Willow Smoke (9 page)

She
changed
into
a
sleeping
shirt
and
pulled
back
the
futon
covers.
Daisy
smiled
and drank in the warmth of her bedroom.
She’d
had
a
choice
of
a
rental
with
two
small
bedrooms
or
one
large.
She’d
opted
for
the
latter.

It was her favorite room
in the apartment. From her bed she could see her reflection in the mirrored
closet doors at
the
end of the
futon. In a corner near it
stood
a
stuffed
chair
and
a
reading
lamp.
A
small
TV
and
VCR
sat
on
a
dresser
in
the
opposite
corner.
Someday
she’d
break
down
and
buy
a
proper
bed,
but
she
liked her simple
futon floor mattress.
It didn’t
require much upkeep. Another
reading
lamp
stood
between
the
bed
and
a
four
shelf
bookcase.

The
bedroom
was
light
and
breezy.
She’d
wallpapered
the
room
with
a
simple
floral design of daisies—her favorite
flower.
They
made
her
feel
special,
like
someone
loved
her.

She
crawled
under
the
covers
and
hugged
Bear
to
her
chest.
Maxine
was
right.
She
knew
their
mother
had
loved
them.
There
were
good
memories
from
when
she
was
quite
young.
Times
when
her
mother
would
read
a
children’s
story
at
bedtime.

And
then
everything
had
gone
wrong.
Her
mother
began
working
nights.
Too
many men came to visit. Most ignored
the
gangly
string-bean
of
a
girl,
yet
they
still
managed to scare her.

She’d
only
been
seven
when
she
found
her
mother
lying
naked
on
the
kitchen
floor.
The
woman
who
had
read
bedtime
stories
to
her
was
no
longer
breathing.

Grandmother
Matthews
loved
her.
She
knew that
to
be
true.
Daisy
hugged
Bear
tighter.
Her
grandmother
had
been
a
solid rock
and
had
taught
her
basic
values.
While
Maxine
had
given
their
grandmother
a
difficult
time,
Daisy
had
listened
and
wanted to please.
Grandmother Matthews was family.

Tears
stung
her
eyes
as
she
remembered
her grandmother’s
death—another
death
that
turned
her
life
upside
down.

Raul
and
Cassie
loved
her.
Raul
Hernandez
would
love
any
stranded
dog.
He
was
the
nicest
man,
and
she
was
lucky
it
was
his
group
home
where
she’d
been
sent.
That
was
where
she
met
Cassie
Travers,
her social worker, foster mother and
mentor.

Yes,
she’d
grown
up
hard
and
had
to
defend
herself
from
an
early
age,
but
she
did
know
something
about
love.
And
then
there
were
the
horses.
T
hey
knew
how
to
love. And there was Bear, a gift from her
mother so many years before. Things
could
have
been
much
worse.

She
drifted
off
to
sleep.
The
image
of
a
tall
dark-haired
man
with
glasses
offered
his
hand.
She
reached
for
it,
but
sleep
overcame
her
before
she
could
feel
his
skin
touching
hers.

- o -

By
Saturday
night,
Daisy
was
beginning
to
wonder
if
she’d
imagined
Nicholas
Underwood.
She sat at her desk,
the
words
on
the
book
she’d
been
studying
starting to blur
.
Underwood
intruded
into
her thoughts far too often.

The
phone
rang;
she
let
the
answering
machine
take
it.
“Hey
kid,
you
still
alive?”

Daisy
laughed
at
the
voice.
Should
she
pick
up
the
phone?
She
didn’t
want
to
appear
too
eager,
but
then
she
didn’t
want
to
seem
irresponsible
either.

She lifted the receiver.
“I’m here.” Her
voice
felt
more
husky
than
normal.
“How
did
you get my number?”

“Ah,
you
are
there.
Hoped
you
hadn’t
gone
to
bed
yet.
Figured
mornings
wouldn’t
be
a
good
time
to
catch
you
at
home.
Hell,
you’re
my
employee.
I
know
all
your
numbers.”

“Do I get yours?”

“Didn’t
know
you
could
be
coy,
kid.
Of
course.
I’ll
give
you
a
list.
There
may
be
occasions
when
one
of
us
will
have
to
cancel.
I
don’t
have
a
lot
of
time
to
waste
with
missed
appointments,
and
I
don’t
imagine
you
do,
either.”

Daisy
listened
to
his
breathing;
her
own
lungs
strained.

“Are
you
phone
shy?
You
were
more
talkative
the
other
day.”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Am I interrupting
something? It is
Saturday
night.
You
don’t
have
a
passionate
date
going
on
there,
do
you?”

“No. Not hardly. I
thought
you’d
call
at
the
barn.”

“I’ll
call
you
when
I
can
wherever
you
are.
I’ve
got
Blaze’s
papers
drawn
up
waiting
for
your
signature.
You’ll
have
to
fill
out
owner forms for the track before she can
race
again.
I
sent
mine
in
yesterday.
They
already
have
a
security
check
done
on
you, so it shouldn’t take but a day or
two.
I’ve got to run over to the Twin
Cities for
business
Monday
so
will
leave
tomorrow
to
say
hi
to
the
folks.
Should
be
back
Wednesday. I’d like to get with you
sooner, but can’t. God, I feel like I’m rattling on
like
a
teenager.”

Daisy
chuckled.
“You
are.”
She
looped
the
phone
cord
around
her
elbow,
carried
the
phone
into
the
living
room,
plopped
down
on
the
loveseat
and
draped
her
long
legs
over
its
arm.
“Do
you
still
want
me
to
teach
you
stuff
about
horses
and
handicapping?”