Willow Smoke (92 page)

“I’m glad for that.”
Nick tried to breathe
while
resisting
smothering
her
in
his
arms.

Daisy’s
mouth
drooped.
He
wasn’t
sure
he
didn’t
like
her
defiance
more
than
this
wrenching
sadness.
“So
how
long
have
you
had
a
tail
on
me?”
Her
voice
was
a
hoarse
whisper.

His
shoulders
slumped.
“Aw
shit,”
he
muttered.
“I
knew
I
should
have
told
you.
Cassie
said
we
had
to
tell
you.
I
just
didn’t
want
you
to
worry
or
feel
like
a
bug
under
a
microscope.”

“So
what
do
you
think
I
feel
like
now?”
she
whimpered.

Her chin fell to her
chest and her eyes closed. She sat like that for minutes.

Had
he
ever
been
so
scared?
She’d
walk
out
on
him
for
sure
now.
Why
didn’t
she
say
something?
Anything
would
be
better
than
this
damn
silence.

- o -

What to do? Daisy tried
to gather her
wits
behind
her
shuttered
eyelashes.
She’d
smoked
Nick
out,
that
was
for
sure.
At
first,
she’d
been
furious.
Then
she’d
begun
to
see
what
was
happening
through
his
eyes.
Yes,
he
had
been
searching
for
a
willow
when
he
found
her.

She
should
get
out
of
bed
and
leave.
She
had
every
reason
to.
She
had
every
right
to.
But
she
loved
him,
and
he
loved
her.
Didn’t
she
have
a
right
to
cherish
that, too?

It
probably
really
didn’t
make
much
difference
for
Nick
to
know
about
Reggie
blackmailing
her.
He
already
knew
her
sister
and
brother-in-law
had
their
hooks
in
her
for
money.
That
he
and
Clint
had
a
man
following
Reggie
seemed
only
prudent. What would it take for that guy
to
intervene?
But
then,
Reggie
had
closed
the
door
before
he’d
accosted
her.

Did
Reggie
know
about
the
tail?
She
refused
to
let
her
brother-in-law
win
by
robbing
her
of
what
she
had
been
searching
for:
family. She could make that with
Nick.
She
knew
that
now.

Given
that
Reggie
had
crossed
a
threshold
to
physically
abuse
her
without
being
provoked,
she
shuddered
to
think
what
would
happen
next.

She
peeked
through
her
eyelashes
at
Nick.
The
man
looked
about
ready
to
come
apart.
Could
he
feel
worse
than
she
did?
One
thing
was
certain
now:
she
loved
him
with
her
whole
being.
She’d
die
before
giving
him
up.

Slowly,
Daisy
raised
her
head
and
opened
her
eyes.
She
wet
her
lips
and
grinned
a
little.
“You
look
like
hell,
Mr.
Underwood.”
He
searched
her
face
as
if
for
clues.

There
was
no
question
he
was
searching
for
hope.
And
she
was
done
withholding.
“I
believe
my
favorite
line
from
Ibsen
is
in
his
play
Ghosts:
Things
are
not
so
desperate
as
you
think.”

With
that
said,
Daisy
reached
for
his
hand
and
pulled
him
to
her.
“We’ll
muddle
through, Mr. Underwood. I’m not sure
to
where,
but
we’ll
muddle
through.”

Nick’s
smile
split
his
face.
“God,
I’m
relieved
to hear that. So what’s
this Mr.
Underwood
business?”

“Don’t know.” A warm
glow crept from her
neck to her
cheeks. “I guess I’ve
become
fascinated
with
the
name
of
late.”
She
yawned.
“Maybe
we
can
talk
about
it later. I really am tired now. Have
to
be
back
at
the
track
in
about
six
hours.”

“Okay,”
Nick
said,
fluffing
up
a
pillow.
“We
still
have
more
to
talk
about.
Reggie’s
not
just
going
to
disappear,
even
if
you
are
paying
him
off.”

“I
know.
And
I
do
love
you,”
she
murmured,
backing
her
buttocks
against
his
crotch.

“And
I
love
you.
Sweet
dreams,
Willow
Smoke.”

As
she
drifted
off
to
sleep,
Daisy
revisited
the
campfire
in
the
Boundary
Waters
where
Nick
had
shared
his
secret
name
for
her.
She
recalled
how
the
northern
lights
danced
across
the
lake.
She
relived
their
primal
mating
under
those
lights.

That was part of her
life now. No
one was going to steal
it from her.

Daisy
left
the
doctor’s
office
clutching
her
stomach.
She
felt
worse
than
before
entering.

Angling
across
the
parking
lot
toward
her
pick-up,
Daisy
crumpled
the
Xanax
prescription
in
her
hand
and
threw
it
on
the
pavement.
She’d
take
the
medicine
the
doctor
prescribed
for
diminishing
the
itching,
but
damned
if
she
would
take
a
drug
to
reduce
the
increasing
anxiety
attacks.
Drug
dependency
was
not
a
risk
she
was
willing
to
take.

