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“So, what?” Jack said. “There’s no way to catch him unless he tries again?”
“Pretty much. The username of the person leaving threats is a dead end. I tried talking Daisy out of going to New York, but she’s dead set on it. Best I can do is just keep her safe.”
Edward came into the room, and they all shut up.
“Don’t stop talking on my account,” he said. “Got another one of those?”
Jack popped the top of a beer and handed it to him. He took a long pull.
“I caught the end of what you were saying, Noah. I just talked to Daisy, and she says she’s fine with skipping New York.”
Noah sighed. “Good.”
“I told her she should go,” Edward said.
Noah’s head snapped around. “What?”
“Life’s short,” Edward said, lifting a shoulder. “And risky. Sure, it’d be nice if I could wrap her in a bubble and ensure nothing bad ever happened, but I told her if it means that much to her, she should go for it.”
“So, she’s going?”
Edward nodded. “She’ll hang around here with us tomorrow and fly out Friday morning. I’m hoping you’ll see it through. Go to New York with her? I’m trusting you to make sure she comes back.”
“No pressure,” Noah mumbled.
* * *
The next day, the family set a date for the funeral and started making notifications and arrangements. They took turns accommodating visitors, accepting condolences and casseroles, and taking care of Bella, who, at sixteen, was now an orphan. Noah helped where he could, primarily herding the hordes of well-wishers who arrived at a constant clip, but felt pretty useless.
When Noah went to find Daisy to ask if there was anything he could do, he’d walked in on her holding Bella while she cried. Daisy soothed her the way you would a baby, stroking her hair and whispering platitudes that everything would be okay. His heart broke for her and her family.
Daisy had a maternal side that seemed to come naturally. He’d seen her with his family and now hers, easily getting along with whatever age child was in front of her. From sixteen-year-old Bella to one-month-old Abby, she took it all in stride.
Noah felt like you could tell things about a person based on how they treated kids. Daisy would be a wonderful mother someday. Not ofhischildren. That wasn’t where this train of thought was headed. Just in general.
It was another hour before he found Daisy alone. “Is there anything I can do?” he asked. Daisy was as sober as he’d ever seen her. Both the megawatt smile and the spark in her eyes were heartbreakingly absent.
“Did my dad tell you he thinks I should still go to New York?” she said. At his nod, she asked if he would still go with her.
“Of course,” he said. “I’ve come this far. I won’t ditch you now.” That got a half a laugh out of her.
“I’m done with the road trip. Could you book us two tickets to fly to New York City tomorrow? Any time is fine. That’ll put us there the day before the ceremony.”
“I’ll take care of everything,” he promised.
“Thank you. I’ve already booked the hotel, so don’t worry about that.”
“Daisy, have you eaten? Can I get you something?” She not only looked sad, but exhausted and probably dehydrated.
“No, thanks,” she said. “I don’t feel like eating. Nothing sounds good.”
While Daisy and her family dealt with funeral arrangements, he booked two flights from Charlotte to JFK for the following morning. Then found a bakery that delivered and ordered apple pie, lemon bars, and peach cobbler—all her favorites. His plan was to tempt her into some sustenance with sugar. He’d work up to something nutritious from there.
Later that afternoon, Edward cornered him for a private conversation. “I have a favor to ask,” Edward started. “It’s kind of big.”
“Name it,” Noah said.
“We’ve been working on a plan to surprise Daisy and be at the award ceremony. We had tickets from New Bern, but now we’ll need to fly out of here. Jack and Lucy are out—Lucy’s too pregnant—but the rest of us still want to make it happen.”
