Redeeming Daisy

1

Mountain Cove, Colorado

The big black dog burst through the exam room door with such joy that Pike Martin’s stomach churned. Elway should have several more years of life left instead of…

“Hey, boy.” With both affection and dread, he knelt to ruffle the ten-year-old Labrador’s head. Karen Densmore’s feet rustled nervously nearby. Bad news always devastated a pet’s owner, but she wasn’t somebody he wanted to talk to in the best of times.

After all, her daughter had humiliated Pike’s brother and broken his heart. No matter that Kenn had since found the love of his life. Mountain Cove was a small town, and gossip lived on for years. Pike stood, nearly knocked off his feet by Mrs. Densmore’s resemblance to her beautiful black-haired, black-hearted daughter. Always something there to remind you. He frowned, hoping she took it as concern for Elway.

“Hi, Doc. How’s it going, waiting on dogs and cats instead of horses and cattle?” Mrs. Densmore’s voice shook, and right away, Pike shoved away thoughts of Kenn and Daisy. This lady was about to lose her sweet dog, and her heart was likely breaking.

“Oh, I still make plenty of house calls,” he told her lightly. “Make that ranch calls.” They both half-smiled at his attempt at humor. The only large animal vet for twenty miles, he had a lively practice going in addition to tending the livestock at Hearts Crossing, the family ranch eight miles from town. “Just helping out Doc Fahmy for two weeks while he and his wife are on vacation.”

“Lucky gal, that Miranda. A Mediterranean cruise.” Then Mrs. Densmore stopped the small talk with a deep breath and loaded question. “So, what’s the verdict?”

Pike closed his eyes tight for a second. Sure, he was a professional, but he swallowed hard. The news was bad. Really bad. “The ultrasound results aren’t good,” he said softly, laying his hand on the dog’s head. Elway looked up at him adoringly, and Pike’s heart crunched. Professional or not, times like this were never easy.

“I guess I’m not surprised.” She dug in her purse for a tissue and dabbed her nose. “Doc Fahmy was concerned enough about the X-rays to order more tests. So?” Her voice slowed to a dull whisper.

“It’s a malignant tumor between the kidneys called hemangiosarcoma.”

She flinched when he said tumor. “But you can cut it out, right?”

Pike shook his head. “I’m afraid it’s inoperable. It has metastasized. We can give you the name of a canine oncologist in Denver if you’re so inclined.”

“Denver? Chemo?” The choking sounds she emitted almost shredded his composure. She sank into the lone chair next to the aluminum examination table. “No. Chemo almost killed Uncle Luther.” She grabbed Elway and held him close, his long pink tongue lolling in ecstasy. “I couldn’t put my sweetheart through that.”

Pike’s heart panged, and he reached to give her hand a squeeze. Despite everything, she and his ma had managed to avoid animosity. He could do the same. “Would you like to pray together? Jesus loves animals, too.”

As if she hadn’t heard, Karen Densmore stood and smiled over a sparkle of tears. “Joel gave Elway to me when Daisy left for college. So I wouldn’t feel alone. But she loved him just as much. That first year she came home from school almost every weekend to see the pup. I don’t know how I’m going to tell her…”

Her body tensed and her cheeks reddened; he reckoned she regretted mentioning her daughter’s name. Daisy.

His fingers curled into tight balls. “Well, I’ll talk to her if you want,” he said slowly. Even though he meant it, the possibility terrified him. Just last week, Daisy had passed out in his arms, and he hadn’t liked the spark he’d felt at her vulnerability—at the dark lashes fringing her cheeks; at the rose petal scent that seemed to linger still in his senses. Pike clenched his teeth. No, he didn’t like it—then, or now.

“I’ll do it.” Suddenly, she lowered her head to stare at her toes. “She and I…aren’t getting along that good anyway. Doc?” She looked back up at him. “I’m so sorry. About that scene she made at Hearts Crossing last week, during the hoedown. I can only blame her drinking on that wretched husband of hers. Ex-husband, I mean. If she’d only stayed with your brother, a true Christian man.”

