by Ann Yost
“No, that’s fine. Everyone’s welcome.”
She followed Caro out to the courtyard. The concrete surround on the Cupid Fountain was still cool but the sun reflected off the water and the air was filled with the scent of honeysuckle and the chirps of insects. She watched her sister try to bring her emotions under control.
“They think you’re going to marry Nick Bowman.”
Daisy sighed. The handfasting would take all her focus today. She’d hoped to put off this confrontation.
“They are right. I agreed to marry him last night.”
Caro’s breath hitched. “It’s because of Chicago, isn’t it? Because Junie and I are deserting you.”
Relief washed through Daisy. She grabbed her sister’s cold hand. “No, no. You’re right to leave and I’m okay with it. This is different. He asked me and I said yes. I care about him, Caro. It has nothing to do with you.”
Tears welled up in her sister’s eyes. The sight tore at Daisy’s heart.
“Don’t cry, honey,” she whispered. “It will be all right. Everything will be okay.”
Sobs shook Caroline’s slim frame and Daisy gathered her sister in her arms.
“It won’t be okay,” Caro said, shakily. “It will never be okay and you’re wrong. This has everything to do with me. I’m sorry, Daze. I know you care about him but you simply cannot marry Nick Bowman.”
Daisy heard the honest misery in her sister’s words and she held very still, bracing herself for a blow.
“Why can’t I marry Nick?”
“Because,” Caroline sobbed, “because he is Stevie’s father.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Nick showered at the cabin and changed into a fresh pair of jeans and a T-shirt he pulled out of the suitcase in the back of the Malibu.
All his T-shirts were dull, dark colors, black or gray or olive. Those colors, he thought, no longer reflected his state of mind. Maybe he’d try yellow or forest green or psychedelic pink. The world was bright and welcoming and it smelled like a rose. No, not a rose. A daisy.
He’d never forget the look on her face last night when she realized they had an audience. He flushed slightly, remembering Miss Whatever-her-name-was’s view of his unclothed crotch. Well, hell. It’d be a good story for the grandchildren.
Nothing bothered him today. Not the unsolved murder or the failing company or the as yet unrecovered Nazi loot. He’d always thought he’d known what he wanted in life. He’d been wrong. He couldn’t wait to start his life with Daisy. He couldn’t stop grinning.
He heard an irritated meow and glanced at the creature wrapped around his ankle.
“Sorry,” he muttered as he searched for the can opener and a fresh can of tuna. “How’d you like a new home,” he asked Larry. “Not the mausoleum but somewhere else. Maybe we’ll buy the house on Dollar Lake.” There’d be worse ways to spend his time than with Daisy up in Arthur’s sex swing.
The cloud of contentment followed him to Bowman Mansion where he greeted Finch then made his way to the breakfast room. It was seven-thirty, the time the household always sat down to breakfast. There was only Alice at the table.
“There’s something I’d like to tell you,” she said, after he’d helped himself to coffee and food. He nodded. He found it difficult to meet her eyes. The width between them had to be mere millimeters less than average and yet he felt almost cross-eyed when he faced her.
“I am going to see a divorce lawyer. I hate to break up the family but I’m afraid I can’t stay married to a man with a drinking problem.”
The declaration startled him. Apparently she didn’t know Buzz intended the same action. Nick wondered why she was telling him.
“I’m very sorry,” he said. “Does my brother know?”
“You mean your half-brother, don’t you?”
Nick realized he didn’t. Buzz was his brother. Always had been, always would be. He said nothing.
“I won’t serve papers until he’s back from rehab. Since you have returned as the head of the family I thought I should tell you first. Isabelle will be devastated.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “What about Buzz?”
She seemed to have no answer for that.
“I assume you’ve wrestled with this for some time so I won’t attempt to talk you out of it. I will certainly do whatever I can to make certain you’re comfortable.”
The words sounded cold and businesslike. She nodded without smiling but Nick didn’t miss the gleam of malice in her eye. Under the surface of this quiet, unassuming woman, Buzz’s wife for the past seven years, was a cauldron roiling with angry emotions. She reminded him of himself when he’d left Mayville and he wanted to warn her to let the fury go, that it would eat at her soul but he couldn’t find the words. And, besides, they were only words.
