Three Words: A Novella Collection (5 page)

“
These?” He indicated the checked shirt. “I had a bit of an
accident with a sheep. Daisy washed my clothes. These are a few
spares.”

Georgia glared
at Daisy as if she was convinced she’d been doing a whole lot more
than washing Henry’s clothes.

“
Right. Well, can we get going please? It’s a long drive back
to Margaret River and you have a sound check at ten plus the
interview with the Rock Beat magazine. You promised you’d get a
haircut before the show tomorrow too and I can see you haven’t done
that.”

Henry rolled
his eyes at Daisy who tried not to smirk. This pint-sized whippet
was a real nagger.

Seeing their
mutual mirth, Georgia turned on her heel and stomped back the way
she had come, muttering under her breath, “Seriously. I don’t know
why I bother sometimes. You are such an infant.”

Henry gave an
exaggerated grimace.

After they
heard the front door open and slam, Henry moved to the edge of the
kitchen bench. “Guess it’s time to say goodbye. It’s been nice
meeting you, Daisy.”

“
You too, Henry. And thanks for the photo.”

He picked up
his baseball cap and shoved it on his head. Then, changing his mind
he took it off again. “You wouldn’t have a permanent marker would
you?”

“
I have a teenage daughter. You’d be surprised at the useful
crap I keep in my cupboards.”

She bent,
opening the bottom drawer in the bank and fishing out a black felt
tip. “What do you want it for?”

Henry
scribbled his name, the date and a message on the brim of the cap
and handed it to her. “I figure Avery’s friends are probably going
to say you photo-shopped that picture of you and me. This should be
enough proof to keep them quiet.”

“
Thank you.”

“
No. Thank you, Daisy.”

He leant over
and tenderly kissed her cheek. And then he was gone.

Chapter 5

The next
morning it was Saturday and it was as if Henry had never happened.
Well, almost. Daisy’s face was aching from the grin she couldn’t
remove.

Daisy got up
and put on her old overalls, a warm jumper and a pair of work
boots. She brushed her hair and plaited it to the side, pausing for
a minute to ponder a hair that was mysteriously growing in a place
it shouldn’t be. She plucked it out and decided on doing her
eyebrows while she was at it, something she hadn’t done in months.
Following along with the theme, she threw caution to the wind and
smothered her face with the purifying mask Avery had bought her for
Christmas. At the time, she’d wondered why she needed such a thing.
Her skin was her best asset. Today it just seemed like the thing to
do. After ten minutes, she sponged it off and stood back to check
out the results. Her skin did seem to have developed a pinkness
that wasn’t there yesterday and the bluish tinge under her eyes had
disappeared. Deciding she liked the results, she finished them with
a swipe of clear lipgloss and a curl of mascara. Maybe,
subconsciously, she was hoping she might get another surprise
visit. Or maybe Henry had reawakened the Daisy who’d been lost for
the last few months. She had to admit, that whatever the reason,
she certainly felt mighty chirpy.

After feeding
Marsha a bottle and eating a breakfast of toast and raspberry jam
with coffee, Daisy glanced at her watch. Eight o’clock. Avery would
be awake now, getting ready for her ballet class. That was another
reason why Daisy and Jack had forked out for the expensive boarding
school. Avery was a talented dancer. She’d been handpicked for a
junior ballet scholarship at the Grad but couldn’t attend because
she lived in the country with her parents. By enrolling in the
private school, she got the best of both worlds. And the school was
more than happy to support her interest and help nurture her
talent. The housemother had even agreed to drive her to all her
lessons until she was old enough to take the train alone.

Picking up her
phone, she dialled Avery’s number.

“
Morning, Honey.”

“
Hi Mum, how did your date end up?”

“
It wasn’t a date, Avery.”

“
It looked like one from the photo you sent. Hawk was kissing
you.”

Daisy ignored
the comment. “You liked the photo, then? Henry has left you his
baseball cap too. He signed it ‘specially for you.”

Avery
squealed. “Oh my God! What does it say? Tell me, tell me.”

Daisy walked
over to the bookshelf where Henry had left the cap. She picked it
up and read. “It says, ‘To Avery, the most beautiful girl in the
world. Love Hawk Moon. Kiss, kiss, kiss.’ And there’s a big love
heart drawn around your name.”

