A Cowgirl's Secret

Chapter Fifteen

Saturday night, after having worked on her house all day, Daisy was excited about her date with Luke. It was almost Thanksgiving and this year, she had an extraordinary amount of blessings for which to be thankful.

Henry had been denied bail and was most likely behind bars for good. Kolt was back at school, unscarred by his ordeal. The psychiatrist she and Luke had taken him to reported that Kolt was actually lucky to have been drugged as it had saved him the trauma of realizing he’d been kidnapped, rather than enlisted to save his cousin. Best of all, she and Luke had decided to follow in Cash’s footsteps by having a Christmas wedding. To say Georgina was thrilled was the understatement of the year. From the moment she’d heard the news, the woman had started planning.

Dressing in her best black dress, then adding her favorite pearls, Daisy realized the only dim spot in her otherwise bright life was Peggy Montgomery. They hadn’t spoken since the afternoon Kolt had been taken. Daisy knew she couldn’t put off seeing the woman forever, but she figured a year or two wouldn’t be so bad.

“Where are we going?” Daisy asked in the Jeep once they were finally underway.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he teased.

“Yes.” She unbuckled her seat belt to string kisses round his neck. “I would.”

“Hey,” he complained. “Buckle up for safety.”

“You’re no fun.”

“Oh,” Luke laughed, “wait about five minutes and you’ll be eating those words.”

No kidding.

He pulled into the driveway of her new home, only, instead of being dark and dreary as it had been when she’d left, white Christmas lights had been strung from the turrets and cupolas and eaves.

“Luke, it’s amazing.” She bounded out of the car for a better view. “But when… I was here all afternoon.”

Standing next to her, his arm around her waist, he said, “You forget you have three brothers who have an awful lot of friends. Ever heard the expression, ‘Many hands make light work’? The second you drove off, they swooped in.”

Beaming, she shook her head. “This is incredible. I don’t know how to thank you.”

“How about by wearing this?” From his coat pocket, in night air cold enough that they could see their breath, he withdrew a robin’s-egg-blue box.

“You remembered?” When they’d been teens, she’d been obsessed with the movie, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and had once told Luke if a man didn’t buy her a ring from there, she’d refuse to marry him.

He nodded. “In the movie, I know Audrey Hepburn really gets a Cracker Jack ring, but they don’t put rings in Cracker Jack anymore, so you’ll have to settle for the real thing.”

Tearing up, she stood on her tiptoes, kissing him for all she was worth. “It’s the most gorgeous ring in the whole world.”

“For what it cost, it’d better be,” he said with a wink.

She kissed him again.

“Let’s get inside before we freeze.”

“But the central heat won’t be done for two more weeks.”

Taking her hand, Luke explained, “That’s why the good Lord invented fireplaces.”

Inside, Daisy was greeted by a crackling fire and a living room so elegant she thought they might’ve stepped into the wrong home. Though the plaster walls were still cracked and the ceiling still riddled with holes, a sumptuous round area rug had been set in front of the hearth. On top of the rug was a burgundy velvet sofa with a Victorian flavor, but a hundred times more comfortable. Side tables held dancing candles and chocolates and cakes and pies and tarts.

Pressing her hands to her cheeks, Daisy confessed, “I—I don’t even know what to say. No one’s ever done anything like this for me. It’s off-the-charts romantic.” As was usually the case when her emotions got the better of her, Daisy began to cry, but this time, happiness was to blame.

“Hey…” Luke used the pads of his thumbs to brush her tears away. “There’s no crying when a guy’s trying to get lucky.”

“Oh—for creating this work of art, you’re guaranteed a home run.” She kissed him, then kissed him again and again.

“Would you be surprised if I admitted to having a little help from Josie and Wren?”

Nibbling a chocolate-covered strawberry, she said, “I’d be more shocked if you hadn’t.”

“Hey,” he complained, “was that a dig at my decorating skills?”

“Not at all, sweetheart.” She pressed a kiss to his lips. “Not at all.”

This time when they made love, it was a leisurely exploration, enhanced by the shared knowledge that they finally had all the time in the world to share.

