Leaving Liberty (10 page)

           
“You’re not a lot of help.” Daisy dusted off the knees of her pants and took a
quick peek in the dresser mirror before Rhonda re-appeared in the doorway. A
small frown between her brows but her hair wasn’t frizzing too much.

           
“Look who’s here to help get you moved!” Rhonda sounded thrilled, voice a few
octaves higher than normal.

           
Taking a deep breath for courage, Daisy turned, forcing the frown from her
face. She didn’t need any help. How many times did she have to say it? “Thanks
but I’m perfectly okay-”

           
“Oh!” The sight of the pretty dark haired woman startled the syllable out of
her.

           
 “Were you expecting someone?”

           
She scrambled for an answer. Yes, but she wasn’t going to tell the world that
she’d been one hundred percent positive Lane Bennett was standing behind her.
“Not really. I…” her voice trailed off. Awkward.

           
“Do you remember me? I’m Jamie, Lane’s sister. He told me you rented the cabin
for the summer and I thought I’d stop by and see if you needed anything.” She
threaded her fingers through her long, curly hair. “I’ve got to pick up my
little guy from preschool in an hour, but I’d be happy to take you out there.”

           
Of course, she could see just a bit of the sibling link now. Same bright smile,
same athletic figure, same teasing glint. “I’ve got the rental car, but it
would be fun to have you give me a tour of all your projects. Did you do all
the woodworking yourself?”

           
“Sure did.” Jamie grinned. “My husband should never have bought me that table
saw for Christmas. It was all downhill from there. Drills, sanders, paint
strippers. I’ve got everything.”

           
She couldn’t help but like her, even if she shared Lane’s genes. Where he was
irritatingly bossy, Jamie was welcoming and friendly. Her silky green top was
beaded and shimmered in the light. She seemed a happy, fashion-conscious
suburban mom. “You don’t look like someone who loves power saws.”

           
“Because I’m a woman?”

           
Uh-oh. Daisy could really see the resemblance now. Jamie’s jaw jutted out in
just the same way, her feet planted apart and hands on hips. “No, because
you’ve got all your fingers. I’m sure I’d lose one the first day I started a
project.”

           
Jamie let out a breath and smiled. “Nah, you’d be fine. I can teach you
everything you need to know. Especially how to keep your digits intact.”

           
“Well, I’ll let you two girls go. Daisy, you be sure to come back for dinner.”
She was enveloped by a warm, perfumed hug. Rhonda wandered back toward the
front parlor, probably to straighten her china display.

           
“She’s a sweet lady,” Jamie said softly, head tilted toward the retreating
woman. “But you’re probably ready to have some space.”

           
Suppressing a smile, Daisy nodded. “True.”

           
Following Jamie down the hallway, lugging the heavy vintage case that now held
more than it did when she arrived, Daisy wondered what on earth she was
thinking. If she was smart, she’d stay in Rhonda’s over-decorated room, even if
Russell barked every morning at dawn. Moving into Lane’s cabin, becoming
friends with his sister and trying to keep him separate from her plan to save
the library was not going to all fit together.

           
Of course, no matter which way she turned the problem over in her mind, Lane
Bennett just got a larger and larger role in her summer plans. Maybe she should
stop fighting him every step of the way and conserve her energy for what was
really important: convincing the town that saving the old library was the right
thing to do. She needed to readjust her vision a bit.

           
Daisy swung her suitcase into the trunk of the rental and took a last look at
Main Street. Maybe being so close to her old home, Rocky’s place, was making it
hard to sleep, too. Maybe she could find peace out in the cabin, a peace that
had eluded her anywhere else in the area.

Sure, it looked like she was moving from
a big city, to a small town, to all-out isolation but she had a plan and she
was sticking to it.

Chapter Nine

           
Lane crossed the street with a quick stride, thinking furiously. He needed to
get ahold of Jamie and talk about the garden. It hadn’t occurred to him until a
few minutes before his lunch hour that they’d be planting soon- right in
Daisy’s backyard. Of course it was their land. Of course they’d planted
vegetables every year without fail. But somehow he had neglected to mention
that fact to Daisy the morning he’d given her the keys. Where was his mind
lately? He huffed out an irritated breath. Pretty soon he’d need one of those
hand held organizers that kept his entire life on a schedule so he didn’t
forget to eat or sleep.

It would probably be better if the news
came from Jamie. She had a way about her. Friendly, easy-going. Daisy seemed
more than eager to see the last of him just a few hours ago and she probably
didn’t want to have a long talk with him again so soon. Especially about the
garden and the summer guests that would be there.

Lane unlocked the cruiser and angled
inside. He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck and wished life was little
less complicated. But there was no way around this one. The garden would be
planted, like it always was. And the plants would be tended like they always
had. Well, like they had the last few years since Rocky had joined them.

He couldn’t ask him not to help out, he
knew how much satisfaction it gave the old man to be out in the warm mountain
sunshine and see the fruits of his hard work. And Daisy wasn’t going to let go
of that cabin. So, that left an uncomfortable situation that needed to be
addressed ASAP.

He dialed Jamie’s cell number and
shifted in his seat. He was sure she’d be able to address the topic a whole lot
better than he could.

“Hey, I was just thinking about you.”
Her voice echoed a bit, as if she was farther than the few blocks from her
house.

“I need to talk to you about Daisy and
the cabin. It just occurred to me that we’re planting the garden in a week.”

There was a pause. “Right.”

“Well, can you talk to her about it?
Maybe stop by Rhonda’s?”

Another pause. Lane frowned at the
dashboard of the cruiser. His sister was usually the one who talked a mile a
minute, raising her voice to be heard over her rambunctious boys. “We’re out at
the cabin now. I suppose I could talk to her about it.”

