Willow Smoke (68 page)

At
nine-thirty
the
next
morning,
Maxine
opened
her eyes for the first time since
arriving
at
the
hospital.
Slowly
she
focused
on
Daisy
and
whispered,
“Hi,
baby.”

Daisy
nodded,
forcing
back
tears.
“Hi
there
yourself,
big
sister.
It’s
been
a
while.”

“How
long?”

“Three
and
a
half
days.
The
nurse
told
me
to
press
the
button
when
you
came around.”

“Where?”

Daisy
cringed
at
Maxine’s
dry
whisper.
“You’re
at Cook County in the ICU. Doctor
Anderson
says
you’re
coming
along
nicely.”

Maxine
winced.
“So
much
for
him.”

“Well,
well
our
patient
has
decided
to
join
us.
That’s
good.
My
name
is
Rebecca.
I’m
your
nurse.”
Rebecca
checked
various
monitors.
“How
do
you
feel?”

“Like
shit!”

Rebecca
chuckled.
“I
bet.”
She
looked
toward
Daisy.
“Everything
checks
out
okay.
I’ll let the doctor know that she’s come
around. It’s okay to stay for a while, but
don’t
tax
her
by
getting
her
to
talk
much.”

“No
problem.
It’s
just
such
a
relief
to
see
her
eyelids
open
and
shut.”

“Maxine
can
have
small
sips
of
water
when
she
wants.
She’ll
need
your
help.
Her
throat is terribly dry from the tubes.”
The
nurse
looked
at
the
chart
again
and
scribbled
a
note.
“I’ll
be
in
and
out,
and
the
doctor
will
be
by
later.”

Daisy
nodded
and
directed
her
attention
back
to
her
sister.
She
looked
a
mess.
Her
face
was
laced
with
bruises
and
her
left
arm
was
in
a
cast.
And
she
looked
tired, so tired. “Don’t try to talk,”
Daisy
said.
“You
need
to
sleep
so
you
can
heal.”

Maxine’s
eyes
widened.
“Sorry,”
she
groaned.
“You
should
be
working.”

“Work
is
taking
care
of
itself.
For
now,
you’re
the
top
priority.
Would
you
like
a
sip
of
water?”

Maxine
nodded.

“Let’s
see
if
we
can
do
this.”
Daisy
held
the
cup
with
the
bent
straw.
With
effort,
Maxine
opened
her
lips.
She
took
three
small
swallows
and
pushed
the
cup
away.
Daisy
placed
it
back
on
the
stand.

“Know
what
you’re
thinking.”
Maxine
whispered,
closing
her
eyes.
“What?”

“He
didn’t
do
it.”

“Who?”

“Reggie.”

Daisy
tightened
her
grip
on
the
bed
rail.
She
wasn’t
about
to
tell
Maxine
Reggie had
attacked
her
in
the
waiting
room
while
his
wife
was
just
holding
on.
“You
can
tell
me
about
it
later.”

“Won’t
be
different
then.”
Maxine
coughed
and
gagged.
Daisy
wiped
her
mouth
with a tissue. “Was hit by a car. Never
stopped.”

With
mouth
agape,
Daisy
was
at
least
pleased
that her sister’s eyes
remained
shut.
Obviously,
Reggie
had
never
had
an
opportunity
to
tell
Maxine
their
cover
story.

Shaking
her
head
at
the
half
broken
woman,
Daisy
feared
there
was
nothing
Reggie
Lassiter
could
do
to
her
or
anyone
else that
would
force
Maxine
to
turn
him
in
to
the
cops.
Unlike
the
common
wisdom
regarding
alcoholics,
Maxine apparently
had
no
bottom.
Or
if
she
did,
it
was
nowhere
in
sight.

Cornered.
For
two
weeks
Daisy
shuffled
her
feelings
regarding
Nick
as
if
they
were
a
deck
of
cards.
There
were
moments,
like
when
he
held
her
in
the
middle
of
the
night
after
an
upsetting
dream,
when
her
heart
burst
with
an
emotion
she
feared naming. And at other times,
she
wanted
to
scream
bloody
hell
when
he
assumed
he
knew
what
she
wanted.

If
only
he
would
listen.
If
only
she
could
be
clear.
If
only
she
could
be
clear
with
herself.

She
was
sending
him
confusing
signals,
but
she
couldn’t
help
it.
He
was
driving
her nuts. She
didn’t want to break off
their
relationship,
yet
she
desperately
needed
some
breathing
space.
Getting
back
to
her
own
apartment
had
to
be
a
priority
or
she
would
go
crazy.