When Luke entered her, there was no pain, only rippling fissions of pleasure. “I love you,” he said, using one hand to cup her cheek. “I wanted to tell you last time, but I was scared.”

“You’re not now?” Daisy needed to know.

Luke said, “I’m one-hundred-percent convinced marrying is what we need to do.”

From then on, sensation became more important than conversation. Building need consumed her until she was too desperate to think. Their kisses grew ever more intense, deepened with chocolate-flavored sweeps of their tongues. When release finally came in a thousand shimmering waves of pleasure, Daisy cried out.

She’d never dreamed life could be so perfect. And she’d never loved a person more. Yes, Kolt was her world, but letting Luke in had only expanded that world, making it brighter and stronger and infinitely better for her and her son.

AN HOUR LATER, LUKE SAT on the sofa holding Daisy in his arms. The fire and candles may have burned down, but his feelings for her had only grown. “We’re going to have an amazing life,” he said, toying with a strand of her hair.

“Agreed. You don’t mind moving in here, though, do you?”

“I’d be miffed if I didn’t get to. It’s going to be a great house. My mom’s going to sprout green envy horns when she sees this place decked out for the holidays.”

“Lucky for her,” Daisy said, “it could be next year before we’re open for holiday business.”

“True,” Luke said with a resigned nod. There were a daunting number of tasks left to do, but he had a feeling working together would make the jobs fun. Sure, they’d have their squabbles over paint colors and bathroom tiles, but overall, he couldn’t wait to start their shared lives.

“Speaking of your mom, did you ever bring up the fight I had with her?”

“Yeah. I would like her to apologize, but she’s sticking to her guns.”

Easing upright, Daisy’s eyes narrowed. “In what regard?”

“Look.” He straightened as well. “There’s no pleasant way to put this, so I’m going to come right out with it. Mom and Dad feel I should take legal action to make sure Kolt’s mine—you know, on paper.”

“Whoa.” Hands on her hips, she stood. “You’re kidding, right?”

“No. They’re dead serious. And it got me thinking—maybe they’re right? I know you’re not running again, but what could it hurt to put it in writing? Something along the lines of a formal prenup arrangement should you ever decide Weed Gulch isn’t the place you want to be.”

The last thing Luke had intended was to upset Daisy with his suggestion, but judging by her scowl, she was more than a smidge miffed, although dressed as she was—in her panties and his white dress shirt—it was hard taking her seriously.

“Aw, baby,” he said, cinching his arms around her waist. “Don’t be mad. Forget I ever mentioned it.”

She laughed, but the sound was brittle. “How am I supposed to forget a thing like my future husband having so little faith that I’ll stick around that he actually wants me to sign over legal rights to our son—just in case.”

“Daisy, I didn’t mean it like that.” Or had he? Luke would be lying if he said a small part of him wasn’t still gun-shy when it came to Daisy sticking around. She’d hurt him once so badly. Who was to say she wouldn’t do it again? He hoped like hell she wouldn’t, but the doubt remained all the same.

In the process of tugging his shirt over her head, she ruined her fancy hairdo. With her hair spilling at crazy angles, she was back to looking like the teenage girl he’d first loved. The same girl who’d first broken his heart.

She plucked her bra from the floor, putting it on with little fanfare before wriggling into her dress. Adding her heels, she began blowing out candles. “Would you please douse the fire. I know the chimney sweep said it was safe, but I don’t want it burning when no one’s home.”

“Why are you doing this?” Luke asked, refusing to do one lick of her bidding until she came to her senses. “Considering the fact that I didn’t even know I had a son until ten freaking years after his birth, is it really too much to ask for you to give me insurance in an ironclad, legal-type document you’ll be sure to understand?”

“You won’t put out the fire,” she said. “Fine. I’ll do it myself.” Marching into the kitchen, she filled the bucket she used for cleaning. Her heels made a racket on the wood floors, the sound echoing through the empty house. With water on the flames, the logs hissed and smoked. She grabbed her coat, making quick work of slipping it on. “Ready?”

