Three Words: A Novella Collection (3 page)

Then one
night, when Mrs. Hanson had arrived at the door ~ bearing a duck
curry of all things ~ Daisy decided that the only way to get rid of
her for good was to tell her an abridged version of the truth. It
had done no good. By then, the town already knew ~ courtesy of the
flapping jaw of Anna’s mother during her appointment at the hair
salon the previous day. Daisy was more mortified than ever. And the
only way she knew how to deal with it was to stay out of sight.

For the last
two months this had carried on. Daisy had talked to no one. She’d
locked every emotion in a big black bag and buried it in a hole in
the garden. It was as if ignoring Jack’s disappearance would make
the incident cease to exist.

Worried about
the state of her family, Avery had begged to stay home with her
mother, which Daisy had allowed because she couldn’t stand the
thought of being alone. Avery had tried to carry on as if her
father had simply gone to the shops; tried to get her mother to
accept what had happened to them. Yet no matter what she did, the
child couldn’t pull Daisy out of the funk she’d gotten in. It had
been a blessing in disguise when she’d had announced at breakfast
one morning that she was going back to boarding school in the city.
Avery needed time away from everything too, it seemed.

The door to
the bathroom opened and Henry appeared, wearing a checked winter
shirt of Jack’s and a pair of his navy workpants. Daisy looked him
up and down. It was difficult not to. The two men were very similar
in build but Henry was far more handsome. Incredibly so.

Breathe,
Daisy. Breathe, she thought, as she put her hand on her knee trying
to make it stay still. Just be calm. And normal. It was ridiculous
and immature, she knew but she couldn’t help the way she was
feeling. Hawk Moon was in her house! This was better than winning
tickets for the front row of a Bon Jovi concert.

“
So. Looks like you’ve got mobile reception in your bathroom,”
Henry commented. “I just got a text from Georgia. She’s going to be
longer than expected. At least an hour. Another squall’s come in
from the coast and some of the roads are covered with
trees.”

Daisy could
understand that. The road between here and Margaret River was bad
in the dark at the best of times. Huge kangaroos were everywhere
and it was treacherously narrow. A storm would make it ten times
worse.

“
That’s no problem. The roads are hideous around here at
night. It’d be safer if she didn’t come at all until morning. I can
always make you a bed in the spare room if you want to ring
her.”

That sounded
calm, didn’t it? And not too much like she wanted to share her bed
with him?

“
That’s a very kind offer, but she’s already left.”

“
Oh well. It was only a thought.”

Henry walked
further into the kitchen, coming to stand close by Daisy’s side. He
smelled of eucalyptus soap and shampoo. “That shower was so good.
Really warmed me up.”

“
Good. Give me your things and I’ll chuck them in the
wash.”

He put the
pile of damp clothes on Daisy’s lap. She tried not to turn up her
nose at the stench. She was the farm girl after all.

“
Do you have a hanger I can put my jacket on? I’ll put it by
the fire for a while.”

“
Sure.”

Daisy jumped
up, almost losing the pile in the process. Henry’s shirt floated to
the floor and they both bent to pick it up with a clash of
heads.

“
Ouch.”

“
Yeah. Ouch.”

Henry reached
over and gave Daisy’s forehead a playful rub. His fingertips felt
hot on her skin. Suddenly, he was too near. It was all too real.
The fresh clean smell of him and the simplicity of his touch sent
sparks of longing shooting around her body. She wanted to lick him
to see if he really was as sweet as he looked. God, what was
happening to her?

He rubbed for
a second longer, then removed his hand. “Better?”

She couldn’t
speak. All she could do was look into his eyes and nod
silently.

Henry
indicated her change of clothes. “You’ve changed. You didn’t have
to do that. What you had on before was fine. Though that looks
nice, too.”

“
I know but I felt like a dick standing there in my PJ’s. They
weren’t even my best ones.”

“
You probably don’t want to hear that your top is inside out
then.”

