Willow Smoke

by Adriana Kraft

  “I’m glad I can help,” Daisy responded, putting frozen foods away.

  Maxine sat at the kitchen table with a cup of cold coffee in front of her and a cigarette in her hand. The ashtray on the table was overrun with butts. “I’ll get the rest later,” she said. “Why don’t you come and sit down for a bit? You look like you’re running yourself ragged taking care of me and doing your job, too.”

  Daisy poured herself a cup of coffee and joined her sister. Maxine was right; she was fraying at the edges. It had been a week since she left Nick’s house. Other than the security system installed in her apartment, there was no evidence that he any longer cared she existed. He hadn’t been at the track, and he hadn’t called.

  Maybe he was waiting for her to make the first contact; after all, it had been her idea to move out.

  She stayed busy. That was the one positive thing about Maxine’s situation: her sister filled up time. But that wouldn’t last. She’d have to take care of herself pretty soon. “So how are you doing, Maxine?”

  “I’m coming along. Tired as hell of staring at these walls. I’ve always known this was a small place, but it’s beginning to feel like a cell. It will be good to get back to work just to see some people.”

  “I suppose. Guess I’m more of a natural recluse than you.”

  Maxine stubbed a cigarette in the ashtray. “I don’t know about you,” she huffed, “but I need people around me. I need to hear stories and laughter. Even bad jokes are better than none.” She smiled at Daisy. “You’d be surprised the jokes people tell waitresses. Particularly men.”

  Daisy shook her head. She didn’t really want to hear about jokes or men who bantered with women. “So when do you expect to get back to the café?”

  “I’ve talked with the boss. I’ll give it a try week after next. It might be only a half a shift at first.” Maxine lit another cigarette. “I’m surprised Scooter is willing to be that flexible. Usually, it’s his way or the highway.”

  Maxine lowered her long fake eyelashes. Her sister was hiding something. While Maxine was a heavy smoker, Daisy seldom saw her smoke one cigarette after another.

  “Oh, I meant to tell you,” Maxine began, catching Daisy’s eye and then looking away, “Reggie was by last night.”

  All of Daisy’s senses went on alert. “Oh?”

  “Yes, it was so good to see him. He’s been very busy, you know. That’s why he wasn’t by at the hospital or here sooner. Some important contacts had a job for him—out of town.” Maxine drew a last puff from a cigarette before grinding it to bits in the ashtray. “He had to leave again.” She smiled wistfully. “But he did manage to stay most of the night.”

  Daisy closed her eyes. Maxine was trying to hide more than the fact that Reggie had been by. Her sister was back on drugs. The hospital stay had been hard for Maxine. The hospital might have just replaced one drug with another. And the last week or so, Maxine was ready to jump out of her skin on some days and then mellowed out on others. She’d found a supplier to tide her over, but now her main man was back.

  Daisy wanted to kick herself. Why hadn’t she seen it all along? If it had been anyone else, she would have noticed more signs. But it was her sister and Daisy so wanted her to do the right thing...to dump drugs and Reggie.

  “Reggie wanted me to give you a message,” Maxine cooed.

  “What’s that?”

  “He just wants you to know that bygones are bygones and he holds no grudges against you or your boyfriend. Can you believe that, baby? He wants us to be a regular family. Once he gets this job done, he’ll come back home where he belongs.”

  And pigs can fly! How could her sister be so gullible? She had no common sense or any other kind of sense. Daisy’s stomach lurched. She had to get out of there before she barfed. Pushing her chair back, she stood and went to the sink to rinse out her cup. “I’ve got be going,” she said. “I’ve got a horse who needs some medication within the hour.”

  “Horses!” Maxine scowled. “That’s all you care about. You could spend more time with me. And aren’t you going to say anything about Reggie? He’s being mag...magnanimous. And you don’t even say squat.”

  Daisy’s shoulders sagged and her chin dropped to her chest. “Maxine, I want you to be happy. I guess if Reggie makes you happy, so be it. But I can’t trust him.”

  “You don’t want to trust him.” Maxine reached for the nearly empty pack of cigarettes. “He’s going to make more money than your Nicholas Underwood. Because...because he’s more of a man.”