“It’s OK, Mrs. Densmore. Calm down.” He flushed at the awkward topic. “Kenn’s engaged to someone else now and super happy with Christy. None of us knows what kind of misery Tony O’Neal laid on your daughter.”

“But now this? She’ll come unglued.” She waved her hands over Elway’s head then bleakly looked Pike straight in the eyes. “Again, I apologize, Doc. We were in Parachute that night.” She sighed deeply. “Joel’s mother is doing poorly, but she won’t welcome Daisy into her home. All because Daisy eloped with Tony. Mother reckons my daughter’s getting just what she deserves. So we went without her…”

Her words tore at him. Family always came first with the Martins—now, for generations past and generations yet to come. Grim-Gram had equally adored Pike and every one of his seven siblings before she was called Home to the Heavenly Father. Rejection by a grandmother, desertion by a husband, slinking back to a town where nobody wanted her, had to canker Daisy’s soul. Taking comfort from the bottle rather than God’s grace was a terrible wrong, but something more than pity roiled in his gut.

He recalled her curled in his arms after she’d collapsed in a barn full of neighbors and former classmates and colleagues. How small she’d seemed in the guest bunkhouse bed when his sister tucked her in to sleep it off. Who could possibly know what demons lurked inside her? A protective urge rose in him, and he smacked it down right away.

Because Daisy Densmore was off limits. She’d caused Kenn years of pain and turmoil, and his brother’s misery wasn’t something Pike could forget.

Or forgive.

“But his eyes are so bright,” Mrs. Densmore inserted hopefully into Pike’s gloomy thoughts. “And he’s gotten his appetite back.”

“Well, Doc Fahmy gave him Famotidine, a medication to calm his stomach. Please remember, when you get him home, he’s a very sick boy. Be careful. Hemangiosarcoma can rupture and cause hemorrhage.”

After a quick but furious knock, the door flew open so hard it smacked against a cabinet. Glass rattled. “What’s going on, Mom?” Daisy Densmore hurtled inside, the veterinary tech Luanne clutching at her arm.

“Dr. Martin,” Luanne said, apology written all over her face. “I couldn’t hold her back.”

“What’s going on?” Daisy repeated, shrill. “Pops just told me you were here! That something’s wrong with Elway.”

Pike nodded into her dark imploring gaze as she knelt on the floor to grapple Elway close. Her childish gesture and panicked eyes stoked emotions he’d just buried.

While he waited for her to get to her feet, Pike grabbed hold of every professional mannerism he could. Somewhat stiffly, Mrs. Densmore reached out to comfort her daughter, but Daisy shoved away the embrace.

Pike took a deep breath. Well, he had offered to tell Daisy himself. “Daisy, between his kidneys, Elway’s got an inoperable malignant tumor. It’s called hemangiosarcoma.”

Wild-eyed, she grabbed Pike’s hand, and the touch scorched him. “What?”

He repeated the unhappy news.

“Inoperable? Why can’t you operate?”

The question stunned him. Did she really think he had some other choice? “It’s positioned too dangerously between the kidneys. And worse.” He sighed. “Worse, it’s metastasized. Spread. Trust me on this.”

She bristled. “You think he’s going to die?”

Pike knew the odds and told Daisy what he hadn’t been able to tell her mother.

“I’m sorry. Yes.”

Her squeal of pain sliced into his brain like an earache. And he understood. The last innocent, uncomplicated part of her life would be gone too soon. He didn’t think he wanted it, but when she flung herself toward him, he gathered her in his arms, close enough to feel her pounding heart and smell her garden of long black hair.

****

Elway. Her Elway. The only living creature left who loved her unconditionally. Who never pointed fingers.

Who never yammered What have you done now?

