Daisy
Daisy decided that if heaven was real, it was a ranch.
She’d been bleary-eyed and half-asleep when she stumbled into Charlie’s truck. But after being able to nap on the drive to his place, she felt much more refreshed when she arrived at the most non-mansion-looking mansion she’d ever seen.
It was made of wood, glass and stone, arranged in a natural, cottage core sort of vibe. It reminded Daisy of Little House on the Prairie or Secret Garden except about twenty times bigger.
Two gardens took over the yard out front. One a large, verdant one that she guessed was their edible garden, and then a truly impressive flower one in the front. Daisy wasn’t the best gardener, but she recognized scarlet, cosmos, roses, sunflowers and carnations. There seemed to be just about every color possible and some that were even multiple colors. It was like walking into a fairy world.
And it just kept getting better.
Charlie gave her a tour of the inside of the cabin-mansion, and the inside was just as perfect as the out. Daisy had almost expected tacky huntsman chic or that overly minimalistic modern style that was all the rage among rich people, but instead it was the perfect mix of natural, practical and clean lines.
Sure, most everything was either wood or stone, but it worked well together. Especially since plants were all over the place. Plenty of family photos, trophies or art, added splashes of color and life to so many places.
It probably wasn’t supposed to be a mind-blowing tour, he was just showing her where the kitchen was if she got thirsty and the bathroom was if she needed to use it, but Daisy was impressed nonetheless.
And that wasn’t even counting the Millers she kept encountering at different points. Each of them seemed genuinely happy to see her, and the one in the wheelchair ribbed Charlie so thoroughly that Daisy’s cheeks were hurting by the time the one that had to be Clara came out of the kitchen and told her to play nice. In just twenty minutes, it was easy for Daisy to see that the family really, truly loved each other.
And she was jealous of that in the best way.
Her relationship with her mother was nonexistent, and honestly, Daisy didn’t miss it. They had been toxic together, with her mother being emotionally abusive and full of hate and Daisy falling into all the normal troubles that came along with being an alcoholic by the ripe old age of eighteen. Her father? He’d never been in the picture. She didn’t even know his name. And with no siblings, no aunts, no uncles, it’d been just her for almost a full decade.
And she’d always told herself she liked it that way.
But seeing how the Millers interacted, she couldn’t help but wonder how much she’d missed.
Oh well, it wasn’t like she could go back in time and get her mother the therapy she needed, so what was done was done.
Besides, Daisy didn’t get a chance to linger over that thought long because then they were going outside and meeting all the animals.
Funny, for working at a rodeo, Daisy had no idea that chickens came in so many varieties. There were pretty, fluffy ones that looked like they were wearing disco bellbottoms. Tiny ones that looked like they had fur more than feathers. And speckled ones. Ones with giant tails that were almost like horse manes. Red ones, black ones, white ones, dappled ones, the list went on and on.
And pretty much every chicken in Clara’s flock loved humans.
Daisy found herself surrounded almost immediately, and it was the absolute best. But somehow, best got even better when Charlie gave her a feed bucket and then she really was the star of the pen.
She’d thought it couldn’t get any better than that, but then he’d taken her to the goat pen and that was truly magical.
Apparently, they’d had an impressive amount of kidding in the early spring, and due to some trauma with one of the mothers, Clara had had to bottle feed the two doelings and buckling. They called them ‘bottle babies.’ The bottle feeding resulted in some incredibly people-oriented kids who practically ran to the gate, their tails wagging almost too fast to see.
Goats could wag their tails. Who knew? Certainly not her. Despite her situation as a show rider, Daisy only ever dealt with horses and bulls. Not exactly an extensive agricultural background.
So, it was great. Better than great. Amazing stacked on top of wonderful stuffed inside a whole roll of fun. She was so caught up in it, all of it, that she definitely had to do a double-take when Charlie asked her if she was ready for lunch.
“But we just got here.”
“Daisy, it’s after one. We’ve been here since eight AM.”
Daisy just stared at him for several moments before looking for the position of the sun.
“It is past noon.”
“Hah, don’t worry. You’re not the only one that’s happened to. Come on. I know Clara has probably gone overboard with whatever she made for lunch.”
“Wait, your sister cooks a custom lunch for y’all too?”
“It depends on how she’s feeling. Sometimes Papa does, and sometimes it’s just leftovers. But you better believe whenever we have a guest that she makes sure there’s a full spread available.”
Maybe Daisy should have been more incredulous, but suddenly Charlie’s bizarre interest in taking care of her made a lot of sense.
Huh.
“We better head inside then. If your sister’s lunch is anything like her hangover cure, I’m sure it’s going to be great.”
“Oh, you have no idea.”
It turned out that he was absolutely right.
