Luke forced himself to count to one hundred before getting out of bed. Daisy didn't exactly take kindly to anyone but Jesse checking on her on a good day - and this had been anything but a good day. For once in his life, he would have given anything to have been wrong, especially when he thought of the look on her face as she held that gun on Jamie Lee and his partners.

The smell of fresh coffee greeted him when he stepped into the living room, bringing a slight smile. Daisy was like Jesse, she knew the boys almost better than they knew themselves. Of course she would be expecting him. He paused for a second in the kitchen doorway, watching her stare into her cup like the answers to all of her problems were written there, It broke his heart to see her that way.

She didn't look up or make a sound as he moved to pick up the steaming cup she had left for him. Leaning on the counter, he watched her for another long moment, searching vainly for something to say that would make her feel better. Finally, still staring into her cup, Daisy broke the silence.

"I should've listened to you… I can't believe I was stupid enough to trust a Hogg," her soft voice was bitter as she nearly spat the name.

"Daisy…" he began, but she continued, just as if he hadn't spoken.

"Every time you tell me there's something off about a guy and I ignore you - or worse - it turns out like this. Gaylord. Earl. Now Jamie… What's wrong with me, Luke? Why can't I see it? Why do I have to fight you every time?" Tears were sliding down her cheeks by now.

Luke quickly moved to pull her into his arms, "Ain't nothing wrong with you, honey. Gaylord, Jamie, Earl - they was the ones with the problems, not you."

"You saw through them. So did Bo and Uncle Jesse. I was the only one too blind and dumb to see it."

"You ain't blind or dumb, Daisy. You're just trusting. You try to see good in everybody, no matter who it is."

"Trusting," she muttered into his shoulder, "That's just a nicer way of saying dumb…"

"Quit that," he held her tighter to keep himself from shaking her, "You think Uncle Jesse's dumb?"

She pulled back to stare at him in shock, "Luke! Of course not! Why would you say something like that?"

"Well, he's trusting. Look how many strangers he's helped. Heck, look how many he's invited right into our own house to stay with us, He always taught us to trust people to be good and decent until they prove they ain't… You just learned that lesson better than me and Bo did,"

"Uncle Jesse's a better judge of character than I am. Like I said, he's seen through all the fellas I fell for, same as y'all did," she sighed, leaning into him again.

"He's had more practice. Plus, he had an advantage with Gaylord - he actually knew the people Gaylord talked about, you didn't," Luke smiled when she sighed again, "Besides, I'll let you in on a little secret, Uncle Jesse ain't all that much different from me and Bo. At least not when it comes to you, anyway. It don't matter how trusting he usually is, he's gonna look a little closer at any fella messing with you. It's a fact of life."

Pulling back again, Daisy quirked one eyebrow at him, a half-smile touching her lips, "Fact of life, huh? You know, I remember having that talk with Uncle Jesse. Don't rightly remember that one, though…"

Forcing his voice and expression to remain serious, he answered quickly, "Well, you know how Jesse is - he tends to skip around some. It's in there, though. I promise."

At the slight sparkle in his eyes, despite his expression, Daisy began laughing, all thoughts of a response vanishing. After a moment, Luke found himself laughing, too as a weight lifted. He knew that she was still upset, but at least she wasn't moping anymore.

Daisy moved to get the coffee pot from the stove, shaking her head, "One thing I still just can't figure out, though…"Her voice trailed off and she stood running a finger along the edge of the stove.

"What's that?"

"Why did he still feel the need to lie to me?" She turned back to face him, leaning against the counter as she spoke, "Earl and Gaylord at least had the decency to tell the truth when they were caught. They at least admitted to using me. Jamie was still trying to convince me that he loved me, even from the cell…" a single tear slipped down her cheek.

Luke hesitated for a moment, trying to gauge her possible reactions, "Maybe he does love you, honey…"

"Maybe he… Luke! Have you forgotten what he did? He only wanted to marry me so I wouldn't testify that he was a counterfeiter, that's all. When he figured out that wouldn't work, he let his partners force me into a car at gun point!" her voice was harsh as she started shaking again at the memory.

"He didn't let them, Daisy. Me and Bo were in that mill when you pulled up, I heard what happened. He tried his best to get them to leave you alone. That's why they pulled their guns. They were gonna shoot him, too, " He couldn't believe he was defending a guy he has been ready to beat to a pulp for her just a few short hours earlier, " If he didn't care about you, he would've just let them have you. He wouldn't heave put himself in danger, too."

Tears were streaming down her cheeks again as the truth of his words hit her. Maybe this wasn't quite as black and white as she'd thought. It just amazed her that Luke, of all people, was the one pointing out the shades of gray.

"You really think he loves me?" Daisy's voice was small, but he could hear the hope in it.

"I do. I can't believe I'm saying it, but, yeah, I really do think he loves you. He just ended up making some really bad choices in his life, that's all."

"Bad choices," she repeated softly, shaking her head, "Seems to be a lot of that going around. I was gonna leave with him, Luke - go off and marry him no matter what nobody said. I didn't even really care how bad it would've hurt Uncle Jesse…"

"Love makes people do things like that, sweetheart. Look at the things Bo did and said over that Diane Benson. You think he would've acted like that if he hadn't been sure it was love?"

"I'm just glad y'all are willing to forgive me for the way I acted. The way I treated you and Bo, especially…" she shook her head again, amazed at how willing she had been to put Jamie before her family.

Luke smiled softly, reaching to pull her into another warm hug. "Like I said, love makes you do things - and it makes it easier to forgive the people you love, too."

She tightened her arms around him, once again reminded of how lucky she was to have her family, "I love you, too."