A Curvy Girl for the Cadet: A Perfect Fit Novella (4 page)

“You can keep the books,” she said with a sigh.

“Thank you, Mama.” Her little face lit up and she jumped into Daisy’s arms, and that caused her heart to tug painfully.

“You’re welcome.”

She was going to have to tell Clayton Calhoun not to give her kid any more stuff.

*

One week later Daisy stood in her shop, putting the final touches on the arrangement that was going into the lobby of
Haven’s Range Resort
. It was one of the largest pieces she had ever done. There were dozens and dozens of pristine white roses, formed into a perfect ball shaped creation and peeking out between the white blooms were lavender roses that she grew herself in the green house behind her store.

“That’s gorgeous, Daisy,” Loretta said. “You’ve got a gift.”

“Thanks, babe.” She winked at her. “Who knew you could turn a gig that paid twelve dollars an hour into a legit career?”

“You were just supposed to be a girl I just hired for the summer. Who would think you’d become an in demand floral designer, buy me out of my own shop and marry my son?”

“If I would have gotten the bartending job I wanted, this all could have turned out so differently.”

“How are you feeling, Daisy?”

“A little funky. I’ve done pieces like this before, but this is going to be the centerpiece in the lobby at this evening’s grand opening celebration. The owners of the resort gave us two tickets to the party. I want you to go.”

“You don’t want to?”

“I’ve got to stay with my munchkin.”

“You could go and I could watch her.”

“Nah. I don’t feel much like going to a party. I think Danny wore out my party shoes a long time ago.”

“You’re sad,” Loretta said softly.

“I’m fine.” She shook her head. “I just want this arrangement to look right.
Haven’s Range
was one of our first regular clients.”

“It’s your anniversary, Daisy Lee.”

“No it…” She glanced at the calendar on the wall. “Oh. It is. Danny and I were never big on anniversaries. I could barely get him to remember my birthday.”

“I was so mad when he called me from Vegas to tell me you two had gotten married.”

“It wasn’t planned. Trust me. It was one of those drunken adventures you have when you’re in Vegas,” she said, feeling her chest grow a little heavier. Danny was fun and sweet and he loved her the best he could. The best he could love anyone, especially when his drinking problem had gotten out of control. She hadn’t planned to stay married to him forever, but she didn’t hate him. He was her best friend and she missed him. Missed him so much that part of her felt empty.

“You were good for him.” Loretta came over and pressed the backs of her fingers against her cheek. “You were probably better than he deserved.”

“I married him so I could be your daughter. My mother and I were never close and you’ve been there for me more in the past ten years than she was my entire life.” She shrugged, feeling very raw and exposed in that moment. “You’re stuck with me. Sucks for you.”

“You’re a good kid.” Loretta kissed her cheek. “I want you to get married again. To a good man who’ll protect you and love the hell out of you and will give you great sex.”

Daisy nodded, feeling too close to tears, but she held it in. Danny had been gone for a long time. But sometimes it felt like he had left her yesterday. “One day I will.”

Chapter 5

“You hungry?” Alex Sanna, Clayton’s brother-in-law, asked him as he sat in the bakery while Alex closed up for the night.

“I can always eat.”

“Good. I was doing some test kitchen stuff today and I made an onion ciabatta bread that I want you to try. I have some rolls that are just cooling.”

Sweet Eats
was known for its out-of-this-world rich pastry and decadent cakes, but Alex’s staff made breakfast sandwiches filled with farm fresh eggs, cheese and great Italian meats. Alex pulled roasted red peppers, hard salami, and provolone cheese out of the cooler before he grabbed his rolls.

He buttered the bread, stacked the meat, cheese and peppers high and put the whole thing on the Panini press. Within moments Clay’s mouth started to water when the smell of the freshly made bread combined with its decadent fillings started to cook.

“I think this bad boy is done.” Alex took it out and sliced it in half, a look of satisfaction crossing his face as the steam rolled off it. He had played rugby and football with Alex. The man was a giant and tough as hell on the field, but he gave up his scholarship to go to culinary school. He thought he was crazy when he did, but his friend had never been happier. “Let me know what you think.”

Clayton bit into the hot sandwich, flavor rushing his mouth. Salty meat and gooey, melted cheese, combined with that bread… It was amazing and crusty and soft and full of a flavor he couldn’t begin to describe. “It’s good,” he said taking another huge bite.

“Everything tastes good to you. You suck down food like a garbage disposal.”

“If it didn’t taste good I would tell you. I’m not concerned with sparing your feelings.”

“Nope, he’s not.” Maggie walked in then, she had started to walk with that little wobble that pregnant women had when they started to grow. She was kind of cute in her pink sundress and her flat animal printed shoes. “Remember that time he punched you in the face when he thought you were being mean to me?”

“Yes.” He put his hand up to his eye. “Damn thing still throbs from time to time.”

