Willow Smoke

When
the chips are down, there's nobody there.
Willowy blond Daisy Matthews has
survived the Chicago streets with this mantra but is unprepared for the much
older Nick Underwood’s urgent pursuit.  The wealthy businessman receives a
thoroughbred in payment for a bad debt and is thrust into Daisy’s world.  She
teaches him about horse racing; he teaches her about love.  When Daisy’s seamy
brother-in-law threatens Nick’s safety, she doggedly tries to stop him by
herself, but flees to the familiar streets when he attacks. Can Nick find her
in time – and if he does, will she still want him?

Award winning
author Adriana Kraft

When It’s Time to
Heat Things Up

PUBLISHED BOOKS

SERIES

RIDERS
UP Romantic Suspense novels

Book
One
Cassie’s Hope

Book
Two
Heat Wave

Book
Three
Willow Smoke
(forthcoming, September, 2014)

Book
Four
Detour Ahead
(forthcoming, January, 2015)

SWINGING
GAMES Erotic Romance novellas

Book
One
Anticipation

Book
Two
Hook-Ups

Book
Three
A Tempting Taste

Book
Four
Complexities

Book
Five
The Adventure
Continues

Book
Six
Who’s the Coach?

Book
Seven
Dare to Adventure

Book
Eight
Pushing the Limits

Book
Nine
Too Close for
Comfort

Book
Ten
Triple Play

Book
Eleven
Summer’s End

Book
Twelve
Foursomes and More…

COLORS
OF THE NIGHT Erotic Romance novels

Book
One
Colors of the Night

Book
Two
Aria Returns

PURGATORY
POINT Erotic Romance novels

Book
One
The Mistress of
Purgatory Point

Book
Two
Return to Purgatory
Point

THE
DIARY Erotic Romance novels

Book
One
The Diary

Book
Two
Writing Skin

STAND
ALONE NOVELS AND NOVELLAS

The Heist
Romantic Suspense
novel

The Unmasking
Romantic Suspense
novel

Cherry Tune-Up
Erotic Romance
novella

The Reunion
Erotic Romance
novel

Atlantis Woman
Found
Erotic Romance novella

The Best Man
Erotic Romance
novel

Santa’s Boss
Erotic Romance
novella

Through the Mirror
Erotic Romance
novella

Sheila’s Pre-Nups
Erotic Romance
novella

Full Circle
Erotic Romance
novella

SHORT
STORIES IN ANTHOLOGIES

Accidental
Contact, in
Sapphic Planet

A
Taste of Ginger in
The Cougar Book

WHAT
THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT ADRIANA KRAFT

Romantic
Suspense

Heat
Wave
(Riders Up, Book 2)
Five stars at
Goodreads
Heartfelt with
mystery and hope…made me cry. Spot on interplay between the main
characters…well written and extremely enjoyable to read.
Donna H.

Cassie’s
Hope
(Riders Up, Book 1)
Five
Stars at
Goodreads
An emotional roller-coaster, with twists and turns you never see coming! …I
feel I know them, I took their journey with them. I felt their pain, their
sadness, their struggles, and most of all their love. And that is the mark of a
truly good book.
Faith

Erotic
Romance

The
Reunion
,
Winner of the 2014 Bisexual Book Award for Erotic Fiction.
This book sizzled
as two incredibly sexy women and one gorgeous guy form a super hot triad,
eventually. These three are by far and away the best smoldering trio I have
read about. Oh, bring on more of this, but read this one first!
  JJ,
Rainbow
Reviews

The
Best Man
,
Top Pick at
The
Romance Reviews
. Five Stars at
Amazon
Kitty and Jared are my new favorite characters. I love this
book. It kept me on edge because Kitty was so unpredictable, which gave this
story its twist and turns.
Cheryl B.

Riders Up

Book Three

Willow Smoke

by

Adriana Kraft

This
book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are
products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not
to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual
events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Riders Up: Book Three

Willow Smoke

By

Adriana Kraft

ISBN: 978-0-9907476-0-4

Copyright © 2014 by Adriana Kraft

B&B Publishing

1970 N. Leslie St. #560

Pahrump, NV 89060

Cover by

Rebecca Poole

Dreams2Media.com 

All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this
book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written
permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical
articles and reviews.

Riders Up

Book One: Cassie’s
Hope

Chicago, 1996

Available now

Book Two: Heat Wave

Iowa, 2000

Available now

Book Three: Willow
Smoke

Chicago, 2002

Available now

Book Four: Detour
Ahead

California, 2004

Release Date: January,
2015

Dedication

This
book is dedicated
to

Amanda
Clarke

and

Benjamin
Franklin
Burns

Great-grandparents
we never met,

whose courage in
the face of social stigma

continues to
inspire us.

Chicago,

2002

“I won’t let anything
hurt you.” Daisy
Matthews
finished
wrapping
the
ankles
of
the
chestnut
mare
and
sat
back
on
her
haunches
to
evaluate
her
work.
The
mare’s
ankles
were
cooler
than
they
had
been
two
hours
earlier.

