Prologue
10 years ago
He cupped her head between his hands, staring down into her beautiful face. He might only be nineteen. She might only be sixteen, but he knew what he wanted. . .her.
“I’m gonna call as much as I can.” They were at their special place. The pond on his grandfather’s estate. It was where they always met. Only tonight was different, because they were saying goodbye before he went on deployment overseas for nine months.
It was going to be hard leaving her. Knowing how tough she had things back here with her shit mother. Taking care of her brother and sister. But he was doing this to build a life for them. Oh, he knew his grandfather would set them up. But Jed was his own man. He wanted to start life with Daisy right.
“I know,” she whispered. Tears shimmered in her deep gray eyes.
“I love you, Daisy-girl,” he told her.
“I love to you too.”
“Here, I got you a birthday present.” He reached into the duffel bag he’d brought with him, pulling out a box wrapped in pale green paper. Her favorite color.
“A present? For me?”
He loved that she treated every gift she received with a sense of wonder. Hated it too. As he knew she’d received very few in her life.
“I know your birthday isn’t for a few weeks. I’m sad I’m gonna miss it. Open that now.”
She ripped off the paper like an eager toddler at Christmas, making him laugh. Then she looked down at the box of fairy lights with excitement. “Oh, Jed.”
“Know how much you like pretty lights.”
“Oh, I do. Thank you!” She threw herself at him and he caught her tight, breathing her in.
“Also got something else for you and you’re gonna take it. No arguments.” He pulled an envelope out of his pocket and placed it in her hand. “I’ve put some cash in there for you in case of an emergency.”
She opened her mouth and he placed his finger over it. “I said no arguments. It’s all mine from working that part-time job over summer. It’s for you. I know things might get tight and I won’t be here to help. So you put this where your mom can’t find it and you use it if you have to. Yeah?”
Her eyes shimmered bright with tears.
“Yeah. Thank you.”
He kissed her again.
Sugar and strawberries.
“I’ll be home soon. Any trouble, you go to Grandfather. He’ll help.”
She stiffened next but he felt her nod. She and Grandfather didn’t get on well, but Grandfather knew how much Daisy meant to him. He’d take care of her.
1
It was a pretty sad testament to her life that all her belongings fit in the back of her car.
Wasn’t even like she had a big car. Just a small hybrid Toyota. It was racy looking and cute, with enough space to fit two suitcases and a couple of boxes on the backseat.
Daisy sat in her car, staring up in wonder at the gorgeous house in front of her. Two-storied with a wrap-around porch, well-kept grounds and obviously freshly-painted, it looked enormous. And far too good a place for her.
Worthless white trash.
She took a deep breath and pinched her thigh until the pain washed away the awful voice in her head. She wasn’t trash. She was smart. She was loved. She was worthy.
She banished the bad thoughts from her mind. She could live in this beautiful house. She deserved to. Didn’t she have as much right as anyone else to have something like this in her life? She was a good person. She wasn’t mean. She didn’t kick puppies or make faces at babies or cheat on her taxes.
It was big for one person. She was kind of surprised she could afford it. She’d thought maybe the photos of it had been photoshopped because it was too good to be true.
But she could definitely settle in here. She worked from home; she wanted a place she could feel happy.
She pulled her cell out of her handbag. She was a few minutes early to meet her new landlady, so she might as well take the chance to text her sister. She sent off a brief message, telling her she’d arrived. Then she took a photo of the house and sent it as well. She’d email her brother later. Not that he’d reply for a while. He was backpacking around Chile and often didn’t get in front of a computer.