The
rope
she
held
between
her
fingers
went
slack.
Startled, Daisy let out a groan.
“I’m sorry, young man. You’re right. I wasn’t
paying
attention.”
Hip
sixty-four
didn’t
answer;
he
calmly
stood
and
stared
at
the
woman
standing
in
the
middle
of
the
round
pen
hanging
on
to
the
end
of
his
lead
rope.

She
had
been
lunging
the
yearling
outside
the barn at the Travers farm,
investigating
how
much
the
colt
knew
about
voice
commands
and
how
well
he
paid
attention
to
what
his
handler
desired.
Daisy
snorted.
He
was
paying
more
attention
than
she
was.
Damn,
they
had
to agree
on
giving
the
horse
a
name
fairly
soon.
She
was
tired
of
calling
him
Hip
sixty-four.

Tired.
That
about
summed
up
her
life.
Too
much
Maxine.
Too
much
Nick.
Too
little
Daisy.

She
walked
toward
the
yearling,
who
stretched
out
his
neck
for
a
treat.
“Not
now,”
she said. “I
know it was my fault, but I can’t reward you for stopping on your own
and
wheeling
to
face
me.

“You
have
the
glossiest
coat
I’ve
ever
seen.”
Daisy
ran
a
hand
along
the
yearling’s
spine
and
then
lifted
his
tail.
At
first
the
animal
stiffened, but then he
relaxed,
accepting
her
touch.
After
she’d
run
her
hands
along
his
belly
and
up
and
down
each
leg,
she
stood
and
reached
into
her
pocket.
“Good,” she praised, letting the
chestnut take a treat from the palm of
her
hand.
“You’re
going
to
be
easy
to
handle.
Easier
than
some
other
males
in
my
life.”

She
hadn’t
seen
Reggie
since
the
debacle
at
the
hospital.
Maxine
had
been
home
for
a
week
and
was
managing,
but
according
to
her,
she
hadn’t
seen
Reggie
either.
Daisy
didn’t
know
whether
to
believe
her
sister
or not, but she could at least hope
Reggie
had
finally
fallen
down
a
manhole.

It
would
likely
be
another
month
before
Maxine
could
return
to
work.
Daisy
shook
her
head.
She’d
had
no
choice
but
to
give
her
sister
money
this
time.
What
was
the
alternative?
Maybe
that was
why
Reggie
wasn’t
showing
up.
Maybe
he
realized
she’d
be
an
easier
touch
to
pay
her
sister’s
way if he wasn’t around. It
might be
worth
taking
Maxine
on
as
a
dependent,
if
that
meant
Reggie
would
stay
out
of
their lives.

She
knew
that
wasn’t
possible.
She
sighed.
Reggie’s
nose
for
money
was
too
good
for
that
to
happen.
He
knew
about
Nick,
and
he
knew
Nick
had
money.
That
was
enough
to
keep
him
on
her
scent.
She
just
hoped
the
hatred
he
harbored
for
Nick
wouldn’t
outweigh
Reggie’s
greed.
If
he
hurt
Nick,
he’d
run
the
risk
of
cutting
off the money train.

Daisy
shivered.
There
was
no
doubt
in
her
mind
that
Reggie
was
holed
up
somewhere
devising
a
plan
to
separate
Nick
Underwood
from
as
many
dollars
as
possible.
And
Reggie
would
see
her
as
the
key
to
his
plan.

Hip
sixty-four
butted
Daisy
with
his
head,
knocking
her
off
balance.
She
straightened
and
pulled
on
the
lead
rope.
“Okay,
you’re
right.
I
better
put
you
back
in the paddock if I can’t pay better
attention than this.”

“So
how’s
it
feel
working
with
a
three
hundred
thousand
dollar
Keeneland
purchase?”
Cassie
asked,
walking
down
the
steps from her porch toward
Daisy,
who
was
stowing
gear
in
her
pick-up.

“Humbling,”
Daisy
acknowledged.
“Whoever
prepared
him
for
the
sale
did
a
nice
job.
That
young
fellow
has
the
smoothest
trot.
The
way
he
holds
his
head,
you
know
he
knows
he’s
something
special.”

“We’ll
have
to
wait
and
see
about
how
special.
A
lot
of
things
can
happen
between
here
and
the
track.
Do
you
want
some
coffee?”