Alice would have to find peace in her own way.
“How is Arthur this morning?”
“I believe he’s still in bed. The summer has exhausted him.”
Damn. Another visit in vain.
Isabelle appeared a moment later. She’d dressed in a gauzy tie-dyed caftan, bright plastic beads and there was a gardenia in her hair.
“As you can see, I’m already dressed for the handfast. Good morning, Nicky, dear.”
“How’s Arthur?”
“He had a restless night, poor dear.” Isabelle did not sound distraught. Maybe she was just grateful to have her husband beside her in bed. “He promised me he’d sleep in so he’d be fresh for tonight’s festivities.”
Isabelle paused to take a sip of the coffee.
“I have some news,” he told his aunt. “I’m going to marry Daisy Budd.”
Smiles wreathed Isabelle’s pleasant face. “Of course you are, dear. After that business last night. You really have no choice.”
Damn the confounded grapevine.
“This has nothing to do with last night. I want to marry Daisy.”
“I can’t blame you. She is not the family beauty but she has a huge heart.”
He imagined how many times Daisy had heard that remark. Not the family beauty.
“In any case she will make a wonderful CEO’s wife.” Isabelle smiled at him but the expression faded as she glanced at her niece-in-law. “Just as you did, Alice, dear. We have all appreciated everything you’ve done for the family.”
There was something in Isabelle’s voice. Did she know Buzz intended to divorce Alice and vice versa?
Alice smiled, neutrally, and got to her feet. “Will you excuse me? Harmony Lime devised some sort of a nun’s robe for me to wear to the festivities.” She closed the dining room door behind her.
Nick looked at his aunt. “How long has Judith plagued her with Wicca and Zoroastrians?”
“I don’t believe Alice minds,” Isabelle replied, thoughtfully. “She has never really recovered her spirits after the loss of the baby.”
Nick stared at her. “What baby?”
“Alice was pregnant when she and Buzz married. I thought you knew that.”
“No.” The information explained a lot, though. He felt a wrench of sympathy for both Alice and Buzz. Mostly for Buzz.
“After the miscarriage they never conceived again. Not surprising, really.”
“What do you mean?”
“Only that they have never seemed well suited and I’ve always suspected Buzz of regretting the marriage.”
Nick eyed her with admiration. Not much got past Aunt Isabelle. He wondered how she had failed to find out about Arthur’s home away from home.
“What about you and Daisy? I know it isn’t my business but I hope you will have a family.”
He grinned at the prospect of a small stubborn daughter with flame-colored hair and incurable optimism. “I’ll give it my best shot.”
He got to his feet compelled by a sudden urgency to get back to the Gray Lady.
“I have something for you,” Isabelle said. She led him into her small morning room and handed him a large, bound book.
&nbs
p; “Take a look at this when you get time. I think you’ll find it interesting.”
****
The townspeople started to arrive in mid-afternoon. Despite overhead rumblings, the sky was still clear and it seemed the weather would hold.
Daisy wore a butter-hued, ankle-length sundress, sandals and a crown of daisies fashioned by Stevie and Junie. She fixed what she hoped was a cheerful smile on her face and concentrated on keeping it there. While she helped prepare the tables for more home-cooked food Daisy mentally reviewed the situation. There had been no way to avoid this heartache. Nick had always affected her like a tidal wave. She’d have fallen in love with him even if she’d known about Stevie. She’d been lucky to have these few days with him and she knew she would cherish their memory in the lonely years ahead.
Lonely years? Her heart twisted as she pictured countless Thanksgiving dinners with Nick and Caro and their growing family. It would hurt but, eventually, the pain would dull. And there was the one small comfort: Nick hadn’t known about Stevie. As soon as he learned the truth, he’d do the right thing.
She’d stake her life on it. And he would learn the truth—soon. She’d made Caro promise to tell him.
Daisy lifted her chin and straightened her spine.