“He’s trained in hand to hand combat. I bet you he knows thirty ways to kill a man with his bare hands. Isn’t that right, Clay?”

He was trained in hand to hand combat. He did know how to kill, but that wasn’t something he took pride in. He did what he had to do, but it was never something he was proud of. It was funny that he was contemplating going back to that place, to train men to do what he had hated the most. “I think you should name one of your kids after me. Clayton is a fine name.”

“What if they are both girls?” Maggie asked taking the other half of the sandwich Alex made for him.

“Clay still works. And give that back to me.” He reached for it, but Maggie had already sunk her teeth into it.

“Oh. My. God. This is the best bread I’ve ever had. What’s in this, caramelized onions?”

“Yes.” Alex grinned at his wife. “And just a hint of rosemary. That’s why I married her. Nobody appreciates my food like she does.”

Clayton would have had to been blind to miss the look of love mixed with lust that came over his brother-in-law’s face. It made him uncomfortable too see that kind of raw emotion from his friend. But he was glad for it too, because if he went away again he would know that his sister was loved and taken care of.

“I love you too, hot stuff. Now get your sexy behind back over there and make us some more sandwiches.”

“Sometimes I think the only reason you married me is because I feed you.”

“It’s in the top three.” She grinned at him as Clayton pulled a chair over for her. “Thanks, Clay. My feet are killing me. I’m not sure how Ellis and Belinda wore heels to work throughout their entire pregnancies. I’m not even halfway through yet and I don’t want to wear shoes at all.”

“Barefoot and pregnant.” Alex winked at his wife. “Just how I want my woman.”

“Jackass,” she retorted.

“I know you love working with your friends at
Size Me Up
, but with the twins coming, are you sure you want to be on your feet all day?”

Maggie managed a clothing store for hard to fit woman and she loved her job. Much more than the one she had when she was a biomedical engineer. “I’ll cut back my hours soon, but you know I just can’t sit at home all day. We live upstairs. I’ll smell whatever you’re baking and want to eat it. I’ll be as big as a tractor trailer before I have these babies.”

“I might like that.” He took the sandwich out of the press and cut it, handing one half to her. “Remind me to feed you more.”

She shook her head and smiled again. Maggie was full of smiles since she fell in love with Alex. He hoped to God it stayed that way. “Did you tell Clay about your pie and cake jars?”

“No. But I was planning to.” He left the front of the bakery and returned a few moments later with a small cardboard box. “We get emails from people wondering if we’ll ship our stuff around the country. I couldn’t figure out a safe way to do it until right now. I’m going to call them
Slice in a Jar.
It’s a slice of pie or cake in a mason jar that you can give as a gift. I want you to try them for me. Give some to Abraham and the guys you work with. I want to know what they think of the flavors. There’s one of each.”

Clayton looked through the box. There was Double Chocolate Cherry, Gooey Peanut Butter Surprise, Cookies and Cream, Sinful Salted Caramel, Birthday Cake Vanilla, and Luscious Lemon. And that was just the cakes. There were three types of pie in there, including his famous strawberry crumble.

“You’ll make a killing off these, Alex,” he said seriously.

Ambrose had hounded Alex for years to take over the family business, but Alex belonged here. He was doing what he was meant to do.

“You think so? Let me know which one you like, and if you or anybody else thinks I should add or nix some flavors. I’m toying with the idea of cheesecakes too.”

“Will do.” He got up. “Thanks for the snack.”

“You know we feed family here. My father told me his plan. I agree with it. I think you are the right choice.”

“What plan? What choice?” Maggie asked as Clayton froze.

He looked Alex in the eye and shook his head once. He didn’t want his sister or his mother to know about the offer he had received. He knew what they would want and he couldn’t let that sway his decision.

“Nothing. My father just wants to give Clayton more responsibility at his company.”

“Oh. Clayton can handle it. He’s used to being in charge.”

He nodded his thanks to Alex and wished them a goodnight.

A little while later he pulled up to his house to see the little girl who looked just like Daisy sitting outside under the tree. She had a book in her lap again, but when she saw him pull up, she looked up at him and waved, smiling brightly at him. She was a cute kid. When she grew up she would be beautiful just like her mother.

He got out of his truck, the box of goodies in his arm and walked over to her. “One for you. One for your mom. Let me know if you like them.”

“Thank you, Mr. Calhoun. And thank you for my books. I really like them.”

“I’m glad.” He turned away and went inside.

*

Daisy glanced at the clock on the microwave as she put away the left over pizza. She hadn’t felt like cooking. She hadn’t even felt like going to the store to pick anything up. So she had pizza delivered. Half cheese for Aubrey and half supreme for her. It was just before seven and would be light outside for some time, but Daisy wanted to crawl into bed. She wanted this day to be over. It wasn’t a bad day. She couldn’t think of one single bad thing that had happened. She just wanted it not to be her anniversary anymore. She wanted to stop feeling this heavy funk that hung on her like a wet blanket. Only sleep could do that for her. Sleep or a couple of huge glasses of red wine. She didn’t drink anymore though. She hadn’t drank since Danny had died.

