Willow Smoke (47 page)

“That I did. But that
was secondary.
Having
you
with
me
is
what
made
this
trip
exceptional.
Watching
you
embrace
the
unknown.
The
eagle.
The
loon.
The
flicker.
Fishing.
Sleeping
in
a
tent.
Paddling.
The
stars.

“You’re
a
very
expressive
person,
Daisy.
You
breathe
new
life
into
old
things
for
me.
How
many
eagles
have
I
seen?
Watching
you
totally
amazed
with
your
first
fish.
How
many
fish
have
I
caught?
Yet,
your
first
will
be
one
of
my
most
memorable
fish
stories.
You
bring
freshness
to
the
wilderness.
Maybe
it’s
those
first
encounters that are the most
pristine
and
the
most
lasting.”
Nick
hunched
over
before
the fire. “Maybe I’m just showing my age.”

Continuing
to
concentrate
on
the
flames
of
the
fire,
Daisy
said
softly,
“By
the
way,
you
should
know
that
you’re
now
making
love
to
a
twenty-one
year
old.”

Nick
turned
his
head
sharply.
“What?”

Daisy
chuckled.
“Today’s
my
birthday.
I
told
you
it
was
soon.”

“Why
didn’t
you
tell
me
earlier?”
He
couldn’t
believe
she
hadn’t
let
him
know
about
such
an
important
day.
“We
would
have
done
something
to
mark
it.”

Daisy
reached
over
and
squeezed
his
thigh.
“Nothing
you
could
have
done
would
be
better
than
this
past
week.
Being
out
here.
Just
having
this
time
alone
with
you.
No
cell
phones.
No
responsibilities.
It’s
been
beyond
my
wildest
dreams.
I
thought
you’d
be
happy
that
I
turned
twenty-one.”

He heard the
sexy
pout in her tone. “I am pleased. It’s
just...I should have done
more.”

“Nonsense.”
Giggling,
Daisy
said,
“So
now
I’m
half
your
age.”

“That
makes
me
feel
a
hell
of
a
lot
better!”
Nick
shook
his
head,
picked
up
a
stick
and
leaned
over
to
rearrange
the
burning
logs.

“Funny
how
it
works.”
Daisy
leaned
back
on
her
hands.
“I’ve
been
thinking.
A
person
twenty-one
is
half
the
age
of
a
person
forty-two. But when the forty-two
year
old
is
sixty-two,
the
twenty-one
year
old
will
be
forty-one,
approximately
two-thirds
the
age
of
the
older
person.
So you
see,
I’m
catching
up
with
you.”

Nick
scowled
and
then
laughed
from
his
belly.
“Only
a
college
student
could
come
up
with
that
one.
But
I’m
glad
you’re
thinking
ahead.”

It
was
Daisy’s
turn
to
frown
and
withdraw. “It
was
purely
hypothetical.
I
know
how
sensitive
you
are
about
our
age
difference.”

“Now,
now,
I
didn’t
want
to
send
you
into
a tailspin. It’s your birthday. So tell me,
what’s your favorite birthday memory?”

Daisy
stiffened.

“Shit,” Nick cursed. “That
must have been a bad question. I’m sorry. Can we start over? So it’s your
birthday. That’s great.”

“Don’t,”
Daisy
whispered.
“It’s
okay.
Cassie
always
did
something.
My
grandmother
made
sure
we
had
a
cake.”
Daisy
paused.
Her
shoulders
sagged.
“When I was real young—four, I think—I
remember
my mother making a cake. We
had
party
hats.
The
three
of
us
and
a
man;
I
don’t
recall
who
he
was.
He
was
just
there,
I think. Anyway, that’s the year I
got
a
doll
with
a
frilly
dress.
The
year
my
mom died she forgot my birthday. She was already pretty far gone, I
guess.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I survived.
But to answer your
question, my
favorite birthday memories
are
two:
getting
the
doll,
and
being
here
with
you
watching
this
fire.”

Nick’s
heart
suddenly
expanded.
Could
a
man
choke
to
death
on
love?
He
kissed
Daisy
on
the
cheek.
She
turned
and
pressed
her
lips
against
his.
It
was
a
soft
yet
powerful
kiss.
There
was
no
urgency
in
the
embrace; it was fresh, assured, and
filled
with
promise.

She
wasn’t
going
to
like
what
he
had
to
say,
yet
he
had
to
say
it.
She
was
too
extraordinary
to
let
slip
through
his
fingers.
He
cleared
his
throat.
“I
know
you
don’t
want
to
think
about
a
real
future
between
us.”

Her
body
shuddered
against
him,
but
she
didn’t
raise
her
head
from
his
shoulder.
“I can’t,”
she muttered.

“I know. And I’m not
pressing you. I just
want
to
be
clear
on
one
thing
right
now.
We’ve
kidded
each
other
about
you
being
the
student
and
me
the
sex
education teacher.”
He
chuckled
softly.
“Thankfully,
there
have
been
numerous
occasions
when
those
roles
were
reversed.”

She
smothered
a
laugh.
At
least
he
had
her attention.
“You
seem
to
have
come
around
to
the
idea
that
we’re
lovers.”

Her
head
moved
hesitantly
on
his
shoulder.
She
was
so
still
he
feared
she
might
break. “All I want is for us to be clear
that
we’re
in
a
committed
relationship.”

Again
he
felt
her
muscles
go
rigid.
“I’m not
talking
about
living
together
or
anything
else. Just that there are no other
partners.”
She
softened;
he
was
on
target.