Somehow, in the five or so hours since she’d been gone, Clara had made roast beef sandwiches on buttery rolls that were still warm to the touch, deviled eggs, cucumber sandwiches, tea, fried chicken and coleslaw. There was also a pitcher of reddish-looking tea on the table as well as a pot of coffee.
“There you are,” the infamous Clara said, clapping her hands once she saw them. “I was just about to send for you.”
Daisy felt herself blush slightly. She liked to think she was a person who was difficult to ruffle, but something about the middle Miller sister made her flustered. She was a tall bird, that was for sure. Easily over five foot ten, plus she was wearing cute wedge sandals with pink flowers on the front.
It wasn’t just that she was tall either. She was dressed in a retro sort of getup and had her hair done up in impeccable curls. She was basically the perfect image of a 1950s housewife, except with biceps that looked like she could have a serious career in arm wrestling.
Basically, she was impeccably put together and sweet as pie, and that made Daisy feel… lacking.
“Don’t worry, Clara. I wouldn’t let anybody miss out on your cooking.”
“Good. I’ve trained you well.”
He snorted, pulling out a chair for Daisy like it wasn’t anything. And who knew, maybe for him, it wasn’t a big deal, but Daisy felt herself flush again. She wasn’t the type of girl that guys pulled out chairs for, but Charlie did it like it was a matter of course.
She was saved from ruminating over that too long, however, because the eldest sister was striding in again. Or at least she tried to, until Clara suddenly whirled with a pointed finger.
“Charity Miller, if you are about to tromp on my clean kitchen floor without taking off those oily boots, you better think twice on it.”
The woman stopped, grinning widely as she took off one boot and then the other. “I don’t know how you’re able to tell that without even looking at me.”
“God has blessed me with a very acute ability to sense a mess approaching,” Clara retorted primly.
“Your shop boots squeak.”
That was Cass, coming in through the front door, a beautiful cane in one of her hands and a tall, handsome man beside her.
A really handsome man.
Daisy didn’t think she’d ever seen a black cowboy outside of the rodeo she worked for, but the dark-skinned man was absolutely that. He was wearing dark, rough and tumble jeans, a purple button-up and thick gloves on his hands. He had on a fancy cowboy hat, which Daisy knew had to have been a pretty penny. Not like any of the cheap, internet ones that she’d bedazzled.
“Oh look, everyone is here,” Clara said, clapping her hands.
“Where are Papa and Cici?” Charlie asked.
Daisy began to have trouble remembering who was who. Cici was… the youngest? Maybe? She felt like she had heard that before.
“They’re off to a museum that just opened in the city,” Charity said, sitting down at the table with a pair of house slippers on to replace her boots. Daisy had no idea where she’d gotten those house slippers, but they were on her feet nonetheless.
“I’m hoping to go there next month,” Cass said, dropping down into her own chair and the quiet man sat next to her. He looked once to Daisy and gave a slight nod, then that was that. A man of few words, apparently.
That was fine. Daisy was never one of those people who insisted that other people needed to talk as much as she did. Besides, considering that she was surrounded by several Miller characters, she wasn’t exactly feeling verbose herself.
Besides, who needed to talk when there was delicious food to stuff down her face?
And boy, was the food good.
Clara’s hangover cure hadn’t been a fluke. Everything was tasty, flavorful and utterly delicious. The chicken was crispy and had a dash of spice to it. The cucumber sandwiches were dainty and crisp, while the roast beef sandwiches tasted like… Daisy didn’t know the exact way to describe it, but the closest adjective that came to mind was that it tasted how home should feel.
Weird.
She would have to investigate by eating another sandwich. It was a real trial, of course.
“I hope this isn’t rude, but I think I recognize you from the barrel shows,” Clara said while Daisy’s mouth was full of her mystifyingly delicious sandwich. “You’re Scarlet, aren’t you?”
Geez, Clara saw her at shows? The woman had a pleasant smile on her face, but one could never tell what some people thought of rodeo performers. There were plenty of people who were fans and would launch into a flurry of curious questions, but plenty of people had negative opinions. Especially when it came to a young, unmarried woman spending so much of her time with all of those ‘rough types.’
Daisy swallowed hard. “That’s me.”
“I thought so. You’re always so fun to watch, but I’m sure you know that.”
“Ah, I appreciate that.”
“Of course.” She lowered her head like she was sharing something conspiratorial. “You do have some of the most fun costumes of any of the riders.”
“Here we go,” Charity said with a chuckle.
“Wait, where are we going?” Daisy interjected, feeling like she was missing something everyone else was in on.
“Clara is the result of when a costume lover meets a fashion lover and you throw a vintage glam obsession in,” Cass said, grinning from across the table. “And she’s trying to think of a subtle way to rope you into letting her dress you up.”
