Willow Smoke

by Adriana Kraft

  “Two to three hundred! I don’t know that many people.”

  “Come on, girl. Remember who you’re marrying. This will be a society bash. You have your friends at the track. Nick has business colleagues and friends. Plus people from various social circles. Plus the family. You’ve only met some of them.”

  Daisy placed her arms across her stomach and squeezed hard. “Can’t we just elope? I had no idea this would be a social event.”

  Shrugging her shoulders, Angie turned and renewed their walk. “I doubt it. Nick is going to want to show you off. Besides, you’re going to want to let all the females of Chicago know that Nick is now your man and they have to maintain their distance. We’ll have to work on an announcement for the society page for the Tribune.”

  “What?”

  “Of course. You were news at the Charity Ball. Don’t think snaring Nicholas Underwood, one of the most sought after eligible bachelors in Chicago, won’t be news!” Angie grinned broadly. “You’re going to be the envy and the scorn of more than one distraught female in the city.”

  Daisy flashed on the image of Claire Donaldson. That woman would go ballistic when she learned Nick would marry his gutter snipe. Daisy wished she could be there when Claire received the news. Should she be more forgiving? Daisy narrowed her eyes remembering the scene in the elegant bathroom when Claire had made it clear she didn’t belong with Nick. Forgive? Hell no!

  “So it’s going to be quite a bash,” she said, squaring her shoulders. “It’ll come and go like most things. I can handle it, if I have to. If you’ll help, that is.”

  Angie checked her watch and slowed their pace to a mere walk. “You won’t be able to keep me away. First, you two have to decide on a date. Then we can reserve a church and hotel for the reception.” Angie’s lips formed a bow. “I expect my brother will want to be in charge of the honeymoon.”

  “Mrs. B. wants to help with the reception.”

  “Great!”

  Daisy came to a halt. “Oh my God, a dress.”

  “We can begin shopping day after tomorrow. That’s my day off. You’ll look stunning in a long white gown. Or maybe it should be long in the back and mid-thigh in the front, showing off your long legs. I’ve been to a couple weddings where the bride wore something like that. Very eye-catching.”

  “I’m not sure I want to be eye-catching. And do you think I should be wearing white? Good grief, Nick and I are living together.”

  “So?” Angie burst out laughing. “You mean that virgin thing?”

  Daisy nodded.

  “There wouldn’t be much of a market for white wedding gowns if women conformed to that tradition. Anyway, you’ve only been with one man. And this is your first wedding. Right?”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s virginal in my book. White it is. Eye-catching you’ll be, whether you want to be or not. We better head back, I’ve got to be at the theater in an hour. I’ll hop in the shower at your place, if you don’t mind.”

  “Of course not. And thanks for being willing to help.”

  “It’s great to have you in the family, Daisy.” Angie gave Daisy a bear hug. “Just don’t worry about fitting in. You already do.”

  “What do you think about eloping?” It was a futile question, but she wanted to give it a try. They had just made love and were nearly asleep. She had her arms around Nick, her breasts crushed against his back.

  He pushed his buttocks tighter against her groin and chuckled. “I’ve been wondering when you would think of that. Sounds like your chat with Angie about weddings got you up on your toes. Elope? No way. I wouldn’t want anyone to misunderstand. I want to show off my bride to the entire world.”

  He rolled over and looked in her eyes. “I’m so pleased and honored that you chose me. I’m not going to run away and hide. We’ll be married here in Chicago. You can choose the date. I’ll be there. You can choose the church, if you’d like. I’ll work on the hotel and the honeymoon.”

  Daisy shook her head.

  “Now what’s wrong?”

  “We’ll both work on the honeymoon. Whoever said that’s the groom’s prerogative?”

  “Hmm. You may be right. We’ll work on the honeymoon together. Where would you like to go?”

  Daisy frowned. “I hadn’t actually thought about it. Don’t people go to Niagara Falls or something like that?”

