Willow Smoke (7 page)

“I’ll
make
a
deal
with
you.
I’ll
keep
Blaze
on
two
conditions.”

Now
why
was
she
frowning?
Would
the
woman
ever
learn
to
trust
him?
But
then
maybe
she
shouldn’t.
“First,
you
will
continue
to
educate
me
regarding
horses. How
to
be
a
heads-up
owner.
I’ll
likely
want
to
expand.
Don’t
look
so
shocked.
You’ll
learn,
kid,
I
never
do
anything
half
way. When I decide I want something, I
go after it.”

So
why
was
she
blushing
again?
“Second,
you
will
teach
me
how
to
read
that
newspaper
you
were
reading
today—that
form that
looked
like
a
jumble
of
numbers
and letters to me. Do you agree?”

“Of course. I can do all
of that, if you have the time. And it will take much of my time, too.”

“Good.
To
cement
the
deal,
when
I
draw
up
the
papers
on
RainbowBlaze,
you
will
appear as twenty percent owner.”

“What?”
Daisy
gasped.
“You
can’t...”

“Listen,
kid,
I’m
beginning
to
think
you’re
a
slow
learner.
Don’t
tell
me
what
I
can’t
do.”
Nick
took
a
handkerchief
from
his
pocket
and
wiped
the
dust
from
his
glasses;
he
studied
the
woman
to
see
if
she
was
again
in
danger
of
fainting.

“It’s
only
good
business.
You
know
the
horse
business. I don’t. But I do
know that
if
someone
owns
a
piece
of
the
action, they’ll
likely
make
the
wisest
possible
decisions
about
their
investments.”

“Do
the
people
who
build
your
canoes
own
part
of
the
business?”
Her
brow
furrowed.

“You don’t miss much—but
in fact, they do.
I’m
a
firm
believer
in
that
principle.
So
is
it
a
deal?”

Daisy
stared
into
the
stall
at
RainbowBlaze
for the longest time. Was she afraid of
him,
or
of
something
else?
A
full
two
minutes
passed
before
she
responded.

“Okay,”
she
said,
quietly.
“What
choice do
I
have?
I
still
don’t
understand
any
of
this. I don’t know
what you’re really after.”

“There
is
one
stipulation
I
make
with
all
my
employees.”

“What’s that?”

“If they sell out, they
have to sell to me. I don’t want strangers owning any part of
my
businesses.”

Nick
glanced
at
his
watch
and
shook
his
head.
“I’ve
got
to
get
going.
I’ll
catch
up
with
you
later,
kid.
Since
we
have
a
deal,
you
just
go
ahead
and
do
what
you
were
doing
with
Blaze.
I’ll
have
the
papers
ready
for
you
to
sign
before
the
end
of
the
week.
Then
we
can
work
out
a
schedule
for
my
equine
education.”

Uneasy
with
his
own
bravado
and
sudden
awkwardness,
he
stared
at
Daisy.
“This
was
one
of
the
most
enjoyable
days
I’ve
had
in
a
long
time,
kid.
Keep
up
the
good
work.”

- o -

Daisy
waved
in
response,
slumped
down
on
a
bale
of
hay
and
watched
the
strange
man—no, her new
partner—disappear
down
the
alleyway
and
into
the
parking
lot.

Had
she
been
dreaming?
She
touched
the
wad
of
money
in
her
pocket.
It
was
there.
She
didn’t
have
to
count
it.
That would
cover
a
good
amount
of
tuition
and
books.
She
scratched
her
head
with
both
hands.
Did
she
believe
in
fairy
godmothers or godfathers? Not hardly.

Holy
Moses,
she
owned
part
of
RainbowBlaze.
She
gawked
at
the
sleek
animal.
Rainbow’s
large
brown
eyes
had
a
special
gleam
in
them,
as
if
she
knew
what
had
transpired.
Daisy
began
to
giggle.
This
had
been
an
incredible
day.

She
sobered,
remembering
his
fingers
massaging
her
strained
neck
muscles
and
her
breasts
crushing
into
his
chest
after
their
horse
won.
The
man
might
be
a
businessman,
but
he
was
powerfully
built.
And
he
walked
like
he
knew
where
he
was
going
but
was
in
no
particular
hurry
to
get
there.
Had
he
been
as
aware
of
her
body
as
she
had
been
of
his?

She
recalled
his
gentle
touch.
Heat
raced
through
her
veins.
Her
nipples
tightened.
Daisy
closed
her
eyes
and
shook
her
head.
It
couldn’t
be.
She
couldn’t
be attracted
to
Nicholas
Underwood.
He
was
too...

She
didn’t
know
what
it’d
feel
like
being
attracted
to
a
man.
A
slow
grin
worked
its
way
across
her
lips.
If
this
tingling
was
part
of the attraction, then it wasn’t all bad.

“Why
can’t
I
think
straight?”
Daisy
sprang
off
her
living
room
loveseat
and
headed
for the tiny kitchen in her first floor
Cicero
apartment.
It
was
an
eat-in
kitchen
only
because
she
ate
on
a
card
table.
She
pried
open
a
can
of
pop
and
swallowed
deeply.