“What?”
“Now Cass, why do you have to do that to me?” Clara grumped, her chin in her hand. She pouted at her sister before her gaze returned to Daisy. It was almost cute how she looked both bashful and hopeful at the same time. “But if you ever were willing, I have a couple of designs I’ve been working on.”
Aww, it was sweet, undeniably so. Although Daisy knew she’d never be able to afford the proper materials or a living wage for the heiress, she was touched nonetheless. “I’d have to look at my budget, but maybe in—”
“You wouldn’t have to pay for it,” Clara objected before she could finish, eyes wide. “This is just something I do for fun. You would be making a dream of mine come true, getting to watch a professional wear my design in front of a cheering crowd. I should probably pay you.”
…what even were the Millers? Daisy felt like she needed to be pinched, just to be sure the moment was real.
“You wouldn’t need to pay me at all. But if you really want to, I’d be more than happy to model anything you made.”
The woman clapped her hands again and Daisy was beginning to get the idea that was one of her mannerisms. It was easy to see why Rick had been pining over the woman for so long, and equally easy to see why he’d always been too intimidated to approach her. Daisy felt that being in her presence was like looking exactly at the sun.
“If you let me take your measurements before you leave, I could probably have something whipped up for you in a week or two. That will be in time for the rest of the season, right? I know you’ve only got two months left.”
“Two and a half months, actually. And then we move south to hook up with the Kapner rodeo for a joint gig.”
“So you’ll have plenty of time to use it. Amazing! Thank you so much.”
She smiled so brightly that Daisy felt like she needed shades. But then someone was patting her hand and she looked over to see it was Cass, who was sending her a wry grin.
“Don’t worry. You get used to it after a while. I swear, we’re mostly normal people.”
“If you squint,” Charity added from the head of the table.
“And do a handstand,” Charlie added, grinning impishly.
They all laughed, and Daisy joined in, even if she wasn’t quite sure she got the whole joke. But it was easy to laugh with the Millers, especially with their banter flowing like water. They were all so comfortable with each other that it felt easy to slip into the comfortableness with them.
Daisy had never really had a family, only in the vaguest definition of the word, but as she sat there surrounded by the tall, striking people, she couldn’t help but feel that this was exactly what family was supposed to be.
And it was nice.
Real nice.
‘Lunch’ ended up lasting several hours, only ending when Clara dismissed herself to go to her fiancé’s house with dinner that had apparently been cooking while they were all talking. Daisy thought that Clara could probably have her own cooking show, her food was that good, but she would need to investigate further before deciding.
And by investigate, she meant eat more sinfully delicious meals. Yum.
At that point Daisy was sure Charlie would tell her it was time to go, but then Charity leaned over with a pleasant expression on her face.
“You look capable. Want to see my workshop?”
Tools weren’t entirely Daisy’s thing, but she liked understanding how things were put together, so she nodded immediately.
“Sounds like a good time to me.”
And it was a good time. There was plenty of stuff that Daisy didn’t quite understand, but seeing all the farm equipment that Charity maintained or repaired and how Cassidy apparently kept it all organized was utterly fascinating. Daisy had known that there was a whole lot that went into farming, but she felt like someone was pulling back the curtain so she could see backstage.
And it was so cool.
She ended up spending several hours there, Charlie in the background adding to the conversation, until another younger woman came bounding up, throwing herself at Charlie first, then Charity before carefully hugging Cass last. She shared similar features to all three of the siblings and Daisy guessed that this was the missing Cici.
“Hey, Cici,” Charity said, confirming Daisy’s perspective. “How was the museum?”
“It was so great,” the college girl answered, her voice jam-packed full of excitement. “The exhibits were really interesting and there wasn’t that much of a crowd. Papa was—Oh! Who’s this?”
Suddenly the girl’s intense gaze was on Daisy and wow, Daisy missed when she used to have that much energy.
“Hi, my name is Daisy. I work with your brother Charlie at the rodeo.”
“What, really? Wait, that’s how I know you. You’re that cool rider who does the mid-show, right? I totally love your outfits!”
“You come to the rodeo? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you there.”
“I only go once or twice a year maybe, but I’ve been having my sisters stream when you and that other cool riding lady go. What’s her name? She’s super pale, has jet black hair?”
“That’s Annie Winrock.”
“I’m so sad she broke her leg this year. That’s such a bummer for everyone.”
“It’s rough, but she’ll be back next year.”
The girl nodded before jumping from foot to foot. “Oh! Oh! Has anyone shown you the garden yet?”
Charlie chuckled behind her. “No, we saved that for you, shortstack.”
