Grumpy as puck, p.8
Grumpy as Puck, page 8
“What the fuck just happened?” I blurted out.
“My bad day from Friday extended to Monday,” she murmured, though it seemed more for her own benefit.
I moved toward Daisy, but she held up her hand. “Just know that Arizona is fine. All he needs now is to heal. Make an appointment with Diana in the waiting room to pick him up on Wednesday. I have to go hide in a deep coffin filled with a back-breaking air mattress.”
She moved to the door, let out a breath, and opened it. Before I could say anything, she was gone, and I was alone in the room.
While I was glad Arizona would be fine, I couldn’t help but wonder if Daisy being fired was my fault.
Chapter eleven
Daisy
“Barkeep, pour me another.” I slammed the wooden table and caused it to rattle.
“My name is Susanna.” She tapped at the silver pitcher in her hand. “And this is our dark roast from the French press.”
I had been jobless for two days, and I felt like I was lost in a horrible nightmare. One where my boss got my man and the job of my dreams, while I swigged coffee like it was some magic elixir that would cure all that ailed me.
“Whatever you want to call it, I need another. I’ve had a terrible week.”
She nodded and gave me a sympathetic smile. “Once I fill your cup, I’ve got to go back to the customers waiting in line. I can’t keep coming over here to pour you another. If you want more, just head up to the counter.”
I ignored everything she said and responded with, “You’ve got a job. That’s the important thing.” I slashed my finger in the air but somehow swung widely and knocked my biscuit onto the floor.
“Honey, you obviously have had an awful week. How about I give you another biscuit on the house?”
“Thank you. You’re a good person, and I appreciate you. Your boss is lucky to have you. Lucky…” I whispered the last part.
“Is there somebody I can call for you? Do you need a ride home? I know that this is just a coffee shop, and I haven’t witnessed you drinking, but the way you’re acting…”
I waved my hands at her. “No, no, I’m fine. I’m just going to keep using your restroom for a while. I drank a lot of coffee.”
“That was a little too much information for me. I’m heading back to the register.”
The barista with the brown curly hair walked off, and I felt a sense of joy for her because she had a job.
I didn’t.
She got to do what she loved—being surrounded by coffee. I bet she loved it here. I didn’t know her, but I felt like I knew her.
Right as I was about to lift the dark roast to my lips so I could try to forget my troubles, I saw a man with an enormous bouquet of beautiful flowers.
Smiling, I thought to myself, there was a good guy. Obviously buying that bouquet for the person he loved. Whoever those flowers were for, they were lucky to have him in their life.
As I was staring at the colorful flora, his head turned my way. My grin faded into a deep frown. He wasn’t a good man… He was the worst.
“Daisy. So funny running into you here,” he said, stepping toward my table.
“Hi, Andrew. I didn’t recognize you with that gigantic bouquet you have in your hand. I thought you were deathly allergic to flowers.”
He chuckled. “Why would you think that?”
“I don’t know. Maybe because you never once got me flowers. Ever.”
“That can’t be right. I’m sure I bought you flowers at some point…” He snapped his fingers. “That birthday of yours. I got you some daisies. I thought it was funny. You know, with your name being Daisy and all.”
“Hilarious.” My sarcasm was so thick, it dripped to the floor. “You didn’t buy them. You saw them in somebody’s garden and picked them for me. I remember because I kept commenting how the dirt from the roots was falling all over the floor.”
He waved me off. “The point is, I got you flowers.”
“You’re a real winner,” I mumbled to myself.
“What?” He leaned closer, but right as I was about to lay into the cheater—remind him he was sleeping in the apartment I paid for—another person walked up to my table.
If my day couldn’t be filled enough with nightmares past, Katie snapped her fingers in my face.
“Hey. You screwed up.” She flashed her teeth like a hyena, which made sense, since she looked like the human form of one.