  Suppressing a grin and the memory of Nick’s foot squashing Reggie’s wrist to the floor in the hospital waiting room, Daisy nodded. “You believe what you want, Maxine. I can’t live your life for you.”

  “Thank God for that. I wasn’t born to be a goody-two-shoes like you. It’s amazing to me that any man would want to share a bed with you. That Underwood must be hard up.”

  “Thanks for your love and concern, but I haven’t seen Nick for a week.”

  “Oh?” Maxine’s eyes narrowed. “You mean’s he’s no longer in the picture?”

  “Doesn’t seem to be.”

  “Damn, Reggie won’t like that. He wanted us to be a family.”

  “Right. And if you believe that you must think Reggie is Santa’s elf.” Daisy couldn’t stop her legs from shaking.

  “That’s enough,” Maxine screamed. “Out of my house. Now! I don’t need your help or your money. Go! Beat it!”

  Daisy grabbed her purse. “I’m out of here. You know how to get hold of me if you need anything.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Right.”

  “This time take the pill like a good boy,” Daisy muttered, trying to push the dosage over MrShowman’s tongue with her fingers. At last, he swallowed, and Daisy withdrew her arm and massaged the gelding’s throat. “Well done, big guy. Makes me think that all males should be gelded. Might make them more tractable.”

  “Ouch,” rasped a deep voice from outside the stall. “Do you have any particular male in mind?”

  Daisy peeked swiftly over her shoulder and tried to control the pace of her heart. She patted MrShowman on the shoulder before stepping toward the stall door. “Thought you learned not to sneak up on someone working with a horse.”

  Nick pulled on the brim of his hat. “And it’s good to see you, too. I did learn that lesson. But your reference to gelding all the males you’ve ever known sort of got me off kilter a bit.”

  “That’s not what I said,” she protested, unlatching the door and stepping out into the alleyway.

  “No, but it’s what you meant. And I still might like to have kids someday, if I can ever convince the right woman to have me.”

  “Good luck. So what are you doing here, Mr. Underwood?”

  “Two things,” he said, with a smug grin. “I’m checking up on my investments. And I’m here to make a date with that right woman I just mentioned.”

  “Oh.” Daisy crossed her arms. “I thought you weren’t going to pressure me.”

  “I’m not. But I’m not going to lie either. I am a man of honor, after all.”

  “I hadn’t noticed.”

  “And you didn’t miss me at all this past week?”

  Daisy’s skin tingled. “Oh, has it been a week already?”

  “You don’t do coy very well, kid. Lying doesn’t become you. So how is our fellow doing?”

  Welcoming the change of subject, Daisy peered back into the stall. “He’s fine. We’ll try to enter him in a one mile race on the grass next Saturday.”

  “Good. It’s about time. I was beginning to think that owning racehorses only meant paying bills. He’s got to run in order to have a chance of making any money. Any more thoughts on another claim?”

  Daisy shook her head. “I haven’t had time to think about that. Sam’s made a rumbling or two about a couple horses that should run during the next couple weeks. You’ll probably want to talk to him about it.”

  “I’ll make sure the th
ree of us sit down and go over the possibilities. Thelma’s called me four times insisting on getting into this horse business.”

  Smiling, Daisy replied, “I can understand why you’re asking. When Thelma sets her sights on something, I expect she’s quite tenacious.”

  “You’re right about that—like a badger. But she’s not the only one. So would you prefer going to a Bulls game, or to a symphony Saturday night?”

  Daisy took a step back. She’d agreed to go out with Nick, so why was she so intimidated? She bent over and slapped dirt from her jeans. When she looked back at him, she saw that wicked smile of his. Had he looked down her shirt, or was he just admiring her butt? She winced, trying to appear nonchalant. “Okay. I’ve never been to a symphony. I couldn’t tell one musical instrument from another.”

  Nick nodded. “I’m glad you haven’t lost your sense of humor, kid. I’ll go try and track Sam down. If I don’t see you before, I’ll see you Saturday. Oh,” he reached over and plucked straw from her hair, “has Reggie come around yet?”

