Page 22 of Discovering Daisy

Again, Daisy had to concede that he hadn’t outright done anything bad. It was just a feeling she had.

And a look in his eyes.

“I was, uh, calling my Daddy,” she said.

“You’ve found a Daddy?”

That’s none of your business, she thought. Nothing about me is any of your business. She didn’t want to be rude, however, so she didn’t give voice to that sentiment.

Evidently, she didn’t answer fast enough for him, because he didn’t wait any longer, saying, “That was fast.”

Fast or slow isn’t any of your concern, she thought. Again, she didn’t voice it. She didn’t owe him an explanation and she was just ready for the encounter to be over.

“Excuse me,” she said, stepping away.

He cut over and blocked her path.

“Hey,” she said.

He was still grinning. “I just want you to know that when it doesn’t work out with this guy I’ll be here. Waiting.”

Now she didn’t care about being polite. “That’s a horrible thing to say.”

He spread his hands. “I don’t mean any offense. But when I see what I want, I go for it. Hard. And I want you to know that I’ll be around, waiting.”

“Well, offense taken,” she said.

“I’ve seen this before. Littles and Bigs are so eager to find each other that they latch onto the first one they come across,” he said. “But it often doesn’t last very long.”

She thought of telling him that the statement was ironic.

Wasn’t that what he’d done? He saw her, came on strong, and hadn’t let up since. Talk about moving fast.

She couldn’t find her voice, though. No matter how hard she tried, she was too nervous to stand up to him. She cleared her throat and tried to loosen her tongue from the roof of her mouth. But it still seemed glued there. Fear came washing over her. This wasn’t like back in that bar’s parking lot in Georgia, she reminded herself. She was on a crowded ocean liner. There were plenty of people around. In fact, she spotted her new friends, scrambling out of the ball pit. They kept their eyes on her, letting her know they were coming as backup.

But they wouldn’t be needed.

DaisyfeltWyatt’s presence behind her before she actually heard him. She also saw the fear in Evan’s eyes. He recovered quickly, but it was obvious that he was uneasy with the strapping farmer’s arrival onto the scene.

“Is there a problem here?” Wyatt asked.

“Ah, you must beDaddy,” Evan said.

To his credit, he wasn’t pissing himself in fright. His voice hadn’t trembled, either.

But he was clearly guarded.

Daisy turned so that she could see Daddy and Evan. Talk about a contrast!

Evan was sleek and tone, with soft, manicured hands and a somewhat snooty air.

Wyatt, on the other hand, didn’t look like a bodybuilder, but he was rippling with muscle born of manual labor. The tan he wore came from hard work in the sun, unlike Evan’s—which had come from a tanning salon membership.

The contrasts didn’t end there.

Wyatt’s hands were far from manicured. Those farm chores had produced callouses—along with thick, bulging wrists and forearms.

Daisy didn’t know anything about Evan’s world, but she knew Wyatt wouldn’t be at home there.

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