“Please, Katie, join in on the discussion. Next topic will be, how best to ruin Daisy’s life. I’ll start.” I held up my finger. “Kidnap her in the night and leave her in a wolf’s den. Because I feel that is a likely scenario, given how my life has gone lately.”
Katie frowned and tilted her head. “You’re insane. You better not infect my son with your crazy.”
“She’s not crazy, just stressed. Isn’t that right, Daisy? Every time I thought you were losing it when we were together, you’d explain that you were just overworked.”
I pressed an imaginary button on the table and made a loud buzzing sound. Many people in the shop turned to glance over at me.
“You’re both wrong. I can’t be overworked when I have no job. And I can’t be crazy because it’s you two who are crazy.”
Or maybe I was going off the deep end? I was pretending to press buzzers and letting these two idiots talk to me.
“Whatever. The reason I’m mad is because you screwed up my appointment for the puppy. It was supposed to be today, but that woman there with her long black curls kept telling me she was too busy. I need to make sure everything is okay with the puppy to surprise Lucas.”
I groaned. I had completely forgotten about the puppy thing.
“Did you tell Jackson yet?” I asked, lifting my eyes to her.
Her head shot back. “What? No. It’s my gift to give. If I let him know, he’ll probably tell Lucas the puppy was his idea. I can’t have that.” She pursed her bright pink lips.
“But he’ll have to take care of the puppy when you aren’t around. He needs to know.” I rubbed at the spot between my brows.
Why did life hate me so much?
She tapped her foot. “I’ll tell him after the vet appointment. Okay?”
I nodded.
“So, can you come and look at the dog?”
“I just said I was jobless. How can I check out the puppy? I am no longer a veterinarian.” Just saying that out loud caused my heart to sink as bile crept up the back of my throat. My dream of helping animals flickered out in a heartbeat.
I noticed she hadn’t even given it a name yet. I wondered if Katie was incapable of love and affection.
“Then what am I supposed to do? I can’t keep the puppy much longer. Antonio is allergic to animals.”
“Antonio? Who the hell is Antonio?”
Her eyes widened. “Oh, uh… he’s my, uh… my maid. That’s right. He’s a maid. And I can’t have the help unfit to work for me.”
“Wow, you can afford a maid while not having a child to raise, yet my bother can only afford a small one-bedroom apartment while taking care of his son. Remind me again, Katie, what do you do for a living?”
Her eyes darted around the room. I had caught her. Deep down, I knew she was using my brother. He paid her alimony while he cared for their child, and she did nothing.
“Those flowers are beautiful,” Katie said, batting her lashes at Andrew.
Was there a man she wouldn’t flirt with?
“Thank you. They’re for someone else, but I think this red rose has your name on it.” Andrew pulled out the flower and presented it to Katie.
She gasped, placing her hand on her chest and the fakest expression of shock on her face. “Really? That’s so sweet. I heard you two broke up.”
Of course she did. It surprised me that our breakup wasn’t the headline in the local paper this past weekend.
“Yes. It’s been so hard for me.” Andrew lowered his head as if holding back tears.
That weasel.
I was about to ask him if he was referring to his penis when he said hard, because of what I witnessed the night we broke up, when Katie said, “You poor man. And here you are, defending her after what she did to you…”
“Wait, a minute—” I stood, about to correct Katie when Andrew cut me off.
“I just felt so ignored.”
My mouth fell open. What alternate reality did these two live in?
They kept trying to soothe each other, as if they were the ones hurt by their lovers and not the other way around.
Anger swept through my body like I had never felt before. I had outbursts before and arguments, but the way the emotion enveloped me was all-encompassing. Fire filled my veins, and I knew I had to stop them. I was tired of being used and tossed aside by the people I thought cared about me, expecting me to just take it.
But right as I was about to open my mouth and tell them exactly what I thought of their pitiful life, a hand landed on my shoulder. I tilted my head, irritated that the speech I desperately wanted to shout was being delayed.
