by Nancy Glynn
“Why don’t I remember that? Did we play?" Curiosity filled her with a need to know more. She didn’t have a lot of friends in Chicago, always studying. Loneliness was a part of her life. She accepted it.
“You know, I really can’t remember that, but I will never forget the look on his eleven-year-old face. We all had a good laugh seeing that. Your cousin, Dane, was chasing him around the house when you walked in the door, and was not happy with your disturbing his game,” she added, looking off to the distance as if watching it all over again in her head.
A tightness gripped her belly. “Where is Dane?" The deep mark on her back should have still been there from when he took a bat to her on one visit, but it had completely healed to her amazement. He used to sneak in her room at night and try to crawl in bed with her. She had scratched him so hard one time it drew blood. He just tasted it and laughed.
“He’ll be here tomorrow sometime! Coming home for summer break. I miss him around here, but we have to let them go, I guess." She patted Daisy’s knee and curved her mouth up to the corner, waiting for her response about the ball. “So...?”
“Aunt Betty, I don’t know. I really don’t feel comfortable doing this. I mean, the ball is for his birthday, right?”
“Yep, the big twenty-one. Such an occasion around here. Every young man who turns twenty-one celebrates in the biggest way possible and then usually move on to wonderful careers for themselves,” she said, clapping her hands. “I can’t wait for when it’s our boy’s turn, just one more year,” she said, smiling with a glint in her eye.
A shiver trickled down Daisy’s spine as she watched her aunt go on and on about this birthday bash. This town seemed too small to really hold that many boys, but maybe they’re all grown, past their twenty-first birthday and got out. What about the girls, though? What happened on their birthday?
“Please, for me, Daisy? You know I would never put you in a position you weren’t ready for, right? You’re the daughter I never had, really. Lord knows we tried for one, but it just never happened." Aunt Betty wiped her eyes, but Daisy never saw any tears.
She sighed and threw her hands up in the air. “Fine, fine. Just for you, Aunt Betty. Not for that man sitting out there – only you and Uncle Joe.”
Aunt Betty clapped her hands together and squealed like a little girl. “Really? Oh, my goodness, Daisy. You won’t regret it, honey. Christian is so wonderful. He hasn’t had a girlfriend since high school, had a bad experience and all, so you don’t have to worry about him trying anything with you. He likes to date a lot of girls at once. Nothing serious.”
“A bad experience?”
Aunt Betty’s head snapped toward her as if coming out of a trance, remembering Daisy was even there. “What? Oh, yes. He used to have a sweet girlfriend, Tara Brown. Very pretty and popular. Maybe he’ll share the story with you sometime, not for me to gossip about. He just hasn’t been interested since that ended so tragically. And, well, the other girls from around here are a little used, if you know what I mean. You’re such a good girl, and that’s what Christian deserves on his birthday. A good girl. Just like my boy deserves.”
Shock filled Daisy’s green eyes as she stared off for a moment before returning to her. She then touched her aunt’s arm to prompt her to continue. “I think he just wants to leave after his birthday bash, honestly. He’s already graduated, you know. Very smart kid,” she added. “Yeah, just too many bad memories here for him, but again, not for me to talk about." She winked and stood. “I’ll let Bill know the good news and let you get some sleep. Oh, and his birthday is on September Fifth, so you have some time.
“If you ever want to talk about what happened at home, you let me know. I’m always here for you, sweetie. Your father said you were pretty shaken up,” she said, bending to look at her necklace. “What a pretty cross,” she noticed, peering at it through slitted eyes.
“Thank you. It was Mom’s. Makes me feel safe,” she admitted, caressing it.
“Well, isn’t that nice. Night, dear,” she said, disdain crossing her face.
Daisy nodded, once again ignoring that ping, too tired to care. She yawned and scooted under the covers, ready to let the day go. Her door closed, and she felt sleep creep over her, but not before hearing cheering going on in the other room.
Her eyes popped open, fearing she made a mistake. The deal was done. No backing out now. As a long wave of howling echoed from outside, twelve bells tolled from a distance.
Dread overwhelmed her, bringing her heart to a dull thud pounding in her chest. More cheering and clapping, clinking of wine glasses from the living room.
Shadows crossed back and forth below her door in the light on the other side. She then heard the living room door open and close…then quiet.
Except for one more clink of two glasses.
Chapter Two
As Daisy stepped out of the shower to grab a towel, she screamed. Dane stood there with a haunting look, holding her towel out for her. His blond bang swooped over one dark blue eye and that same mischievous grin.
“Get out, Dane." She scrambled to get the towel wrapped around her and close it, a rage building.
“Hey, Daze. Heard you had some trouble back home. Everything okay, I hope?”
“I said leave.”
Desire haunted his eyes as he backed up. “Thought I’d say hello first before you met the whole tribe.”
“Tribe?”
“Yep. See you out there.”
After he left, she ran to the door to lock it. She swore she had already locked it. Dane hadn’t changed. If anything, he’d gotten worse. How could she stay here? She just couldn’t.
And tribe?