And seconds later he heard murmuring in
the background. “Uh-huh, it’s Lane. He wanted me to talk to you about the
garden.”

He cringed, feeling heat creep up his
neck. Was she going to go through the whole conversation right now, while he
was on the other end? “Jamie, hang up and talk to her. See, since Rocky’s going
to be there-”

“He is?” His sister was back now,
speaking to him.

“I’m not going to tell him not to come.”

A brief silence and he could hear what
was clearly Daisy’s questioning voice on the other end.

“I just don’t think that’s a great
idea.” Jamie again, a cautious tone shadowing her voice.

“Can we talk about it later, then? I
thought I could call you, see if you could bring it up, and then-”

A louder question sounded in the
background and then Jamie said, “Here, why don’t you talk to her.”

Oh, boy. Lane felt all the muscles in
his back tighten at once. Worst case scenario. He got to tell her the bad news,
over the phone.

“Hey, Lane. What’s the problem?” Her
voice was softer than he remembered. It was almost as if he could see her
smiling. She probably thought he didn’t have anything better to do than shadow
her every movement around Liberty.

“I wanted to tell you…” his voice faded
away. He couldn’t do it, not over the phone. “Do you mind if I swing by? I’m on
my lunch hour.”

“Sure, come on over. It’ll be a party.”
Her teasing tone almost made him smile. Almost, but not quite because he was
sure she wasn’t going to be happy to hear what he had to say.

                       
 ****

           
Daisy plunked her suitcase down on the blue and white quilt in the bedroom. So,
a mysterious phone call, veiled references to something she had to know and now
Lane was on his way. Well, if he thought he was going to shoo her out before
she even got unpacked, he was wrong.

           
The antique highboy dresser creaked as she pulled open the first drawer. It was
repainted in a soft white with blue trim and the mirror was clear, showing her
reflection. Mouth set in a straight line, green eyes serious. She’d put her clothes
away, right this very minute. It was a small move, but she was staking her
claim in the only way she knew how. She wasn’t going to be standing by the
front door with a fully packed suitcase when he came in with that lease. It was
legally binding and she was going to fight him every step of the way if he
tried to cancel it.

           
“You want some coffee?” Jamie called from the kitchen.

“That would be great, I’m almost done.” She
kept her tone cheery, upbeat. Lane’s sister was a nice person and she hated to
think of her in the middle, but it couldn’t be helped.

Gazing around the room, Daisy took a few
minutes to soak in the sweet atmosphere. A large window faced the mountains, with
the edge of the porch just visible to the right. The morning sun would come
right through, a welcome start to the day. Gauzy white curtains hung on either
side with a shade rolled up to the top and tucked out of sight. The cast iron
bed was clearly ancient, but Daisy gave a small test to the mattress. No lumpy
coils in this one. It was perfect. All of it, except the man who was headed her
way at that very moment.

She heard the sound of gravel under car
tires and peeked out the window. Lane’s cruiser pulled up behind her car and he
stepped out. He looked up at the trees. Daisy let herself examine him, head to
toe, in a way she hadn’t before. Maybe he was used to getting his own way
because he’d grown up the handsomest guy in town. Maybe it was the way he
exuded effortless masculinity and girls fell all over that uniform. But she
wasn’t going to keel over from admiration so he better have a really good
reason for showing up to ‘talk’.

His shoulders straightened. He half
turned to the cabin, eyes closed, head bowed. His lips were moving. Was he
talking to himself? Daisy leaned closer to the window, frowning. Maybe he was
wearing a blue tooth headset. She’d passed fellow shoppers a hundred times and
thought they were chatting to her, when they were actually on the phone.
Squinting, she could see his head was bare. Then, as clearly as could be, she
saw his lips form the word ‘amen’.

Daisy stepped back from the window, her
heart pounding. Her thoughts from a moment before made her feel physically ill.
She was apparently ready to go to war with a man who had loved Marie, suffered
a terrible loss, and harbored a deep faith. Daisy sank onto the bed, disgusted
with her own pettiness. She was judging him the way she hated to be judged- on
appearances and speculation.

The sound of the front door opening
brought her up straight. Her stomach clenched.. Something was important enough
that he’d paused in the driveway to chat with God. She had no idea what was
going to happen in the next few minutes but she better make her way out to the
living room and face the situation head on.

                                               
***

“Wow, you look worn out. Sit down and
I’ll get you a cup of coffee.” Jamie motioned Lane to the table, her eyes
brimming with concern.

“I’m okay. Just a little stressed.” He
glanced around the tidy living room, expecting to see Daisy, afraid of how she
would handle the news her father would be hanging around her new home. He
lowered himself into a chair and rubbed a hand over his face.

“She’s unpacking.” Jamie paused on her
way to the kitchen. “Did a criminal finally strike in Liberty? Or did you have
to give out a speeding ticket?”

“Funny. And no, everything is fine.”
Almost everything.

She came back through the small doorway
bearing two mugs, one with cream and sugar the way he liked it and one black.
Jamie sat at the end and took a sip of the steaming liquid, gaze never leaving
his face. “She’s not going to claw your eyes out.”

“So you say.” He stared into his mug,
wrapping his hands around the hand-thrown clay. His grandfather’s mug had
always given him warm memories. All he felt right now was dread.

“And why would I do that?” Daisy was
standing in the hallway, head cocked, lips quirking up.

Twisting around in his chair, Lane went
to stand and tangled one of his legs under the table. A few seconds of
maneuvering and he was finally free, standing awkwardly to one side. He could
feel the heat in his face and wished he hadn’t inherited the Bennett gene for
ridiculously long legs.