Willow Smoke (62 page)

Sterile.
Daisy
had
never
been
in
an
intensive
care
room
before.
Scrubbing
and
putting
on
a
hospital
gown
over
her
clothes
before
entering
Maxine’s
room
had
only
heightened
her
anxiety.

“These
are
precautions,”
the
nurse
said,
trying
her
best
to
answer
Daisy’s
questions.
“The
doctor
will
be
by
later
this
afternoon.
Your
sister
is
holding
her
own.
She’s
a
fighter.”

Daisy
nodded.
She
held
Maxine’s
fingers
in
her
hand
while
doing
her
best
to
ignore
the
tubes
and
monitoring
cables
that
formed
a
massive
complex
of
lines
to
and
from
her
body.
Lights
blinked
on
four
machines.
The
intermittent
beeps
mesmerized
only
to
be
broken
by
occasional
ragged
breaths
her
sister
made
around
the
tube
stuck
down
her
throat.
Cleaning
detergent
odors
mingled
with
those
of
the
human
body
to
assault
the
senses.
Daisy
nearly
gagged
on
the
metallic
taste
encrusting
her
tongue.

“Five
more
minutes,”
the
nurse
instructed.
“You
can
talk
to
her.
She
may
be
able
to hear you; we’re never certain. The
doctor doesn’t want to rush her because her
body
needs
this
time
to
heal.
I
know
she’ll
be
pleased
that
you’re
here,
so
I’ll
leave
you
be
for
a
few
minutes.”

Daisy
listened
to
the
nurse’s
retreating
footsteps.
She tried to sort out what had
happened
to
Maxine.
“Ah,
Maxine,”
she
whispered.
“Why
can’t
you
let
him
go?
I’m
so sorry. Life
shouldn’t be this hard for
anyone.
I’m
here
now.
You’re
going
to
be
okay.”

Daisy’s
shoulders
sagged.
Who
was
she
kidding?
If
her
sister
did
pull
through,
she’d
never
challenge
Reggie’s
so-called
witnesses
to
the
mugging.
How
much
more
could
she
take?
How
much
more
could
any
of
them
take?

Cassie
and
Clint
had
gone
home.
Nick
remained
in
the
waiting
room.
He’d
been
on
the
phone
checking
on
the
police
report.
She
shuddered.
She’d
finally
buckled
under
pressure
from
Clint
and
Cassie
to
allow
Clint’s
detective
agency
to
do
some
digging
into
Reggie’s
affairs.
Maybe
the
only
way to protect her sister was to get
her
husband
behind
bars—for
a
good
long
time.

So
far
he
was
nowhere
to
be
seen.
She
was
actually
somewhat
surprised
he’d
bothered
to
call
her.
Apparently
the
doctor
had
wanted
contact
with
another
family
member,
if
at
all
possible.
The
doctor
probably
had
identified
Reggie
as
an
abuser
right away.

Daisy
flinched
at
the
light
touch
on
her
shoulder.
“Times
up,”
the
nurse
said.
“Why don’t
you
get
some
rest?
It’ll
be
another couple
hours
before
Doctor
Anderson
is
by.
I’ll
let
you
know
when
he’s
here.”

“Thanks.”
Daisy
stood
and
smiled
wanly.
“I’ll
be
in
the
waiting
area.”

- o -

“So
what
did
you
find
out?”
Nick
asked,
holding
Daisy
in
his
arms.
“Are
you
okay?”

Daisy
stepped
back,
slumped
down
on
a
vinyl
armchair
and
accepted
the
Styrofoam
cup
of
coffee
Nick
handed
her.
“Nothing
new
to
report.
She’s
still
not
awake.
I guess that’s normal. The doctor won’t be by for another couple hours or
so.
I’ll
wait
for
him.”
She
sipped
the
coffee.
“There’s
no
need
for
you
to
stay,
Nick.
I’m here now.”

“You
can’t
get
rid
of
me
that
easily,”
Nick
said.
“I’ve
got
nothing
more
pressing
to
do
than
be
here
with
you.
Tom
and
Thelma
send
their
love.
Sam
says
to
take
as
much time as you need. Angie wants to know if it’s okay to come by.”

A
corner
of
Daisy’s
mouth
turned
up.
“My,
you
have
been
busy.
I
don’t
really
want
to
see
anyone
else
today.”

“Even
me?”

“No, I didn’t mean you.
You’ve been a rock throughout this. I just don’t want to
share
this
world
with
Angie
or
anyone
if
I
can
help
it.”

Nick
squeezed
her
neck
gently
between
thumb
and
index
finger.
Daisy
closed
her
eyes
and
leaned
into
him.
If
she
wasn’t
careful,
she’d
begin
to
purr.

“You don’t seem to
realize that your
friends
see
you
as
a
strong
young
woman
who
cares,
maybe
too
much.
No
one
is
going
to
be
put
off
by
your
family.”

“That’s
easy
for
you
to
say.”
Her
voice
was
muffled
with
exhaustion.

“We
can’t
be
responsible
for
our
relatives
or
who
our
parents
were.”

“At
least
you
know
who
your
parents
were.”
Daisy
ground
her
fingernails
into
her
palms.
What
had
made
her
say
that?
Was
she
that
vulnerable?
Now
he
knew
she
was
a
bastard.
She
looked
at
him
with
horror
on
her
face.