Daisy Does It All (Clover Park, Book 2) Contemporary Romance (The Clover Park Series) (13 page)

Jessica finally ran out of steam. Trav turned and faced the crew of
Mornings with Jessica
. “It looks like we’ll be stuck here for a while.”

The crew grumbled.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” Jessica exclaimed with fresh outrage. “Max, this interview is over. We can’t do shit without power!”

Trav didn’t like to say
I told you so
, but hell, he had told them to get out more than an hour ago. He wished fervently that they had. These were the last people he wanted to be trapped with in Gran’s house.

“I want a car to take me back to the city,” Jessica said.

“I’m on it,” Max said in a soothing tone.

“You can’t drive in this,” Trav said. “It’ll be a few hours before the roads are passable. I’m sure there’s live wires down and tree branches. They might not even plow until the snow stops, and it’s supposed to go well into the night.”

“We’ll take the train,” Max said.

“Sure,” Trav said. “You can walk to the station. It’s about five miles away due east.” He pointed the right direction.

“Great! Just great!” Jessica shrieked. “Like I’m trudging through a blizzard in my Manolos.”

“We could find some boots somewhere around here,” Trav offered.

“I don’t do blizzards,” Jessica said. “So we’re basically stuck here.” She turned to Max and stuck her lip out. “I didn’t even get to ask the hard-hitting questions. I was so well prepared for this. And now I’ve got some fluff lifestyle piece.”

Max put an arm around her and guided her to sit in the large host chair. He sat next to her, hands on his knees, while they continued a quiet conversation. As far as Trav was concerned, the storm ended the interview right where it should have ended. Jessica prying into their sex life had really pissed him off. Sure he joked about Daisy being good in the sack, but he’d never share details with anyone. What was even worse about her prying questions—they didn’t have a sex life.

Yet. Soon, very soon
. Tomorrow night was their wedding night. But now with this damn storm…he wouldn’t wait to make a move. To hell with slow. These were desperate circumstances—trapped in a blackout with her ex. Trav wanted Daisy in a constant state of arousal, focused only on him. It was a good plan, one that would bring them both pleasure and make her forget about her ex.

And if that asshole hurt her again, he’d kick him out, blizzard or not.

Daisy walked downstairs with Bryce in her arms.

“Hey,” Trav said, crossing to them. He kissed Bryce’s cheek, and his son grabbed hold of his hair and yanked. He gently extricated his hair. The boy was going to make him bald. “I’ll get a fire started. It should stay warm in the living room for a while. I’ll start the backup generator once the wind settles down.”

“A backup generator,” Daisy said under her breath. She beamed a grateful smile that made him feel like a hero. “Thanks, Trav.”

He kissed her gently and pulled back, looking into her eyes. She looked surprised.
Get used to it, honey
.

“No problem,” he said.

“Wait, you have a backup generator?” Max asked. “Then we can continue the interview.”

“We don’t have enough wattage for that,” Trav replied. “Just enough to run the essentials. We’ll get by, but I’m not blowing out the circuit just for some camera equipment.”

Jessica stood abruptly and paced across the room, muttering to herself.

“Okay,” Max said. “Hopefully we can drive to the train station in a few hours.”

Awesome plan, but doubtful. Either way, Trav was sticking to his seduction plan. Now that he’d thought it up, he was way into it.

“You’re all welcome to spend the night,” Daisy said. “I don’t want you guys to have to go out in this.”

Trav had no idea where they were going to put ten people, but they were stuck. Gran and Jorge could stay at his place across the street, but that still left him and Daisy, Jessica and Max, plus a crew of eight guys.

“My cell isn’t working!” Jessica hollered. “What is this, the apocalypse?”

“Sometimes storms affect the tower,” Trav said gently before the woman lost it completely. “It’ll come back soon.”

“Does this happen often?” Jessica asked.

“There’s been some powerful weather the last few years,” Trav said. “We’ve had at least one power outage a year for the past five years. Usually lasts about a week. That’s why—”

“A week!” Jessica shrieked.

Gran and Jorge came downstairs with their emergency radio cranked up.

“Looks like the trains stopped running,” Gran announced.

“Aaaah! Unacceptable!” Jessica shrilled. “Unacceptable!”

Bryce started fussing. His son didn’t like all the hysterics in the room either.

“It’s simply a fact,” Gran replied. “Screaming about it won’t help.”