Daisy looked
down. Shit. Now she looked like a fool as well as a try hard. “I
like to wear it with the seams showing. I’m trying to start a new
fashion. Think it’ll catch on?”

Henry laughed.
“Nice try but I doubt it.”

Bundling
Henry’s clothes into a knot, Daisy raced to put them in the washer.
She didn’t want to miss a minute of his being in her house. It was
never likely to happen again. She stowed the clothes in the washing
machine, added detergent and softener and turned it to cold. Then
she ripped a hanger from the laundry cupboard and put his leather
jacket on it, hanging it on the rail above the tub. She stopped for
a second only to admire the softness of the fabric. Daisy had never
seen anything like that. It was obviously very expensive. Imagine
being able to afford such a thing. Even with Jack’s wage at the
bakery and her own from the Day Care Centre put together, they’d
had to scrimp to send Avery to boarding school so she could get a
good education. There was no room for luxuries.

Back in the
living room, Henry had made himself at home. He was stretched out
on the floor in front of the fire, his muscular legs crossed at the
ankle as he leant on his elbow, alternately sipping from his wine
and stroking Marsha’s nose.

Daisy watched
him for a minute before going to join him on the rug. What would it
be like if he stroked her hair that way? She stared into the fire,
letting the dream become a reality in her head for a second,
knowing it was the only place it ever would.

“
Thanks for the clothes,” Henry said, handing her one of the
glasses of wine he’d brought over to the fire with him.

Daisy turned
away from the fire to face him. His dark brown eyes made her want
to roll over like Rex and beg to be kissed. “Don’t mention it. It’s
not like I have a use for them anyway.”

“
So, I’m not taking them from a husband or a boyfriend? He’s
not going to come barging through the front door armed with a
shotgun at any minute?”

“
Not unless he’s flying back on his girlfriend’s
broomstick.”

“
I’m gathering you’re no longer together.”

“
You gathered right. He left me.”

Daisy picked
up her wine from where she’d sat it on the hearth. Why had she
brought Jack up? The very thought of what he’d done still made her
over-emotional and the mention of his name had her hand shaking so
much she almost sloshed her wine over the rug. Guzzling the drink
down, Daisy got to her feet. She needed another drink and now.

She walked to
the coffee table, picked up the wine bottle and refilled her glass.
She took another gulp. What was wrong with her? She never talked
about Jack yet here she was telling a total stranger. A very
friendly stranger, but a stranger all the same. There was something
about Henry that had made her want to share, something that made
her feel comfortable enough to do so. It was a weird feeling. But
then, this whole situation was bordering on bizarre so who was she
to discount how she felt.

And now Henry
appeared to be concerned which was utterly sweet. “Let me know if
I’m being too nosy,” he said.

“
You’re not nosy at all. In fact, it’s a bit of a relief to
share with someone. I’ve sort of been avoiding the
truth.”

“
Why?”

“
I guess I was embarrassed that Jack left me for the bakery
tart. Apparently she makes a mean coffee scroll.”

“
Seriously? He left you because you can’t cook?”

“
No, he left me because I cook too well.” Daisy sucked in a
breath. “You see Jack didn’t like my curves. He told me I was too
fat and that he couldn’t have sex with me unless I lost some
weight. Then he left me for Anna, one of his co-workers who I might
add has boobs twice the size of mine.”

Henry shook
his head. “Excuse me for stating the obvious but you’re not fat.
You have a nice figure.”

“
That’s the ironic part. I was so cut up after Jack left I
didn’t eat for weeks. I weigh less now than I did when I was
seventeen.”

“
Does Jack know this? Maybe he’d come back if you sent him a
photo or something.”

“
I don’t want him back. I’d sooner become a
lesbian.”

“
Right. So you’re not bitter at all, then?” A hint of
amusement played in Henry’s eyes. Under other circumstances, Daisy
might have been a bit put out at his words but for some reason his
sarcasm made her want to laugh. He was very easy to
like.

“
Uh, not unless you call planning the ten most tortuous ways
to kill my husband bitter,” she smiled.

