavin’s struggles with his father made her appreciate the love her own dad had given her even more.
Daisy then focused again on her phone conversation. “I just wanted to say thank you.”
Jim sounded confused. “For what?”
“For always being there for me. I may not have appreciated it at the time, but I certainly do now.”
“Oh. What a pleasant surprise. Not to mention completely unexpected. Are you sure everything is ok?” Jim asked.
“I am. Anyway, I just wanted to say I love you dad,” Daisy replied.
“I love you too,” Jim said.
As Daisy hung up the phone, her thoughts turned to her boyfriend again. Hopefully Gavin and his dad would be able to patch things up soon. If Daisy getting Blaze Billick’s autograph would help smooth things over between them, she’d be more than happy to ask for Blaze’s signature.
Chapter Four
Daisy had forgotten how pretty Murphy’s Meadow was. Despite having close to thirty thousand residents, somehow the town managed to keep its quaint and cozy charm. In a lot of ways, it was very similar to Cozy Creek. The main difference was that Cozy Creek was on the Pacific Ocean, while Murphy’s Meadow was situated beside Moose Lake.
Daisy had gone to camp on the lake with her cousin Addison. Carter Treble was the name of the camp, although everyone referred to it by its nickname “Causing Trouble.” Those were some fun times—and not just for them. The rumor was, Blazing Inferno’s song “Causing Trouble” was about the bandmates experiences at the camp when they were kids. If that was true, Blaze Billick had a much more mischievous childhood than Daisy did.
The first thing that struck Daisy when she arrived in town was how much sleepier Murphy’s Meadow was back in her camp days. Granted, that was two decades ago, but things had sure changed over the years. Main Street was absolutely bustling with tourists now—to the point where it was almost overcrowded.
There were only so many people a small town could handle before it started losing its identity. At the same time, a place could never have too many tourist dollars. That made for an interesting and warring dynamic. Cozy Creek was working through the same issues. There were a steady stream of town hall meetings back home trying to navigate the choppy waters of how to bring in more tourist dollars while not losing what made the town special in the first place.
The more she thought about it, the more Daisy began to realize she was in the same boat. She was trying to find a way to constantly expand her interior decorating business while not spreading herself too thin. If she took on too many clients, her work quality would start to suffer. Then again, she wasn’t exactly in a position to be turning down work. That was the problem with constantly chasing the almighty dollar.
Daisy then realized she was doing the one thing she promised herself she’d steer clear of—letting thoughts of work eat up her weekend vacation. It was time to turn off her work brain and get into full relaxation mode. After all, what good was time away if she spent the entire weekend thinking about work?
Thankfully, there was plenty of scenic beauty to distract her. The way Daisy saw it, she was long overdue for some serious rest and relaxation. She was planning to make up for that now. There wasn’t much on the itinerary for her—just a lazy weekend by the lake with some delicious meals sprinkled in.
Her cousin had told her about a comfort food restaurant off of Main Street that made everything from scratch. Some of the locals said the food there tasted homemade. Daisy’s taste buds were eager to test that theory.
Most of all though, this weekend was about reconnecting with her cousin. It was amazing how little the cousin’s had seen of each other over the last few years even though they lived just a few hours apart. Unfortunately, that was just how things went sometimes. Daisy was going to remedy that this weekend.
***
As Daisy pulled up to Addison’s apartment, the excitement started really building. She was in for a surprise however as she parked in the driveway. Instead of being greeted by Addison’s smiling face, Daisy got an unexpected phone call from her cousin.
“Hello,” Daisy said, into the phone.
“I just want to say I’m really sorry,” Addison McDare replied, on the other end of the phone line.
“Uh oh. What happened?”
“Are you at my apartment right now?”
Daisy started looking around. “Yeah. Aren’t you?”
“Hold tight. I’ll be there in five minutes,” Addison said.
“Addison, where are you?”
“Don’t worry. When I get there, I’ll explain everything.”
Daisy didn’t like the sound of that. As she waited for Addison to arrive, a pit formed in her stomach. She had a really bad feeling about this.
As Addison’s beat up, ten year old sedan pulled into the driveway a few minutes later, Daisy’s worries only intensified. Addison did not have a happy look on her face. Instead, she appeared to be completely stressed out. On top of that, Addison was wearing work clothes. Addison had one of the most casual wardrobes Daisy had ever seen. When Addison was off the clock, her outfits usually consisted of flip flops, sweatpants, and a t-shirt.
Today she was wearing a white blouse, blue skirt, and matching blue flats. Her outfit had business casual written all over it. Normally that would be all fine and good. The problem was that Daisy’s cousin was supposed to have the day off.
