A Cowgirl's Secret (8 page)

Daisy wanted to hit out in rage, but couldn't. Henry's smile, his voice, paralyzed her with fear.
Please don't touch me.

“You all right?” Wren asked Daisy. “You've turned white as a sheet.”

“Kolt, girls,” Daisy said, “it's time to go home.”

“What?” Kolt complained. “We just got here.”

“I'm not going anywhere with you,” Bonnie declared. “You're crazy. Come on, Henry.” The girl took the man's hand. “Let's go ride the merry-go-round.”

“No!” Daisy managed to choke out.

“Mom, stop!” Kolt said when she tugged him to her, hugging him for all she was worth. “I hate you! You're being weird!”

He wriggled free to run off toward the bull chutes.

“I—I have to go after him,” she said on autopilot, determined to save her son.

“Let him go,” Luke urged. “Cash is there. He'll watch over him. Right now, I'm concerned about you.”

“As am I,” Henry said, rubbing his leathery hand
along her bare forearm. “Poor girl. What you need is a nice big hug.”

It was too much. The heat. The children being in danger. Henry's awful touch. Daisy's knees buckled as her world faded to black.

“I hate her!” Kolt said to a big, black bull with snot running out of his nose. “My mom's ugly and mean and—”

“You'd better watch talking about Mack like that, he's liable to bite your nose.”

“Bulls don't bite, Uncle Cash.” Kolt looked over to find his uncle looking way cool in his cowboy boots and hat and a huge, shiny belt buckle.

“But your mom does?”

Nose scrunched, Kolt asked, “What?”

His uncle whispered, “She always has been weird. I can't count how many times she's bitten me.”

Cracking a smile, Kolt gave his uncle a hug.

“What's that for?”

“I wish you were my dad.” Kolt didn't want to cry, but he couldn't help it. The crying just came out.

“Hey, whoa,” his uncle soothed, rubbing his back. “There's no crying at rodeos.”

“I—I'm sorry,” Kolt said.

“I'm teasing. You cry all you want.” Scooting over to a bench, Cash hefted Kolt onto his lap. Kolt didn't want
to look like a baby, but it sure felt good being loved. Especially now that he didn't have a mom or dad who weren't crazy. “So all joking aside, what happened?”

“Just stuff,” Kolt said, thinking back to how nuts his mom had acted and then how his dad hadn't even done anything to stop her. Henry was awesome. Why would she act like that? “I hate both of my parents.”

“Since you won't tell me what happened, all I can say for sure is that your mom and dad love you.”

Shaking his head, Kolt said, “I know for a fact she doesn't, otherwise every time something fun happens she wouldn't ruin it. I can't even talk to my dad without her flipping out about something. And just now, I was gonna go with Henry and the twins and she freaked out again.”

“Hmm.” Uncle Cash seemed to think about that. “Maybe she's just having a bad day.”

“Yeah, but she has one every day, and that means I never get to see my dad.” One of those real fancy rodeo queens passed. Kolt wriggled off Cash's lap to sit beside him. “Do you know him? I mean, like are you friends?”

“Me and Luke?” Cash asked.

Kolt nodded.

“He's a great guy. I've been friends with him my whole life and trust me, if your mom hadn't kept you a secret, he'd have been the best dad any kid ever had—except for me.” Uncle Cash winked.

With no girls in sight, Kolt snuggled closer. “Really, I'm just gonna live with you and Wren and Robin now, okay?”

“Much as I'd love having another stud as handsome as myself in the house, that's not going to work. Your mother would have my hide.” Cash swatted at a fly. “Not only that, but mark my words, you're going to end up thinking Luke's pretty amazing.”

“I don't think so,” Kolt said with a firm shake of his head.

“Can you do me a favor and try liking him? Luke's my friend, and I'd hate to have you not like him just because he's not as handsome as me.”

Laughing, Kolt said, “You're as crazy as my mom!”

“But darned good-looking, right?”

 

“W
HERE ARE THE KIDS
?” Daisy asked, abruptly waking in the shade of an oak, cradled in Luke's capable arms. “Kolt? The twins? They're not with Henry?”

“Whoa,” Wren said, checking her pulse. “Let's not have a repeat of whatever just sent you crashing. The twins are with Dallas and Josie, and Kolt's with Cash. Now, drink some water for me and tell me what that spell was about. Has this happened before?”

“Never. I'm fine. But I need to find my son.” Daisy sat up, only to have her head swim.

