Willow Smoke (80 page)

“He
loves
me
because
I’m
a
taster,”
she
whispered.
She
closed
her
eyes,
remembering
the
taste
of
his
skin.

She
clutched
Bear
in
one
hand;
her
other
hand
covered the curls
at the juncture of
her
thighs.
She
brushed
them
lightly.
Applying
more
pressure,
she
teased
herself.
Her
breath
quickened
and
her
heart
rate
picked
up.
Abruptly,
she
withdrew
her
fingers
and
rolled
over.

She
would
wait.
She
would
wait
to
be
with
her
lover.
She
would
wait
until
she
could
taste
him
and
he
could
taste
her.
If
nothing
else,
she
could
savor
the
dream.

At
four
o’clock
in
the
afternoon,
Daisy
made
her
rounds
checking
her
charges,
making
sure
hay-nets
held
enough
hay,
and
refilling
water
buckets
with
fresh
water.
A
groom
raked
the
gravel
alleyway
in
front of the Gallagher barn.

Daisy
clamped
the
hose
tight
in
one
hand
to
cut
off
its
flow
while
dragging
it
to
the
next stall. There she let the water rush
forth,
filling
the
next
bucket.
She
loved
this
routine.
While
the
early
morning
hours
were
precious
in
nearly
inexplicable
ways,
the
late
afternoon
feeding
marked
the
end
of
a
busy
day.
Either
she
or
Sam
would
be
back
later
to
make
sure
the
horses
were
safely
tucked
away,
but
this
was
the
last
prolonged
interaction
with
them.

Of
course,
race
days
were
a
little
different
for those horses that might be running
late
in
the
afternoon.
But
they
didn’t
have
any
horses
running
on
this
day.
She
could
hear
the
echo
of
the
crowd
as
horses
neared
the
finish
line,
but
it
seemed
to
come from a world far, far away. If she
didn’t
know
better,
that
world
and
this
world
would
appear
to
have
little
or
no
connection.
That
world
was
competition;
this
one
was
nurturing.
That
world
was
fast-paced;
this
one
was
slower.
Yet
this
world
of
liniments,
leather, hay, majestic beasts,
and
soft
nickering
wouldn’t
exist
without
that
world
of
excited
and
disappointed
bettors,
of proud jockeys and cantankerous
owners.
Both
worlds
shared
a
fondness
for
chasing
dreams
across
a
canvas
of
many defeats and fewer triumphs.

“Well,
I
finally
found
you,
bitch.”

Daisy
whirled
at
the
all
too
familiar
voice.
Water splashed the dirt in front of
Reggie’s
feet,
splattering
his
shining
black
shoes
with
blotches
of
mud.

“Shit,
woman!”
he
bellowed.
“Get
that
hose
away
from
me.
These
are
two
hundred
and
fifty
dollar
shoes.”

Trying
to
remain
casual,
Daisy
walked
slowly
to
the
side
of
the
barn
and
turned
off
the
faucet.
She
rolled
up
the
hose,
ignoring
her
brother-in-law’s
efforts
at
cleaning
his
precious
shoes.
Where
had
he
gotten
the
money
to
buy
such
expensive
shoes?
And
why
hadn’t
he
given
some
of
that
money
to
his
wife?

Tucking
his
handkerchief
back
in
his
pocket,
Reggie
seemed
to
remember
why
he
was
there.
He
peeked
in
a
couple
of
stalls
before
addressing
Daisy.
“Nice
looking
horseflesh.
Understand
you’re
moving
up
in
the
world.
Sort
of
like
me.”
He
grinned
a
crooked
smile.

Daisy
fought
back
rising
bile.
“How
did
you
get
back
here?
This
is
a
restricted
area.”

Reggie
laughed
derisively.
“You
mean
like
your apartment. That fancy security
system
don’t
mean
shit
if
someone
really
wanted to get in. I’ve got
contacts.
Lookie
here.”
He
pointed
at
his
visitor’s
badge.
“See,
I
belong.”

The
two
of
them
would
never
belong
in
the
same
place,
but
holding
her
tongue,
Daisy
waited
for
Reggie
to
tell
her
why
he
was
there.

“Yep.
Nice
horseflesh.
I
understand
you own
a
part
of
some
these
money
machines.”
He
sneered
up
at
her.
“You’ve
been
holding
out
on
me.
But,”
he
raised
his hand as if to stop her protest, “I
know
you’ve
been
busy
with
Maxine
and
the
boyfriend.
I
can
understand
you
not
keeping
me
informed
of
your
business
ventures.”

He
took
a
menacing
step
forward.
“But
now
I’m here, bitch. And I know. And I’ve
figured
out
a
nice
way
for
you
to
share
some
of that wealth with your
family.”

“Oh?”
Daisy
stood
tall,
refusing
to
back
down.

“Yep.
Your
boyfriend
gave
me
the
idea.
That
security
system
he
had
installed.”
Reggie
tapped
his
temple.
“You
might
say
a
lightbulb
went
on.
I
should’ve
thought
of it myself.
Protection.
Protection
is
the
name
of
the
game.”

“I don’t understand.”
Daisy crossed her arms.
She
tried
not
to
look
around
for
help.
Unless
he
actually
tried
to
harm
her
physically,
no
one
would
be
able
to
discern
from
a
distance
that
she
wasn’t
simply
having
a
discussion
with
a
potential
owner
or
an
old
acquaintance.
If
he
wanted
to
push
her
around,
Reggie
Lassiter
wouldn’t
pick
such
a
public
place.
He
appeared
much
more
in
control
of
himself
than
usual—
that was
even more frightening.

“Oh,
you
will
understand,
bitch.”
Reggie’s lips
curled
and
he
emitted
a
harsh
laugh.
“You
might
say
I’m
offering
you
insurance.”
He
shook
his
head.
“No,
that’s
not
true. I’m telling you to buy some
insurance,
from me, Reggie Lassiter.”

Daisy’s
brow
furrowed.

“Let’s
make
it
black
and
white,
bitch.
You
pay
me
five
hundred
a
month,
and
I’ll
see
that
nothing
bad
happens
to
these
damn
animals
you
own.
If
you
don’t
pay
me,”
Reggie
shook
his
head
in
mocking
concern,
“I
can’t
guarantee
their
safety.
You
get
the
picture.”