A pair of blue eyes crinkled as they gazed into mine. “Daisy. Do you want to leave this place and help my dog?”
His question was the shock of ice water in my face that I needed to melt the anger away.
I never noticed how velvety smooth Cillian’s voice was until now. And then there was his smile. I wondered if I ever saw it before.
Heat was building once again, but it only pooled between my thighs.
Unable to speak, I simply nodded.
He reached for my hand and tugged me away from Andrew and Katie. I never thought Cillian Walsh would be the guy who saved me from my nightmare.
Chapter twelve
Cillian
Once we turned onto the dirt road, Daisy yelped.
It was the first sound she made since I took her away from the coffee shop earlier. Where that crazy woman I met at the vet’s office two days ago, along with the man with the flowers were making it their mission to upset her.
I had gone into Hard Grind after picking up Arizona from the veterinarian clinic. The veterinarian who had fired Daisy was there. She was rude and practically threw my dog at me.
When I asked her about physical therapy services, she laughed in my face and walked away. I wasn’t the only one shocked by her actions; I heard other people in the waiting room grumble about the veterinarian—and the things they said weren’t pretty.
I only ran into Hard Grind to grab a quick coffee before heading home, but witnessing the look on Daisy’s face, I knew I had to step in. I understood all too well what that expression meant.
“Here we are.” I glanced into the back seat once we came to a stop, where Daisy sat with Arizona.
My dog’s head was in her lap as she ran her hand over his neck. I sucked in a breath at the sweet sight.
She glanced out the window, and her eyes widened. I couldn’t stop drinking in her innocent wonder.
“This place is beautiful. I’ve never been to a farm before,” she said, opening the door and hopping out.
Once I was out of the car, I stood there waiting for her to move away so I could reach in for Arizona. But Daisy beat me to it. She bent over and scooped up my dog as if he were a newborn baby.
It was insanely adorable. Tightening my jaw, I turned away. Damnit, as a hockey player, I shouldn’t be oohing and ahhing over a woman with a dog. Yet I had the strongest urge to wrap them in my arms.
“Cillian, I told you Sam was taking me home.” My dad strode up to my SUV.
“Hey, Dad. I decided that the farm might be a good place to work on Arizona’s physical therapy.”
“He’s back.” My dad practically pushed me aside to get closer to Arizona. “And you’re going to help?” he asked Daisy with hope etched on his face.
Her large brown eyes slipped between me and my dad. “I can’t since I don’t work at the veterinarian clinic anymore.”
My dad’s head reared back. “You quit?”
I hadn’t told him exactly what happened when I went back to speak with Daisy the day of the accident.
“No… but I should have.” She let out a small chuckle. “I should have walked out of that place a long time ago.”
“Maybe it was a good thing you got fired. Might open some doors you never would have found if you stayed,” I said.
Like the one I was about to offer her.
“Fired? Who would be foolish enough to fire a talented veterinarian like you?” My dad took Arizona from Daisy, cooing at him.
“My boss is many things, and yes, foolish is definitely one of them. But, if I’m being honest, I was foolish too.” Daisy frowned, wrapping her arms around herself.
“I still think this might be a gift in disguise. You’re too good with animals to stay unemployed for long.” I tried to bring back the smile to her face.
“Doubtful. Look where we live.” She swung her arms wide. “There aren’t a lot of options for me up here in the mountains. And it’s not like I could start a clinic of my own. I don’t have that sort of money. I live in a broom closet right now.” She snorted.
“A broom closet?” Sam came up, and I noticed dirt covered the front of his jean jacket.
“It’s a long story involving Szechuan chicken, an air mattress, and a selfish jerk. No, make that two selfish jerks.” She sighed before she continued, “Let’s just say I’m ready to start over. Maybe being a veterinarian isn’t for me.”
I was about to argue with Daisy when I felt something being pushed at me. My father was placing Arizona in my arms. He had a look in his eyes that told me not to question him.