“Hey, just because you’re all giants doesn’t mean I’m short. I’ll have you know, I’m two inches above average for women in America.” Cici heaved a long-suffering sigh and sent Daisy a martyred look. “Do you see what I have to deal with?”
“I do. It must be tough being the youngest.”
“Hah, that’s an understatement! But anyway, come with me. Let me show you all the things we grow.”
And that was how she found herself being hauled all the way to the front of the yard by Cici and given a thorough tour of what seemed like millions of heirlooms, hybrids and whatever else they were growing. It probably should have been boring, but Cici’s enthusiasm was so infectious that Daisy thoroughly enjoyed herself. It also helped that Cici kept picking things and putting them in a basket for her. Daisy wasn’t going to have to worry about an empty mini-fridge for at least a week, and she couldn’t remember the last time she could afford so much fresh produce.
Daisy had no idea how long they were out until it became hard to see. Looking up, she realized the sun was setting.
“Wait, how late is it?”
“Huh? Oh goodness, it’s almost nine o’clock.”
“I hope you don’t mind I didn’t interrupt,” Charlie said from where he was weeding one of the beds. Daisy had almost forgotten that he was there. Whoops. “You two just seemed like you were having too much fun.”
“That’s because we were,” Cici said, just as energetic as she had been when she first bounced into Charity’s mechanic shop. “Are you hungry?”
Daisy was going to say that no, she’d just eaten lunch, but she realized that was actually all the way back at one o’clock and she hadn’t eaten in hours. “I could eat something.”
“Come on. I bet Papa has cooked something delicious.”
The young woman grabbed her hand and hauled Daisy back inside, where sure enough, there was indeed a yummy dinner laid out. It wasn’t as elaborate as Clara’s lunch, but it was still a delicious dish of beef and noodles that Daisy had never had before.
The second meal was quieter than the first, with both Charity and Clara missing, but still enjoyable. Daisy was still nervous around the Miller patriarch, but he had such a calming presence that her nerves never got too frayed.
Once more she was struck by that feeling of belonging. Which was completely ridiculous, considering that she hadn’t even spent a full day with the family and they were literal millionaires. She had more in common with an ant than the Millers, and yet…
“Geez, this meal is really hitting me hard,” Charlie said, hiding a pretty egregious yawn behind his hand. “We better hurry back to the rodeo. I don’t like driving sleepy.”
It was crazy, but Daisy realized she didn’t want to go. The ranch was like an escape from all of her stresses. No bills. No responsibilities. She didn’t even have a craving for a cold beer. She just wanted to stay with the affectionate goats and the diva chickens and forget all the things that were pulling her down.
But all good things must come to an end, she supposed. She’d enjoyed her day of charity, but it was important not to get greedy. After all—
“Son, you’re already looking pretty tired.” Suddenly Papa Miller’s eyes were on her. “I don’t mean to be an imposition on you, miss, but we have plenty of guest rooms. If you don’t mind staying the night, I’m sure Clara would love to send you off with a delicious breakfast and I’d be much obliged.”
…could he read her mind, or had she been telegraphing her disappointment that broadly? Either way, she knew she was too eager when she responded. Oh well.
“I don’t mind at all. I don’t have anything pressing at home and I’m pretty bushed too.”
That wasn’t a lie. Daisy couldn’t remember when she’d had such a full day that wasn’t work-related. And although she’d missed out on the chance to pick up another overtime shift, she was more than happy to milk as much happiness out of her version of the weekend as she could.
“Well, it’s settled then. Cici, would you—”
“I’d love to.”
And that was that.
They finished up the meal and then Daisy was being ushered upstairs by the youngest Miller for another tour of the upper floor. The staircase was fairly impressive, but apparently the Millers had a whole elevator in their house. At first Daisy was completely baffled, but then she remembered the second oldest sister had mobility issues and was healing from some sort of accident.
It was amazing what money could do.
Eventually Daisy found herself in a fairly spacious room with a luxurious bed and then an attached bathroom. And it wasn’t an empty shell of a room either. There were fluffy towels, a bathrobe, multiple bath products and just about anything else Daisy could ever want.
Crazy.
“Alright, you have a good night now. I hope I see you in the morning, but I’m not as early a riser as my siblings.”
“You have a good night too, Cici.”
She bounced out, leaving Daisy standing alone in the middle of a guest room in a house full of millionaires. Half wondering if she was dreaming, the cowgirl went about taking the most luxurious bath she could before tucking herself into bed.
But as she settled onto the cloudy mattress with its amazing blankets, she couldn’t help but wonder if her life would have been different if she’d been raised like the Millers had. Would she have been an alcoholic? Would she have gone to college?
It was hard to say.
But wondering ‘what if’ was usually a waste of energy, and Daisy was tapped out. So she closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift off.