Chapter 3: Daisy
Iwatched his truck disappear down the driveway.
Knox Parker had been in my kitchen. In my space. Close enough to touch.
I'd frozen. Gone cold and mean because the alternative was falling apart, and I refused to fall apart over him. Not again. Not ever again.
We don't need to be anything.
I'd meant it. Every word.
So why did saying it feel like swallowing glass?
I pressed my palms flat against the window frame and breathed. In through the nose. Out through the mouth. The same technique my therapist had taught me when Garrett's comments started living in my head rent-free.
Knox wasn't Garrett. That was the problem. Garrett had been easy to hate by the end. His cruelty had been slow and surgical, designed to make me doubt myself while he smiled and called it love.
Knox had been a single, clean cut. One night. One absence. One silence that said everything his words never did.
I don't want you. I never did. You were a summer distraction, and now summer's over.
He'd never said those words out loud. He hadn't needed to. His absence had said them for him.
I pushed away from the window and went to get dressed.
***
The Hollow Peak Family Clinic was a single-story building on the east side of Main Street, tucked between the post office and a gift shop selling overpriced turquoise jewelry. Inside, it was warm and modern, with mountain photographs on the walls and the faint scent of eucalyptus drifting from a diffuser on the front desk.
Dr. Lila Brennan met me at the door.
She was striking. Late thirties, Black, with chic glasses and an air of quiet competence that made you want to hand over your problems and trust her to fix them. Her handshake was firm, her smile genuine.
"Daisy. I'm so glad you're here." She gestured me inside. "Cal's been talking about you for years. I was starting to think you were a myth."
"Disappointing in person?"
"Hardly." She led me through the small waiting room, past the reception desk, toward a hallway lined with exam rooms. "I'mdown to one full-time nurse and a part-time receptionist who's about to go on maternity leave. You're a lifesaver."
"Happy to help."
Lila gave me a quick tour. The clinic was small but well-equipped, serving Hollow Peak and the surrounding mountain communities. Lila handled everything from flu shots to broken bones to the occasional emergency that couldn't wait for the hour-long drive to the hospital in Ridgway.
"It's not glamorous," she said, leaning against the doorframe of what would be my workspace. "But it matters. These people don't have anywhere else to go."
"That's why I wanted to work here."
Lila studied me for a moment, her gaze sharp but not unkind. "Cal said you were coming off a rough patch. I'm not going to pry. But if you need flexibility, time off, anything like that, tell me. We take care of our own in Hollow Peak."
The kindness caught me off guard. I'd spent so long bracing for judgment that I didn't know what to do when it didn't come.
"Thanks," I said. "I appreciate that."
"Good. Now let's get you set up before Mrs. Patterson comes in for her blood pressure check. She's going to ask if you're single, how old you are, and whether you've considered freezing your eggs. Don't say I didn't warn you."
I laughed. It felt strange in my throat, like a muscle I'd forgotten how to use.
***