“
That’s awesome. Hannah will flip when she sees it. Can you
send it up in the post?”

“
I thought I might hand deliver it, next weekend.”

“
You’re coming to Perth?” Avery sounded shocked, as well she
might. Daisy’s trips to the city had been few and far between when
she and Jack had been together, nonexistent since then. Daisy hated
driving in the city. People had no manners. “Geez Mum, what did
Hawk do to you last night?”

“
Nothing! I just feel … well, I think it’s time I started
living my life again. So I’m coming to stay next weekend. I thought
I might get my hair done. Would you like to go to the movies,
too?”

“
Sure.”

“
And maybe out for dinner in a nice restaurant?”

“
You bet.”

“
Okay. I’ll see you next Friday then. Bye, Honey. Love
you.”

“
Bye, Mum. And don’t forget the hat.”

Daisy looked
at the hat in her hand. Even if she wanted to forget about last
night, there was no way she ever would. It was like her eyes were
open again.

*****

Later that
morning, while Daisy was washing the wine glasses and coffee mugs,
she heard the crunching sound of tyres on the gravel driveway. Rex
was barking madly in greeting and more than likely choking himself
on his chain in the process, so it couldn’t be anyone she knew.
Leaning over the sink to look out the window, Daisy saw the back
end of a sleek black car driving around the corner of the house. It
couldn’t be, could it? Suddenly, her pulse was pounding in her
ears.

Pulling her
hands out of the sink and wiping them on a tea towel, Daisy
smoothed her hair and went to the front door. She opened it just as
the person on the side was about to knock. A rather large fist
stopped only millimetres from her face.

“
Oh dear. I’m so sorry, M’am.” The strange man put his hand
down and smiled. He had friendly blue eyes that twinkled in the
morning sun and a round face. His close-cropped brown hair looked
rather like a doormat on the top of his head. “I didn’t mean to use
your face as a door knocker.”

“
That’s okay. You missed. No harm done. What can I do for
you?”

The man leant
down, picking up a large brown paper bag that had been sitting on
the porch at his side.

“
Are you Daisy Darling?”

“
Yes.”

“
My name’s Joseph Wright. I’ve got a delivery for you, from
Mr. Moon.” He handed Daisy the bag. “And a message.”

“
Yes?” Daisy’s hand began to shake so much she couldn’t open
the bag; though she assumed it was the clothes she had lent Henry.
What could Henry want to tell her? Maybe he’d sent this man to
collect the things she’d washed? He’d left so suddenly the previous
evening, he’d totally forgotten to take his dry clothes with him.
This was
worse
than being seventeen again!

“
Mr. Moon wanted to thank you for your hospitality last night
and to tell you he had a lovely time,” the man relayed, without a
hint of embarrassment at the personal nature of the missive. He
probably did it all the time. “He also wanted to ask, if you’re
free tonight? By way of thank you, he’d like to invite to attend
his concert, as his guest. There’s a party after.”

Daisy’s mouth
fell open. Henry was inviting her to be his guest. At his concert.
AND a party after! This was beyond awesome, as Avery would say.

“
Well, um well, thank you,” she stammered. “I don’t know what
to say.”

“
You can say ‘yes.’”

Daisy rolled
her eyes. There was no question that she was saying ‘yes’ but it
was such a shock. And how would she get to the concert? Where would
she park? How would she find Henry? Well, obviously she would see
him on the stage, but after? And then, where would she stay the
night? It was too far to drive back to the farm by herself in the
middle of the night. She may have felt like starting a new chapter
in her life but she was positive it didn’t need to involve long car
journeys in the dark. Not yet anyway. She bit the corner of her
lip. The logistics of this whole thing were suddenly quite
overwhelming.

The man seemed
to sense her worry. “Mr. Moon has instructed me to wait for you to
get ready. I’ll drive you to the concert and take you in. Then,
whenever you’ve had enough and are ready to come home, I’ll be at
your disposal. You only have to say the word.” He pulled out a VIP
lanyard and handed it to her. It had a large picture of Henry’s
face on one side and the concert logo on the other. Daisy stared at
him. This was real. She was going to see Hawk Moon. Live.