Almost past control, Daisy sobbed against Pike Martin’s strong, sculpted shoulders, drinking in his warm, manly aura. Ever the rancher, he wore the outdoors like a second skin even here in the sterile confines of the animal hospital, clad in white lab coat over Wranglers. It rang in her ears again, his soft, nonjudgmental voice last week when he helped her escape from herself.

That was something. Something he hadn’t had to do. But what did he know? He didn’t know Elway was all she had left. No way could she bear losing this precious creature. She’d already lost her self-respect, her job, her faith. Her half-baked marriage. Oh, she’d married for love, but in such haste she’d regretted it every day since. But divorce was cruel, too. And everybody in Mountain Cove knew everything because she had no place else to go.

She wasn’t about to lose her best friend.

Before her mom could nag her yet again, Daisy pushed herself from Pike’s embrace. She’d liked it, but she didn’t want to, didn’t need it, didn’t need him or any man. Not after Tony. All she needed now was an experienced vet.

Still, part of her wanted to stay in Pike’s arms, and she didn’t like her reaction at all. It was a dangerous place to be. Martins stuck together. She’d hurt Kenn unbearably by running off with his greatest enemy. Last week she’d made everything worse by almost destroying his reputation in a drunken gripe. Likely Pike resented big-time having to help a Densmore dog. It was back to the business at hand.

“Elway’s mine. And whatever’s going on, I want to hear it from Doc Fahmy. He’s been Elway’s vet since he was a puppy.” Her voice was amazingly strong and weep-free, and her mother stiffened, for the dog really belonged to her. But she stayed silent.

Pike’s strong, warm fingers had been resting gently on Daisy’s shoulders, but he dropped his hands to his side like she’d burned him. Surprise glazed his eyes. “Well, just so you know. Doc Fahmy and I discussed Elway’s condition before he left. We are in agreement.”

“Then I want another opinion. A female vet maybe.”

Pike shrugged. “All right. But I don’t think you’ll learn anything different.”

“What do you mean?”

Thick manly eyebrows rose above eyes she reckoned were the color of hazelnuts. Not as dark as Kenn’s, and with a bit of russet. His blond hair wasn’t as dark as Kenn’s either, and although both men were tall, Pike was lean as a whip. Not as burly as his brother. Nonetheless, both were magazine-handsome.

Pike breathed out hard one time as if he held tight to his patience.

“It’s a fairly straightforward diagnosis, Daisy. And chemotherapy is always tricky. Not to mention painful and expensive.” Pike seemed to choose his words with care. “Your mom is opposed to trying it, and I agree. In my opinion, it’s kinder to put Elway to sleep now rather than prolong the uncertainty.”

“Put him to sleep?” she repeated with a shriek. “Put him to sleep? Mom?” Terrified, she reached for her mother. For a moment, grief united them.

“It’s probably something we should consider seriously, honey.” Mom spoke slow and draped an arm around Daisy. Surprising them both, Daisy leaned into the caress. For a moment, maybe Mom really did care. About Daisy, she meant. Of course Mom loved the dog. “I keep remembering Doc Fahmy’s face last week when he showed me the X-ray,” Mom continued, “like he’d seen it before and knew what it meant. He was stunned, I could tell.”

“Last week?” Rage swallowed Daisy’s fear and distrust in a gulp. She pointed accusingly at her mom. “You knew about this?”

Mom grimaced with guilt. “Honey, he wasn’t eating, so I brought him in. I figured he’d got a hold of something that disagreed with him.”

“And said nothing to me?” Daisy spat the words bitterly before kneeling again at her dog’s side.

“Well, I never imagined this!” Her mother’s voice strangled the words.

Pike busied himself wiping a thermometer. “We can wait a couple of days,” he said finally. “Take Elway home. Be gentle. Take your pictures. Say your good-byes. Just be careful with him.”

Daisy’s fury exploded hotter this time. She stood, wishing she could glare at him eye-to-eye. But he was so tall; her face barely cleared his breastbone. “Gentle? Careful? What do you think I’m going to do, Pike?” She bent her head backward as far as it would go to look up at him. “Take him to an earthquake for search and rescue? Play tackle football?”

