“Clint called last night. About Keeneland.”
Daisy leaned back on her hands and looked up at Nick sitting cross-legged beside her; his attention seemed concentrated on a speck out on the horizon, but she wasn’t fooled. His sensors were monitoring her reactions very closely. “So are you going to the sale?” she asked.
“We all are. Cassie, Clint, you, me.”
Sitting up straight, Daisy busied herself scraping sand from between her toes. “What do you mean? Sam needs me here. I can’t keep taking time off and traipsing across the country after you.”
“You’ll be earning your pay. Sam wants you to help represent his interests. He’ll pick up ten percent of whatever I buy, and you’ll get twenty.”
Daisy jerked to her knees and yelled, “Why do you keep doing this to me?” She dropped her voice. “Making decisions on my behalf. Giving me parts of horses that are far too expensive for me. How do you know I want all that responsibility? That I’d even want to go to Keeneland? That can be a snooty crowd, from what I hear.”
“Actually, the fall sale is more like a fair atmosphere, not nearly like the dress up ball of the spring and summer sales. At least that’s what Cassie said. She seems to think it would do you good to see firsthand the next level of the business.”
“Am I being ganged up on? Why does everyone think they know what is good for me?”
“No one wants you to do anything you don’t want to do.” Nick sighed and picked up a handful of sand and sifted it through his fingers. “If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to. I thought you’d enjoy being away and spending time with me and Clint and Cassie.”
Daisy flopped back down on the blanket and squeezed her eyes shut. “It’s not that I don’t want to go. I just wish someone had asked me before deciding I would of course tag along.”
“I’m sorry.” Nick ran his fingers along her bare leg. “Sometimes I presume too much and act too quickly. You’re right, I should have asked first.”
She groaned at his downcast look of contrition. Would he ever learn to treat her as an equal? She couldn’t escape, however, the pure adoration on his face, nor the vibrations caused by his fingers moving lazily along her thigh.
“So, will you consent to come with me to Keeneland, young lady? I’m afraid it would be quite boring without you. And I might wind up buying a three-legged horse.”
Was she becoming addicted to his mesmerizing ways? She laced her fingers through his and drew them upward, resetting them where she desired them most. Could he feel her heat through the fabric of her shorts? “I think Cassie and Clint would make sure the horse had four good legs.” She wiggled her fingers and in doing so also his; a soft moan emitted from her pursed lips. “But I would miss you. And I wouldn’t want you casting about for my replacement. How long will we be gone?”
“No need to worry about replacements. I’ll wear out before you do.” He cocked his head.
She knew he was trying to read her response, but she was keeping it closely guarded.
“Probably three days,” he added.” He squeezed her fingers. “I’m glad you decided to come.”
“Oh, I expect to do that frequently. You may be limp by the time we get back.”
“I hope that’ll be only a temporary condition.”
“It better be.” Daisy lifted his hand and placed it on the blanket. “Maybe we should tidy up here before we do something in public that will embarrass both of us.”
After disposing of their garbage and stuffing the thin blanket and leftovers in backpacks, Nick and Daisy mounted the bike, with Nick in front and Daisy behind. Riding along the lake front, Daisy appreciated the opportunity to stretch her legs. She’d been shocked when he’d arrived at her place with a two person bicycle.
Sometimes she thought the man was merely eccentric, and other times simply nuts. This was one of the latter times.
She matched her pace to his and they moved quite smoothly along the bike path, as if they had done this many times before. Nick glanced over his shoulder and gave her a wicked smile. “How’s it going back there?”
“Quite peaceful,” she responded, ignoring his innuendo. “Do we have a destination?”
“Only when we get there.”
Daisy nodded. Why did that not surprise?
Nick wiggled the front wheel back and forth as he announced, “It’s the process that counts. If the process is good, we’ll get to where we’re going.”
Daisy shook her head. And there were moments when she thought she was hanging out with a burned out druggie. That wasn’t the case. Nick Underwood didn’t require any artificial substance to give him a high. He seemed to have them quite naturally and quite often.
“Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer, Do!” He sang off key at the top of his lungs, “I’m half crazy, all for the love of you.”
She poked his ribs hard. He continued bellowing like a lovesick bull. Giving up, she closed her eyes and hoped no curious onlookers would recognize her.
His words washed over her with more meaning than perhaps intended. No man had ever sung to her, even in jest. Only her mother sang to her when she was very young.
There was comfort in his words, in his presence. Daisy took a deep breath and tried to relax. That his singing to her was comforting was good; maybe it would balance all that was scary about having him around too much. A girl—even she—could get used to this pampering.
Nick was a very serious businessman, but it was his capacity for play that amused Daisy and endeared him to her. He had wormed his way into her life in a big way. It was becoming more difficult to imagine her life without him.
While he could make her laugh, he could also touch a part of her that she thought she’d walled off from exploration by any outsider. Nick Underwood was dangerous for Daisy Matthews. Daisy gripped the handle bars tight. She had to commit that mantra to memory and repeat it like a rosary.
It would be painful enough when they had to say good-bye. She could not allow herself to care about him too much.
“How about an ice cream cone?” Nick hollered, leaving off his singing and interrupting her thoughts.
“Sure,” she replied, grateful for the suggestion and the fact that he did not renew his interest in serenading her.
Within minutes, they were both devouring vanilla cones. Nick tried desperately to catch a glob of ice cream before it slid off his cone onto his hand. She giggled and handed him a napkin.
“Saved again,” he said. “You have a habit of doing that, you know.”
Daisy shrugged and ran her tongue along the lip of her cone, trying to stay ahead of her own meltdown.
“You’re becoming quite habit forming,” he added.
Her eyes bugged wide at his strained nonchalance. Again, she held her tongue by busying herself with the cone.
“I’ve had worse habits,” Nick quipped.
“Oh?” Daisy raised her chin briefly hoping that his line of thinking might redirect the conversation from them to prior bad habits.
“We don’t want to go there.” Nick scowled. “Don’t you ever eat ice cream?”
“Huh?”
“My cone is nearly history, and there you are still running your tongue over that cone like it’s the last one you’ll ever have.”
“Maybe I like savoring things more than you do,” she said, exaggerating her pout. “Besides, I’d think you’d appreciate that I’m using this opportunity to practice.”
She lopped off the top of the cone and gulped it down while Nick’s eyes darkened with banked passion. She loved rattling him. How had her mantra so quickly vanished? Oh well, she couldn’t recite a mantra with her mouth full anyway.
Nick pulled his eyes away from her and looked toward the lake. He turned back to her. “I didn’t realize eating an ice cream cone could be so erotic.” His voice was strained. “If you could hurry a little, it might help. Or do you enjoy torturing me?”
“A little,” she admitted, “but torture is not my thing.”
&
nbsp; “Good. Although at the moment, taking you over my knee seems like an appropriate option.”
Daisy popped the last bit of cone into her mouth and munched as slowly as she could before saying, “We’ve got a lot of work to do to prepare for Keeneland. I know Clint will be well prepared, but we need to do our own homework.”
“You have the catalog at your place?”
“Sure.”
“Maybe we can begin this afternoon.”
“Why not?”
“Oops, I almost forgot Angie is coming into town. Told her I’d meet her at the airport. You want to come along?”
“Nope. I’ll catch up on schoolwork. If I don’t make more progress soon I’ll have to drop the class. You do take up a lot of my time, you know.”
“Is that a complaint?”
Daisy shook her head, her blond hair billowing about her neck. “Not really. Tell Angie I’m looking forward to seeing her for lunch tomorrow.”
Nick lifted the bike half up and paused. “You knew she was coming? You already have made time for her? Without me?”
“Yes. Yes. Yes.” Daisy straightened the bike and swung a leg over it. “We don’t need a chaperone. I like your sister a lot. We’ve talked on the phone several times since our first visit. Besides, if you were there, we couldn’t talk about you.”