  “Not yet.”

  “He will.”

  “I know.”

  “You be careful.”

  Daisy nodded and walked toward the tack room. She wasn’t about to get into a prolonged conversation about Reggie, if she could avoid it. As she rechecked the medicine and feed schedule, she could hear Nick whistling, strolling down shedrow. Daisy brushed her messed up hair back from her face. Why did she tingle so? Maybe because she’d never been on a formal date.

  “So what does a girl wear to the symphony, Angie?” Daisy leaned against the door of Angie Underwood’s cramped dressing room. Angie sat before a mirror tilting her head to one side and then the other. She tied her hair up and then untied it, letting it fall loosely around her shoulders.

  Nick’s sister turned on her stool and grinned broadly at Daisy. “Didn’t you go with Nick to a charity ball?”

  “Yes.”

  “That would be fine, if you want to dress up. If you don’t want to be that fancy, then drop down a notch.” Angie turned back to the mirror and plucked at her eyebrows. “It’s pretty hard to go wrong anymore. Almost anything goes at the symphony or the theater these days, unless its opening night. Now, that’s a gala affair.”

  “Nick didn’t say it was opening night.”

  “Then it probably isn’t. We can check that out easily enough. So my brother is back on your scent?” Angie pursed her lips and blew Daisy a kiss in the mirror.

  Daisy frowned. She wasn’t entirely comfortable talking with Angie about her brother. But Angie seemed more than comfortable. “He asked me out.”

  “And you said yes.”

  “I told him I would before I left his house.”

  “But you could’ve said no.”

  “Sure.”

  “Then why did you say yes?” Angie turned around to face Daisy. “You’ve told me why you wanted to be back in your own apartment, and I think I understand why Nick intimidates you. But I wonder if you’re playing with my brother or with yourself?”

  “I don’t know what you mean.” Daisy glanced over at Angie’s dressing screen.

  “I’m a woman, Daisy. You’re not talking to Nick now.” Angie rose and slipped out of her wrapper and stepped over to a rack of gowns.

  Daisy watched Angie unabashed, clad only in panties, stand back and try to decide among her choices. Again, Daisy wished she’d been blessed with such a figure. She’d always been too tall for her age. Girls chided her and boys hated the fact that she was a foot taller than them. But that was then. Now she’d found a man who matched her height and seemed quite pleased with her body. Daisy shook her head. What was Angie saying?

  “Hey you, leaning against the wall. Did you come to talk to me or stare at me or ignore me?”

  “I’m sorry,” Daisy mumbled. “I’m not playing with Nick or myself. At least I’m not trying to.”

  Angie shrugged into a long pink gown. It was a period piece from the 1880s. “So there’s a chance that Nick will be able to successfully woo you?”

  “What?” Daisy pushed away from the door and stepped over to button the column of tiny buttons going down the back of Angie’s dress.

  Angie turned her head. “Thanks. That you’ll agree to be my sister-in-law, silly. Isn’t that what all of this is about?”

  A tiny button slipped through Daisy’s fingers. She scowled. She tried again. Having secured it in its loop, she moved on to the next and finally commented, “Can’t we just go out and enjoy each other’s company? Why does it always have to come down to marriage, kids and forever?”

  Angie shrugged. “Maybe because Nick is aware of a time clock ticking that you’re not. It’s okay to have fun, Daisy. I’m not condemning you for that—not hardly. Not me. But you’ve got to know Nick wants more than that.”

  Daisy glanced at Angie’s image in the mirror and nodded.

  “So you’re not ready to really commit, nor are you ready to let him go yet.”

  “Something like that.”

  “Thanks for doing my buttons,” Angie said, sitting back down before the mirror. She picked up a brush and began running it through her hair. The woman’s eyes smoldered; it was the only sign that the outgoing, congenial Angie Underwood was angry.

  “I’ve never seen my brother so in love. He’s besotted. Any other woman who pulled a stunt like you did by walking out on him would have been left in his dust. He’d never give her a second thought.”