“What's going on with you?” Luke asked. “Why this sudden concern for the kids? This is Weed Gulch. Aside from a few over-eager mini-van moms speeding in a school zone, there's not a lot of crime in this neck of the woods.”

If he only knew just what caliber of criminal Henry truly was. A tremble began deep inside, manifesting in her shivering on a dangerously warm day.

“I'm thinking it's time to call an ambulance,” Wren said to Luke. Robin cooed on a blanket alongside her.

“No,” Daisy snapped. “I'm fine.” She shook her head. “Just shaken. Henry—he's not who you think he is.”

“What are you talking about?” Wren asked, sitting back on her heels. “Henry's a loveable lug. He's offered to babysit for us a couple of times when we needed someone in a pinch.”

Hands cradling her throbbing forehead, Daisy said, “H-Henry's not who you think he is. H-he molested me. O-over and over. E-everyone thinks he's this wonderful man, but he's a monster. I haven't had the courage to tell everyone, but seeing him around the kids… Before he left, he made threats and then just now, when I saw him touching the twins, I—I knew no matter what, the truth had to be told.”

“Oh, Daisy…” Wren looked to Robin, placing a protective hand on her tummy.

Daisy felt Luke tense beneath her. Every inch of him hardening as if bracing for a fight. “It all makes sense. You were a walking statistic. The partying. Taking stupid risks. Running away from everyone you loved when you should've run toward us.” On his feet, he slammed his right fist into his left palm.

“We have to tell someone,” Wren said, expression dazed. “The authorities have to be called.”

“D-don't waste your breath.” Daisy informed them of the laws that made going after Henry difficult. For a woman as private as Daisy, the stares of passersby should've mortified her, instead, the release of such a long-held secret was liberating.

While racking sobs escaped her, Luke knelt beside her, holding her close. “Let it out… That's it. No one's ever going to hurt you again.”

“Wh-when I saw him,” she said against Luke's chest, “something in me snapped. On the outside, I've grown so much, but on the inside, I'm still a scared little kid. He told me if I tattled on him, everyone I loved would hate me. Or worse, he'd hurt them. He made threats so many times I ingested his poison and deeply believed it. As much as my brothers love him, I still wonder what if they think I'm lying? After all, it's my word against his. They no doubt view me as their nutty sister who ran off for greener pastures. Meanwhile, there's wise, kind, dependable Henry—does he still carve all those stupid wood toys?”

Lips pressed tight, Luke nodded.

“H-he once told me Christmas was the happiest time of the year for him—not for the usual reasons, but because so many little boys and girls got to sit on Uncle Henry's lap.” She shuddered. “Now, can you see why I left? I was eighteen and wild and had been so badly abused my head wasn't on straight. Wh-when I found out I was pregnant, my only thought was running as far as I could. A-and then, the longer I stayed away, the more impossible returning became. I knew I'd disappointed so many people—most of all, you.”

“I get it,” Luke said, smoothing her hair from her forehead. “Still don't like it, but I understand. Why didn't you tell someone? A teacher, Doc Haven…
me?”

Back in those days, Luke had loved Daisy with cutting clarity. With her brother as his best friend, Luke
had known Daisy his whole life, but the summer before their freshman year in high school, she'd stopped being a pest to become his fascination. Long blond hair, limbs kissed sun-gold, her smile made him aspire to be more than a 4-H kid who spent every spare second with his horse.

“I know,” she said barely loud enough for him to hear.

But she didn't—
know.
Henry's actions had had a ripple effect. By causing her to leave, so many more lives had been hurt. Including Luke's. Their son's. Luke had spent years wondering what he'd done wrong. So much lost time and energy and, most of all, hope.

As much as Luke was firmly in Daisy's proverbial court, he also knew that, beloved as Henry was in the Weed Gulch community, folks would take sides. Up to the day she left, Daisy had had a reputation for being the Buckhorn wild child. Now that Luke knew what demons she'd been running from, her constant partying made sense. But would the God-fearing people of Tohwalla County see the accomplished woman Daisy had fought to become? Or would she remain the out-of-control teen they remembered?

 

“P
LEASE
, D
ALLAS, SAY SOMETHING
.” After pouring out her story in his quiet study, Daisy's pulse raced to an uncomfortable degree. Luke had brought her home while Wren organized the rest of the family, making sure the children were occupied while Daisy delivered her news. “Tell me what's going through your head?”

His sarcastic laugh bordered on dangerous.

Fists clenched, he rose.

“What're you doing?” she asked, also on her feet.

“Getting answers.” Already to the study door, he stormed out the house's back exit, his strides too large for her to catch up.