How
many
times
had
she
rerun
the
events
of
the
day?
They
still
seemed
beyond
her
wildest
dreams.
She
owned
part
of
Rainbow.
And
she’d
tucked
two
thousand
dollars
away
in
the
bank.

She
wandered
back
through
the
small
dining
room. The room served as an office
with
a
desk,
computer,
low-tech
sound
system,
and
several
bookcases.
No
space
remained
for
dining,
but
then
she
seldom
had
visitors.
She
plopped
back
down
on
the
off-white
loveseat
only
to
immediately
jump
up
and
move
to
the
matching
wing
chair.

Then
there
was
the
man.
Nicholas
Underwood.
Brash.
Gentle.
Demanding.
Laid
back.
Old,
yet
maybe
not
too
old.
He
was
a
paradox.

She
chewed
her
lower
lip.
Could
he
be
the
one?

Not in a romantic mushy
sort of way.
But
in
a
practical
way.
Somehow,
sometime
she
wanted
to
learn
about
those
things
that
could
happen
between
a
man
and
a
woman.
She’d
batted
away
every
male,
young
or
old,
who
had
noticed
her
since
she
was
ten.
She
intimidated
males.
For the most part, that was good. Her
grandmother
would
be
proud.

The fact that their
worlds were so
different
made
a
man
like
Nicholas
Underwood
safe.
They
couldn’t
share
any
long
term
future.
She
could
help
him
out—maybe
he’d
be
able
to
help
her
out.

Her
birthday
wasn’t
far
off.
She’d
probably
be
the
only
twenty-one
year
old
virgin
in
Cicero
if
not
all
of
Chicago.
She
wanted
to
experience
being
a
woman
before
her
birthday.

She’d
studied
several
educational
sex
videos
again
and
again.
They’d
been
helpful,
but
only
to
a
point.
She’d
have
to
decide
fairly
soon
what
to
do
with
Nicholas
Underwood.
For
now,
he
made
an
intriguing
horseracing
partner.
She
hugged
herself.
Would
he
make
an
equally
intriguing
partner
in
bed?

Yes
or
no,
at
least
he’d
be
experienced. She
wasn’t
about
to
give
what
her
grandmother
had
called
her
most
prized
treasure
to
some
bumbling
kid
or
some
horny
macho
man.
She’d
learned
enough
from
those
videos
to
know
she
was looking
for
a
gentle,
skilled
lover.
Maybe
she’d
finally
found
him.

What
would
Specs
think
of
her
small
abode?
It
would
probably
look
like
a
cell
compared
to
his
palatial
surroundings.
He never
had
said
where
he
lived,
but
then
neither
had
she.

The
apartment
buzzer
rang.
Daisy
walked
to
the
entry
and
peeked
through
the
peephole.
She
groaned.
Maxine
and
Reggie.
Her
brother-in-law
had
a
nose
for
money;
thank
goodness
she’d
stopped
at
the
bank
and
deposited
her
cash
before
coming
home.

Daisy
opened
the
door
and
Maxine
led
the
way
in.
Reggie
Lassiter
followed
her
sister
like
a
dog
on
a
fresh
scent.

“How
are
you,
baby?”
Maxine
said,
her
voice
only
slightly
slurred.
It
was
still
early
in
the
evening.
“We
were
nearby
and
thought
we’d
check
in
on
my
little
sister.”

“Right.”

“Get
me
one
of
my
beers.”
Reggie
looked like
a
dark-haired,
overweight
nose
tackle
for
the
Chicago
Bears.
In
his
dreams
.
Daisy
chuckled
to
herself
on
her
way
to
the kitchen for his beer. She kept her
fridge
stocked for just such occasions. It
didn’t
pay to get Reggie angry at her—or at her sister.

She
retraced
her
steps
and
handed
each
of
her
guests
a
beer.

Maxine
took
three
swallows
from
the
bottle
before
asking,
“So
have
you
been
keeping
busy?”

“There’s plenty of work
at the
track,
and
there’s
always
homework.”

Her
petite
sister
twisted
the
loops
of
her
purse
nervously.
Perspiration
shone
under
the
dark
ringlets
on
her
forehead.
This
wasn’t
just
a
social
visit.
Daisy
knew
the
signs
by
now.
They
wanted
something.

Maxine
was
her
half
sister;
even
then
it
was
difficult
to think of her as kin.
She was
older. She’d hit the streets
right after
their
grandmother’s
funeral,
when
Daisy
was
twelve.
Social
services
had
taken
Daisy
to
a
group
home.

Maxine
and
Reggie
had
never
wanted
anything
to
do
with
her
even
after
they
married.
Not
until
she’d
gotten
a
steady
job
working
for
Sam
Gallagher.
Reggie
Lassiter
seldom
inspired
confidence. After
meeting
Reggie,
Cassie
Travers
refused to let
the man on her property.