Before going out there, she made her bed and pretty much stalled. Her skin felt damp even in the cool air-conditioned room. She chewed on her thumb nail, thinking about her plans. Just the summer here until the big event, and then she would start teaching kindergarten at Lincoln Park Elementary. It was her old school, which made her more excited to teach. She had interviewed with her old teacher, Mrs. Burke, who now was the principal.
She planned on finding an apartment close by the school and finally leave home. That was a relief to her. She would miss her dad, but that was it. Things could be better with her stepmother. This was her father’s idea for her to come here, but now she didn’t know if that was the best idea.
The birthday party was prior to Labor Day, and then back to the city to begin her new life. And the thought of dealing with Dane again made her sick. She couldn’t handle him right now, not after what she had been through at home. He was the last thing she needed.
She grabbed her purse and glanced around the room. Anxiety filled her once again before opening the door and heading out to the living room. The smell of bacon and eggs drifted to her. She opened the door, and what greeted her took her by surprise.
William stood from his seated position, along with whom she presumed to be Christian. “Daisy, I want you to meet my son, the famous Christian.”
Christian Stone took a few steps and held his hand out to her.
“Hello, Daisy,” he responded, carrying an impish grin. “Nice to finally meet you.”
Recognition flashed in her eyes as she stared at the man she met yesterday in the woods. She scanned both father and son and then took his hand into hers to shake it. “Nice to meet you as well, Christian,” she said, playing along with his little game. She returned his polite smile, his worldly presence filling the small room. It wasn’t the same man running in the woods, but a more polished one standing before her.
Dane stood in the corner, amused with a toothpick between his lips, and a few other nameless faces sitting on the couch. Her aunt and uncle looked on with smiles as wide as the ocean. Everyone in the room claps for the couple.
Dane claps long and hard at Christian. “Aren’t you glad it’s not one of my cousins from my mom’s side, Chris?”
The others snickered and shuffled their feet, casting their eyes to the floor.
“Dane Joseph Lock!” Aunt Betty said.
Christian glared at Dane with a hardened jaw and intense, black eyes.
Daisy simultaneously snapped her head at Dane in disgust. It had to kill that poor woman to see her son behave so ugly. Her heart went out to her. He was everything to his mother.
The light fixture above Dane’s head suddenly dropped, almost knocking into Dane. He jumped out of the way and steadied it at the dangling cords, emitting a nervous laugh coating his anger. “Dad, you really need to look into that.”
“Right, son. Will get on it today,” Uncle Joe answered, contempt passing across his face.
She caught Christian’s questioning eyes, as he gave an impish grin to her little trick. He also seemed to understand it more than she did. She could do things like that since she was little, but never to that extent. Only things like turning lights off and on, making the doorbell ring, or making papers fly up in the air. Easy stuff.
“Daisy, I’d like you to meet some of my old friends. We’re like one big, happy family around here.”
Daisy nodded to them to which they bowed to her in return. She drew her brows together in confusion.
“How about some breakfast, everyone? I’ve got plenty!" Aunt Betty said.
Mr. Stone cleared his throat and looked at his son. Christian took his cue. “I thought I’d take Daisy out so we can get to know each other better,” he said, more telling her than asking.
“What a great idea! Yes, you two go off together,” Aunt Betty agreed.
“Right now?” Daisy asked. “Isn’t this a little rushed?" But everyone in the room seemed to be in agreement, waiting for her to give in. “Fine." She glowered at her aunt who looked away.
“Great! I know this quiet little diner in town.”
She collected her purse and headed to the front door, pushing the screen door open. She snapped on her sunglasses and strode to the truck in the driveway.
Christian caught up with her and helped her up into his truck before getting in on his side. He pulled out of the gravel driveway. The little rocks sprayed everywhere as they crunched under the weight of the tires.
A cold silence filled the truck. It must have rained that morning because everything looked wet and smelled of musty water. The warm air blew in her face with the windows down, her long auburn hair flying all around.
Different-sized houses whizzed past them, some brick, some with siding, some with both, some Georgian, Victorian, and Ranch, but all with pretty landscaped gardens and well-groomed lawns. All exactly the same. Then mansions, one by one, came into view.
She closed her eyes to take in all the sounds and smells of the country when she was startled by the sound of his voice. “Sorry – what?”
“I said thanks again for doing this. It almost seems ridiculous to even have something like this. I mean, a ball for a birthday, right? Crazy,” he said, shaking his dark head.
“No, it’s fine. If that’s what you do around here, then I respect that. I wish I would have had something like that for my twenty-first birthday,” she admitted.
His head snapped at her words and then stared straight ahead of him, clenching his jaw. “No, you don’t. Trust me.”
“Excuse me?" She had to strain to hear his words of warning.
“Nothing. Here we are,” he said, pulling into a restaurant parking lot with a big sign on the building that said Jack’s Den. A picture of a wolf overlooking a fire pit was painted on the sign. The architecture of the building was designed like a castle of medieval times.