Nick frowned and mounted the bike. He began to pedal rapidly. He seemed so intent on being a part of her life, yet there were occasions when he seemed hesitant about her being part of his.
Daisy sat across from Angie Underwood at the South Side Bistro near the university campus. Angie’s eyes still bugged as large as Daisy had remembered. The woman appeared to be in a constant state of amazement.
“I think,” Angie said, pointing her fork with a tomato slice, “my big brother is infatuated with you. It’s hard to get him to talk about anything but you. If not you, then horses, which is a poor substitute for you. You seem to have quite a way with men. I’m envious.”
“Don’t be.” Daisy glanced away from the other woman’s intensity. “I haven’t been around many to compare.”
“Ah, the shy Daisy,” Angie cooed. “I remember now. It’s just that you look so good and Nick is so consumed with you that I forget you’re not a femme fatale.”
Daisy’s mouth fell open. “Me? Hardly. Isn’t that a little dramatic?” She reached for a french fry. Or was she a temptress? Was she just playing with Nick like a kid played dress up games? They had no long range future. Infatuated. Consumed.
Those were different sentiments than love. He cared for her like she did for him. But they were safe. There was the age thing. The horse partnership. When would it end? How would it end?
“Yoo hoo! I’m still here.”
Daisy blinked. Angie came back into focus. “Oh, I’m sorry, Angie. I guess my mind wandered a bit.”
“Uh, huh. I like you a lot, Daisy.” Angie paused and wiped her full lips with a napkin. “You’re good for Nick, but I worry.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’m a big girl.”
Angie shook her head. “Oh, when we first met, I worried about you, but now I worry more about my brother.”
Daisy’s brow furrowed and her eyes narrowed.
“Anything else that I can get you ladies?”
Daisy acknowledged the waiter. “No,” she stammered. “I’m fine. You, Angie?”
“I’m okay.”
Angie waited until the man stopped at the next table and reached for his order pad before continuing. “I don’t think you’d deliberately harm Nick. But he’s much more serious about this relationship that you seem to be.”
“Serious?”
“Come on. A girl knows when a guy is serious. I should talk. Well, at least a girl knows when a guy isn’t serious.”
Daisy blinked. Her brain might fry before it caught up with Angie. “I still don’t know what you mean.”
“Okay. I’ll spell it out.” Angie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I believe my brother is within an eyelash of asking you to marry him, and he has no clue that you will turn him down.”
Gasping, Daisy clamped a hand over her mouth. She couldn’t stop her heart from racing or her ears from hearing. She closed her eyes. It couldn’t be. Not yet. He wouldn’t force the issue yet. They hadn’t had enough time together. She wasn’t ready to lose him—not yet. There was no escaping Angie. She sat three feet away waiting for some kind of response. She’d have to tough it out.
“I think you’re wrong.” She hoped she was right. “Nick knows we’re from two different worlds. He’s infatuated with being the prince to a Cinderella. But in his heart, he knows the slipper doesn’t fit.”
“You’re full of shit, if you believe that.” Angie’s voice turned accusing. “And another thing. My brother won’t be easily dumped.”
“But it wouldn’t work. Not marriage. He doesn’t know who I am.” Daisy squeezed back tears. “I don’t want him to ever know.”
Angie leaned back in her chair and brushed unruly curls from her forehead. “So you’ve got a skeleton or two in your closet. Who doesn’t?”
“Some of my skeletons are very much alive, and if they knew about Nick being at all serious about me, they’d do everything in their power to drain him of his money. These aren’t society types, Angie. They’re scumbags. But they’re family. The only family I’ve got.”
“So you’re trying to protect Nick while you explore this relationship?”
“Sort of.” Daisy nodded. “I guess so.”
“I’d bet he’d feel more protected if you leveled with him.”
“I can’t. He’d never understand my sister and her husband. And they’d have him for breakfast.”
“Somehow I think you’re underestimating Nick—and yourself, for that matter.”
“I’m not. I’m quite sure Reggie, my brother-in-law, has mob connections.”