  “I didn’t exactly walk out on him,” Daisy protested. “I only stayed with him for a short time because of an emergency. I never agreed to live with him. And how do you know he loves me so much? He’s been married and with many women before me.”

  Angie smiled into the mirror. Her flashpoint of anger had apparently subsided. “But not since you. You want to know about his first wife and the other women? His wife was much more interested in Nick than he was in her, but she came around at the right time. Nick was feeling the need to be a family man. Only Ashley wasn’t too excited about motherhood once they were married.

  “She wasn’t a bad woman, I don’t mean that, but she saw Nick as a way up the business and social ladder. Much more than a husband and a father, and I expect as a lover. As to other women, Nick hasn’t had a relationship that I know of that lasted more than two months. And I doubt there was anyone for two or three years before you arrived on the scene. No, my brother doesn’t dispense love like it’s a freebie in a grocery store.”

  “I didn’t think he did,” Daisy retorted. But Angie’s words left her more confused than ever. If there had been so few women that Nick had cared for, how did that explain her?

  “So do you love him?”

  Daisy wanted to ignore the bug-eyed, curious woman in the mirror, but she couldn’t. “You don’t give up, do you?”

  “No. It’s a family trait. So do you?”

  “What?”

  “Do you love him?”

  Daisy sat down on a stool beside Angie. She wanted to collapse. She shook her head. “I don’t honestly know. I don’t know how I would know.”

  Angie applied rouge to her cheeks. “Well, do you think a lot about him when he’s not with you?”

  Daisy nodded.

  “Do you miss him when you’re alone in your bed at night?” Daisy nodded.

  “Does he make you laugh?” Daisy nodded.

  “Do you get goose bumps when I ask you if you love him?”

  Daisy lifted her arm and Angie stared at the rows of small pimpled bumps. Laughing softly, Angie said, “Daisy Matthews, like it or not, I’d say you’re in love.”

  “But it can’t go where he wants it to go.”

  “Where you want it to go?”

  Daisy let out a repressed sigh. “Maybe.”

  “Because of your brother-in-law?”

  “Yes.”

  “Maybe he’ll take Nick more seriously now, after the escapade at the hospital.”

  Daisy shuddered. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
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  - o -

  Nick sat in a box overlooking the finish line. Thelma chattered her nervousness while Tom rested his eyes. They had a chance to claim a filly in the fifth race. Nick worried about what Thelma might do if they lost the claim.

  Leaning forward, Nick rested his chin on his hands and stared at the tall blonde in tight jeans, maroon shirt, and ball cap stepping out on to the track and snapping a lead rope to the number three horse in the first race of the day. Daisy exchanged a few words with the jockey and then led the gelding back toward the barn. It had run a decent third.

  He watched Daisy pat the animal on the shoulder and whisper something, no doubt endearing, into its ear. Nick wished he could trade places with the horse. He shook his head. You’ve got it bad, Underwood. Real bad.

  His eyes did not stray from the woman leading the horse away from the track. Her bottom swayed that alluring motion that he expected had attracted men since man and woman became aware of each other. Daisy led the horse around a corner and out of view.

  Nick leaned back and ran his fingers through his hair. He couldn’t remember ever having a woman tie him and twist him about in so many directions. Usually, he was in the driver’s seat. But not with Daisy Matthews. That didn’t particularly bother him. What bothered him was that he cared too damn much. Too much about her, and too much about what she thought of him.

  He’d been a fool to let her walk out of his house. He’d been more of a fool not to just let her keep walking. He’d be a bigger fool yet if he let her slip through his fingers.

  Nick pushed his glasses down and squeezed the bridge of his nose. Daisy might have some legitimate qualms about her feelings for him and about sharing her life with him, but Reggie Lassiter remained at the crux of his problems with Daisy. He could not figure out the claim the man had on Daisy. Was it simply her sister and Daisy’s fierce sense of family loyalty? Did Lassiter have designs on Daisy? Had he abused her? Clearly, Maxine stayed with her husband even though the man had nearly killed her. Could Daisy be from the same mold as her sister? Daisy was proud. She had more courage than most anyone he’d known. So how did Lassiter manage to terrorize her so?