They were seated as soon as they walked in after the whole staff greeted Christian with smiles. She noticed they bowed to him and gave her a curt smile, which she returned.
When the hostess placed the menus down, she turned to Christian. “Sarah will be right with you, Christian. Let us know if you need anything else." She bowed before she scurried to the kitchen area.
Daisy gazed at the impressive dining area. The dark atmosphere, touched by torches erected at booths, drew in her breath. A beautiful stone fireplace took center of surrounding black leather couches. She could see why he frequented it here. With the clinks of dishes and the smells of sausage and eggs and coffee, she relaxed a little more.
She wanted coffee more than anything, something she started drinking in college. The caffeine got her through some tough study nights and also through some night terrors that would awaken her. Sleep was an enemy after graduation.
After they placed their orders with Sarah, the waitress, she turned toward Christian before leaving. “Sorry about the other day, Christian. The kids were just–”
He put his hand up to stop her and shook his head. “No worries, Sarah – really. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. I apologize.”
Sarah smiled with relief while pouring their coffee, and bowed to him before walking away.
Daisy stared at him with questioning eyes.
“Just a bad day. Spilled hot coffee on me and I lost it. Had other things on my mind. Sarah didn’t deserve that.”
Daisy nodded and opened up and added two packs of Splenda and Hazelnut creamer, enjoying every bit of it after cooling it off. She looked up and caught him watching her with interest and a speck of laughter hidden in his eyes.
“What? I like it sweet." She placed her cup down and continued to look around.
Over the fireplace was a brick wall lined with men of importance, it seemed. Big beautiful oil paintings. They each had an air of superiority, as if they were looking down at the patrons who ate there beneath them. They all seemed to have the same piercing blue eyes. Christian’s eyes were dark brown in contrast.
He turned around to see what she was so engrossed in and looked back at her. “Those are just men who basically run this town." He drank his black coffee.
“Is your father one of them?" She persisted in knowing more.
“Yes. Only the most prominent men here in Golden Hills. He’s right there, see?” he asked, pointing all the way down to the beginning of the men, William Stone, staring down at her with the bluest eyes. He seemed entirely too young to be the first painting.
Daisy dragged her gaze away from the painting back to Christian's. “So your picture should be up there one day then?” she asked before sipping her coffee.
“Unfortunately." He pushed his plate away of unfinished scrambled eggs, looking a bit tense. He leaned his chin on his folded hands and studied her face, making her squirm in her seat.
The torch flame flickered behind him, almost going out. She cleared her throat and ignored it.
“So why do it at all? If you don’t want it, then why…”
“Why all these questions? I’ve been groomed for this position all my life. End of story. Why did you say yes to going?”
The staff rushed around, some wiping nearby tables to hear their conversation. Daisy lowered her voice to answer. “Sorry. You’re right. It’s none of my business. It’s part of being a teacher, I guess. And I felt I had to do this for my uncle." She glanced at a waitress who looked away.
“Same page,” he said.
“Can I just ask one more question, Christian?”
“The woods?”
“Yes. Did you know I was there?”
“I saw you driving and followed you. I was worried about you going into those woods. They’re not safe. I followed to make sure you’d get out okay.”
“Well, thank you, but I’m pretty capable of taking care of myself.”
“Not in those woods. Please don’t go there again. Let’s just say I know them a little more than you do. Deal?”
She eyed him before finally agreeing. “Deal." After glancing around once more, she had to ask. “One more question and then I’ll stop. For now, anyway.”
“The bowing?”
She nodded.
“Only if you can explain that little trick you did to Dane with the lights.”
She responded with a curtness. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He
raised his hand for the check. “Same here then.”
Daisy stiffened and stood, walking to the front. The staff whispered in corners. They bowed to her before she stepped out into the sunlight.
***
They drove home in silence, but every so often she would feel his eyes on her. She hid behind her sunglasses, safe and dark. Just a favor, she reminded herself. Even so, no one had ever said anything like that to her. The guys at school all got in line to date her, but her father wouldn’t allow it. He used to say that no one would want a used woman, much less marry one so she better stay sweet, constantly checking up on her.
Yes, her plan was to please her father and stay sweet. But sometimes fate interjects. Tears welled up in her hidden eyes.
They turned down the street of her aunt and uncle’s and pulled into the driveway. She unhooked her seat belt and grabbed the handle when he finally spoke.
“There’s a bonfire at the beach tonight. I haven’t been to a bonfire in a long time, but it’s kind of all part of the ceremonial events leading up to the ball. Would you like to go with me?” he asked.
“I guess that’ll be all right. Sure." She grabbed the handle to get out, but he reached out to her shoulder.
“I’m such a jerk. Sorry for talking to you like that. I’m not myself these days. Friends?" He gave a lopsided smile.
She smiled back. “Of course. I understand the father thing, believe me.”
A knowing look washed over his face as he nodded in agreement. He watched her run up the steps and into the house before pulling out.
***
Christian picked her up on time and helped her into her side of his truck. He turned on the radio and a song from Plain White T’s came on.
“I used to love listening to them,” she said.
“Used to?”