Pike turned away but stayed close enough for her to feel his heat. “Like I told your mom,” he said with deliberate care. “The hemangiosarcoma can rupture and cause hemorrhage. If that happens…” He reached for her chin and held her face. His gaze bored into hers. “If that happens, it would be a horrible way for Elway to go.”

His warm fingers caused her toes to tingle, so she stomped her foot, hoping he reckoned she was just mad. “Like I told you, I want to consult somebody else. I bet this is some stupid Martin conspiracy to pay me back for…for everything.”

Pike stepped away from her, his face paling with shock at her words.

“Mercy, Daisy. Can’t you ever mind that tongue of yours?” her mom whispered in horror. “Doc Martin is a most competent vet, and Doc Fahmy trusts him completely. What’s the matter with you?”

Daisy clamped her eyelids tight, trying to hide from another nightmare. But lately, they never stopped, not even in the daytime. Right now it had felt good to lash out at somebody else. With a stiff nod, Pike turned his back and scribbled on a clipboard.

Well, that was dismissal enough. Daisy gave her mom a brisk hug and led Elway into the bright late June afternoon. He galloped happily at her side, and she tried not to think of the bomb inside him that waited to burst. How could he romp about like nothing was wrong?

As she peered around the bustling little town, she relived only unhappy memories. She didn’t belong here, not any more. She’d grown up in nearby Promise but worked every summer at the Western-themed gift shop her mom owned in downtown Mountain Cove. Of course she’d known of the hunky collection of Martin brothers from Hearts Crossing ranch, but they were a bit older, and she’d hung around with her hometown clique anyway. When she’d moved to town to start the job teaching girls P.E. at Mountain Cove High, she’d met both Kenn Martin, who taught American Lit, and Tony O’Neal, the swim coach.

Bitterness as well as grief attacked her as she headed for Mountainview Park at the edge of town. Soon she would be all alone if what Pike said was true. She had to find another vet right away and figure out what to do.

She bit her lip. All alone. Mom and Pops had let her come home, but grudgingly. Even she knew how much she had embarrassed them then, running off like she had. How much she embarrassed them now, coming back.

As she sank onto a park bench, she wiped a tear and debated whether to let Elway off leash to sniff and roam. Pike had warned of hemorrhage, of rupture. He might be a Martin, but she had every reason to believe him. Elway hadn’t done anything wrong!

To help her out, Elway hunkered at her feet.

Ah, but Daisy had done something wrong. A lot of somethings. Mom tried to act normal, but Daisy reckoned her folks would rather her be any place else but Mountain Cove. Well, she had no choice for now. Last September, back in Fort Collins, she’d come home from a faculty retreat to an empty house and emptier bank account. And desolation beyond imagining. Oh, she’d known almost from the start that Tony wasn’t at all the husband of her dreams, but for three years, she had believed enough in the covenant of marriage to try to make it work.

And when it hadn’t, Tony O’Neal had taken along with him what was left of her trust in men as well as her faith in the Lord.

The Lord? She snorted and Elway looked up at her, head sideways like he was honestly interested.

“That’s right, pup.” She chuckled at him but the sound came out low and sad. “He’s taking it out on me because I eloped in front of some Las Vegas hack instead of a real pastor. Well, this little prodigal’s back home now. Like it or not, Mom,” she called into the wind.

Daisy shivered a little as the sun headed toward dusk. But not just because the temperature dropped. Her life was rushing on whether she liked it or not. Ink was fresh on the papers, the simplified divorce final. No property to divide. Eager to be done with Tony, she hadn’t disputed anything else. And while she’d never again be the girl she’d been, she had taken her name back.

She sighed. Right now, Mountain Cove was just a temporary stopgap in her mess of a life. After finding some sort of job hereabouts for the summer, she’d start substitute-teaching in September. Save her money and soon as she could, get out of Dodge.

But today, well, today belonged to Elway.