It
had
been
over
two
weeks
since
Reggie
confronted
her
at
the
Kenwood
house.
She’d
made
two
payments
already.
They
hadn’t
been
too
difficult,
but
she
knew
it
was just a matter
of time. She was in over her head and sinking fast.

Resting
her
forehead
on
the
truck
door,
Daisy
gulped
in
air.
What
else
could
she
do?
She’d
dropped
her
class
at
the
university.
There
was
no
way
she
could
concentrate
on
her
assignments,
and
it
would
save
some
money.
If
she
moved
in
with
Nick,
which
he
wanted
her
to
do, that
would
save
a
bundle
of
cash.

But
that
was
a
hell
of
a
reason
to
make
the
move.
She
thought
she
wanted
to
move
in
with
him
anyway,
but
the
money
issue
was
a
cloud
making
reasoning
difficult.
And
if
she
did
move
in,
Reggie
would
simply
hike
the
amount
of
protection
payment
he
wanted.
There
was
no
end
in
sight.

Sam had told her to take
some time off
from
work.
It
was
the
slowest
season
of
the
year
for
their
stable,
but
he’d
also
been
clear that her lack of focus made it
dangerous
for
her
and
for
their
high
priced
horses.
He
was
sure
if
she
took
some
time away from the pressure of the
track,
she’d
be
fine.
Daisy
laughed
a
dry
laugh.
Sam
had
no
inkling
about
pressure.

Daisy
wiped
the
back
of
her
hand
against
her
brow.
She
was
sweating
profusely
on
a
chilly
November
day.
Climbing
into
the
cab,
she
realized
she
needed
to
talk
to
someone
she
trusted.
With
shaking
fingers,
she started the
engine,
drove
out
of
the
parking
lot
and
headed
for
the
Travers
farm.

“First things first,”
Cassie said,
after
hugging
Daisy
and
ushering
her
into
the
kitchen.
“I’m
fixing
you
a
bowl
of
chicken noodle
soup.
And
then
we’ll
talk.
Your
old
bed
is
still
available
upstairs
if
you
need
to
rest.”

“I
don’t
know
what
I
need,”
Daisy
wailed,
frustrated with her lack of control.

“That’s
okay.
We’ll
sort
things
out,”
Cassie
soothed.
“We
always
do.”

Daisy
nodded.

Taking
small
sips
of
soup
and
munching
on
saltines,
Daisy
began
to
perk
up
a
little.
Cassie
had
kept
the
conversation
light.
Daisy
waited
for
her
cue.

“So
are
you
going
to
tell
me
about
it?”
Cassie
asked,
softly.

Daisy
shrugged.
“You’ve
probably
guessed
most
of
it.
Nick
hasn’t
formally
asked,
but
he’s
made
it
clear
he
wants
us
to
get married.
Reggie
is
threatening
to
hurt
everyone
and
everything
I
love
if
I
don’t
pay
him
protection
money.”
Daisy
paused.
Was
it
her
voice
that
sounded
so
distant,
so
detached?

“I’ve been a mess
lately. I dropped out of school. Sam has told me not to come to
work
for
a
while
because
I’m
too
much
of
a
risk to the horses. I’ve got to come up
with
the
money.
But
Reggie
keeps
increasing
what
he
wants.
I
can’t
do
it
much
longer.”
She
stared
at
Cassie,
afraid
she
was
going
to
bawl
like
a
two-year-old.
“I’m not going to steal from Nick to pay
Reggie off.”

Cassie
leaned
back
and
pursed
her
lips.
“So
that’s
what
he
really
wants—to
bleed
Nick
dry.”

Daisy
choked
back
tears
and
nodded.
“What
can
I
do?
The
more
involved
I
am
with Nick, the more in danger I put him.
Without
Nick, I can’t pay off Reggie for very
long.”
Daisy
pushed
the
empty
soup
bowl
aside
and
laid
her
head
on
the
table
and
sobbed. Cassie’s fingers rubbed her neck,
and sobs came from her toes.

“It’s
okay,”
Cassie
whispered.
“Let
it
out.
Let
it
all
out.
You’ve
bottled
up
so
much
over
the years. You’ve got a lot of tears saved.”

Between
sobs,
Daisy
mumbled,
“I
don’t
want
to
lose
him.
He’s
become
more
like
family
than
anyone
but
you
and
Clint.”

“I know. It hurts
sometimes to be in love.”

“But I can’t keep Reggie
from gouging Nick. I want to fly to the moon.”

Cassie
chuckled
softly.
“I’ve
had
a
few
moments
when
I’ve
wanted
to
do
that.
My
guess
is
you’re
not
giving
Nick
enough
credit,
and
maybe
you’re
empowering
Reggie
more
than
you
should.”

Rubbing
her
eyes,
Daisy
sat
up.
“What
do
you
mean?”