Chapter Five
Why is there so much mud?
Taking a drink from the water bottle as she sat perched on the edge of a large boulder, Daisy glanced down at the pair of once semi-white shoes that were now hopelessly brown and soggy. Her kids’ shoes looked, not surprisingly, worse, but they didn’t seem worried.
“Keep drinking, kids. I don’t want you to get dehydrated.”
Crap. She was really out of shape. But unlike the other moms, who always were dressed in the trendiest yoga and workout clothes as they dropped off their kids at school and headed to the gym, Daisy was usually heading into work. She didn’t have the luxury of spending the morning taking Rumba or spinning classes.
“How much longer?” Paul asked as he bent down, tapping a rock with a stick.
Daisy glanced over to Jack, whose cell phone had managed to get service and was now speaking in hushed tones several yards away.
“Soon, I’m sure.”
Jenna and Lily actually seemed to be the most impatient of the bunch. Since the moment they’d left the beach, the two had battled silently for the front spot in the line, stopping short of shoving the other one aside—at least so far. Their competitiveness hadn’t eased when Natalie and Paul attached themselves to Lily, who as an older and worldlier thirteen, was something of a rock star in their eyes. And even though ordinarily Jenna would be relieved not to have her younger siblings hounding her, the opposite had happened, making her resent the teen more.
“We’re not that far from the beginning anyhow,” Lily said, making it clear to everyone her expertise.
Jenna rolled her eyes. “Duh.”
“Okay. We’re set to go,” Jack said, returning to the group.
“Everything okay?”
“Absolutely. However”—he cast a worried look toward his daughter—“it looks as if the officers assigned to our security detail just arrived at the house.”
“Security detail?” Paul asked, wide-eyed. “Like your very own bodyguards?”
Jack smiled. “Something like that.”
If Jack had thought his daughter was going to be irked by the possibility of having someone shadowing her for the next year at least, the look on Lily’s face at Paul’s words looked a little more…proud, particularly as Natalie and Paul looked at her in wonderment.
“Let’s go then,” Jenna said impatiently and continued down the path, clearly not as impressed as her younger siblings.
Lily, not one to let anyone take the lead, raced forward, her longer legs making it easy to overtake Jenna. Jack exchanged a wary look with Daisy before picking up the pace to stay with the older girls, leaving Daisy, the younger kids, and Ollie to follow.
A few minutes into their descent, however, Ollie stopped suddenly, his ears alert. In an instant he bounded down the path, overtaking the girls before veering to the left. Immediately all the kids took off after him, shouting his name, but because Jenna and Lily were in the lead, they closed in on the dog well before anyone else.
Daisy had a sense of panic, as every thought entered her mind as the reason for Ollie’s sudden fit—bears and rattlesnakes chief among them—and she rushed forward to catch up with the group.
As she neared them, she saw Ollie—who was barking like crazy—was trying to get at something hiding in the bushes, which the shade from the trees made impossible to make out.
“Girls. Hold up,” Jack said, nearly upon them.
But a second later, the air was split by the sounds of the girls screaming, and Daisy thought her heart was about to jump from her chest.
Any question of what had caused the screams ended a second later when the strong, unmistakable smell of skunk filled the air. Immediately, Paul and Natalie stopped short, their hands going to their noses.
From Jenna’s and Lily’s shrieks of disgust and horror, it was too late for them. And for Ollie.
…
Daisy flinched as she sat back down in the chair having just handed Paul the bag of marshmallows.
“You sure you’re okay?” Jack asked her.
She pinned a smile on her face. “I’m fine. Just a little stiff is all.”
He nodded toward the two older girls who were staring stonily into the fire. “How do you think they’re doing?”
“Do you mean from the run-in with the skunk or the undeclared war they seem to have going on with each other?” There was at least humor in her tone.
“Both.”
“Who knows,” she said. “Maybe the experience even bonded them a little.”
They looked at the girls again, catching them in a moment when they met the other’s eyes before glancing quickly away. He chuckled. “Let’s hope so.”
“They’re both going to be fine,” Glenda said from Daisy’s other side.
It was safe to say he and Daisy were immensely grateful to the woman who had quickly prepared a home mixture to de-skunkify the girls once they arrived at the house. Fortunately, the temperature had still been in the upper seventies as they stood outside while the three adults got to work scrubbing them down with the mixture that smelled strongly of hydrogen peroxide. But it seemed to do the trick of neutralizing the odor, although both girls insisted a lingering smell of skunk still clung to them.
For everyone else, it was a big improvement.
“Mommy,” called the younger girl with wide beautiful brown eyes like her mother’s as she came running over to them. “Can we sleep with Lily and Ollie in her room tonight?”