“I can’t believe this!” Jessica said, storming into the other room.

“That woman needs a Valium,” Gran pronounced. “And maybe some action under the sheets.”

Jorge and Gran exchanged a loving look.

Trav rolled his eyes. His grandmother as a newlywed was still a little hard to stomach. “I’ll go get the firewood.”

“Thank you so much,” Daisy said, bouncing Bryce. “I was worried about keeping Bryce warm.”

He grabbed his jacket from the coat rack. “No worries. I got this. Heat and then some power. The pantry is fully stocked.”

Relief washed over Daisy’s face. It surprised him how much she’d worried. He always made sure his family was set for the winter. Plus he had to make sure he could get out and help with his own plow and shoveling service.

He left through the back kitchen door, passing Max, who was punching numbers on his cell phone and listening for a nonexistent connection. Useless jerk.

~ ~ ~

Daisy settled on the living room floor in front of the fireplace, Bryce in her lap. Her son seemed mesmerized by the dancing flames.
At least I didn’t have to chop wood
, she thought wryly. As if she’d ever done such a thing in her life.

It wasn’t the best of circumstances, but Trav seemed to know what to do. It was comforting.

If the
Mornings with Jessica
crew were still here tomorrow, they’d have to cancel the wedding. Her mom and Maggie had decided to have the wedding ceremony right here in Maggie’s living room to keep it quiet and intimate. The delay lifted some of the tension off Daisy. She hadn’t wanted a rush wedding. She still wasn’t sure it was the right choice. She needed Liz to make one of her pros and cons list. Daisy was terrible at those. She always found additional reasons to make each side balance out.

Maggie appeared and scooted a swivel chair toward her. “Want a chair?”

Daisy shook her head. “I sat in that long enough today. The floor’s fine.”

Maggie took the chair for herself. “You might need to reschedule the wedding tomorrow. Justice Fleming is getting up there in age, and she lives way out by Grand Lake. I doubt she’ll want to chance the roads.”

“I know,” Daisy said. “We can reschedule.”

“Aren’t you worried someone will find out before this goes on the air?” Maggie whispered. “Maybe I could get one of those Internet ministry certificates and marry you myself.”

Daisy laughed. “Well, you said the Internet line went down with the power, so I guess Reverend Maggie will have to wait.”

“If I did marry you two, I’d make sure your vows were kosher,” Maggie said. “No obey in there. And he’d have to promise to cook for you too. A man that cooks is a keeper. My Jorge can make paella, melt-in-your-mouth enchiladas, salmon cooked to perfection, and firecracker shrimp that will clear your nasal passages. Ooh, I’m hungry.” Maggie stood. “Let me see what food I can round up for everyone.”

“Thanks, Maggie.”

Daisy kissed Bryce’s hand and rocked him side to side.

Max appeared from the direction of the kitchen. “Mrs. O’Hare kicked me out of the kitchen. Okay if I join you?”

Daisy tensed. “Uh…yeah, sure.”

Max settled on the floor, sitting cross-legged next to Daisy. “This is nice.” He smiled at Bryce. “Can I hold him?”

“He’s a little picky about who he goes to,” Daisy said just as Bryce reached for Max with open arms. She smiled ruefully. “Sure.” She handed him over.

“How ya doing?” Max asked Bryce, who stared at him. “You like peek-a-boo?” He covered his own eyes. “Peek-a-boo.”

Bryce smiled his gummy two-toothed smile.

Daisy rolled into a tight ball, knees bent close to her chest, arms wrapped around her legs. Her voice came out hoarse. “You like kids.”

“Sure,” Max said. “Thought I’d have a couple of my own by now.” He changed to a sing-song voice and spoke to Bryce. “But I haven’t met the right woman, have I? Not like your mommy.”

“Stop,” Daisy snapped. “I’m married now.”

Bryce jammed his fist in his mouth and stared at Max.

“Where’d you go after college?” Max asked.

She was quiet.
Now you care where I went?
Not one word from him to see how she was doing after she lost the baby. Not even an email.

“Daze?”

She couldn’t let him know how much she still hurt over that. “I lived on a kibbutz in Israel for two years.”

He laughed. “You? The city girl? You’re not even Jewish.”

She glanced sideways at him. “Doesn’t matter. It was nice. Communal living combined with hard work. I needed that.”

“What else?” Max asked. “Catch me up on your life.”

