Willow Smoke (34 page)

As
Nick
entered
the
room,
Tom
glanced
up
briefly
and
grunted.
“Wondered
when
you’d
get
here.”

“So
what
do
you
think?”

“About
what?”
Tom
took
a
step
back
and
eyed
a
swirl
in
the
grain
before
returning
to rubbing it.

“About Daisy, of course.
I’m not here to
find
out
what
you
think
about
the
weather.”

Tom
stopped
sanding
and
met
Nick’s
eager
gaze.
“It’s not important what I
think.
What
do
you
think
about
her?”

“Come
on,
Tom.
You
know
what
I
think.
She’s
beautiful
in
an
understated
way.
She
has
an
innocent
charm
about
her,
and
yet
the strength of a tigress.” Nick
winced.
“But
she’s
too
young.
There
are
times
when
I
totally
forget
our
age
difference. It’s
then that I soar
like
I’ve
never
soared
before.”

Tom
nodded.
“That’s
what
I
thought.”
Idly
he
rubbed
the
sandpaper
against
the
tips
of
his
fingers.
“So
how
young
is
too
young?
Do
you
even
know
her
age?”

Nick
shook
his
head.

“Why
not?
It
would
be
easy
to
find
on
some
record
or
another.”

“I’m
aware
of
that.”
Nick
swung
his
legs
over
a
sawhorse.

Tom grinned. “I don’t
think I’ve ever seen
you
this
afraid
of
a
little
information.
She’s
surely
over
eighteen,
right?”

“Of course.”

“Then
her
age
is
only
a
secondary
matter.
Hell,
all
you
have
to
do
is
look
into
that
woman’s
eyes
to
know
that
she’s
experienced
more than most fifty-year-olds. I’ve
seen
that look. I grew up with it.

“What
you
see
as
innocence
is
often
sharply
honed
wariness.
I
expect
she’s
not
nearly
as
innocent
as
you
think.
Certainly
Daisy’s
naïve
about
a
lot
of
things,
simply
because
she
hasn’t
been
exposed
to
much
outside
of
her
small
world.
But
she’s
shrewd.
You
better
believe
that.”

Nick
crossed
his
arms
over
his
chest.
Shrewd.
Certainly.
She’d
clearly
had
a
plan
to
seduce
him.
The
videos,
the
bikini
line,
her coming to him. But not deceptive.
His
brow
furrowed.
“So
what
do
you
think
she’s
after?
My
money?”

Tom
shrugged.
“That
probably
intimidates
her
more
than
anything.
I
expect
you’re
a
window
onto
an
entire
new
world
for
her.
She’s from the streets, Nick. She
doesn’t
expect
to
land
you.
That
thought
has
likely
never
even
occurred
to
her. Regardless
of
age,
she
won’t
see
herself
ultimately
fitting
into
your
world.

“If
that’s
what
you
want,
you’ll
have
to
convince
her.
And
my
guess
is
that
won’t
be
easy.”

Letting
out
a
deep
breath,
Nick
stood
up
and
stretched.
“I don’t know what I want.
You
sure
she
won’t
want
me?”

Tom
chuckled.
“That
would
be
a
blow
to
your
ego,
wouldn’t
it?
She
may
not
know
what she wants at
this point—but
I
guarantee
you
she
doesn’t
expect
anything
permanent,
and
if
she
thought
you
did,
she’d
run
like
hell.
You’re
hung
up
on
age,
old
man.
If
you
become
more
than
a
window
for
her,
then
she’ll
probably
get
hung
up
on
class
differences,
and
maybe
on
not
wanting
you
to
see
her
past.

“In
the
long
run,
if
you
really
want
her,
you’re
going
to
have
to
convince
her
not
only that you love
her but that
she
deserves
it
and
that
she
belongs.”

“Shit,
I
never
knew
you
were
a
budding
psychologist.”
Nick
shoved
his
hands
in
his
pockets.
“Why
do
you
think
all
of
that?”

“Because
I’ve
been
there.
That
woman
may
be
young,
but
she’s
got
a
lot
of
pride.
Probably
hard
earned
against
high
odds.
If
you
don’t
respect
her,
she’ll
walk
away
from
you
like
you’re
the
plague.”

“She
wasn’t
overly
excited
with
the
stuff
I
bought her for the charity ball.
Hell, most
women
would
have
been
thrilled
and
gushing
their
thanks.”
A
wisp
of
a
smile
touched
his
lips.
“Not
my
Daisy.
She
accused
me
of
treating
her
like
a
high
priced
whore.
Can
you
believe
that?”

“Sure
can.
So
you’ve
already
experienced
the
whiplash
of
her
pride.
A
woman
who
has
struggled
hard
to
find
something
in
herself
to
be
proud
of
isn’t
going
to
be
impressed
with
your
wealth.
I
expect
Daisy
Matthews
won’t
be
bought
with
things.
She’s
done
without
all
her
life.
She
won’t
want
to
get
used
to
having
more
than
she
can afford to buy for herself, because you
aren’t permanent.”

“So
why
does
she
accept
owning
horses
with
me?”

“Now
that’s
a
smart
question.
You’ve
touched
her
soft
spot
with
the
horses.
I’ll
bet
she
likely
never
dreams
about
a
man
like
you,
but
she
does
dream
about
owning
race
horses.
Besides,
it’s
clear
you
don’t
know
a
damn
thing
about
horses,
so
she’s
earning
her
own
way
there
whether
or
not she chooses to share your
bed.”