It wasn’t easy to
convince a horse to stand
in buckets
of ice, but after three years
of
being
a
groom
and
an
exercise
rider,
she
could
do
it
about
as
well
as
anybody
at
Arlington
Park.
At
least
that was
what
her boss
said
when
he
promoted
her
to
assistant trainer.

Daisy
grinned.
There
wasn’t
much
prestige
associated
with
being
an
assistant
trainer
for
a
fellow
with
a
string
of
only
twenty-some
claimers
and
allowance
horses, but it was something,
particularly
for a girl from the wrong
side of the
tracks.

RainbowBlaze
took
a
step
forward.
“I
know.”
Daisy
groaned.
“Step
one:
pay
attention. Sorry, I got lost daydreaming.
You’re
right.
Taking
care
of
you
is
an
important job.” She chuckled. “I can’t
think
of
anything
I’d
rather
be
doing.”

“Hey
kid,
do
you
always
talk
to
horses?”

The
horse
reared
and
pawed.
“It’s
okay,
girl.”
Daisy
kept
her
voice
soft
and
ran
her
hand
slowly
along
the
mare’s
neck.

When
the
mare
had
stopped
trembling,
Daisy
stepped
out
of
the
stall,
shaded
her
eyes
from
the
sun
and
faced
the
interloper.
She
scowled
at
the
man’s
new
sneakers,
monogrammed
shirt
and
neatly
pressed
slacks.
He
looked
liked
he’d
be
more
at
home
on
a
sailboat
than
in
a
barn.

The
man
peered
over
wire-rimmed
glasses
like
he
knew
something
she
didn’t.
Or
was
he
appraising
her?
Why?
His
dark
hair
set
off
a
chiseled
face;
it
was
difficult to
guess
his
age,
but
she
could
see
a
few
gray
hairs
at
his
temples.
He
was
money. Understated, but money. Probably
the
stock
market.
What
was
he
doing
in
her
barn?

She
thrust
her
jaw
at
him.
“So
who
the
hell
are
you?
Don’t
you
know
better
than
to
sneak
up
on
someone
who’s
working
with
a
horse?”

The
man
frowned
and
sputtered
before
speaking.
“Sorry,
kid,
I
didn’t
mean
to
put
you
in
danger.
Don’t
know
a
damn
thing
about
horses.
I’ll be the first to admit that.”

Daisy
exhaled
slowly.
“Okay,
so
why
are
you
here?”
She
shifted
her
weight
from
foot to foot. An odd sensation swept
over
her—one
she
didn’t
like.
This
man,
a
lthough
ignorant
as
hell
about
horses
and
barn
etiquette,
had
an
air
of
confidence
that
suggested
he
knew
he
belonged—whether
in
the
board
room,
on
a
sailboat,
or
even
in
her
barn.
His
staring
made
her
uncomfortable,
and
she
didn’t
like
being
uncomfortable.

She knew how to protect
herself from
males;
she’d been doing
that for years. That
wasn’t
the
problem.
The
guy
was
probably
old
enough
to
be
her
father.
But
he
was
dangerous;
she
just
didn’t
know
how,
yet.
“And
do
you
have
a
name?
Who
let
you
in
here?
You
know
you
got
to
have
a
pass
to
be
back
here.”

“Good
God
kid,
do
you
always
welcome
people
by
putting
your
dukes
up
first?”
The
man
dug
a
visitor’s
badge
out
of
his
pocket.
“Will
this
help?”
he
asked,
handing
it
to
her.
“The
name’s
Nicholas
Underwood.
My
friends
call
me
Nick.”

Daisy
examined
the
badge
as
if
it
contained
the
stranger’s
DNA.
She
handed
it
back.
“You
should
wear
it
so
it
shows.”

- o -

Underwood
grunted
an
expletive
under
his
breath.
He
studied
the
combative
young
woman.
If
only
his
employees
were
as
protective
of
his
plant
as
this
woman
was
of her horse.

How
old
was
she?
Maybe
twenty-four,
twenty-five.
Too
young.
He
scanned
her
tight,
willowy
frame.
Damn,
was
she
blushing?

Who
would
have
guessed
that
a
slight
overbite
could
be
so
attractive?
It
set
off
an
angular
face
and
a
slightly
oversized
nose;
yet
all
was
in
balance
as
if
sculpted
by
a
skilled
craftsman.
Strawberry
blond
hair
fell
to
her
shoulders
and
swept
across
her
forehead.
She
stood
tall
and
lanky
with
medium
breasts.

Not
the
kind
of
woman
that
usually
appealed
to him. He’d never been
attracted to
younger
women,
preferring
women
with
experience.

So
why
was
this
willowy
kid
with
straw
sticking
in
her
hair
leaving
him
tongue-tied
like
some
damn
adolescent?
Maybe
the
overly
pungent
horse
odors
clogged
his
good
sense.

Nick
breathed
deeply
and
clipped
the
identification
badge
to
his
shirt
pocket.
“If
that satisfies you, maybe you can help me. I don’t think I’m lost. The
guy at the
gate
said
Barn
D.
By
the
way,
what’s
your
name?”