Willow Smoke (27 page)

“Just
drive,
Daisy.
Don’t
go
through
red
lights,
but get us back to the hotel
as soon
as
possible.”
His
breathing
sounded
ragged.
“If we don’t get there soon, you’re
going
to
have
to
pull
over
so
I
can
take
you
right
here
in
the
truck.
Whatever
you
and
Angie
did
upstairs
turned
you
into
the
most
ravishing
woman I’ve ever seen. And I’m determined to
ravish you as soon and as often as humanly possible.”

“Oh,”
she squeaked, grinding a gear as the truck lurched out into the street.

Chapter Five

“So
what are you going to do with your earnings from Blaze’s win?”

Daisy
sat up straighter. She’d been in that foggy state between dozing and
wakefulness. Nick had spelled her at the wheel; they were at the first
tollbooth on I-90 outside of Chicago. She tried
not
to think
too
far
ahead.
She
much
preferred
wallowing
in
the
erotic
memories
of
the
past
thirty-six
hours.
Her
sexual
education
was
proceeding
quite
nicely.

Would
it
ever
end?
Reality
slapped
her
in
the
face
like
a
raw
wind
off
the
lake.
Money.
He
had
a
lot
of
it;
she
had
practically
none.
He
was
from
an
upstanding
family;
she
couldn’t
trace
her
roots
beyond
herself.
And
then
there
was
her
druggie
sister and her sister’s pimp of a
husband.
Reggie
would
sell
his
soul
for
drug
money.
He’d
no
doubt
sold
Maxine’s
body
numerous
times.

“I’m
sorry.
Were
you
asleep?” Nick asked
after paying the toll and getting the truck and trailer back up to speed.

“No.
That’s okay. I guess I was just daydreaming.”

“What
about?”

Daisy
blushed.

Nick
smiled. “Yeah, it’s pretty fantastic, even reliving it.” He blew her a kiss. “You
can
put that wherever
you want it the
most. So what about
your share of the
purse?”

Frowning,
Daisy
twisted
in
her
seat
to
face him better. “I don’t know. It doesn’t
seem right that I get that much money.”

“You
own
twenty
percent
of
the
horse.
You
get
twenty
percent
of
the
purse,
less
twenty percent of the costs. So
what’s not right about that?”

“I don’t know. It just
seems like I didn’t earn it.”

“The
deal
was
you’d
teach
me
about
horses.
Remember?”

Daisy
giggled.
“You
sure
are
a
wheeler
dealer.
I thought the latest revision of the
deal
was
you’d
teach
me
about
sex
if
I’d
teach
you
about
horses.
Seems
like
I’m
getting more for
my efforts than you are.”

“No
way!”
He
gave
her
a
lopsided
smile.
“And
I
don’t
just
mean
what’s
going
on
in bed.
Believe me, the teacher is getting as much pleasure out of that as the
student is. Hell, I’d never be into horses if it weren’t for you convincing me
to hold on to Blaze. Haven’t you ever heard of consulting fees? You’ve earned
your share of the purse and more. So what are you going to do with it?”

“I
haven’t given it much thought.” She clasped her hands in her lap and looked out
the passenger window at the fence posts rapidly disappearing from view.
Directing her attention back to Nick, she offered, “Maybe I’ll put half of it
in my college fund and half in a new account to save up for another horse
purchase.”

Nick
nodded. “Sounds good, but don’t you ever do anything just for fun? I didn’t
hear any recreational plans.”

“I
don’t have time. Besides, it’s largely a waste of money I don’t have. Just
because I have money today doesn’t mean it’ll be there tomorrow.”

“Sounds
like your grandmother talking.”

A
trace of a smile formed on Daisy’s lips. “I suppose you’re right. But it’s
true.”

“Maybe.
No celebrations? Back to the grindstone?”

Daisy
reached over and ran a finger up Nick’s thigh. “We’ve been celebrating ever
since Rainbow crossed the finish line.
Not
that I’m complaining. I suppose
we can
always
find
time
to
celebrate
something.”

He
grabbed
her
hand
and
held
it
against
his
inner
thigh. “Now that’s the truth, kid.
Hell,
we
can
always
celebrate
the
fact
that
the
sun
came
up,
or
that
we’re
still
breathing,
or
that
you
keep
flunking
your
finals
in
sex
education.”

“You’re right. I’ll need
a lot more
tutoring
before I even
try that test again.”

Daisy
turned
up
the
apartment
window
fan
to high.
She stood in front of the
anemic
breeze
it
produced
and
pulled
the
sticky
tank top away from her skin. At
ten
o’clock
at
night,
the
temperature
still
hovered
near
eighty-five
degrees
and
the
humidity
had
to
be
even
higher.
If
this
didn’t
qualify
as
a
steamy
night
in
Chicago,
she
didn’t
know
what
would.

Her
door
buzzer
rang
loudly.
Maybe
she
shouldn’t
have
had
the
manager
fix
it.
Nick
wasn’t
supposed
to
come
by
tonight.
They’d
agreed
on
making
some
space
for
themselves.
They’d
been
back
only
a
week,
and
he’d
been
over
nearly
every
night.
Their
lovemaking
remained
intense,
but
even
that
was
curtailed
for
the
moment.
Her
monthly
cycle
forced
a
recess
in
her education. Surely he knew
that,
so
why
was
he
here?

She
dashed
to
the
door
and
flung
it
open.
Her
heart
tumbled;
sex
shouldn’t
make
her brain dead or cost her street
smarts.
Why
hadn’t
she
peeked
through
the
peep-hole?

“Bitch!”
Reggie
screamed,
slamming
her against
the
wall.
“My
tips.
You
didn’t
leave
a
message.
There
was
a
hundred
to
one
shot
winner
this
weekend.
I
should’ve
had
him.”

Oh
my
God!
She’d
forgotten
all
about
Reggie
and
his
betting
tips.
Trying
to
show
no
fear,
Daisy
slipped
out
of
Reggie’s
grasp
and
walked
into
the
living
room,
buying
time.

“I’m sorry.” She sighed.
“You know I had to
take a horse to
Minnesota to race. I’ve never been out of the state before; I
guess
I’m
having
difficulty
adjusting.
Maybe
it’s
like
jet
lag.”

Reggie
frowned.
“I’ve
never
heard
of
that.
Don’t
know
why
anyone
would
want
to
leave
the
city.
This
place
is
big
enough
to
have
everything
a
body
would
want
and
then
some.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Bitch,
it don’t matter. You owe me. I lost money because
you
spaced
out.
Sure
you’re
not
on
dope?
I
could
help you there, if you want.”

“No!
I’ll get you twice as many tips this week.”

“Make
sure they’re good ones.”

“I
can’t guarantee winners.”

“If
you don’t start doing better, you’re gonna have to make those losses up
to
me
in other ways.”

Daisy
recognized
the
too
familiar
leer.
Her
skin
crawled.
How
long
could
she
fend
him off?

“You’ve
always
been
a
good
looking
piece,
bitch.
Ten
times
better
than
your
sister.
But I couldn’t wait for you to grow up.
Now
you’re
all
growed
up
real
nice.
And
you
owe me for not getting me bets last week.
It’s payment time.”