Page 51 of Beaches, Bagels & Babes

Daisy

P ossibilities raced through Daisy’s mind.

She stared at her phone, willing the undelivered notification to change. Wondering why?

It was not about last night. The bitter, angry past-Daisy would have jumped to abandonment, and blamed Candace for running away again.

She would have thrown a fit, been sullen and withdrawn.

That wasn’t her anymore. Daisy knew something had happened, and she was not going to sit on her ass doing nothing.

Outside in the raging torrent, with one last hammer-twack, Daisy finished nailing the final plank to Bagel Bombs’!

fortification. The storm was coming in faster and heavier than any of the forecasts had predicted.

Any minute, the evacuation sirens would sound and the police would start clearing the boards.

She needed to figure out where Candace was before the whole place went into lockdown.

If Peter Perry was planning to use the confusion around the hurricane to do something to her…

No .

She wasn’t going to let him hurt her anymore.

First, Daisy needed reinforcements. She called Demi, who picked up after three rings, sounding very distracted.

“Zee?” In the background, there were people yelling and the buzz of power tools. “Are you okay? I’m a little busy. It’s not the best time right—”

“Candace is missing,” Daisy cut to the chase. Before she could even begin to explain, Demi interrupted.

“Meet me at Zeus' Torch . We’ll find her.”

Daisy sprinted.

With the wind flying every which way, she barreled down the boardwalk like she was on stilts.

It was practically deserted now, aside from a small group of people standing outside the restaurant.

She recognized a couple of Demi’s cousins who had helped out during the renovation, along with Tina and her wispy, shaking frame.

The group stood huddled in the downpour, anxiously looking up.

Following their gaze, Daisy noticed people—including Demi, with her big hair whipping from her bun—atop the restaurant’s roof.

It appeared that they were trying to dismantle the place’s iconic neon torch, the big, custom beacon sign that had decorated the restaurant since the place opened in the ‘60s.

‘Busy’ was an understatement. Daisy might have been out of her mind with worry, but she knew better than butt in. Hanging back, she waited and watched while her foot tapped a hole into the boards.

An older woman who could have been Demi’s mother with her shared lion’s mane hair muttered to herself in a different language.

The umbrella that was clutched her hands was lopsided.

A sheet of rain angled down her leopard-print cardigan, but she hardly seemed to notice with her attention so fixated above.

As she steadied the umbrella, Tina told her, “It’ll be okay, Theia Thea. They’re almost done, and then the sign will be safe!”

“I don’t care about the sign! I should have told her no! What if they—”

A roaring gale tore by, making them all stagger. Metal creaked as the newly-detached torch was nearly blown away. Together, though, Demi and her cousins weighed it down. Once the coast was clear, they rigged up a rudimentary pulley and lowered the relic down.

The woman, Theia Thea, practically melted with relief once all of her relatives were safely on the ground. She rushed them at the boarded-up restaurant front entrance, pulling each of them in for a hug. Demi, Daisy noticed, she squeezed tightest of all.

“I told you we could get it,” Demi bragged. She slicked back her sopping locks, looking triumphant. Theia Thea crossed her arms and snapped something back in Greek, sounding less than pleased. The other cousins shuffled nervously in the cramped, damp alcove.

Demi looked hurt. Wide-eyed, she argued, “Just last night you were crying, ‘The torch is going out! What’re Nona and Papau going to think? It’s the end of their dream!’ ”

Theia Thea shook her head. “I was being dramatic. You should know better than to take me seriously!”

“Of course I take you seriously! I hate seeing you like that.”

The woman sputtered out a mix of English and Greek insults. “Reckless! Foolish!”

“Why are you upset? I was trying to help!”

“Because it’s just a thing.”

It was Daisy who spoke. She said it, watching this woman who so clearly loved her niece lose all composure at the thought of her getting hurt.

In Theia Thea’s fierce love, she was reminded of her own parents.

How they celebrated her, how they worried for her…

In that moment, if it was what sh e wanted, she knew they would be okay with her letting go.

The neon flame and Bagel Bombs! were objects.