“
I need to get changed,” she said, aware that her old around
the house clothes wouldn’t cut the mustard.

The man
glanced at his watch. “Not a problem. How about I come back to get
you in an hour? That’ll still give us plenty of time to get back to
Margaret River before the concert starts.”

“
Are you sure this isn’t causing any trouble? I don’t want to
put anyone out.”

Joseph smiled.
“It’s my job. And it’s no trouble at all. Not for a pretty young
thing like you.”

Smiling at the
compliment, Daisy ran to the bedroom. Thank God she’d plucked her
eyebrows.

Chapter 6

Three hours
later, Daisy found herself standing outside a large grid mesh gate.
A beefy security guard was standing sentinel beside it and as she
approached, he glanced down at the lanyard she had around her neck
and back to her with a welcoming smile. “You must be Daisy.”

“
Yes.” How did all these people know her name? It was like she
was the Queen or something, not plain Daisy Darling from Wagtail
Farm.

Seeing her
confusion the security guard chuckled. “It’s okay. Hawk told me to
look out for you. He gave me a description, though I have to say he
didn’t mention how pretty you are.”

Daisy tried
not to blush but it was pointless. Her cheeks were instantly pinker
than two newly ripe apples. Twice in one day someone other than her
mother had called her pretty. She couldn’t remember the last time
anyone had said something nice about the way she looked and if
someone had it certainly wouldn’t have been Jack. Not unless saying
‘you look okay, considering what you’re working with’ counted. Any
more compliments and she might start to believe they were true.

Standing a
little taller, Daisy asked, “Where do I go?”

“
Through that black curtain over there. Then turn left and
walk straight ahead until you reach the marquee marked VIP.
Georgia’s down there. She’ll show you backstage and where you can
stand to watch the show. Have a nice night.”

Daisy’s heart
sank. Great. In all the excitement of coming to the concert and
finding an outfit that was semi-suitable enough to wear with five
minutes notice, she’d completely forgotten about Henry’s dragon
girlfriend. Let’s hope she was in a better mood than last night,
though what would it matter if she weren’t? She wasn’t Daisy’s
friend. They were never going to see each other again. Holding her
head high, Daisy set off. It wasn’t her problem if Georgia had her
knickers in a twist. Henry had invited
her
. She would just
ignore the other girl’s rudeness.

As she walked
over to the curtained door, Daisy noticed a few other people with
VIP tags around their necks. Her shoulders relaxed at seeing they
were wearing jeans and tops similar to her own. Though no one had a
vintage blue velvet jacket like Daisy’s she was satisfied that she
wasn’t going to be labeled as the dork from the country. Paired
with a simple white t, a strand of blue and red twisted beads
around her neck, denims and her high-heeled boots, she looked very
‘rock chic’ indeed. Well, that’s what Avery had said when Daisy
sent her a picture before leaving. And from the looks that others
were giving her, it looked like she’d been right.

When Daisy
reached the VIP tent, she spotted Georgia standing in the entrance
checking people’s names off on a clipboard. The other girl was
dressed in black ~ it seemed to be her trademark ~ and she had a
pleasant smile plastered on her face. Not at all like the scowl
she’d greeted Daisy with the night before. Maybe it had been a bad
day? Daisy certainly wouldn’t have been happy if Jack had rung for
a lift from across the countryside in the middle of the night. In
the early days, before her spirit had been dented, she would have
told him to find his own way home, especially if he’d been out with
his mates. It was possible she’d misjudged the other girl.

Daisy watched
as Georgia made polite chit chat with patrons, her high-pitched
laugh sounding like the tinkle of fairy bells. It was easy to see
why Henry would fall for a girl like that. She really was very
glamorous, with a tight black Hawk Moon t-shirt emblazoning her
chest, black skinny jeans and a pair of the heels the size of the
AMP building in the city ~ which she appeared to have no trouble at
all walking in. She’d curled her long dark hair too, holding it
back with a huge black jet clip to reveal the biggest dangliest
black earrings Daisy had ever seen. A sweep of eyeliner over silver
glittered shadow enhanced her round doll eyes completing the
look.