‘And the nightmare?’
Daisy shrugged. ‘No idea.’
‘I was concerned something might be worrying you. Is it starting at a new school or… about Penny?’
She looked confused. ‘Why would I be worried about Penny? She’s absolutely lovely.’
‘That I’m sort of going on a date with her on Tuesday. It’s not a proper date, I can cancel if you want.’
‘Dad, I want you to go out on dates. It’s high time you got yourself a nice woman to look after you. I’m certainly tired of doing it.’ She grinned mischievously. ‘Just pick someone lovely, not anyone like that bitch Emily.’
‘Watch your language.’
‘It’s true though, she was.’
‘I know she was, but I still don’t want you to use words like that.’
‘Give me one word to describe your ex-girlfriend that isn’t a swear word.’
Henry couldn’t. ‘OK, no one like Emily, I promise.’
‘But I don’t think you should go out with Penny either, not properly,’ Daisy said and Henry couldn’t help the huge wave of disappointment that crashed through him at those words.
‘Why not?’
‘She’s… vulnerable. She’s like those puppies you see in the advert for the dogs’ homes, those ones that have been beaten or neglected.’
Jeez, the kid was astute.
‘I know there have been other women beyond the ones that you have dated seriously, the ones that never get brought back to the house, that you meet up with occasionally and…’ Daisy waved her hand vaguely. Henry blushed. Shit, he thought he had been discreet. ‘Penny is an all-or-nothing kind of girl. Don’t use her and then cast her aside for the next. Either give her everything or don’t go out with her at all.’
‘Wise words for someone so young.’
Daisy smiled and carried on with her unpacking.
Could he give Penny everything? She was wonderful and warm and funny and sexy as hell, but despite Daisy’s magnanimous attitude towards him dating, it wouldn’t be that easy to change their cosy two to a three. Everything was great with Daisy again now and he didn’t want to do anything to upset their happy little equilibrium again. Penny couldn’t be a casual thing either, he knew that, he wouldn’t hurt her like that. So it looked like she was out of bounds.
Chapter Six
Penny was busy carving a giant angel for the forthcoming competition the next night, which had been taking a back seat for all the Christmas orders. This one was quite tricky with all the folds in the angel’s dress, the long flowing hair, and the feathers on the wings, but she loved the challenge. She was listening to her beloved Westlife album, singing – or probably wailing – as she chipped away the detail on the angel’s face. A movement caught her eye and she whirled around to see Henry and Daisy watching her from the doorway.
She quickly pulled out her headphones. ‘How long have you two being standing there?’
‘Long enough to hear your beautiful voice,’ Henry smirked.
‘And long enough to see your wonderful dancing,’ Daisy said, trying to hold back a giggle.
Penny blushed, knowing her dancing had consisted of a lot of bum wiggling.
‘I’m just checking it’s OK for Daisy to hang out with you for a few hours?’ Henry said, wrapping an affectionate arm around his daughter.
‘Of course you can,’ Penny smiled at Daisy.
‘Just tell her to clear out if she starts to annoy you, she won’t be offended.’
Daisy laughed.
‘There’s an old jacket of mine next door in the cloakroom. It’s thin and lightweight but will keep you warm. There’s also an old pair of steel-capped boots and some gloves, go and put them on and then I’ll show you a few things.’
Daisy disappeared into the cloakroom, leaving Henry standing there staring at her.
After a long while he finally spoke. ‘Thank you for doing this, you’re very kind. She has a huge passion for art, especially sculpture. She took a wood carving course over the summer so she loves stuff like this. But, seriously, if she gets in your way just tell her to get out.’
‘She won’t be in my way.’
Henry continued to stare at her. He ran his hand over the stubble on his head awkwardly. ‘Listen, about our date on Tuesday…’
‘I’m ready,’ Daisy announced, coming to stand in the freezer with her hands on her hips, looking like some kind of superhero.
Penny laughed. ‘Well, come in then.’
Daisy walked in and looked at the sculpture in awe and Penny wondered what it looked like through her eyes.
‘Can I touch it?’
‘Yes of course,’ Penny said at the same time as Henry said, ‘No.’
‘It’s fine, you can’t harm it, it’s perfectly dry too. It hasn’t been out of the freezer long enough for it to start to melt yet.’
Daisy tentatively reached out to touch it. Penny looked over towards Henry, wondering what he had been going to say before Daisy came in.
‘I’ll leave you ladies to it,’ Henry smiled at her sadly and then left, closing the door behind him, leaving Penny guessing that he had wanted to cancel their date. She tried to ignore the disappointment that twisted in her gut before turning back to Daisy.
‘So I thought you might want to have a go yourself, if I show you the basic skills.’
Daisy turned to her with wonder and excitement in her eyes. ‘Really?’
‘Yes, it’s quite easy to learn the basics and your dad says that you’ve already learned some wood carving so the skills are completely transferable. I’ve cut up a block into two smaller blocks for you to have a play with, create whatever you want. Now normally I put a template on the side of the ice and go over the lines lightly with this chisel, but you can just draw your own design with it.’ Penny hammered the chisel into a large block of ice that stood on the table. She quickly marked out a basic star outline. ‘Once you’ve done that you can go over the lines with a die grinder, which makes the outline a bit deeper, like this.’ She fired up the die grinder and very carefully used the short drill bit to go over one of the lines. She saw Daisy watching her intently the whole time, watching the angle at which she held the power tool, how much pressure was used, taking it all in. ‘I can then use the chainsaw to cut out the bits you don’t want.’
‘Can I use the chainsaw?’ Daisy said, keenly.
Penny smiled at her enthusiasm. ‘Not today. It’s very powerful and one slip and your whole hand would come off. I don’t think your dad will thank me for that. But I will show you how to use the other tools, safely. Once I’ve used the chainsaw, you can use this v-shaped chisel to scrape away the bits you don’t want. Once you’ve done that, I can show you which tools to use depending on what effect you want or what design you are making. There’s different techniques to create feathers or clothes or fur so I can show you those, depending on what you’re making. I’d go for something simple first like a bell or a Christmas tree or…’
‘An angel,’ Daisy said, staring at Penny’s piece in awe.
‘Yes, if you want to, but that’s quite a tricky piece to do, especially on a small scale. But go for it, if that’s what you want.’ Penny handed her a pair of goggles.
Daisy picked up the chisel and held it in her hand and then started chipping away, very carefully, onto the flat face of one of the smaller ice blocks Penny had laid out for her. Penny watched her for a moment, so she could improve her technique if she needed to, but Daisy was an absolute natural. She was taking her time, each mark she made considered and thoughtful, not going too deep. Penny smiled as what appeared to be an intricate snowflake started to appear. The girl had high hopes, but she liked that about her; Daisy obviously liked a challenge too.
‘Give me a shout when you want to use the die grinder and I’ll start you off,’ Penny said, moving back to her angel.