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“That’s too bad. Because even though I hadn’t met her yet, everything I’ve heard about the woman told me I would have liked her.”
“Oh? And what exactly do you think you know about her that appealed to you?”
His dad sat back, crossing his fingers in his lap. “Single mom, working and raising three kids on her own. She’s bound to be a strong-minded and independent lady to be where she is. Not someone that you’re particularly used to dealing with.”
Jack took a second glance at his dad, not liking how close he’d gotten to the truth in such a short time. “I don’t know if I understand what you mean. I know a lot of strong, independent women and we get along just fine.”
“Yeah, but how many of them have you dated?” his dad asked, still smiling.
Jack ran his hand over his face. “I’ll concede that some of the issues Daisy and I were dealing with was her resistance to accepting any help from me. But why should that be such a big deal? I have the ability to make her life easier, less stressful. Why is wanting to help her such a bad thing?”
“What exactly were you trying to do for her?”
Jack threw out a short list of things he’d done, not liking the look of surprise and disbelief on his dad’s face at hearing a couple of them.
“A brand-new car?” His dad grinned. “You don’t think that might have been a little over the top?”
“She needed it, even if she wouldn’t recognize it herself,” he said defensively. “She’s starting a new business. It makes sense that she should have something reliable to not just transport her and the kids, but also any bakery orders and supplies.”
“Maybe, but Jack, you barely know this woman. How long was it after you two first met that you bought that for her? Three weeks? Don’t you think a new car could have been something you gave her a little down the road? Maybe at your one-year anniversary?” Jack didn’t say anything, but he could recognize that to some people, it might have been a little…sudden. “Look, son. I know your motives here are pure, but you have to ask yourself why you have this urgent need to be her knight in shining armor. When from what I can tell, she’s not looking for someone to rescue her.”
“Because I love this woman. Because I want to share my life with her. And I told her as much when I proposed to her—really proposed to her—last Friday and she threw it back in my face.”
His dad was quiet, ruminating another moment.
“I can’t say I’m exactly surprised to hear that you were ready to take that leap,” his dad said slowly. “Even though you do have a thirteen-year-old daughter that you might have taken a little more consideration of for how it would affect her.”
Ah, there it was. The disapproval that—
“But if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that you only take such decisive steps when you know what’s right, what’s in your heart. So I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt this time around and assume that this woman is the right one for you.”
That was definitely not expected, and Jack was surprised how even after all these years, he still liked to have his dad’s approval and understanding.
“Thanks, dad. That means a lot to hear you—”
“Hold up. I’m not quite finished. I’m saying I understand where you’re com
ing from. But did you ever take into account that not everyone lives with such certainty and confidence in everything they do? This Daisy, I’m betting she’s been through a lot, and she’s going to take a lot longer getting to the same place you are. Getting used to having someone next to her, someone who wants to help her with no other motive than because you care. And you are going to need to back off. If she says no, accept that decision. With time, she’ll come around and see your motives are pure. This time around, time is one thing you do have, son.”
Jack flinched, realizing he was talking about Lara now. “It was different with Lara. She had cancer. There wasn’t anything I could do, as much as I wanted.”
“I know that. But are you sure you’ve accepted that?”
“Dad! You’re on TV,” Lily yelled from the other room.
Jack didn’t want to talk about this anymore. “Let me come and see,” he said, rising to his feet. “Thanks for trying to help, Dad. It’s just not that simple.”
His dad sighed, putting his hands on his knees before pushing off on them to stand up. “Whatever you do, don’t wait too long. If you love her, don’t let her get away.”
Chapter Eighteen
Thursday night, Daisy was sitting up in bed surrounded by a revamped business plan and a new profits and loss statement as she calculated how much money she would need to fill the five orders she’s already collected this past week.
Although her family had offered to float her any kind of loan she needed, she couldn’t shake the principal that, at least for now, she needed to try and finance this on her own, even if it was on a smaller scale than she’d first envisioned.
Which was why on Sunday night, she’d put together a list of past customers, business owners, and managers, who had once placed special orders for Daisy’s unique menu items. And on Monday, she’d spent her day off baking her newly perfected poblano and cheese empanadas, chocolate salted caramel empanadas, Mexican spice pumpkin bread, and a few of the other recipes she’d been working on. So that by Tuesday morning, she’d delivered everything personally, at no cost, to her potential clients. Along with an order form that said at the top simply Daisy’s Catering and her phone number.
Her personal phone number. Because she might not be able to open her bakery right now, but she could still operate her catering business out of her own kitchen until she had the money to take that next step. Something that in the past few days, as the orders started trickling in, she became more confident would become a reality.
