Hope

Chapter Twenty Seven

We started off towards the bar, Danny driving fast in my truck. I knew that I was in good hands, so I took the time to stare at my hand, playing with my ring. The fact that he had given me his grandmother's ring made me feel special. I know that I had already gotten it once, but getting it back after what I did to Danny made it much more special. It twinkled in the light and I smiled, finally content after feeling lost at sea for so long. Danny could tell that I was lost in thought, so he didn't say anything to me, letting me bask in the afterglow of our relationship renewal.

When we arrived at the bar, I was still smiling, excited to see Daisy again. At the same time, I was terrified that she would be angry at me for the things that I said to her. I looked at Danny, saying in a small voice, "Do you think Daisy will still be mad at me? I don't know if I can stand it if she hates me for what I did to you."

He grabbed my hand, thumb rubbing the back of my hand comfortingly, "Don't worry about it, babe. She won't hate you. If I don't hate you for what you did, then she sure as hell isn't going to hate you. I love you and am going to spend the rest of my life with you, everything that happened before doesn't matter now."

"I still feel awful for what I did to you."

"You need to stop with that, you did what you had to do. Just because you did something that hurt doesn't mean that it's not forgivable. You needed time to figure things out, and that is what you got. I'm just happy that you came back to me."

"I will always come for you, Danny. I love you too much to ever let you go again." I got out of the truck and looked at him through my open door, "Now, let's cut all this mushy stuff and go inside. There is a pitcher of beer with my name on it, and a soon to be sister that I need to apologize to."

The bar was pretty crowded, which didn't surprise me at all. After all, it was Friday, the day when everyone in this little small town showed up to drink and party. The only day that was busier was Tuesdays, which was karaoke night at O'Malley's. Daisy was sitting with her friends at the same table she had been when she told me that Danny loved me. Her eyes met mine and a range of emotions crossed her face, from anger to disbelief to happiness at seeing me with Danny again.

I pulled Danny's arm and whispered in his ear, "I want to talk with her alone for a few minutes. I really need to apologize to her for putting her in the position I did with you."

He kissed my lips softly, "No problem, babe. I'll just talk to the guys."

Daisy looked at me as I walked over to her. I couldn't figure out what the look on her face was. Leaning down, I said in her ear, "Hey Daisy, can I talk to you for a minute?"

She looked at her friends, "I'll be right back."

There was an open table in a secluded part of the bar so we sat down there. My heart was beating a thousand miles a minute and I was finding it hard to breathe. She had been a great friend to me while I was here, and then I made her choose between me and her brother. It wasn't fair to her, but I didn't know how to explain that to her. I decided to start with an apology, "I'm sorry Daisy."

"What exactly are you sorry for, Isabelle?" she sounded irritated with me.

"I'm mostly sorry that I forced you into lying to your brother. That wasn't fair of me, and I don't know why I did it. Threatening you wasn't something that I thought I would ever do. It was a moment of weakness. I was terrified of what Danny would think of me, so I wasn't thinking straight."

She sighed, "I know you were scared, but that is just an excuse. All you're giving me is excuses."

"I don't know what it is you want me to say."

"I want to know the real reason that you left Danny, the real reason that you didn't want me to let him know where you were."

How was I supposed to tell her the truth? How do you tell someone that you care for that your family has been killing and torturing people for years, ripping people off, stealing candy from babies? My heart stopped beating for a second as I thought of the possibilities. The simplest truth is usually the best, "My family is not what they seem. Actually, my family is pretty horrible. The things that they have done... I just wanted to keep you guys away from that."

"That doesn't tell me anything."

I leaned towards her and whispered, trying not to be overheard, "My family is mob."

"Seriously?" she laughed. "You have got to be kidding me. You expect me to believe that? No one is mob anymore."

"It's the truth. Why would I lie about something like that?" I stood up and looked down at her, "You know, Daisy, I don't often tell people the truth about my family because there are two ways people react. They either react like you did, or they get scared and run away. Most people run away if I'm being honest, because people don't like to get involved with someone whose dad practically ran the mob."

As I started to walk away, she grabbed my arm, "I'm sorry, Isabelle. I believe you. I've just been hiding this huge secret from Danny for weeks just because you asked me to and it had me on edge. He's been so angry at me ever since he realized that I knew something about you and wouldn't tell him that I was worried I would never get my little brother back."

I pulled her out of the chair and hugged her, "I really am sorry, Daisy." I let go of her, "Please, call me Izzy or Iz, no one calls me Isabelle except for my parents or if they are pissed off at me." She smiled so I held up my hand, "Danny and I are getting married."

She grabbed me in a huge bear hug, "Oh my god, I am so excited for you guys." She looked at the ring, "Is that my grandmother's ring?" I nodded, "Wow, he definitely loves you."

"I have a huge question to ask you." She looked at me expectantly, "Will you be my bridesmaid? I would love to have you as my maid of honor, but I promised Gabs that position when we were five."

"I would love to be a bridesmaid, as long as you don't make me wear pink taffeta."

Her acceptance of me and my impending nuptials to Danny brought a tear to my eye, but I simply said, "Don't worry, Daisy, I will let you help me pick out your dress. I value your opinion, even if I don't listen to it all the time."

Danny's arms slipped around me from behind, "See, babe, I told you everything would be fine."

"Get a room you two," Daisy laughed as she headed back to her friends.

I spun around in Danny's arms and placed a soft kiss to his lips, "Thank you for bringing me here tonight. I really needed to get her blessing before we tied the knot."

"You know that we don't actually need her blessing to get married, right?"

"I know we don't need it, but she's going to be my sister, I can't have her hating me for any longer than necessary. I love you Danny and she is a part of your life. If that means I needed to get her blessing, than I am glad to have done it."

He kissed me again, "I know, babe. I know."