“You can’t be serious?” he asked along with a sarcastic chuckle. “After all I did to make this night perfect, you’re going to ruin it by pitching a hissy fit?”

“Oh—” Yanking off the ring he’d spent hours figuring out how to order online, she took his hand, setting the still-warm platinum band in his palm. “I’ve gone way past hissy into the realm of blind fury. The sooner you get me home, the better.”

“You are home.” Hoping words of reason might help her find her apparently lost sanity, he said, “Our home. You and me, remember? We just made love on the living-room floor. A second time on our new sofa. Are you really going to give up what we share all because I need black-and-white proof you’ll never leave me again?”

“Yes,” she said, voice hollow and cold, “because in the same respect, I need proof that the man I plan to marry trusts me.”

DAISY SPENT THE REMAINDER of the night crying into her bedroom pillows. Thankfully, by the time Luke dropped her at home, everyone in her nosy family was either asleep or, as in the case of her son, engrossed in a movie that had far too many wall-shaking explosions.

How could Luke do this to her? To their son?

Was this a sign that she should chuck it all and return to San Francisco?

Her life had been so much simpler there. Work and Kolt had been her only two concerns. Yes, they’d also been her only loves, but in light of what had just transpired between her and Luke, it wasn’t as though she had anything to salvage in Weed Gulch.

Her bedroom door creaked open, and just like old times, in marched her big brother, Dallas. “What’s with the boo-hooing? After all the work me and a bunch of other guys did, don’t tell me Luke botched his proposal?”

She shook her head and sniffled.

“What’s the problem, then? I saw the ring and the guy’s got style.”

Rolling over to face Dallas, who sat down on the side of her bed, Daisy said, “H-he did give me his ring, and it was the best I’ve ever seen. The night was magic until he—” Still reeling from the shock of Luke’s request, her tears started anew.

“Quit crying and tell me what happened.” Dallas had never been the sappy, overly-emotional type.

After giving her brother the highlights reel on what had ranked right up there as the worst night of her life, Daisy asked, “Now, do you see why I’m so frustrated?”

Sighing, he looked to the ceiling, then back to her. “In a word, no. Now, before you go getting bent out of shape, let me explain. I’ve known Luke a hell of a long time and he’s a good man, Daisy. He wouldn’t have asked this of you unless he was scared. In all the times you two have been together, it’s always been you walking away. Yes, this time I know you mean for your relationship to last forever, but can’t you understand that from Luke’s point of view, there’s no such thing? This document he’s asked for should mean nothing to you—because if you truly never intend to vanish again, you don’t have to worry about losing Kolt.” Squeezing her toes, he added, “Way I see it, it’s a slam dunk for all three of you.”

DAISY WOKE THE NEXT MORNING with Dallas’s words still ringing in her head. She dropped Kolt off for school, and then drove straight to her office. She busied herself reading over a few documents for Barb. She helped a couple with a newborn to write wills. Most of all, she wondered if Dallas was right in that she was taking Luke’s request far too personally.

Yes, it hurt to her core that he could make such a demand, but considering what she’d put him through, wasn’t providing him with this relatively small measure of reassurance the least she could do?

For the next hour, Daisy wrote the most solid, binding child-custody agreement she could. When she finished, she emailed it to a friend who specialized in family law. Once Ally announced that the document was airtight, Daisy took her coat from a brass peg on the wall and set out to retrieve both her man and her ring.

Her throat tightened when she got to Luke’s cabin and found his Jeep and camper were gone. Knowing Dallas cared for Luke’s horses when he was out of town, she tracked down her brother who reported that Luke had left that morning for a job in Wyoming.

“How long’s he going to be?” Daisy asked Dallas.

He sat at his desk, paying bills, and he was in no mood to chat. “I don’t know. He was hoping for only a week, but in his line of work, he never knows. He’d turned it down so he wouldn’t be away so close to Christmas, but once you ran the poor guy’s heart through a meat grinder, he figured he might as well get back out on the road to start paying off your ring. Oh—and he wanted me to ask you to keep Kolt near a phone once he gets home from school.”

