Willow Smoke (11 page)

Would
that
he
could.
What
he
really
wished
was
that
he
could
forget
how
Daisy
Matthews’ soft breasts crushed against his chest or how her gray
eyes rounded in
pools
of
pain
and
then
turned
iridescent
in
the
delight
of
banter
and
the
unexpectedness
of
surprise.
She
possessed
a
vitality
that
he
found
intoxicating
and
difficult
to
shake.

If
he
was
a
smart
man,
he’d
go
to
the
Twin
Cities,
conduct
his
business
and
arrange
for
the
sale
of
RainbowBlaze
while
out
of
town.
But
that
would
be
too
much
like
the
coward’s
way
out.
No,
he’d
stay
the
course.
He
wasn’t
about
to
cheat
destiny.
Certainly
a
man
of
his experience
and
talent
could
best
a
woman
who’d
probably
lived
no
more
than
a
quarter
century.

But
why
even
bother
to
enter
the
contest?
He
could
simply
flee.
No
one
was
watching.

He
could
no
more
flee
than
sprout
wings.
There
was
something
about
Daisy
Matthews
that
drew
him
like
the
sorrowful
call
of
the
loon.
He
wanted
to
know
more about her. He wanted to listen to her
story.
He
wanted
to
have
some
excuse
to
hug
her
again.
Given
her
youthfulness,
she
might
not
be
good
for
his
pride,
but
she
seemed
good
for
his
soul.

A
rap
on
his
office
door
jolted
Nick
from
his
reverie. “Yes, come in.” Mary Brown
entered
and
Nick
tried
not
to
smile.

Other
than
his
bedroom,
his
office
was
the
only
room
in
the
house
where
she
knocked
before
entering.
How
often
had
he
felt
like
an
intruder
in
his
own
home
before
the
inquisitive
eyes
of
Mrs.
B.?

Maybe
it
was
because
he’d
inherited
her;
well,
sort of.
She came with the house.
The
eighty-something
bent
African American
woman
had
been
taking
care
of
residents
in
this
house
since
she
was
a
teenager.
And
she
had
an
uncanny
sense
of
showing
up
when
he
least
wanted
to
talk.
He
often
threatened
to fire her, but they
both knew
that
he
cared
for
her
like
a
favorite
aunt.
And
if
he
didn’t
watch
out,
she
could
easily
smother
him
with
love.
She’d
outlived
her
family
and
her
friends.
She
hardly
had
anyone else to irritate or to love.

“So,
Mister
Nick,
I
was
worried
when
you
didn’t
come
home
for
supper.
You
usually
call.” Mrs.
Brown stood in front of
his
desk
peering
at
him
with
large
dark
questioning
eyes.

He
waved
his
hand
dismissing
her
concern.
“Sorry,
I
must
have
gotten
overly
involved
at
work.”

“Harumph. That usually
don’t make you
forget
your manners.”
Mary Brown bent
over
and
straightened
two
stacks
of
papers
on
Nick’s
desk.

Nick
scowled.
She
backed
away
abruptly.
“Oh,
I
forgot.
Don’t
touch
a
thing
in
the
master’s office,” she chided.

“I’m not your master,”
Nick responded quickly.
“But you’re
right about not touching
things
in
here.”

“Sounds
to
me
like
you’re
the
one
who’s
touchy.”

Nick
always
found
it
hard
to
ignore
Mrs.
Brown,
but
he
tried
his
best.

“My,
my,”
she
said,
“how
many
years
has
it
been
since
you’ve
had
a
woman
throw
you off stride?”

“What?” Nick nearly
shouted.

“A woman. You know. You
remember what they are.”

“I know what a woman is.”

“Good.” Mrs. Brown gave
him a toothless grin. “I was hoping you wouldn’t forget. She must be something.”

Nick closed his eyes,
took a deep breath and reopened them. The housekeeper was still there
.
“What
do
you
mean
by
that?”

“For
the
last
several
days
you’ve
been
moping
around
here
like
a
tomcat
returning
from
the
street
who
had
no
luck.
There’s
no
bounce
in
your
step.
Indecision
about
a
woman
will
do
that,
you
know.”

“I
didn’t
know
that,”
Nick
responded
sharply.
“And
don’t
you
have
something
better
to
do
than
worry
about
my
love
life?”

“No need to get huffy.”
Mrs. Brown took another step back from the desk. “If you
ask
me,
you
could
use
some
good
loving.
This
old
house
could
use
a
good
woman.
It’s
getting
to
be
more
than
I
can
manage
alone.
And
I’d
like
to
hear
the
sounds
of
children
again
in
these
walls
before
I
die.”

“Go to the park and rent
a kid or two.
Bring them here and
let them scream their
heads
off.
Just
as
long
as
I’m
gone.”
He
glanced
at
the
papers
on
his
desk.
“Now,
Mrs. B., if you have nothing further, I do
need to get back to work.”

“Didn’t
look
like
you
were
working
before.
Looked
like
you
were
staring
off
into
space.”

Nick
raised
an
eyebrow
and
cleared
his
throat.

“Okay, Mr. Nick, I can
take a hint. I just
want
you
to
know
that
you
can
bring
a
woman here anytime. It won’t
bother me none.
I may be old, but I
know how things
are
with
you
young
people
these
days.
Even
my
old
Andrew
thought
we
should
test
out the equipment before we got married.”

“Mrs. B.!”

“I’ll leave you now, Mr.
Nick. Maybe you’ll get a skip in your walk soon enough.” Nick shook his head
and watched Mrs. B. leave the room. A skip, indeed.