Henry gave a
chuckle and rolled over to take up the wine bottle, refilling his
glass. Next to him Marsha stirred but didn’t wake.

“
Were you together long?”

“
Since we were sixteen - more than half a lifetime. I met Jack
at a horse show. He was very good with horses. We were inseparable
from the moment we met. Then, when I was seventeen, I got pregnant.
Totally by accident, of course. We had to beg our parents to let us
get married. We were like Romeo and Juliet but without the death
bit.”

“
Wow. I’ve never met anyone with that type of long-term
commitment before. The people I hang with tend to move on quicker
than you can say ‘divorce’. Being together for that amount of time
is a real achievement.”

“
Not any more. I feel like a failure.”

“
But you did nothing wrong.”

How was it
that this man was single? He was so normal and down to Earth. Not
at all the way she imagined a mega famous rock star would be. If
Jack had been so understanding she was positive things would have
worked out differently, but after the first five years he’d become
remote and cold, as if he’d woken up one morning, looked at her and
realised he’d made the biggest mistake of his life. His loving
looks had turned to revulsion or disdain. It was enough to make
Daisy want to cry. In fact if she didn’t get out of the room this
instant that was exactly what she was going to do. All over her
guest.

“
Um, Can you excuse me for a sec’? I just need to check on
something. I’ll be right back. Grab another bottle from the pantry
if you like.” She pointed to its location as she all but flew from
the room.

Chapter 3

Behind the
safety of her closed bedroom door, Daisy gulped deep breaths and
tried to settle herself. Tears of annoyance or maybe realisation
burst from her eyes and no matter what she did or thought of, they
didn’t seem to want to stop. For a good five minutes she snivelled,
snot running down her nose and mingling with her tears. Her cheeks
became stained and red and her sleeve grew sticky where she’d wiped
her nose on it because she hadn’t the energy to go three more steps
to get a tissue from the cupboard. It was as if Henry had unlocked
that big black bag of emotion and let her feelings out to go
running around the farm, draining her body in the process.

With a sniff
and a snort she wiped her eyes and went into the ensuite. She had
to get a grip. This was beyond ridiculous. Hawk Moon was sitting by
her fire and all she could think about was her loser husband. Not
that she wanted Jack to come back. The short conversation had made
her face that fact. She was ready to move on. But she still felt
raw, like sandpaper had been rubbed over her body.

Stopping in
front of the basin Daisy turned on the tap, leaning into it and
splashing cold water onto her face. It was icy and made her cheeks
tingle. She pulled a towel from the rack and dabbed the moisture
away. Then she peered into the mirror, examining her face for any
traces of her meltdown. That was better. A little. At least she
didn’t look like a raspberry anymore. She couldn’t face Henry
looking like something freshly picked from the veggie garden.

A quiet knock
at the door brought her to her senses.

“
Daisy? Are you okay?”

Henry. Shit,
she’d been in here for so long he must have thought she’d washed
herself down the plughole. She attempted to brighten her voice.
“Coming.”

Straightening,
she opened the door.

“
Is everything alright?” he asked.

What a lovely
man.

“
Yeah. Fine. It’s still painful, I guess.” She dabbed her eyes
again. The tears clearly hadn’t finished. That familiar prickling
was threatening.

Henry took a
step towards her. He rubbed a hand up and down her arm, soothing
her. “Don’t cry. I hate it when people cry, unless they’ve just won
lotto, of course.”

Daisy sniffed,
giving him a wet smile. It was so sweet of him to try and cheer her
up but in reality it was only making things worse. She’d tried to
be strong for so long and now she couldn’t do it anymore. She
covered her hands with her face and wept.

“
Oh God. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with
me.”

“
Shhh. Its okay. I understand.”

Henry gathered
her into his arms. If she’d thought about it she probably would
have balked ~ he was a stranger after all, even if she did own
every single CD he’d ever made ~ yet it felt like the place she was
meant to be.