Page 35 of Wallflower
I take a deep breath and pick up my drink. “I’m so embarrassed.”
She waves her hand and leans back in her chair. “Don’t be. Chord can be an arrogant, irritable jackass, but he’s got a good heart. In fact, I feel like I should apologize to you.”
I choke a little on my mouthful of tea and hurry to set down my glass. “To me? Why?”
Daisy glances out to the field where Chord and Izzy are hard at work, then turns back with a rueful smile.
“I’m sorry you got stuck in the middle of Chord and Charlie’s discussion the day you arrived. She feels bad about it, and it has nothing to do with you. They’ve got their own stuff, but it was unfair to air it in front of company.”
She purses her lips and cocks her head to one side, examining me like a specimen in a jar. “You work for the Fury, right?”
“Ah… yes?”
She nods thoughtfully. “So, you can’t repeat any of what I tell you now, right?”
“Right.”
She nods once. “Good. I could use someone to talk to, and it’s hard to make real girlfriends when Chord Davenport is your brother. I never know when something I say might end up in an article somewhere, or if someone is being friendly just to get his number.”
I sense that whatever Daisy wants to get off her chest is none of my business, but I ignore the little flush of shame for not shutting this down and lean closer.
“Chord was always a hockey prodigy—magic from the moment he was old enough to skate. He knew it. Mom and Dad knew it. And they made sure that me and Dylan and Finn and Charlie knew it. They treated him differently. Never made him do chores, made allowances for him they never gave us, and raised him to put himself and his own goals before everything else, even the ranch. Don’t get me wrong—Mom and Dad were amazing parents, and they loved us so big—but Chord wasspecial. I don’t think Chord realizes, even now, how his dreams affected our relationships with him.”
I lick my lips and blink a little, trying not to show how her words affect me. Dreams are something I think about all the time—dreams and how they make people do selfish things. My mom chose dreams over her family. I shelved my dreams to take care of my dad. And he never had dreams of his own.
Daisy doesn’t notice how I hang on her every word. “It was hardest on Charlie and still is. With or without Chord and hockey, Finn was always going to be a SEAL, Dylan was always going to be a chef, and I was always going to run away the day I turned eighteen. We were never going to stay here and run this place, but Charlie…”
Daisy tips her head from side to side like she’s looking for the right words. I’m on the edge of my seat even though I’ve never felt good about gossip but… Chord saw my boobs. And my sketchbook. I’m going to take my chance to learn something intimate about him.
“Chord’s the oldest. You know that, right?” Daisy says, and I nod. “In another world, he’d have been the one to take over here, but inthisworld, that responsibility fell to Charlie. She was prepped from day one to take over Silver Leaf, and she wants to live up to the dreams Mom and Dad had for her the same way Chord lived up to the future they planned for him. Charlie wants to prove herself the way Chord has—show the world she’s capable of success. But the problem is she’s scared.”
“Of what?” I ask before I can help myself. “Chord?”
Daisy shakes her head. “God, no. At least, not like that. I think she’s scared that when Chord retires, he’ll come back and take what she’s spent the last eight years trying to build. That he’ll swoop in with his money and his attitude and she’ll be pushed aside. Charlie loves this place, and she wants to save it—in her own way and on her own terms.”
“Save it? Is Silver Leaf in trouble?”
Daisy raises one perfect eyebrow. “Twenty years ago, this place was something else,” she says. “Today, we make just enough from the restaurant, weekend tourists, the occasional wedding, and one catering client’s monthly wine order to keep us in the black. Without that, we’d have shut down years ago.”
“I’m sorry. I had no idea.”
“How could you? Just don’t mention it to Charlie. She’s working hard to turn things around. We want horses again—that’ll be my job—and a spa. Glamping. More private bungalows. All of us have ideas, but we’re struggling to make them happen.”
“And Chord?” I ask. “He doesn’t want to invest?”
Two weeks ago, I might have presumed Chord was cold enough to leave his family to fend for themselves, but now… I glance over at where he’s helping Izzy bang on a fence post with a hammer, then smile when he pretends she caught his thumb with a big-swing hit. I’ve seen too much to believe that about him anymore.
Daisy snorts. “Chord has tried to invest in this place more times than I can count, and Charlie won’t take it. If Chord can make his fortune on his own, then so can she—or so says Charlie.”
Poor Charlie. Poor Chord. It sounds like a big old mess.
Voices float to us on the summer air, and Daisy and I turn to see Chord leading Izzy back to the house. He’s still got that cap on backwards and he’s spinning the cowboy hat on one finger. He flicks it at Daisy when he steps onto the porch, and she catches it with two hands.
“Never in a million years, Daze,” he mutters.
She rolls her eyes and jumps to her feet. “And the backward baseball cap isjust so cool.” Daisy turns to me. “Don’t forget, Vi. Saturday night. Eight o’clock. Oh, no. What’s wrong? What’s that look?”
I didn’t know I had a look, but I was mentally going through the items in my wardrobe anddancinghadn’t been on my summer bingo card when I packed.
