Daisy's Choice (A Tale of Three Hearts) Read Online Free PDF Page B

heart couldn’t take it. I’m so sorry, Pete.”
     
    “ You okay?”
     
    “ No,” she wept. “It’s so horrible. Everyone’s here. They’re all here and—”
     
    “ I’m on my way.”
     
    He hung up and wiped his greasy hand down his face. Hot tears stung the corners of his eyes, and a tidal wave of emotion broke over him. He remembered laughing with Daisy in high school about meeting her father and rehearsing the dinner etiquette at the Reverend’s table. No talking when he spoke. Always answer with a sir or mam. Pray before you eat. Keep his hands off her under his watchful glare.
     
    The day he told the Reverend about Daisy came back as well. And the old pain of losing her to his pride nearly broke his heart again. He walked stiffly, dragging behind him more than fatigue or regret. He grieved for the Johnson family but mostly for Daisy.
     
    “ Everything okay, Petie?” Maurice their tire specialist asked.
     
    “ No. Reverend Johnson died."
     
    "Shucks, that's awful. Everyone was hoping he'd pull through."
     
    "Yeah, can you um… cover… I got something—”
     
    “ Sure, gotcha back. It’s cool.”
     
    “ Thanks.” Pete headed for the employee room to get his keys and cap. He wouldn’t have time to change. No time to cry.
     
     
     
    ****
     
     
    Nina sat in bleak silence. She hadn’t been this affected by death since she lost her sister to pneumonia. Usually, she dealt with grieving families the best but not this. Not this.
     
    There were so many battles waging in her. She never told Pete about Daisy’s return. She couldn’t. She was so scared of what it meant and jealous of Daisy's haughty nature, her confidence. She hated herself for it. The guilt was getting in the way of their news. With Pete opening his shop, getting the loan, and the ring she found in his jeans, it made all of it dampened by the secrecy and lie of omission. He was close to being hers. Was it wrong to want to protect it?
     
    Then there was that blasted card that was the one connection to Daisy wherever she went. Neither Martha Johnson nor her daughters asked for it, though she doubted they knew that she kept it. Nina stared at it constantly, debated, debated, debated how and when to turn it over to Pete. She even went on the internet at the nurse’s station and looked up Jahi Salon and Spa . It was some swank exclusive spa that was appointment only. But who was Danielle? Was that her name now?
     
    Nina reached in her pocket and removed her change purse. Inside she withdrew the card. The reverend was dead, and the whole town shook with grief as word spread with the flood of tears flowing out of his hospital room. From his congregation to his family, this affected everyone.
     
    Daisy was out there, unaware. Nina felt compelled to deliver the news. It was the least she could do after keeping the truth from Pete. But at what cost?
     
     
     
    ****
     
     
    Daisy rubbed her temples. It was close to three. She would need to leave soon to pick up Amy. When the phone rang, she didn’t even blink. Her phone rang constantly. Clara was right. The calls were flooding in since that television starlet’s visit. She refused an offer to have her spa products, most tested and created with her ideas in mind, featured on the celebrity’s talk show. Clara hadn’t recovered from that one. She loved her business. Loved what she made from nothing. Only half of the million dollars helped her start it. The rest of her fortune was squired by her own hard work and a stroke of luck when she convinced the owner to sell this place to her, debts and all. With her new identity and an infant needing her, she launched her dream. But success came too fast and Daisy felt too exposed. Clara was a godsend. She had no problem stepping into the limelight. Daisy even trusted her with her proxy to manage business deals. Now Clara wanted more and again she'd have to find a way to protect her anonymity.
     
    Reaching for the phone, she sighed.