Determined to see her mission through to a satisfying conclusion, Daisy wrangled from Dallas the route Luke would be taking, as well as his final destination. Next, she packed small bags for herself and her son. She kissed her mom, explaining exactly where she was going and what she planned to do. If there was anything she’d learned from her fight with Luke, it was always to be open with the people you love. Last stop was Kolt’s school where she explained to his teacher that they were taking an educational field trip to see his father working. Armed with Kolt and enough schoolwork to keep him busy for over a week, Daisy was finally ready to go.

Would Luke be ready to accept her latest apology?

WRESTLING WITH A biting champion breeding mare in sub-zero wind cold enough to freeze spit, Luke figured he might’ve been better off staying home. On the flip side, his current company was a damned sight more logical than Daisy, whose tantrum still chapped his hide.

What had she been thinking, breaking up with him yet again? They worked together. Sure, they bickered, but half the fun of that was in making up.

His cell rang—not that he heard it over the howling wind, but he felt the vibration in his back pocket. Seeing the caller was his mom, he considered not answering but then decided to pick up. “Hey, Mom. I’m busy.”

“So am I,” she said. “But listen, I ran into Cami Vettle—the elementary school secretary—and honey, I don’t know how to say this in a way that won’t sting, but Daisy checked Kolt out of school for an indefinite amount of time and even gathered enough of his books and homework to last the rest of the year.”

The tuna sandwich Luke had eaten for lunch threatened to come up. “You sure?”

“Marty down at the gas station said Daisy not only filled her tank, but bought an atlas. Now, I ask you, why would a woman with her means do that unless she was planning a trip?”

“I don’t know,” he snapped. Where the hell was Daisy going with his son? Should he call Dallas? Alert him his sister was on the run again?

“Don’t get angry with me,” Peggy barked right back. “I’m just confirming what I knew all along. Daisy Buckhorn is no good.”

Disconnecting his mother, Luke returned the mare to her stall. In this weather, she was too agitated to listen and he was too keyed up to speak.

His camper rocked in the wind as if he’d parked in the middle of a lake. Still, he put in a call to Dallas. When it went straight to voice mail, Luke truly started to panic.

“MOM,” KOLT SAID, MUNCHING a sweet-smelling apple, “I’m pretty sure you just made a wrong turn.”

Daisy argued, “But the GPS lady said this is the way.”

Her oh-so-wise child sighed. “I’m telling you, she’s wrong. We’ve learned all about maps in school and I think we should turn.”

“Okay,” Daisy said, “but it’s cold and windy and we haven’t seen any sign of civilization for an hour. If we have to spend the night out here, I’m eating all of your pretzels.”

He laughed. “I know I’m right.”

“You excited to see your dad?”

Nodding, he said, “I’m real glad you guys are getting married. It’ll be fun having him live with us all the time. Plus, I’ve been meaning to tell you, I want an extra-big wedding cake.”

Worrying her lower lip, she said, “Slow down, sweetie. We don’t know for sure yet if Luke even wants to marry me. Last time I saw him, I made him pretty mad.”

Kolt said, “Don’t worry, Mom. I know Dad loves you.”

“How?”

“Because every time he talks about you, he gets a funny look on his face. Kind of the same way Jonah does when he’s around Nancy Meir. I think she’s gross, but Jonah’s all the time talking about her shiny hair.”

“That’s a very bad sign,” Daisy said, afraid to hope her son’s assessment of Luke might be right. After two days on the road, more than anything she wanted Luke to give her one more chance. She knew she didn’t deserve it, but she figured it never hurt to pray.

HAND TO HIS FOREHEAD, shielding his eyes from the worst of the dust the wind had kicked up, Luke eyed the car approaching the Triple C’s barn.

No way…

Sure enough, Daisy’s prissy gold Mercedes—dirty as ever, bucked over the potholed dirt lane. Seated in the front seat alongside her was Kolt.