“Look here, young lady,” he walked over to Daisy, pointing his finger, “you saved my dog’s life, and I am forever grateful for that. You have a gift, a talent. Don’t throw that away just because you were fired and sleep in a broom closet.”
“My dad’s right, you should—”
Apparently, my father wasn’t done talking as he cut me off, “Look around you. This is a farm… a farm that will have animals.”
“It will?”
My dad gave me his side eye, and I knew not to ask any more questions.
“As I was saying, those animals will need a vet. Someone to help them when they’re sick.”
“Then you can go to the veterinarian clinic in Castle Ridge. Angelica supposedly makes house calls to farmers on Wednesdays, but I have yet to see her actually do it. Maybe she just hasn’t had clients yet.” Her arms slipped to her side as if she lost all energy in that moment.
“I’m not thinking about her; I’m thinking about you. Hoping someone has trained you in livestock care?” My father’s lips thinned.
She took a breath and glanced around, her eyes finally settling on the red barn in the distance. “Yes, but it’s been a long time. Mainly I’ve been dealing with cats, dogs, birds, and the occasional guinea pig. Someone brought in a goat once, but I think they kept it as a pet and not livestock.”
“I see.” My dad took off his worn blue baseball cap and scratched the back of his head. “Well, I happen to be getting a goat to help clear away all the weeds and excess grass. Would you look at the goat once I get it?”
Daisy nibbled her lower lip. She might be nervous, and I suspected she didn’t want to disappoint my father by telling him no.
“Look, Dad, it’s getting late.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “It’s only three in the afternoon—”
I stepped between him and Daisy, putting my back to her, and winked at my dad. “Yes, but you know how you get if you miss the, uh… The Golden Girls.”
That was the first thing that popped into my head, and I could tell by my father’s expression he wasn’t happy with my choice in television shows.
“Right…” he said through gritted teeth. “The Golden Girls. Love me some Bea Arthur.”
“I like The Golden Girls too. We can watch it together,” Sam said from behind my dad.
My father leaned forward and lowered his voice. “You better know what you’re doing, or it’s going to be payback for this.”
“I do. Now go watch your favorite show with your new Golden Girls buddy,” I said before rolling my lips over my teeth, trying not to laugh.
My father turned and grumbled something as he walked away with Sam.
“Does he really like The Golden Girls?”
“No. In fact, he hates it. It was the only thing I loved to watch when I was a toddler. According to him, my mother bought the first season on videotape, and it was all I wanted to watch. He said it was on so much that he’d have trouble falling asleep at night because the theme song would seep into his head.”
She frowned. “Why did you just do that? Pretend he likes The Golden Girls when he doen’t. Why did he pretend to?”
I shifted Arizona in my arms. “Because I wanted to speak with you alone. I felt bad about you getting fired on Monday.”
Daisy sighed and leaned back against the SUV. “It wasn’t your fault. She had wanted me gone for a while.”
That couldn’t be right. Daisy was a great veterinarian; she was sweet and gentle. What veterinarian wouldn’t want someone like that on their team?
“Was she jealous?”
Her brows shot up. “Jealous? Of me?” Daisy threw her head back and chuckled. “You’ve seen Angelica. She looks like if Salma Hayek and Sofia Vergara got together and had a baby. There’s no competing with that.”
“I wasn’t referring to her appearance. But if that’s what you meant, you’re more beautiful than she could ever hope to be.”
“W-What? You… you think I’m beautiful?”
Yes, but that wasn’t how I planned the conversation to go.
I rubbed the back of my neck. “That’s not the reason you’re here.”
She was so much more than breathtaking. Daisy was intelligent and playful and always brought a smile to my face—and I didn’t smile very often.
She nodded and wrapped her arms around her waist. “Of course. Right.”
She was unhappy. Everything coming out of my mouth was wrong, yet I couldn’t stop talking. I had the strongest urge to make her smile.
