Willow Smoke (42 page)

“You’re
in
between
school
terms,
aren’t
you?”
Cassie
inquired.

“Yes, but I don’t need a
break. Horses are my life.”

“Hmm, I find I need to
get away from them
in order to fully
appreciate what they
are.
Sounds
like
a
great
change
of
pace.
I
assume
the
canoe
is
safe.”

“Spoken
like
a
mom,”
Clint
teased.
“I
doubt
Nick
is
going
to
market
an
unsafe
canoe.”

“The
canoe
is
safe.”

“So
what
are
you
afraid
of,
girl?
You
two
are
obviously
sleeping
together.
Are
you
afraid
of
Nick?”

“Of
course
not.”
Daisy
looked
startled
and
cornered.

“I
didn’t
mean
for
us
to
gang
up
on
you,”
Nick
apologized.
“If
you
don’t
want
to
go,
you
don’t have to. I just thought it might be
fun.
To
be
away
from
all
the
routines
and day-to-day pressures.”

“I
wish
it
were
that
easy,”
Daisy
mumbled.

“If
that’s
what’s
holding
you
back,
Daisy,
I
can
have
some
of
my
crew
help
back
up
Sam
in
your
absence.”

Nick
watched
Daisy
color
under
three
sets
of
eyes.

“Okay.”
Daisy
breathed
deeply.
“I’ll
go,
but
I don’t want to hear any bear stories.
I’ve
never
been
in
the
woods
at
night.
I’ve
never
been
in
a
canoe.
I’ve
never
been
alone
with
a
man
for
any
length
of
time.”

She
crossed
her
arms
below
her
breasts
and
pursed
her
lips.
Nick
was
reminded
of
a
rebellious
teenager.
“I’ll
go.
So
can
we
talk
about
something
else
now?”

She
looked
stunned.
Now
why
were
there
tears
in
her
eyes—and
what
could
he
do
to
make
them
go
away?

They
stayed
for
supper,
which
gave
Nick
an
opportunity
to
meet
the
two
youngest
Travers
children.
These
two
were
a
handful,
and
he
knew
there
were
two
older
children
away
at
camp
who
were
from
Clint’s
first marriage. What was it about
kids
that
snookered
him
and
scared
the
hell
out
of
him at the same time? They seemed
so
malleable
one
moment
and
then
intractable
the
next.
Like
Cassie’s
youngest
child,
they
could
beam
you
the
brightest
smile
and
then
when
you
stooped
to
pick
them
up
give
you
the
most
hair
raising
scream.
Kids
made
him
feel
dumb.
Clint moved
back
and
forth
with
ease
from
one
child’s
roller
coaster
emotion
to
the
next.
So
what
kind
of
father
would
he
be?
Paranoid.

He
drained
the
last
of
his
coffee
and
peeked
over
at Daisy.
Only twenty. A lot of
women were
mothers by that age.
But
it
seemed
too
young.
She
needed
more
time for herself. At that moment,
she
let
out
a
gleeful
scream
and
hoisted
the
three-year-old
to
her
lap.
Between
giggles
Daisy
and
the
child
played
patty-cake.
Daisy
was
at
ease
with
children.
Would
she
be
a
good
mother?
Apparently
she’d
had
less
than
an
adequate
mother,
but
then
she’d
had
her
grandmother.
Nick
looked
at
Cassie,
who
was
giving
him
a
warm
smile.
Yes,
Daisy
certainly
had
sufficient role
models for motherhood.

Nick
shook
his
head
and
inhaled
sharply.
Why
the
hell
was
he
thinking
about
kids?
Or
about
fatherhood
and
motherhood?
He
stared
at
Daisy.
She
was. Why? Son of
a
bitch.

He
was
a
goner.
Tom
was
right.
There
was
no
way
he
wanted
to
spend
the
rest
of
his
years
without
Daisy.
He
hadn’t
fully
understood
it
until
watching
her
with
the
kids,
but
he
needed
her
to
be
more
than
lover.
He needed her to be wife,
mother
and
soul-mate.

In
his
peripheral
vision,
he
saw
Cassie
stand
and
stretch.
Her
words
sounded
like
they
came
from
across
a
great
expanse.
“Daisy,
why
don’t
you
and
Clint
take
care
of
the
dishes
and
the
kids?
I
need
a
break.
And
I’d
kind
of
like
to
show
Nick
something
before
you
all
go.”

“Sure.
No
problem.”
Daisy’s
lips
turned
up.
“Right,
little
one,”
she
said
to
Angela,
Cassie’s
youngest
daughter.
“We
can
do
dishes
and
play
games
while
your
mommy is up to no good.”

Nick
followed
Cassie
toward
the
barn,
exchanging
idle
chatter
about
the
weather.
They
entered
the
tack
room
that
also
served
as
an
office.
Cassie
rummaged
through
a
beat
up
trunk
full
of
ribbons,
clothes
and
assorted
odds
and
ends.
She
was
searching
for
something
specific.
Nick
leaned
against
the
doorjamb,
watching,
waiting.

“Here
they
are,”
Cassie
said
with
a
glint
of
triumph
in
her
eyes.
She
held
in
her
hand
a
pair
of
pants
that
were
sorely
in
need
of
repair.