“Here, Mama.” Aubrey walked back into the kitchen. She was holding two cute little jars in her hand and they appeared to be filled with frosting and cake. “One is for you.”

“What’s this?”

“A present from Mr. Calhoun.”

“What? He gave you something else?”

“He said one was for you. You can have the chocolate one. I know you like chocolate.”

“I do, Cookie. Thank you.” She took the jar from her, hoping that her voice didn’t betray how she was feeling. First the flower. Then the books. And now cake. Enough was enough. “Why don’t you go pick out a movie for us to watch. I need to go talk to Mr. Calhoun. I’ll be right back.”

She left her house, not even bothering to put on shoes before she stepped into the grass that connected their yards. She banged on his door nonstop until she heard his heavy footsteps coming closer.

He yanked opened the door. He had an annoyed look on his face, but she could barely concentrate on that because he was shirtless. She knew he was solid, but she couldn’t tell from the baggy clothes that he wore what great shape he was in. Biceps and pec and abs.

Oh my!

He must have been washing his face because his beard was wet and his shirt was slung over his shoulder. “Can I help you? Or did you just want to knock my damn door down?”

“What is this?” She pushed the jar at him, sending him backward as she stepped inside. “Why the hell are you buying my kid gifts? First the flower, and then the books and now you give her cake. What’s next are you going to lure her into your car with some candy? What’s your end game? You think you’re grooming her? Because if you think you can mess with my kid, you’re out of your damn mind. I will kill you. I’ll slice you in half and use you as plant food and they’ll never find your body. Don’t even think about laying a finger–”

“Are you out of your fucking mind? My sister left those half dying flowers in my car and instead of throwing them out I gave her one. Those books were left on a job site and instead of throwing them out I decided to give them to somebody I knew would appreciate them. My brother-in-law owns
Sweet Eats
and he is trying out some new stuff.” His eyes flashed with rage. “I wasn’t thinking about harming your kid. I spent four tours of duty in Afghanistan and two in Iraq. I was a God damn first lieutenant in the United States Army and almost died in trying to save some kids from a fucking bomb. Your kid reminds me of my little sister. I was just trying to be nice. So pull your head out of your ass and get the hell out of my house!”

Daisy stood there in silence for a moment as everything he had said banged around in her head. She knew Maggie well because she shopped at her store. She knew that she had a big brother she adored who had come back from war a changed man. She knew because they had talked about Danny who came back home after being injured and he was more mentally wounded than anything else.

She burst into tears. She had been holding it in all day. She didn’t want to cry in front of Aubrey. In front of Danny’s mother. She hadn’t wanted to cry at all, because it seemed like a waste to cry over someone who got in a car drunk and took his own life.

“No, no, no, no, no.” Clayton awkwardly patted her arm. “Stop crying. I-I shouldn’t have yelled at you. You’re right. You shouldn’t trust me or anybody. I could see why you wouldn’t. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Just stop crying.”

But she couldn’t. She couldn’t control herself and her cries turned into sobs. Clayton shut the door behind them and pulled her further inside. “Please stop crying. Somebody is going to think I’m hurting you.”

“I’m sorry,” she managed to choke out. “My husband was a marine and almost died when his helicopter was shot down. He was medically discharged, but he wasn’t the same man and he died two years ago when he smashed his car into a telephone pole. Today is our anniversary.”

“Shit,” he cursed as he pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry, Daisy.” He smoothed his hand over her hair in a touch so comforting it caused a fresh wave of tears to fall.

“I’ve been trying not to cry all day and now I can’t seem to stop.”

“You can cry.” He wrapped his arms around her a little tighter. “You need to.”

And she did. She cried into his warm bare chest as he whispered comforting words into her ear until she ran out of tears.

“I’m sorry, Clayton,” she said when she felt steady enough to lift her head. “I shouldn’t have accused you of being a creepy perv.”

“You have to look out for your little girl. You had every right to.”

“And you had every right to blow up at me.”

“I didn’t mean to make you cry.” He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and it was then she realized how close they were. That he was shirtless and her arms were wrapped around his warm hard body. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been that close to anybody, even her own husband. They had stopped sharing a bed long before he died. But she felt safe with Clayton. Safe with a man who she barely knew and looked like an angry lumberjack. She didn’t want to let him go, but she had to. She knew she had to step away.

“I’m going to be horribly embarrassed the next time I see you,” she said as she let him go. “I swear I usually don’t accuse people of terrible things and cry all over them afterward. I know Maggie. I should have realized that you were her brother. I’m sorry. I won’t be offended if you avoid me for the rest of your life.”