“Oh.” Angie’s shoulders slumped. “I think I’ll go back to worrying about both of you.”
- o -
“This is a pretty heady game,” Nick announced, hoisting his Margarita in salute. Clint, Cassie and Daisy responded in kind. The dim lighting of the bar at the top of the Manfried Hotel did nothing to conceal Nick’s glee.
“You mean it’s not every day you plunk down three hundred thousand for a hope and a dream?” Cassie’s eyes were sparkling.
“Damn right. And I didn’t know if that fat guy in the rumpled suit was going to give up or press the bid. Don’t know if I could have stopped at our three hundred fifty thousand dollar limit.”
Clint nodded knowingly. “Sometimes we get caught up in the bidding war and wind up paying more than a yearling or a two-year-old is worth. You see that happen in the sales pavilion every day. I’d say you have a pretty good stomach for this sort of thing.”
“Yeah, I think this is more my niche than the claiming game. Here, everything happens in front of you. Daisy has more patience for claiming horses than I do. What do you think, Daisy? Is this my niche?”
“As long as you have enough money to throw around and lose, there’s no problem.” Her fingers tightened around her drink. “I’d prefer to take a horse somebody else has given up on and give him a jumpstart on his career. Or better yet, raise a contender from a foal. Maybe RainbowBlaze will produce a stakes winner.”
“Won’t you enjoy training Hip sixty-four—the yearling we just bought?” Nick failed to hide the censure in his tone.
“Of course I will,” Daisy protested. “He’s a beautiful chestnut colt, exudes class and has an impeccable pedigree. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Thought maybe he was tainted because of his price tag.”
Daisy frowned, paused and pushed her chair away from the table. “I didn’t mean it that way. I’ve got to go to the ladies room,” she whispered, before grabbing her purse and rushing down the hallway.
Nick watched her leave and then directed his scowl at his drink. “Guess that didn’t come out quite right.” He balled a napkin in his hand t
rying to ignore the telltale looks cast between Cassie and Clint.
Shortly, Clint excused himself in order to talk to a fellow sitting at the bar about a horse that would be in the sales ring in the morning.
Nick pursed his lips and said nothing, wishing he was somewhere else. He’d expected Cassie to follow Daisy, but he wasn’t that lucky. Instead the redhead cleared her throat to speak. She had the look of an inquisitor.
“So you both are sensitive about money.”
Nick gave Cassie a fake smile and then let it fade before responding. “Suppose you’re right about that. Money spooks the woman.”
“Maybe it’s your comfort with money that spooks her most. She’s never really been around much money. Even when she stayed with us at the farm. Clint and I are doing all right, but,” she smiled sweetly—too sweetly to Nick’s liking—”you’re in a different league from us. We’re better at spending other people’s money than our own.”
Seeing no need to respond, Nick remained silent.
“Another round?” the scantily clad waitress asked.
“No, I’m done,” Nick said. “How about you?” he asked Cassie.
“No. I expect we’re all done.”
“Just bring me the bill,” Nick told the waitress. Once she left, he said, “Since I’m the big spender I’ll take care of the drinks.”
Cassie grimaced. “You’re angry, Nick, and you appear to be hurt. I didn’t mean to judge you. It’s just a fact that you’re wealthy and Daisy is relatively poor. She’s not bothered by the differences in your ages—that probably bothers me and you more—but she has yet to adjust to being around your kind of wealth. That doesn’t make either one of you good or bad. It just is.”
Nick slumped back in his chair. He ran fingers through his thinning hair. “Suppose you’re right. I just thought it’d thrill her to be part of buying Hip sixty-four. Instead, she threw him in my face.”
“I’m not certain she meant to do that,” Cassie soothed, “at least not as harshly as it came out.” Cassie folded her arms and eyed Nick intently. “My father may have influenced Daisy. He was your basic hands-on horse trainer. He never wanted to buy the big horse. He wanted to raise him from a foal. That was the real dream.”
Willow Smoke Page 16