“I’m sorry to keep you waiting,” Addison said.
Addison then gave Daisy a big hug.
Once again, Daisy was struck by how similar she and her cousin looked. When they were younger, they used to get mistaken for sisters a lot. Even now, if they were in a crowd together, there would probably be a number of onlook
ers that would make that comparison. Their curvy figures, pleasant faces, and expressive body language was all too similar. The only real difference in appearance was that Addison had brown hair while Daisy was a blonde.
“It’s so good to see you,” Addison continued.
“It’s good to see you too. I guess the question is, how much of you will I be seeing?” Daisy asked.
Addison tensed up. When she was younger, Addison used to run her hand through her long brown hair when she was nervous. She did that again now out of reflex, only she forgot that she’d put her hair back in a ponytail.
“Daisy, there’s something I have to tell you--”
Daisy already had a pretty good feeling what her cousin was about to say. “You didn’t really get the day off, did you?”
“Technically, I did—at first. It turns out things change fast when you’re working for Blaze Billick.”
Daisy groaned. “I can’t believe he called you in on your day off.”
Addison muttered under her breath. “I wish I could say it was a surprise to me.”
Daisy’s cousin clearly had some built up resentment. The problem with Addison having all too expressive body language was that it was hard to keep emotions hidden, especially from someone like Daisy who had a keen eye for observation.
“I guess I don’t have to ask you if the novelty of working for a rock star has worn off,” Daisy joked.
Addison corrected her. “Former rock star. And I’m not going to bother you with my problems. I just want to say I’m really sorry about this.”
“How late are you working?”
Addison bit the corner of her lip. “I have good news and bad news for you.”
Daisy hated non-committal answers. “I always want to hear the bad news first.”
“I have to work the gala tonight,” Addison revealed.
“What gala?”
“The mayor of Murphy’s Meadow is giving Blaze a Lifetime Achievement Award.”
“Congratulations…I guess. What does Blaze need you to be there for?” Daisy asked.
Addison snickered. “Are you kidding? I’m not sure Blaze would remember to even put shoes on before leaving the house if I wasn’t there to remind him.”
Daisy chuckled. “Are you serious?”
“Oh, the stories I could tell you.”
“I can’t wait to hear some of them.”
“You’ll have to wait on that I’m afraid.”
“Unfortunately,” Daisy bemoaned.
“He did promise me I’d have both tomorrow and Sunday off though.”
“Let’s hope so. So, what’s the good news?”
Addison smiled. “I got you a ticket into the gala.”
“Really?”
Addison nodded. “It’s the least I could do considering I won’t be able to really spend any time with you today.”
“Actually, the least you could do is get me Blaze’s autograph,” Daisy said.
Addison grimaced.
“Uh oh. What now?” Daisy replied.
“Blaze doesn’t give autographs.”
Daisy exhaled. She couldn’t believe it. Her boyfriend was dead set on getting Blaze’s autograph to give to his father as a gift. That dream was now up in smoke.
“It figures. Talk about classic McDare luck. I try to get an autograph from the one washed up rock star that doesn’t give autographs,” Daisy muttered.
Addison meanwhile looked confused. “What’s the big deal? I didn’t think you even liked Blaze’s music.”
“I don’t. Gavin does though,” Daisy answered.
Addison’s eyes opened wide. “Ah. I’ll tell you what—I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thanks.”
“Anyway, I hate to jet on you like this, but I have to pick up Blaze’s tuxedo from the dry cleaners. I’m really sorry about this.”
“It’s not your fault. Besides, you’re not the only one in this conversation who has worked for a bad boss,” Daisy said.
“Thanks for being so understanding. Are you going to be ok by yourself?” Addison wondered.
“Are you kidding? I’ve never met a shopping district that couldn’t keep me busy for a few hours.”
Addison laughed.
Daisy then got serious. “Tomorrow and Sunday you’re off for sure though, right?”
“Yes.”
“Good, because we have some serious catching up to do.”
“Don’t we ever? Anyway, I promise I’ll make this up to you tomorrow. I’ll let you in so you can relax before you head out shopping. Have to go,” Addison insisted.
Chapter Five
It wasn’t the best start to Daisy’s weekend away, but she passed the time popping into the various clothing boutiques along Main Street with a side trip to “Sally’s Home Away From Home Restaurant” thrown in for good measure. It was rare that lunch could upstage shopping in Daisy’s mind, but the food at Sally’s more than lived up to their reputation. At Sally’s comfort food was always on the menu—from buttery garlic mashed potatoes, to extra creamy macaroni and cheese, warm biscuits, and hearty pot pies.