“Dallas, wait!”

He waved off her request. No use in asking him where he was going. Henry's one-bedroom home stood next to the barn. Directly in Dallas's path.

By this time, the rest of the family had taken note of his uncharacteristic behavior. Her mother and brothers, along with Josie and Luke all stood behind her. Wren was with the children in the movie room, where a Disney film blared loud enough to block matters not fit for young ears.

“Henry Pohl,” Dallas shouted, banging the heel of his fist against the old man's door.

Though Daisy's rubbery knees threatened to buckle, she, along with the rest of the crowd, trailed after Dallas.

“Get out here!”

“Boss,” Henry said with his characteristic slow smile and a tip of his cowboy hat. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

Dallas delivered a hard right to Henry's jaw.

“What the hell—” Henry adopted a defensive pose.

Daisy was so frightened she forgot to breathe.

Luke sidled up behind her, cupping his hands to her shoulders in silent support.

“Did you mess with my sister?” Dallas asked.

“Absolutely not,” Henry said, having the audacity to
look offended. “That what this runaway harlot claimed? How many years have I given to you and yours, Dallas Buckhorn? This kind of insulting accusation is how you repay me?”

“Shut up!” Daisy screamed, childishly placing her hands over her ears. “I can't take any more of your lies. You molested me over and over in this very house. You told me it was our
special
secret, and that if I ever told another soul, I'd be in trouble. Well, you know what, you sick bastard? I'm not afraid or defenseless any more. I let you rob me of the past ten years, but no more. You're never going to do this to another little girl.”

“Oh, Daisy…” Her mother crushed her in a hug. “Why didn't you tell us?”

Her story poured out on racking sobs. How Henry had threatened not only her if she'd told, but all of them. In the end, Daisy had felt crazy and had to get away. She'd wanted to come home, but fear and embarrassment and shame all melded into a wall she feared she'd never break through.

To Henry, Dallas said, “You've got fifteen minutes to pack up your crap and get the hell off my land.”

“Be reasonable,” Henry said. “Clearly, Daisy's not in her right mind.”

“Me?” Daisy shrieked. “What you did was unspeakable.”

Wrapping her arm around Daisy's shaking shoulders, Georgina said, “Let's get you inside. Dallas, just as soon as that man's gone, call the sheriff.”

“Let's not be too hasty,” Henry pleaded. “Please. This is my home.”

“Dallas,” Daisy managed, “from a legal standpoint, there's nothing we can do.”

“The hell there isn't,” her brother roared. “Ladies, get on in the house and let us men take care of this.”

Relieved didn't come close to describing how Daisy felt about her family rallying around her.

“Georgina,” Josie said, “I'm going to help Wren with the kids. I'm sure you and Daisy need to talk.”

“Thank you,” Daisy said to her sister-in-law.

“It's us who should be thanking
you,
” Josie said with an awkward hug. “Truthfully, I've heard Henry ask the twins to play at his house, and thought it odd. Now, I know why alarms went off in my head. H-he just seemed so kind. Part of the family, you know?” Hand to her forehead, she sharply exhaled. “Listen to me. I'm babbling. I—I just can't believe this kind of predator has been in our home.”

“I know,” Daisy said. “I'm sorry I didn't come forward sooner, I just…”

“Shh,” Georgina urged. “Now that this ugly business is out in the open, let Dallas take care of it. We need never speak of it again.”

As much as Daisy appreciated her mother's kindness, the
ugly business
was an intrinsic part of who she was. Now that those she loved were aware of the reason behind her leaving, she wanted it out of her, and talking about it was the only way to make that happen.

An hour later, exhausted from the showdown with Henry, Daisy lay stretched out on the living-room sofa, resting her head on her mother's lap. “I should still be worried about Henry, but all I can think about is how
upset Kolt was at the rodeo. I want him to understand I had good reason, but the last thing I want to do is burden him with my trouble.”

“I'm so sorry,” Georgina said, softly stroking Daisy's hair. “I feel like I'm at the root of all of this. If only I'd paid closer attention to you, instead of to my garden club and parties, none of this ever would've happened.”

There had been a time when Daisy had put the entire blame on her mother's shoulders, but with each passing year, she'd realized how the whole family had been victims of Henry's abuse. “Don't let that guilt settle in. It's counterproductive. I know. For now, I need to focus on Kolt and Luke. I have to help them make up for the time I stole.”

“As wonderful a man as Luke is, I suspect Kolt will soon enough grow to love him, and in the process forgive you. But, hon, it's not going to happen overnight.”