Willow Smoke (14 page)

“So, I take it you’re a
Cubs fan.”

He
nodded,
shook
his
head
and
seemed
to
regain
his
equilibrium.
“My
neighbors
think
I’m
a
traitor.
If
you
live
on
the
South
Side,
you’re traditionally a White Sox fan; if
you live on the North Side then you root for the Cubs.”

“But
you’re not a traditionalist.”

“Hardly.”

“So
where do you live?”

“Kenwood.”

“Ah.”

Nick
frowned. “I believe I detected a little reverse classism. Yes, I have a lot of
money. Yes, I live in a big house. Yes, I give to a lot of good causes. Yes, I’m
hooked on...race horses, for
the moment. I want to talk to you about how I go about buying some more, but
not today. That sounds too much like work. This is your day off. It’s the Cubs.”

“How
do
you
know
I
didn’t
have
other
plans?”

“I
guessed.
Maybe
it
was
a
hope
more
than
a
guess.”
He
scowled.
“But
maybe
it
was
a
mistake.
You
look
different
here
in
your own space. More domestic. More at
home. More...”

“More
woman,
maybe?”

Nick
blew
out
air
and
coughed.
“Oh,
I’ve
not
missed
that
fact.”
He
righted
his
glasses
on
his
nose.
“I’ve
got
to
use
the
head,
and
then
we
better
think
about
driving
to
the
ballpark.
It’ll
be
good
to
be
in
a
crowd.
You’ve
got
a
nice
pad
here,
kid.
Nice
library.
You
could
use
a
better
computer,
though.
The
one
in
your
office
area
is
ancient.”

“It’s
what
I
can
afford.”
She
stood
and
placed
their
cups
in
the
sink.

“Didn’t
mean
to make you defensive.”

Daisy
rinsed the dishes while Underwood used her bathroom. Did Underwood have a maid?
He probably did, as well as a gardener. Well, her space was adequate for her
needs. She hadn’t invited him here. That would never have occurred to her.

“Only
one toothbrush,” he said, coming up behind her.

She
spun around to face him. “What did you expect?”

“There
you go getting your back up again. I wasn’t expecting anything. I was just
commenting. One toothbrush looked lonely, but I liked it that way.”

“I
guess I’m pleased I didn’t disappoint you.” He was standing too close. She
could
hardly
breathe.

He
brushed
a
lock
of
hair
back
off
her
forehead
and
ran
an
index
finger
down
the
length
of
her
nose
before
pressing
it
against
her
lips.
His
eyes
flared
with
passion and
then
immediately
cooled.
He
backed
away.
“We’d
best
be
going,”
he
said,
gruffly. “Before I make a fool of
myself,”
she
heard
him
whisper
under
his
breath.
“Put shoes on, grab a bag or whatever.
I’ll
wait
for
you
outside.
I
need
some
air.”

Tingling
from
toe
to
crown,
Daisy
hurried
to find her best sneakers. She wet her
lips,
avoiding
where
his
finger
had
been.
Even the
videos
couldn’t
do
justice
to
the
kinds
of
electrical
charges
that’d
coursed
through
her
body
when
his
finger
had
made
its
way
slowly
down
her
nose
to
settle
on
her
lips.

She’d
thought
he
was
going
to
kiss
her.
She
was
more
than
a
little
disappointed
that
he
hadn’t.
But
there
was
no
question
that
he
now
regarded
her
as
a
woman.
He
was
probably
still
hung
up
on
age,
but
age
didn’t
matter
for
her
purposes.

“Jones
is
the
man,”
Nick
declared.
“He
carries
this
team
when
he
has
to.
And
he’s
a
team
player
when
that’s
needed.
He’s
the
kind
of
person
I
like
on
my
team.”

Daisy
nodded,
biting
down
on
a
soft
pretzel.
The
batter
Nick
pointed
out
didn’t
look
any different
than any other player, but he
must
be. At that moment, Nick’s player
swung.
The
bat
made
a
cracking
sound
that
surprised
Daisy.
She
watched
the
ball
sail
over
the
leftfield
bleachers
onto
Waveland
Avenue.
Now
that
was
power. It
was
like
watching
a
horse
determined
to
get
to
the
wire
first
over
any
and
all
challengers.
And
Nick
Underwood
clearly
loved
the
game
of
baseball.

“Okay, that was the
power game. Now watch this next batter. He needs to get a hit. One out. He may
even try to bunt to get on.”

“Ball
one,”
cried
the
ump.

“Did
you
see
that?”
Nick
asked,
without
taking
his
eyes
off
the
batter.
“He
faked
the
bunt.
Now
the
third
baseman
and
first
baseman
are
edging
in
toward
home
plate.
The
infield
is
getting
smaller,
making
it easier for him to hit away.”

Daisy
wasn’t
certain
she
understood
everything
Nick
was
telling
her,
but
she
enjoyed
watching
the
tension
rise.
They
sat
in
the
third
row
between
home
plate
and
first
base.
She
could
see
the
batter
trying
not
to
give
away
what
he
was
going
to do.

On
the
next
pitch
he
swung
and
lined
a
ball
over
the
third
baseman’s
head.
Nick
stood
and
cheered
wildly.
For
a
man
who
was
reasonably quiet at the race track,
he
sure
made
a
lot
of
noise
at
a
ballgame.
As
if
sensing
her
question,
he
sat
back
down.
“Hope
I’m
not
embarrassing
you.
This
is
different.
Money
is
involved
with
the
horses.
This
is
pure
and
simple
recreation.
Nothing
is
on
the
line
for
me.”

“I
didn’t
realize
there
was
so
much
strategy
involved
in
baseball.
Games
were
on
the TV at the group home, but I never
bothered
to
watch.
Looked
too
boring.”