Tears stung Luke’s eyes, but he didn’t even bother sweeping them away. His mom hadn’t just been wrong, but acting downright senile. Daisy hadn’t been running from him, but to him.

Chest swelling with hope that she’d tracked him down for a happy reason, he damn near stopped breathing when he noticed her expression as she left the car wasn’t all smiles.

“Dad!” Kolt bolted from his seat, barreling himself against Luke for a man-size hug. “I missed you.”

Kissing the top of his son’s head, Luke said, “I missed you, too, bud.”

“Did you miss Mom?” Kolt asked.

Luke didn’t have a quick answer. Yes, he’d missed her so bad he hadn’t even wanted to eat. But his logical side kept reminding him that he’d survived ten years without Daisy. Surely he could go a few more.

“It’s all right if you didn’t,” Daisy said. She wore faded jeans, sneakers and a ratty University of Oklahoma sweatshirt Luke recognized as belonging to Dallas. In her hands she carried a legal folder she struggled to keep steady in the wind. “That said, in the event you did miss me—want to see me again—I took the liberty of drawing up this.”

“What is it?” Luke asked. Had she written the legal papers he’d wanted? It seemed a bit silly now. A piece of paper proving trust. When his mom had told him Daisy had left Weed Gulch, Luke’s first instinct had been to panic, but a quiet voice of reason reminded him to stay strong. Daisy had grown, so had he. She wouldn’t hurt him again.

“I want you legally to have equal custody of our son. As his father, you could easily enough obtain it on your own, but I wanted it to come from me. This, too.” She handed over a small pouch, containing a folded document.

“First, come inside,” he said, putting his arm around both of them, guiding them to his trailer.

“This is cool!” Kolt said, bouncing on the bed. “Can I come horse-whisper with you?”

“Sure,” Luke said, all the while never dropping Daisy’s gaze.

“Now that we’re out of the weather,” she said with a shiver, “have a look. I—I think you’ll like it.”

A quick scan of the document inside showed it to be his son’s birth certificate. Daisy Buckhorn was listed as Kolt’s mother and Luke Montgomery as his father. Luke’s throat ached from holding back tears. “All this time? But I thought you’d listed his father as unknown.”

“You thought it,” she said. “During one of our hundred arguments I was going to tell you, but got interrupted. I’m done hiding things from you, Luke. You’ll never know how sorry I am for hurting you. You have to understand that no matter what, I want to make decisions that affect both of our lives as a team. If your offer’s still good, I don’t want to be Daisy Buckhorn anymore, but Daisy Montgomery.”

“Am I gonna be Kolt Montgomery?” their son asked.

“Yes,” Daisy said, “no matter what. I’ve already filed the paperwork.”

“I love you,” Luke said, too relieved for words. Not about the custody agreement. He knew he didn’t really need it. He was relieved that he and Daisy and Kolt were finally going to be a family. “Your ring’s at my cabin, but once you get it back on your finger, I’d better not ever see it off.”

“Yes, sir.” She sealed her promise with a kiss.

“Why don’t I get a ring?” Kolt asked.

“Because you’re getting a custom-built tree fort,” Luke said. “I already had a friend of mine draw up plans, and just as soon as your mom’s carpenters finish her jobs, I’m putting them to work on ours.”

“I love you, Dad.” Kolt squeezed Luke in a hug.

His throat tight with emotion, Luke said, “I love you both.”

“Hey,” Kolt pushed free. “There’s only one of me.”

Daisy and Luke laughed.

“I was talking about your mom,” Luke noted, “but if you want to leave her out of our fort, I suppose we can have a special vote.”

“Nah.” Kolt gave his mom a hug, too. “I love her, too, but Jonah says if you get married, Mom’s gonna have a baby and if she smells as bad as Mabel and Robin when they poop, then I don’t want her coming anywhere near our fort.”

“Agreed,” Luke said. “But what if your mom has a boy baby?”

Kolt took a moment to ponder this. “I s’pose then it would be okay. Boy babies don’t smell as bad, do they?”

Cupping her belly, Daisy’s eyes sparkled. “There’s only one way to find out.”