Willow Smoke (2 page)

She
pursed her lips as if he’d just asked for her most closely guarded secret.

“You
know
my
name
and
have
me
at
an
advantage,
kid.
So
who
are
you
and
what
were
you
doing
with
that
horse?
I
didn’t
know
horses
wore
socks.”

The
young
woman
giggled.
It
was
a
low
pitched
sound
that
did
nothing
to
soothe
Nick’s
nerves.
He’d
obviously
said
something
funny.

Willow,
he
decided
he’d
call
her
Willow.

She
brushed
hair
away
from
her
eyes
before
responding.
“I’m
Daisy.
Daisy
Matthews.
I’m assistant trainer for Sam
Gallagher.”
She
crossed
her
arms
across
her mid-section. “They’re not socks. I
just
finished
wrapping
her
ankles
to
help
bring
some
heat
down.”

Nick
nodded.
There
was
a
lot
to
learn
if
he
wanted
to
take
horseracing
seriously,
which
he
wasn’t
convinced
was
desirable.
He
wouldn’t
be here
at all, if it wasn’t for
Michael
Barnes
going
belly
up
on
him.
Daisy
Matthews.
He
shook
his
head.
All
he
had
to
do
was
locate
the
damn
horse,
arrange
for
its
sale
and
get
the
hell
out
of
here. No more horses. No more Willow.

This
niggling
indecisiveness
was
bad
and
so
out
of
character
for
him.
Cool.
Collected.
Poised.
Skilled.
Powerful.
That was
how
he
saw
himself,
and
it’d
better
be
the
way
others
saw
him.

He
plopped
down
on
a
bale
of
hay
in
the
shadow
of
the
stable.
The
woman
frowned
at
him.
Wasn’t
that
why
the
bales
were
there?
He’d
seen
people
sitting
on
them once at the state fair.

“I
think
I
should
have
worn
a
hat,”
he
said in
way
of
explanation.
“It
must
be
ten
degrees
cooler
here
in
the
shade.”

“It
gets
hot
and
muggy
in
July
in
Chicago.
A
hat
would’ve
been
a
good
idea.
And
if
you ever come back,
shoes or boots are better than sneakers. On shedrow you
never
know
when
you’ll
be
in
a
position
for
a
horse
to
step
on
you.”

“I’ll try to remember—if
there is a
next
time.
So
tell
me,
where
can
I
find
a
horse
named
RainbowBlaze?”

“RainbowBlaze!”
Daisy
gasped
and
glared
at him
again.
“Why?
What
do
you
want
with
her?”

“Damn, you’ve got to be
the most
protective
woman I’ve ever
encountered. If you
must know, she’s
my horse.”

Daisy
opened
her
mouth
as
if
to
speak.
She
glanced
quickly
at
the
chestnut
mare.
“There
must
be
a
mistake,”
she
stammered.
“RainbowBlaze
belongs
to
Michael
Barnes.”

Nick
crossed
his
legs
and
leaned
against
the
stable
wall,
giving
Daisy
Matthews
a s
low
satisfied
smile.
He’d
found
his
horse.
And
he
had
a
new
employee.
This
could
be
more
interesting
than
he’d
imagined.

Furthermore,
being
his
employee
made
Matthews
safe
to
be
around.
He
had
a
firm
rule
against
personal
involvements
with
employees.
He
flashed
a
look
at
the
slender
woman’s
nipples
that
showed
faintly
through
an
orange
tank
top.
Didn’t
she
know
what
she
looked
like?

Too
young.
He
closed
his
eyes.
He
might
be
old
enough
to
be
her
father.
His
eyes
sprang
open
and
he
appraised
her
again.
Maybe,
maybe
not.

“The
horse
did
belong
to
Michael
Barnes.”
Fright
flickered
across
the
blonde’s
face
and
quickly
disappeared
behind
a
steely
gaze.
“Mike’s
fallen
on
bad
economic
times.
Turned
out
he
couldn’t
pay
his
debts. Showed
up
at
my
office
with
a
bill
of
sale
for
some
damn
race
horse
and
begged
me
to
take
it
to
clear
what
he
owed
me.
Against my better judgment, I agreed.” Nick raised his open palms upward. “So,
here I am.”

Daisy’s
hands,
resting
at
her
sides,
curled
into
fists.

“You
look
like
you’d
like
to
slaughter
me
for
your
supper.”
Nick
stood.
Ignoring
the
woman,
he
pointed
at
the
horse
with
the
oversized
socks.
“So
I
take
it
this
is
RainbowBlaze.”
He
glanced
back
over
his
shoulder
at
the
woman.
She
gulped
and
nodded.
“Is
the
horse
any
good?
How
much
can
I
get
for
her?”

Daisy
sputtered
and
Nick
suppressed
a
laugh.

“She’s
a
damn
good
mare.
She’ll
run
her
heart
out for you, if you treat her
right.
But she won’t work just for
anyone.”

“Sounds
like
you’ve
got
a
thing
for
my
horse,
kid.”

“Suppose
so.”
Daisy
studied
the
dirt
at
her
feet.
“I’ve
known
her
since
she
was
foaled. Was there to help her mother give
birth. I’ve been there every step of the
way
when
Rainbow
was
with
Cassie
Travers,
and
then
when
Michael
Barnes
bought
her
it
was
with
the
understanding
that
she’d
come
to
Sam’s
barn
and
be
with
me.”

When
the
woman
stopped
to
catch
her
breath,
Nick
said,
“You didn’t answer my question. How much is she
worth?”