Willow Smoke (39 page)

“So
who
is
he,
baby?
You
can
tell
us,”
Maxine
crooned.
“We’re
family.”

A
dryer
buzzed,
propelling
Daisy
into
action.
“I’ve got to get the clothes out.”

“That’s
okay.
We’ve
got
plenty
of
time.
Don’t
we,
Reggie?”

“You’ve got more time
than me.”

Daisy tried not to react
to her
brother-in-law’s
snarl.
She’d
have
to
buy
them
off.
She couldn’t let either one of them get to
Nick.
They’d
make
him
believe
she
was
the
gutter
snipe
Claire
Donaldson
thought
she
was.

“He
owns
a
horse
I
train.”
Did
her
voice
sound
calmer
than
her
swirling
stomach?

“Well, isn’t that handy.”

“He
looks
like
a
handsome
man,
Daisy.
Why
did
he
take
you
to
such
a
society bash?”

Daisy frowned at her
sister. Was it so hard
to
imagine
that
Nick
just
wanted
to
take
her
to
the
dance,
to
be
with
her
for
who
she
was?

“I don’t know. He asked
me. I said yes.”

“Where
the
hell
did
you
get
the
fancy
clothes?”
Reggie
demanded.
“And
those
rhinestones
look
almost
real.”

Thank
God
he
didn’t
believe
they
were
diamonds.
“Nick
bought
the
clothes.
You
know
I
can’t
afford
them.”
Daisy
focused
on
folding
blouses.

“You
mean
you
let
a
man
buy
you
fancy
things?”
Maxine
chortled
bitterly.
“And
you
always
thought
you
were
better
than
me.
You’re
no
different
than
me
and
our
mother. You’re no
different. You’re just a
more
expensive
whore.
You’re
trying
to
be
one
of
those
uptown
call
girls.”

Daisy
slapped
Maxine’s
cheek
before
there
was
time
to
think.
Reggie
grabbed
her
wrist,
squeezed
hard
and
bent
it
backward.

“Bitch.
I
don’t
care
who’s
banging
you
as
long
as
we
get
a
piece
of
the
action.
This
guy’s got to be
rich. You’re a bright girl.”

Daisy
gasped
against
the
pain
and
Reggie’s
breath
washing
over
her
face.
“You
figure out how to separate some of that
money
from
your
boyfriend
so
we
can
all
share
in
the
wealth.
You
understand.”
He
squeezed
harder.

Sharp
pain
shot
up
her
arm
to
her
shoulder.
She
nodded.
God,
don’t break
my
wrist!

Reggie
dropped
her
arm.
“Don’t
forget
what
I
told
you
before.”
He
looked
at
Maxine.
“I’ve
got
something
you
want.”

“Ah,
baby,”
Maxine
said,
rubbing
the
back
of
her
hand
against
Daisy’s
cheek.
“We
don’t
mean
to
hurt
you.
You’re
the
only
family
I’ve got. It’s just that you’ve always
been
the
lucky
one.
Look
at
me.
I
don’t
know
when
I’ll
ever
get
another
dress,
and
you get a fancy dress. It’s not fair.”

Daisy’s
eyes
turned
smoky.
Fair.
What
was
fair?
Maxine
had
chosen
Reggie.
She
had to buy time. If it was just Maxine,
she’d
feel
better
about
lending
money.

Lending.
What
a
joke.
There
would
be
no
loan,
only
a
gift.
But
Reggie
really
galled.
He
wanted
to
treat
her
like
he
was
her
pimp.

“So
can
you
help
us
out?
Even
a
little
bit.”
Maxine’s
tone
was
saccharine.

“What
do
you
need?”
Daisy
avoided
eye
contact
with
Reggie.

“A
couple
hundred
would
be
great.
A
hundred
would
help.”
Maxine
glanced
furtively at her husband. “Even fifty is better than nothing.”

“I’ll
see
what
I
can
do.
It’ll
take
a
day
or
two.”

“You
better
come
through.
You
hear?”

Daisy
nodded
at
Reggie
and
shrank
from
his
threatening
fist.

With
hands
trembling,
Daisy
folded
her
socks.
Thank
goodness
Maxine
and
Reggie
were
leaving.
The
two
of
them
sauntered
down
the
sidewalk.
As
if
more
emphasis
was
needed,
Reggie
squeezed
Maxine’s
neck
and
turned
back
to
leer
at
Daisy
through
the
Laundromat
window.

Daisy
rubbed
her
eyes.
Was
she
in
over her
head?
All
her
life
she’d
wanted
to
be
part
of
a
family.
Now
what
family
she
had
was
threatening
to
mess
up
her
life
royally.

What
would
Nick
do
if
she
just
came
clean
and
told
him
about
Maxine
and Reggie?
He
knew
some
of
her
background.
He
could
likely
guess
the
rest.
But
that was
different
than
having
her
relatives
flaunting
themselves before him. If they ever got
their
hands on Nick, they’d try to
suck
him dry of every cent he had. She
couldn’t
allow
that
to
happen.

Maybe
she
should
just
walk
away
from
Nick.
That
would
save
everyone
a
lot
of
heartache.
Daisy’s
blood
chilled
even
in
the
sauna
of
the
Laundromat.
She
couldn’t
let
him
go,
not
yet.
She’d
know
when
it was time to cut bait, and it wasn’t
now.

She slammed the dryer
door shut. Why couldn’t her so-called
family
stay out of this? For the
first time in her life, a man was
treating
her
like
she
was
lovely
and
worthwhile.
It might
only be a dream, but it was too soon to wake up.

Daisy
resolved
to
go
to
the
bank
in
the
morning
and
withdraw
a
hundred
and
drop
it
off
with
Maxine.
She’d
call
to
make
sure
Reggie
was
out.
It
wouldn’t
be
enough.
She
knew
that.
There
would
never
be
enough
money
to
satisfy
them.