touch her and make her admit she loved him. Steven got between them, and Jack smashed his fist into Steven's face. They proceeded to beat the hell out of each other, but Steven Monroe had never been a fighter. He'd ended up taking the bad end of the beating.
Jack raised the beer to his mouth again and swallowed hard. The night he'd lost Daisy, he'd lost Steven too. He'd lost the girl he'd loved and craved and wanted to live with forever.
He'd lost his best friend. The boy who'd been by his side during every hair-brained adventure. Steven might have been a "you go first" kind of guy, but Jack had always known that Steven was right there behind him.
Backing him up. Ready to go next. Then in the course of one night, they were both gone and Jack was alone.
He'd learned a valuable lesson that night that he'd lost everything. He'd learned that no one could take from you what you didn't give them. No one could slice your insides up if you didn't hand them the knife. He didn't think that made him bitter, just a man who learned from mistakes. And it didn't make him one of those commitment-phobic guys Rhonda was always accusing him of being.
Hell, he might get married one day. Marriage wasn't something he'd ever rule out, but it wasn't something he was looking for either If it happened, it happened. He had a family. Billy and Rhonda and the girls were enough for him, but there was room in his life for someone else. He was only thirty-three. There was time.
Except Daisy. There would never be room for Daisy Monroe. Not only had she sliced up his insides, she'd stomped them into the ground. He would never allow Daisy into his life again.
No, he'd learned his lesson the first time.
Chapter Seven
Daisy shoved her tortoise-shell Vuarnet sunglasses onto the bridge of her nose and looked over at Lily, who concealed her eyes behind lavender Adrienne Vittadinis.
Like a cop on a stakeout, Lily backed her Ford Taurus in between a truck and a minivan and shoved the car into park. The last strain of "Earl Had to Die" wound to a close, and the dying notes of an electric keyboard filled the space between the two sisters. Normally, Daisy had nothing against the Dixie Chicks, in fact the had two of their CDs, but if Lily hit the back arrow on the car's stereo one more time, Daisy wasn't responsible for what the might do next.
"Do you see him anywhere?" Lily asked as the scanned the parking lot to a stucco apartment complex off Eldorado Street. Her hand lowered from the steering wheel, hovered, then she hit the back button.
"Damn it!" Daisy swore, driven to near madness. "That's the fifth time in a row you've played that song."
Lily looked across the seat at Daisy. Her brows lowered, and frown lines creased her forehead. "You're counting? That's warped."
"Me! I'm not the one wearing out 'Earl Had to Die' while parked outside my soon to be ex-husband's apartment."
"It's not his apartment. He's renting a house over on Locust Grove near the hospital. It's her apartment. Kelly the skank," Lily said and returned her attention to the complex.
The Chicks started with the first verse again, and Daisy leaned over and hit the off button. The car was blessedly silent. After leaving Showtime last night, Lily had taken a detour, passing Kelly's apartment. She'd driven past three times like some crazed stalker before dropping Daisy off at their mother's house.
This morning she showed up bright and early to drop Pippen off so she could "find a job." Daisy took one look at her sister's flat hair and wrinkled running sweats, and she knew something was up. She told Lily she was coming along. She pulled on a pair of jean shorts, a black T-shirt, and shoved her feet into flip-flops as she twisted her hair up onto the back of her head and secured it with a claw.
"How long have you been doing this?" she asked.
Lily's hands tightened on the gray steering wheel. "Awhile."
"Why?"
"I have to see them together."
"Why?" she asked again. "That's crazy."
Lily
Jack raised the beer to his mouth again and swallowed hard. The night he'd lost Daisy, he'd lost Steven too. He'd lost the girl he'd loved and craved and wanted to live with forever.
He'd lost his best friend. The boy who'd been by his side during every hair-brained adventure. Steven might have been a "you go first" kind of guy, but Jack had always known that Steven was right there behind him.
Backing him up. Ready to go next. Then in the course of one night, they were both gone and Jack was alone.
He'd learned a valuable lesson that night that he'd lost everything. He'd learned that no one could take from you what you didn't give them. No one could slice your insides up if you didn't hand them the knife. He didn't think that made him bitter, just a man who learned from mistakes. And it didn't make him one of those commitment-phobic guys Rhonda was always accusing him of being.
Hell, he might get married one day. Marriage wasn't something he'd ever rule out, but it wasn't something he was looking for either If it happened, it happened. He had a family. Billy and Rhonda and the girls were enough for him, but there was room in his life for someone else. He was only thirty-three. There was time.
Except Daisy. There would never be room for Daisy Monroe. Not only had she sliced up his insides, she'd stomped them into the ground. He would never allow Daisy into his life again.
No, he'd learned his lesson the first time.
Chapter Seven
Daisy shoved her tortoise-shell Vuarnet sunglasses onto the bridge of her nose and looked over at Lily, who concealed her eyes behind lavender Adrienne Vittadinis.
Like a cop on a stakeout, Lily backed her Ford Taurus in between a truck and a minivan and shoved the car into park. The last strain of "Earl Had to Die" wound to a close, and the dying notes of an electric keyboard filled the space between the two sisters. Normally, Daisy had nothing against the Dixie Chicks, in fact the had two of their CDs, but if Lily hit the back arrow on the car's stereo one more time, Daisy wasn't responsible for what the might do next.
"Do you see him anywhere?" Lily asked as the scanned the parking lot to a stucco apartment complex off Eldorado Street. Her hand lowered from the steering wheel, hovered, then she hit the back button.
"Damn it!" Daisy swore, driven to near madness. "That's the fifth time in a row you've played that song."
Lily looked across the seat at Daisy. Her brows lowered, and frown lines creased her forehead. "You're counting? That's warped."
"Me! I'm not the one wearing out 'Earl Had to Die' while parked outside my soon to be ex-husband's apartment."
"It's not his apartment. He's renting a house over on Locust Grove near the hospital. It's her apartment. Kelly the skank," Lily said and returned her attention to the complex.
The Chicks started with the first verse again, and Daisy leaned over and hit the off button. The car was blessedly silent. After leaving Showtime last night, Lily had taken a detour, passing Kelly's apartment. She'd driven past three times like some crazed stalker before dropping Daisy off at their mother's house.
This morning she showed up bright and early to drop Pippen off so she could "find a job." Daisy took one look at her sister's flat hair and wrinkled running sweats, and she knew something was up. She told Lily she was coming along. She pulled on a pair of jean shorts, a black T-shirt, and shoved her feet into flip-flops as she twisted her hair up onto the back of her head and secured it with a claw.
"How long have you been doing this?" she asked.
Lily's hands tightened on the gray steering wheel. "Awhile."
"Why?"
"I have to see them together."
"Why?" she asked again. "That's crazy."
Lily
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