Always His Cowgirl (Always 2)

“I would wait for him.” My eyes burn with tears. Eric’s eyes lock with mine, and he stops walking. Missy runs into him. She falls on her ass. Ha. Karma at work. I’ve still seen enough. I turn, pushing past my brother and dropping the stupid gift as I run toward the house. I’m so dumb.

“Daisy!” Noelle calls after me. But I can’t stop. I’m almost to the back door when I run into my mom.

“Daisy. Will you take the pasta salad out for me, honey?”

“Need a second, Mom.” I’m about to lose it, so I don’t stop. I continue through the house and out the front door, knowing that if I go to my room they’ll all come track me down. I keep running until I get to the old oak tree.

I grab the low branch, pulling myself up. I sit and look out onto the land as the tears stream down my face. A few minutes later Noelle is next to me. I rest my head on her shoulder and cry. Neither of us says a word.

“Boys are dicks. I’ve been telling you.” I snort a laugh. She has been saying that for years. “He’s not even cute either. Bet he smells like pig shit too. All that time working out in the fields. I think you dodged a bullet.” I smile. She’s full of it, but she’s trying.

“Love you.”

“I love you too.” She wraps an arm around me. I may not be getting the man of my dreams, but I am lucky enough to have a best friend like Noelle.1EricYears laterI bring the ax down on the wood hard. Instead of it slicing in two, it explodes from the force of the impact.

“You all right?” Josh drawls.

“Fine.” I grab another piece of wood, setting it on the stump.

“Fine? What are you, a fucking chick?”

“Do you need something?” I swing the ax back, letting it land in the stump. I pull my gloves off. We didn't need any wood, but it felt damn good to get some aggression out.

“Yeah, your mom sent me over here to get your ass. You’re late.”

“Fuck me.” I look down at myself. I need a shower, but I’m already late to a dinner I’ve been dreading all week. Not because I don’t want to see Daisy, but because things are different between us now. Each time I’m close to her I feel my control breaking. I don’t know when things changed, but my bright Daisy who used to give me smiles at every turn barely looks my way anymore. It’s been this way for a while now.

“Give me five.” I take off toward my house, leaping over the stairs. I pull my shirt off as I go, doing the best I can to make myself presentable in five minutes before I’m in my truck following Josh back toward his parents’ house.

She’s leaving. My chest burns thinking about it. Not only is she the only girl in our bunch, she is the baby of the family too. I know that everyone has to go to college. Those are the rules our parents laid down for us.

I went, but I hated every second of it. I buckled down and got out of there as fast as I could, graduating from college early. I’d taken extra classes through the year and even summer ones to get my degree in business.

A degree I’m not sure I’ll ever use. But it made Mom and Dad happy. When I got back home from school, I started filling in for Dad more and more on the farm. Checking in on the oil rigs. Most of all trying to catch peeks of Daisy. Those are few and far between these days. No one has a more active social life than her. So much has changed since I’ve been gone.

When I pull up to the house I see everyone is here. Even my little brothers Bryson and Cooper ventured back for the big send-off. I sit in my truck, my hand gripping the steering wheel wondering how the hell I got here. How had things gone so off course with Daisy?

“Come on,” Josh barks at me. I slide out of the truck, following him inside. The sound of voices gets louder the closer we get to the kitchen. Out of all the noise, my ears pick up Daisy laughing. I always tune into her whenever she’s around. No one else exists for me if she’s in the room.

When I step into the kitchen, I’m engulfed in the normal hugs everyone always gives. Except Daisy. She stays planted in her chair next to Noelle. Noelle never misses a chance to give me a pissy look. I have no clue what I did to her. But she and Daisy are thick as thieves. They do everything together. So if Daisy is mad at me about something, then so is Noelle. Not that I know what the hell I’d done to piss them both off.