Daisy had a deliciously cheesy pasta dish. As a matter of fact, the dish had such a generous amount of cheese in it that she barely even noticed the vegetables in it. The meal was a delight for her taste buds, harkening back to the pasta dishes her mother used to make when she was growing up. She left the restaurant as full as can be—so much so that she didn’t even have room for dessert.
It was one of the rare days when cupcakes had to wait. Daisy spent the next few hours browsing in the boutiques, walking off her lunch while trying to resist charging too much on her credit card. Then again, one outfit was too cute to resist. She found an irresistible plum-colored cocktail dress that looked great on her. As a bonus, it happened to be on the clearance rack. Seventy-five percent off had never looked so good.
While Daisy kept herself busy with shopping, her mind did a little wandering. Granted she had only seen her cousin for a brief interlude, but Addison had quite a few worry lines on her face. Her cousin looked far from happy with her job. Daisy couldn’t blame her. It was hardly a cake walk working for someone who went back on their word.
Besides, Addison had originally taken the job because she thought it would be stepping stone into something much better. She was promised as much. It looked now like Blaze wasn’t living up to that promise.
Addison’s dream was to become a musician. She learned to play the guitar when she was six years old. Daisy had seen her play a lot over the years, and she was always impressed with her cousin’s talent. Addison even dabbled in songwriting. The problem was, even though she was a gifted lyricist, she had a terrible singing voice. That meant she could never be a solo act.
No matter how she sliced it, Addison needed help to make her musical dreams come true. She wasn’t the only one. The fact was, the music industry was very competitive. It was a real cutthroat business. Opportunities were hard to come by even in big cities. In small towns like Cozy Creek, they were nearly non-existent. So when Addison saw a chance to work for Blaze Billick, she jumped at the opportunity.
Addison had been very upfront about her musical aspirations when she took the job. Blaze told her if things went well down the line, he’d give a listen to the demo song Addison had recorded. Daisy had no idea if that had happened. The only thing that was clear was her cousin looked far from happy with her job. Maybe Daisy would get more details when the gala was over. In the meantime, there was a party to enjoy.
Chapter Six
Daisy made no effort in hiding her weakness for hors d’oeuvres. The gala may have been about giving Blaze Billick and his ex-bandmate Steele Stringer Lifetime Achievement Awards, but Daisy was busy making a bee-line for the crab cakes. Not to mention the pigs in a blanket. Then again, the shrimp cocktail was fantastic as well. Daisy couldn’t be blamed for paying little attention to festivities around her.
It was rare she was treated to free food that was this good. In Daisy’s ex
perience, when she ate free food, she usually got exactly what she paid for. Not this time. Even her bakery-owner best friend Samantha Johnson would be impressed with this spread.
There was only so long Daisy could remain parked at the buffet table. At some point, she knew that she should probably mingle. The problem was, she was awash in a sea of strange faces. The minute Daisy arrived at the gala with her cousin, Blaze Billick put Addison to work. Daisy hadn’t seen her cousin since.
Some people were adept at all forms of social interaction. They could make friends anywhere they went. Small talk was second nature to them. Daisy usually had no trouble holding her own. She just happened to feel out of her element here.
In this case, the nature of the conversations she heard around her was the culprit for her silence. The gala was being put on by the city council of Murphy’s Meadow in conjunction with the mayor’s office. Blaze Billick and his ex-bandmate Steele Stringer may have been washed up rock stars in the eyes of the rest of the world, but their star had never faded in their hometown. So while crab cakes were on the menu for Daisy, kissing up was on the menu for the rest of the gala attendees.
Unfortunately, it appeared that Daisy was the only person at the bash who wasn’t a fan of the band’s music—or, that didn’t want something from them. For example, she had overheard a conversation with Frankie Follinger and Big Al Stockton earlier. Frankie owned the local mattress mart while Big Al was a greasy, used car huckster. Both were discussing how they wanted to recruit Blaze Billick as their next local TV commercial pitchman. The gala was filled with opportunistic business men and women.
Daisy meanwhile just wanted Blaze Billick to give her cousin the day off she’d been promised. At the same time, Daisy couldn’t help but feel bad. A lot of people would have paid good money to be at this gala. Sometimes life was a measure of expectations. At that moment however, Daisy would have paid good money to be on the couch in Addison’s apartment catching up on lost time. Or sitting at the edge of the lake waxing nostalgic. After all, she had driven two hours to be with her cousin, not schmooze with Blaze Billick.