Always His Cowgirl (Always 2)

“Why do you hate me?”

She’s leaving tomorrow. She’s not going to the fucking moon. It’s an hour drive to the city, but she’ll be around a hell of a lot less.

“I don’t hate you.” Her shoulders drop.

“You treat me like it.” I reach up, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. She closes her eyes for a moment before she takes a step back. Distancing herself from me again.

“I’m sorry. I have been rude, and you don’t deserve that.” Her bubble gum pink tongue peeks out wetting her bottom lip and drawing my eyes there.

“I’ll be here tomorrow to help you move.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I’ll be here tomorrow,” I say again. I grab her hand, pulling her into me for a hug. She’s stiff at first, but then she relaxes against me. She fits me perfectly. I kiss the top of her head before letting her go. We’re too close to her room. Her bed is right there. The temptation is too great. “Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” she agrees before I turn and leave.

Progress. I’ll take whatever I can get when it comes to my Daisy.2Daisy“Let me do it.” Mom comes to stand behind me, taking my hair into her hand to braid it. I can braid my own hair, but I’m giving her this one. I know she’s going to miss having me around. She’ll be surrounded by all boys again besides PJ. She’s already about to burst into tears as it is. “There.” She turns me around and plants a kiss on my cheek.

“Don’t make me cry. I’m only forty-five minutes away. Two years and I’m done,” I remind her.

“I know. Plus I’ll come out all the time.” She smiles.

“You can come whenever you want, Mom.” Truth is I’m going to miss my mom like crazy too. Thank God Noelle is coming with me. She’s going to culinary school in the city. We’d gotten a place together instead of me doing a dorm. Since we are both moving to the city it made the most sense that we live together. My parents love Noelle as if she were another daughter to them. Plus it made Mom and Dad feel better knowing that we’ll have each other.

“Aren't daughters supposed to complain about their parents popping in all the time once they’ve moved out?”

“I have no clue. I’m not going to. I love you.” Her eyes start to water. “Mom!”

“Sorry. I can’t control it. I’ll get it together.” She pulls my braided hair over my shoulder. “You want to tell me about Eric following you out of the kitchen last night.”

“No?” I’m not even sure what that was. We’ve gone so long avoiding one another that I hadn’t been prepared to have that conversation with him last night. Okay, it was me that had actually been avoiding him all of this time.

I knew the conversation needed to be had. That I couldn’t go on holding a grudge against him for something that happened years ago. We were kids. It’s time for me to move past that hurt. Plus, I want to start this new chapter of my life with a clean slate. I need to let bygones be bygones. I can’t punish him for not wanting me like I’d wanted him.

“He’s a good boy, Daisy. Well, I should say man at this point.” Her words make me feel guilty for the way I’ve treated him lately. It almost broke my heart to hear him say that he thought I hated him. It was the furthest thing from the truth. That’s the whole problem.

“I know, Mom.”

“I thought you two would end up together with how he acted when you were kids.” She lets out a sigh. Me too, Mom. I even pretended to marry him when I was eight after he agreed to play house with me.

“These boxes need to go?” Eric’s deep voice interrupts us. My heart jumps, wondering how much of our conversation he overheard.

“You don’t come in here without giving me a hug.” She spreads her arms out wide and he walks right into them. She messes up his hair a bit while she’s at it.

“Your mom here with you?”

“Yep, thought you might need a shoulder to cry on.”

“I’m not going to cry.” Even as she says it her eyes fill with tears.

“She’s in the kitchen. I think she’s cooking.”

“Don’t leave without saying goodbye.” Mom kisses me on the cheek again. You’d think I’m moving across the country by the way my mom is acting instead of a forty-five minute drive into the city. Which Mom and Dad often make for business meetings over the oil rigs.

Mom turns, leaving me alone with Eric. I walk over to him and give him a hug the same as Mom did. We’re a family of huggers, but I can’t remember the last time I hugged Eric. He pulls me into him, wrapping his arms around me, holding me tight to him. His face goes to my neck, his warm breath tickling my skin.