The girls had been relatively easy to treat from the skunk mishap. Ollie, on the other hand, was another story altogether—the pup refused to stay still as they applied the solution to his coat. To make up for it, the younger two kids were raining love and kisses on the pooch, who seemed to be still shaken from the experience. The kids had promised to stay with Ollie all day and night, which they were evidently taking to heart.
“Hey, I thought we were staying in the blue room together,” Jenna said.
Uh-oh.
Jack looked at his daughter, who looked more than pleased to be fought over for attention. “Actually, the dormer room has plenty of space for everyone, if you guys want to stay there,” he said, recalling the four full-size beds.
“I don’t know…” Daisy said, turning around to find his daughter. “How do you feel about sharing the room, Lily?”
In a surprise turn of events, instead of the petulant look she’d been giving all day, his daughter’s face lit up. Made brighter when Natalie and Paul started begging, each pulling on an arm as they stared earnestly up at her. “I guess it’s okay with me.”
Which earned immediate whoops and hollers from the two. Jenna, however, appeared close to tears.
“Jenna, honey. Why don’t you join them?” Daisy asked. “You might have fun.”
“No thanks. I’ll be fine,” she said in a stubborn voice, her chin tilted in a way that reminded him of the girl’s mother.
Daisy shared a look with him. He was about to say something more to try and cajole Jenna, but Daisy shook her head slightly and mouthed, “She’ll be fine.”
“Let’s go choose our beds,” Paul called to his sister, no longer interested in marshmallows and the fire.
Natalie held her hand out to Lily. “Can I sleep next to you?”
Lily looked at the hand, and Jack held his breath for a minute, hoping she didn’t do anything to hurt the girl’s feelings. But under the undying adoration of her new fan club, she actually looked pleased at the prospect. “I guess.”
“Come on, Ollie,” Paul cried, and the dog swiftly bolted after the girls.
“Why don’t you take a moment and relax,” Glenda said to Daisy as she started to come to her feet. “I’ll see that the kids don’t get into trouble.”
“You don’t have to do that. I want this to be a vacation for you, too,” Daisy said.
“Nonsense,” Glenda said, not brooking any argument as she turned her light blue eyes on her niece. “I was ready to go inside to get warm anyhow—not to mention getting away from these blood-sucking mosquitos—for the past twenty minutes. Jenna, why don’t you come along? I can help you get settled in the blue room—if that’s still what you want.”
Looking like her best friend had died, Jenna nodded and stood.
“I’ll be in in a few minutes, hon,” Daisy said to her daughter, who moped all the way back to the house. With a grateful smile to her aunt, she sank carefully back down in her chair, no doubt already feeling the effects of today’s hike.
Glenda patted her niece’s shoulders, and as she passed, she smiled at him in a way that gave him the impression her leaving them alone wasn’t entirely unorchestrated.
Well, alone save for the officer dressed inconspicuously in jeans and a black jacket, walking the outer perimeter of the property. Officer Kenney was watching the family the rest of the night, with another officer who Jack had met briefly earlier, arriving in the morning to relieve him.
Daisy sighed. “I feel like I should go up and help them, but I don’t seem to have the energy to even move.”
“Your aunt’s right. You should take a minute to yourself.” He was certain she didn’t do it very often. “Glenda seems more than capable of keeping an eye on them.” He stuck another marshmallow on the stick, then held it out over the flames. “They’re great kids. You should be proud.”
“Thank you. And I am. Lily’s a great kid, too. She’s been wonderful with them. I know it can’t be easy having her vacation plans interrupted by us.”
“She’s full of surprises, I’ll tell you that. Every day I don’t quite know which Lily I’ll see. The sweet daddy’s girl I’ve known most of her life, or this moody teenager who thinks I’m the dark lord.”
She laughed and shook her head, sending her thick dark hair like a curtain across her shoulders. It was the first time he’d seen it worn down, and it was nearly impossible to not reach out and feel the weight under his fingertips.
Unaware of his thoughts, Daisy continued. “Can’t say I look forward to that part, necessarily. Not with two girls. I don’t even want to think about what it’s going to be like when Paul reaches puberty. Having two brothers myself, I remember my parents’ challenges.”
His marshmallow turning a nice golden brown, he turned it around as he considered broaching the topic. But if they were supposed to be pretending to be engaged, he probably should know everything. “If you don’t mind my asking, what about their dad? Is he around much to help out?”
“Leo? Let’s just say he’s around when it’s convenient to him. Like this week? He’d promised them at Easter he’d take them to Disneyland, and the kids have spent the past few months doing nothing but talk about the trip only to have him decide last week he and his latest girlfriend needed some”—she placed her fingers in air quotes—“alone time. In London. As if having them every other weekend and the occasional weeknight was already too time consuming.” She sighed and glanced over at him. “I’m sorry. I sound like one of those angry, bitter ex-wives. I just get tired of him always disappointing them.”