They were important, with sentiment and memory attached.

However, they would always come second to the people who made them.

“Zee?” Demi and everyone else’s attention turned to her.

Sure of herself, Daisy nodded. “She’s upset because you put yourself at risk for a thing. You’re upset because you did it for her. It’s fucking adorable, and you should probably talk things out more when you’re not standing in the middle of a hurricane.”

A beat passed where it was hard to tell what Theia Thea thought. Her shrewd eyes bore into Daisy as if she were reading a Terminator-style stat breakdown.

Demi explained, “ Theia , this is Zee DeMarco. She’s the owner of—”

“I know who she is,” the woman answered in a flat tone.

Then, like a coin flip, her entire aura brightened.

She reached out (and up, thanks to her short height) to pinch Daisy’s cheek.

“How could I forget such a cute face? You were probably too young to remember, but back in the day, your parents used to bring you to the restaurant for our Boardwalk Business Association meetings. You and Demitra once spilled a whole pitcher of orange soda all over table 12.”

In unison, Daisy and Demi exclaimed, “We did?!”

Theia Thea nodded, and a wistful smile tugged her bright red lips. “You two were so bad together, Demi, your parents stopped bringing you. I always liked how lively it made things.” Taking Daisy’s hand, Theia Thea added, “Rose and Robert were good people, and they loved you so much .”

“Yeah,” Daisy said thickly. “They did. Thanks.”

Fuck.

Daisy was glad every inch of her was soaked, masking the couple of tears that sprang from her eyes. Even so, the older woman gave her hand another squeeze before she let go. Daisy drew in a deep breath and tried to right her emotional rudder.

Candace .

Locking eyes with Daisy, Demi read her thoughts.

“Catch me up.”

Thankfully, Daisy did not have to explain about the date or where it had ended. Candace had sent a series of descriptive emojis to her best friend shortly after her last text to Daisy.

“It sounded like things went, ah, well ,” Demi commented with a knowing grin. Her brow furrowed as she went on, and her tone was laced with worry. “Candace isn’t exactly clumsy, but maybe she broke her phone somehow. Are you sure she isn’t just—”

“ No. I called my neighbor. Her car is still at my house, but she’s not. It’s that bastard Peter Perry, I know it.”

“He’ll have to evacuate the island like everyone else,” Demi pointed out.

Sure enough, the sirens began to blare all around them. The group shared nervous glances, while Daisy’s pulse jumped. Theia Thea made a motion for everyone to get moving down the boardwalk ramp for their vehicles.

Quickly, Demi continued. “I doubt he’ll evacuate to the high school. If Candace is with him, they’ll be at his mansion in Keller’s Grove.”

“And if she isn’t? Where else would he have stashed her?”

Daisy knew she sounded desperate, most likely looked it, too, but she did not care. Demi shook her head.

“I don’t know. He has property all over, friends, and business contacts. She’ll be safe, wherever she is… He wouldn’t do anything drastic.”

“Drastic?! He fucking kidnapped her!”

“We don’t know that for sure,” Demi reasoned. But, by the waver in her voice, Daisy could tell she suspected nothing good.

The clattering of a police cart sounded down the boards, clearing the last few stragglers. They were out of time. From the boardwalk ramp, Theia Thea called out for Demi.

“Be right there!” To Daisy, she pleaded, “Come with us. We’ll get to the shelter and figure out our next step. Ted will be stationed there, I’m sure he’ll help.”

Daisy held in a growl. She didn’t want to wait for Ted Freaking Cando to waltz in and save them. Beyond the police cart, far down the boardwalk, the fun pier loomed in her sight.

“Zee? We need to go!” She almost had to shout over the chaos. Slowly, Daisy shook her head.

“No. I… I’m supposed to get a ride with Rio. They’re meeting me at my place.”

Demi hesitated, holding back her whipping hair as she studied Daisy’s face. “Are you su—”

“Go on. I’ll meet you there.”

Theia Thea yelled something that made Demi jump. With one last backward glance, she left. Daisy, meanwhile, headed off to pay Janice a visit.