Caro would marry Nick and Stevie would have a father and she, Daisy, would create a new life for herself at Happily Ever After.
“Good morning, Daisy,” boomed the mayor, who had dressed, once more as Henry XIII. “Many felicitations to you on bagging the whale.”
Daisy thanked him and set about greeting the other guests including Debbie Popple costumed as Bewitched’s Endora.
“You got your signals crossed, girlfriend,” Debbie teased. “You were supposed to fix me up with Nick Bowman, not get engaged to him yourself, but listen, no hard feelings. I’ll probably meet somebody at your wedding. Maybe you could invite that TV reporter, Cory Aspen, from Detroit. I hear he’s single.”
Daisy recalled the cocky, obtuse newsman. “What a shock,” she murmured.
Cherry Ann had chosen to wear her Juliet wedding gown and she resembled the bride of Frankenstein while Quentin arrived in a white monk’s robe. It seemed he’d solved the problem of lunging.
“Chief Sharkey said Quent looks like a KKK member,” Cherry Ann confided. Her husband’s brow furrowed.
“Ridiculous. Anyone can see that I’m Galadriel from Lord of the Rings.”
“Wasn’t Galadriel a girl?” Daisy spoke without thinking and Quent glowered at her.
“Elves are known to be asexual.”
Cherry Ann giggled. “I don’t know about that, dear. How would they get more elves?”
Daisy thought, not for the first time, that Cherry Ann’s sense of the absurd was a good balance for Quent. Caro had been much too somber for him. Pain gripped her heart. Caro had married the eccentric professor only because she was pregnant. No wonder Quent had never behaved as a proper father to the little boy. Poor Caro. Poor Stevie. Poor Quent.
The ladies from Bowman Mansion arrived accompanied by Arthur Sneed who looked paler than usual in his brown business suit. Had Nick had time to confront him with the allegations? She thought not.
Nick. She wished she could soften the blow of Caro’s revelation. He’d be shocked and, well, she didn’t know whether he’d be upset. Probably. But, in spite of appearances, he had never really been a Prodigal Son. He hadn’t left his family with a light heart and Daisy knew he wouldn’t leave his family again.
“Quelle delight!”
Junie’s voice pierced her consciousness and she noticed that her sister had tweaked her ice blue Renaissance costume into appropriate handfast attire by adding a magic wand.
But it wasn’t her sister’s fairy-like beauty that stopped Daisy’s heart.
Junie had Nick Bowman by the hand.
“I’ve brought you un cadeau,” she said. “He’s not wearing a costume but you’ve got to admit he’s perfect.”
Nick didn’t give her a chance to answer. Concern flared in his gray eyes as he studied her face.
“What’s wrong, sunshine?”
“I’m just a little tired.”
“Naturalement,” Junie chuckled. “All that l’amour.”
A horrified scream jerked Daisy’s attention to the Cupid Fountain where a child teetered on the concrete surround. As everyone watched, paralyzed by horror, he swayed, lost his balance and plummeted into the water.
Nick wasn’t the closest spectator but he had the quickest reactions and reached Stevie first. He reached into the fountain, scooped the child up with one arm and carried him onto the lawn like a soggy football then he tossed Stevie in the air a few times until the boy’s cries of fear became shrieks of pleasure. Gradually conversation resumed among the guests as they watched Mayville’s bad boy set the child on his feet and take one of his hands while Caroline Budd grabbed the other. The trio headed to the house together, a dark-haired man, a blonde woman and a tow-headed boy. Father, mother, child. A perfect family.
Daisy’s initial sense of horror gave way to relief as, all around her, people praised Nick Bowman’s quick actions. Several people called him a hero and she nodded her agreement.
Luckily it was time for the ceremony.
Hecate summoned the guests to the circle and everyone followed her, pied piper-like under the white arch twined in red roses, white lilies and green snapdragons. The flowers, chosen with care by Daisy and Miss Florence, reflected traditional handfast colors.
Sarah Glenn looked elegant and serene in an embroidered tunic worn over an ankle-length skirt. Cedric had foregone a polo shirt and khakis for black trousers and a loose, collarless shirt of a rich, burgundy.