“You’re completely entitled to your frustration.” He pulled his marshmallow from the flame, giving it a moment to cool down. “A dad should be there when he says he will. His kids should be able to depend on him—and you should be able to depend on him, divorced or not.” Jack had always known that his own dad would be there for him. Even as, with maturity, he’d taken countering viewpoints to his dad’s and they argued more than they agreed, he’d always known that in a pinch he could call him and he’d be there.
“I agree. But I’m fortunate enough to have a really great family who can give them the support and attention they need.” Her eyes were soft and warm as she mentioned her family, her demeanor instantly relaxing as she sank farther under the blanket.
“You know, other than the fact that you have a brother who recently married Payton Vaughn, I don’t know much about your family. Tell me about them.” The marshmallow was near perfect and he held it out to Daisy, who shook her head, before pulling it from the stick and into his mouth, enjoying it’s warm, sweet ooziness.
“Do you have all night?” she joked. “My family is my rock. My parents have been happily married for almost forty years. My dad had been passing through Morelia, Mexico, a small town not far from Guadalajara, when he saw my mom. She’d only been eighteen at the time, but they both knew straightaway that they were the only person for them. A few weeks later, they were married and she moved to the States with him. And nearly forty years and four kids later, they’re still very much in love with each other.”
“I admit, I’m a little jealous. As an only child, I always wanted to be part of a big family.” It was a sentiment he’d shared with his late wife, Lara, since they both came from a single-child household and they used to talk about the giant brood of kids they were going to have. Unfortunately, fate had other plans in store and they’d only been blessed with Lily at the time of her death. “What are your siblings like?”
“I imagine you’ll find out soon enough,” she said slyly. “They’re going to insist on meeting you the moment we arrive back in Salt Lake. It’s only because my older brother Cruz and Payton are expecting their first baby in two months, and my other brother Dominic and his wife Kate just welcomed my new niece a month ago, that they’re not both here demanding an explanation from you.”
“Seriously? They’re that protective?”
She grinned. “Just wait. My younger sister, Benny, on the other hand, is actually delighted by our predicament, always said I needed a little excitement in my life. She wants me to make sure to extend an invitation to you and Lily to her wedding, which is three weeks from today. But as I explained to her, I don’t think our…arrangement is going to last that long.”
“Oh, right,” he said, surprisingly disappointed that he wouldn’t be part of that large family dynamic. “You’re probably right. Although… It’s not like we’ve actually written up a timetable or anything for how long this engagement has to last.”
“We haven’t,” she said quietly. “But I think it’s probably best for the kids that we end the charade as soon as possible. I don’t want them to get wrapped up in something that isn’t going to last.”
A sentiment he could relate to. Especially since sitting here right now, in this moment, with this remarkable woman, it all felt…right. “Of course. Well, I still look forward to meeting them. At least, I think I do,” he said, grinning again.
She studied him for a minute, her dark eyes strangely warm. “What’s your relationship with your dad? It’s just the two of you, right?” she asked, reaching down to grab her tumbler from the sand and raising it to her lips.
Some might think it striking that people already knew his family history—notably that he, like Lily now, was raised by his dad after his mom died. But having a dad who served eight years as city mayor before making his own unsuccessful attempt at governor, Jack had grown up used to having details of his family life open to inspection.
“Oh, he’s around. But even in retirement, he still manages to dabble in politics here and there, which can take him away some. You could say that political ambition runs in our blood.”
“He knows, then? About the governor thing?”
“It was his suggestion that I bring on Stuart. Now that I have the honor of serving as governor, he wants to make sure I hold onto it in the next election.”
She smiled. “He must be pretty proud.”
He nodded, and Daisy turned her gaze out toward the lake where, with the sun dropping below the horizon, the sky above the water was blazoned a dusty pink. But his attention was captured by the beautiful woman seated before him. Her full mouth dropped open the tiniest bit as if almost in wonderment at the sight before her.
He didn’t know much about Daisy’s ex-husband other than he was a total shit of a father, but was also certain that the guy had to be an utter moron to have ever let Daisy go.
A full yawn stretched the soft contours of her face and she brought her hand up to cover her mouth. “Sorry. It’s been a bit of an emotional day. And if I remember from tomorrow’s itinerary, there’s going to be lots more going on. So I’d probably better get back and help the kids into their baths.”
“I’ll be along in a few. Just want to get this put out,” he said, nodding to the fire.
She rose to her feet, tightening the soft gray blanket around her. “Then…good night.”
“Good night, Daisy.”
He watched as she made her way slowly up the path to the house, almost like some beautiful siren wandering the beach, trying to seduce men with her music even if the only song she was singing was an occasional muted cursing as she reached the steps and pulled her sore body up them.
He smiled. As unexpected as their new engagement might be, it was definitely making the prospect of spending more time with her and her family something to look forward to.