Willow Smoke (77 page)

He
watched
Daisy
pat
the
animal
on
the
shoulder
and
whisper
something,
no
doubt
endearing,
into
its
ear.
Nick
wished
he
could
trade
places
with
the
horse.
He
shook
his
head.
You’ve
got
it
bad,
Underwood.
Real
bad.

His
eyes
did
not
stray
from
the
woman
leading
the horse away from the track. Her
bottom
swayed
that
alluring
motion
that
he
expected
had
attracted
men
since
man
and
woman
became
aware
of
each
other.
Daisy
led
the
horse
around
a
corner
and
out of view.

Nick
leaned
back
and
ran
his
fingers
through
his
hair.
He
couldn’t
remember
ever having
a
woman
tie
him
and
twist
him
about
in
so
many
directions.
Usually,
he
was
in
the
driver’s
seat.
But
not
with
Daisy
Matthews.
That
didn’t
particularly
bother him. What bothered him was that
he
cared
too
damn
much.
Too
much
about her, and too much about what she
thought of him.

He’d
been
a
fool
to
let
her
walk
out
of
his
house.
He’d
been
more
of
a
fool
not
to
just
let
her
keep
walking.
He’d
be
a
bigger
fool
yet
if
he
let
her
slip
through
his
fingers.

Nick
pushed
his
glasses
down
and
squeezed
the
bridge
of
his
nose.
Daisy
might
have
some
legitimate
qualms
about
her
feelings
for
him
and
about
sharing
her
life
with
him,
but
Reggie
Lassiter
remained
at
the
crux
of
his
problems
with
Daisy.
He
could
not
figure
out
the
claim
the
man
had
on
Daisy.
Was
it
simply
her
sister
and
Daisy’s
fierce
sense
of
family
loyalty?
Did
Lassiter
have
designs
on
Daisy?
Had
he
abused
her?
Clearly,
Maxine
stayed
with
her
husband
even
though
the
man
had
nearly
killed
her.
Could
Daisy
be
from
the
same
mold
as
her
sister?
Daisy
was
proud.
She
had
more
courage
than
most
anyone
he’d
known.
So
how
did
Lassiter
manage to terrorize her so?

Clint
Travers
had
called
the
day
before
to tell
Nick
that
they’d
finally
traced
Lassiter.
He
had
resurfaced.
He’d
been
seen
visiting
Maxine.
There
was
now
a
tail
on
Lassiter
as
well
as
on
Daisy.
The
slime
ball
was
cautious,
but
he’d
screw
up
sooner
or
later.
And
Clint
expected
that
his
man
would
be
there
to
nail
him
when
he
did.

As
for
Daisy,
it
had
surprised
Nick
to
learn
that
she’d
visited
his
sister
at
the
theater. The two of them were thicker
than
he
liked
at
the
moment.
He
didn’t
want
Daisy
picking
up
any
more
family
ammunition
than
she
already
had.
She
knew
a
hell
of
a
lot
more
about
him
and
his
family
than
he
did
about
hers.
Though
he
had
to
agree
he
wasn’t
certain
he
really
wanted
to
know
more
about
her
family.
He
just
wanted
Daisy,
and
he
didn’t
give
a
damn
about
her sister or her brother-in-law.

Nick
stood
and
stretched.
Why
was
he
so
melancholy?
Damn,
he
had
a
date
with
Daisy
that
night.
MrShowman
would
be
running
in
the
seventh
and
they
still
had
a
shot
at
a
claim
in
the
fifth.
He
should
be
feeling
like
he
was
at
the
top
of
his
game.
Instead,
he
was
down.
Maybe
it
was
the
lack
of sleep, and Mrs. B. was constantly
harping
on
his
poor
eating
habits.
The
damn
woman
couldn’t
stop
pestering
him
with
hints
of
wondering
when
that
gentle, tall,
beautiful
Miss
Daisy
would
be
back.

Tall
and
beautiful,
no
doubt.
Gentle?
No
way.
That damn Miss Daisy fought
hard.
She’d
freely
given
him
her
virginity,
but
he
wanted
more,
much
more.
And
now
she
was
fighting
and
clawing
like
a
cat
from
hell.
Nick
blew
on
his
fingernails.
Well,
this
old
Tom
was
more
wily
than
most.

- o -

Repressing
an
urge
to
sing
and
dance,
Daisy
tiptoed
toward
the
shower.
What
a
day
it
had
been
already,
and
Nick
would
be
picking
her
up
within
the
hour.

Stepping
into
the
shower,
she
turned
on
the
pulsating stream of water as hot as
she
could
stand
it
and
reached
for
the
soap.
She
soaped
her
breasts
and
belly
and
then
each
long
leg,
recounting
the
day’s
events.

There
was
another
horse
in
their
barn.
Blue
Horizon,
a
three-year-old
filly,
had
shown
promise
in
two
races
as
a
two-year-old
and
then
six
more
during
her
three-year-old
campaign.
Sam
felt
that
he
and
Daisy
could
possibly
improve
the
horse
to
be
a
decent
runner
in
allowance
races.