He offered Sarah his arm and patted her hand. His distinguished middle-aged face radiated affection as the couple journeyed to each of the compass points on the circle where they received blessings and gifts.
Daisy tried to listen but her heart was upstairs in the Gray Lady. At this very moment Caro was undoubtedly uttering the words that would change all of their lives. Daisy willed Nick and her sister to accept the truth and to embrace it.
Sarah Glenn’s vows made Daisy tremble with emotion.
“From the moment we met,” she told her intended, “you have understood me and supported me. You have enriched my life is so many ways as we’ve walked a path together. You always see the goddess in me. I promise to always see the god in you.”
Cedric paused for a long minute. “I love you, Sarah Glenn. And I always will.”
Tears coursed down Daisy’s cheeks but from the gulps and sniffs she heard she knew she wasn’t the only one affected by the groom’s simple declaration. True, unadorned love touched everyone. She forced a smile. It was, in its way, a comforting thought.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Fate, Nick realized, had provided a perfect moment to find out why Caroline Budd hated him so much. He waited for her to help her son change his clothes. After Stevie blasted out of the house Nick took Caro’s arm.
“I’d like to talk to you.”
She didn’t want to be with him. The tension in her arm revealed her resistance but he knew she wouldn’t bolt. He’d just fished her son out of the fountain and she would pay her debt. After all, she was a Budd. Before he could come up with another way to ask what the hell her problem was, she asked him a question.
“Were you happy in California?”
It was a start.
“I wasn’t unhappy. I set goals and met them.”
“Why did you come back to Mayville, Nick?”
He knew it was too late for lies. She was going to be his sister-in-law. Daisy loved and trusted her. He’d trust her, too. He told her about the quest for the blue diamond.
Caroline’s blue eyes searched his face. “Why didn’t Theo ask Buzz to find it?”
He shrugged. “Daisy believes the letter was an olive branch, that Theo used it to lure me back into the family and the business.”
“Is that what happened?”
He chuckled. “Pretty much.”
“Daisy’s got good instincts about people. Most of the time.”
Nick studied her. Was their battle over? No. She’d calmed down but there was still something in those turquoise eyes. Turmoil. And tears.
“Caroline,” he said, catching her hand.
“You love her, don’t you? Oh, no, please don’t tell me. I’m just,” she tugged her hand away from him, “I’m just so sorry.” She fled down the corridor and out the door. He let her go but he frowned, thoughtfully. She was still distressed but, for once, it seemed he was not the source of her anxiety. So what was? What was her secret? He promised himself he would find out.
The notes of a recorder informed him that the handfast was underway. Nick sprinted down the hallway. He didn’t want to miss another moment with Daisy.
****
At the end of the ceremony, the hand fasted couple jumped over a broom, a pagan custom that symbolized crossing the threshold to a new life together.
Warm, strong hands at her waist made Daisy inhale deeply. Nick. Had he been behind her all the time? How had she not sensed him? Smelled him? A pang of sadness hit her. Their connection was already weakened.
“I liked the ceremony,” he murmured into her ear. “Maybe we should do a handfast, too.”
Her heart twisted. Caro hadn’t told him.
She flashed him a bright smile.
“You were Batman.”
He shrugged off the compliment.
“More like the Old Man and the Sea. I fished out a minnow.” His light tone matched hers but the gray eyes looked puzzled. “He seems like a great kid. We should order one just like him.”
Tears collected behind Daisy’s eyes but she held her smile. “He is a great kid. Look, I’ve got to get back to the tables.”
She felt his eyes on her as she crossed the lawn and she knew he was confused. It would all become clear later, as soon as Caro told him the truth. When she reached the table she glanced back and saw that he’d walked over to where Arthur Sneed stood next to the honeysuckle bushes. She willed her sister to go talk to him but Caro appeared to be very busy with the food. Daisy knew she couldn’t let this go. As soon as the dust cleared, Daisy would talk to her again. Nick had to be told about his fatherhood and soon. The doomed engagement had to end before Daisy lost her sanity.