She exhaled sharply and stared into the fire. “Not much to tell. I traveled a bit, worked, lived in the city for a while, though living in the city isn’t much fun when you don’t have money. I racked up serious credit card debt trying to keep up with my friends who had real jobs.”

“What job did you have?”

“You name it. Dog groomer assistant, hostess, telemarketer, retail at a high-end boutique, assistant to a bestselling author, receptionist, waitress.”

“Wow.” She glanced over just as Max pried Bryce’s fist out of his hair and substituted his finger. “Rogue TV was my first job after college. I got an internship and worked my way up to producer.”

Despite herself, she was curious about his life. “Travel?”

They’d always talked about the travel they wanted to do—shouting at the top of Machu Picchu, snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef, getting their picture taken in front of the Seven Wonders of the World.

“A bit,” Max said. “On vacations. Florida Keys. California to visit a friend in L.A.”

She crinkled her nose. “That’s it? You had total freedom. So disappointing.”

Max played a silent peek-a-boo with Bryce a few times before speaking. “I can help you get rid of that debt and have a real career.”

She looked at him warily. “Doing what?”

“You were great on camera. I can help you go further. Get you a few more talk shows, some endorsement deals, national commercials.”

She raised a brow. “Yeah? I was pretty nervous at first.”

“You took to it like a duck to water. Could you just picture you and Bryce in a Huggies commercial?”

She smiled hugely over that possibility. Bryce would be adorable in a diaper commercial. As long as he wasn’t red in the face from crying.

Max went on. “We could make the Daisy name into a brand that says charming and fun mother does it all. Just say the word. I’d love to work with you.”

Daisy shifted uncomfortably. Something about his tone implied he’d like more from her. But she couldn’t deny the appeal of what he offered—money, a real career. “That’s kind of you. I’ll think about it.”

He turned to her. “It’s not kindness. You could really go places. Parlay something big out of this blogging deal you’ve got going. You ever in the city?”

“Not much anymore.”

He fished a card out of his pocket and placed it in her hand, his fingers touching her hand longer than necessary. She snapped her fist shut around it. “Stop by my office. We’ll have lunch and talk.”

She bit her lip. “It sounds tempting.”

“I really think you’ve got what it takes. You could have a future in TV. I could make it happen.”

“You really think so?” The idea was so far-fetched, but she’d be a fool to turn it down.

“I know so.” He tousled Bryce’s fluffy blond hair and handed him back. Then he was gone, leaving her to marvel over the possibilities for her and Bryce.

Chapter Twelve

Trav held Bryce on his lap while he and Daisy sat in front of the fire. He felt content for the first time in a long time. Until Daisy came out with, “Max says I could have a future in TV.”

“And you believe him?” Trav asked, keeping his voice low. He knew when a guy was making moves on his woman.

“Why wouldn’t I?” she asked, her voice rising in agitation.

He lowered his hand to remind her of the nearness of the crew.

“He says I’m great on camera,” she whispered. “My blog has a huge following. He says I could do more talk shows, maybe even commercials.” She gasped. “Can you imagine if I got my own talk show? How cool would that be?”

“That would be cool, but unlikely. He just wants to get in your pants.”

“Thanks a lot,” Daisy huffed. “Obviously you don’t think I have what it takes. Max believes in me.”

He raised a brow. “Why did you break up again?”

Daisy stroked Bryce’s hair and stared into the fire for a moment. “We were too young. Too much, too fast. Getting married at eighteen was a huge mistake. He realized it first and called it off after two weeks.”

He winced. “Ouch.”

“No, it’s fine. He did the right thing. Can you imagine? I’d already be married for fifteen years by now. I could have a teen…” She lifted her chin. “It was for the best.”

Rage poured through him. He wanted to wring that slimy bastard’s neck. “Were you pregnant?” he asked softly.

“I lost the baby,” she whispered. “Max left right after. Guess he didn’t actually love me after all.”

Realization hit Trav like a hammer. This was why Daisy was always pushing him away. She feared he’d walk out too.

“I’d never abandon you and Bryce,” he said. “No matter what. You can count on that.”

Her eyes searched his. He gazed steadily back. She looked away, chewing on her bottom lip.

She didn’t believe him. Fucking Max had really screwed things up for him. Trav didn’t know how to show her he meant what he said. He was already marrying her. Only time would prove him right.