  Nick’s laugh erupted from his belly. “Daisy, as Mrs. Underwood, you’ll have to dream a little bigger than that.”

  “Oh.”

  “We could do Paris, or London. The Caribbean would be nice this time of year. Or maybe Australia or Tahiti.”

  “Australia,” Daisy squeaked. “I’ve dreamed of going there someday. Australia and New Zealand. Is that really possible?”

  “Of course it is.” He ran a finger down her nose. “You can count on it, darling. I’ll get my secretary to begin working on it tomorrow. So how soon can we do this wedding?”

  “Don’t know. But not soon enough; life has got to be simpler after we’re married. I’ll have a better idea once Angie and I see about a dress. Won’t you need a lot of lead time for a reception facility?”

  “That’s not going to hold us up. If we can’t get a hotel, then we’ll clear out a couple rooms at the factory and hold it there.”

  “That would be fantastic!” Daisy squealed. “Paddle Dreams Unlimited would be on all the invitations. I like that a lot.”

  “Would you prefer that to the Pump Room or the Drake?”

  “Absolutely!”

  “Then that’s what we’ll do. It’ll be the talk of the town. It will be outstanding.”

  “You already are the most outstanding thing in my life,” Daisy murmured. She leaned over and kissed the tip of his nose. He reciprocated. She kissed his eyelids. And he did the same. She ran her lips up and down his neck and knew for the second time that evening they’d make the kind of gentle love that turned her insides to warm butter.

  Would there ever be enough time or enough energy to get her fill of him? Probably not, but she’d try. She was determined to do her very best at trying.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Daisy scurried from her pickup to the entrance to her old apartment. She glanced quickly up and down the street before unlocking the door. As she entered the dining room, a wave of emotions swept over her.

  Was it simply nostalgia? This had been her place for nearly two years. The living room love-seat showed signs of wear. The bookcases were boards and brick. The computer should be gathering dust in a secondhand store. But these were her things.

  Daisy walked down the hallway to the kitchen. There was nothing there she needed to take. This was stuff for the homeless shelter or the home for abused women. She stepped into the bedroom and smiled. She’d miss the simplicity of the futon and the intimacy of the mirrors. Damn, those mirrors had witnessed a lot. A lot of tears. A lot of joy. And some great lovemaking.

  Space would be found in the big house for the futon. Maybe they should have it bronzed and set up as a shrine to sexual exploration. Daisy knelt on the bed and chuckled. She’d better not suggest that or Nick would see that it was done, and then she’d have to explain to every visitor why they had a bronzed bed.

  Daisy moved to the closet and pulled out an old brown suitcase that had so many scuff marks it could have been used by skateboarders for practice. She might as well get to work; she’d come for her clothes and necessities. The furniture could wait.

  She wanted to be quick. Nick would have a fit if he knew she’d come to the apartment without him. Daisy scowled. But she probably wasn’t alone. Clint’s man was likely out there somewhere watching. The man must be good; she’d never spied him, and she’d tried on many occasions. She shuddered. Maybe Nick had called him off in deference to her feelings. She wasn’t certain she felt safer knowing she was being followed or not.

  It didn’t take long to pack the clothes she wanted. She glanced at the bed and smiled. Her favorite pillow would come along. “An
d yes, you too, Bear,” she whispered. “You didn’t think I’d leave you behind, did you?

  “You’re going to be shocked by your new surroundings. You’re moving up in the world, Bear. Clean sheets, weekly. Mrs. B. freshens the air daily. You’ll like her. She’ll be someone else you can talk with. Now, Nick. You already know him. He’ll be kind, but for the most part he’ll sort of ignore that you exist. Don’t expect him to talk to you. He doesn’t even talk to the horses.” Daisy shrugged. “Maybe some day he’ll come around. We can hope.”

  Daisy stood and clutched Bear in one hand and reached for the suitcase. “Guess we better be going before I get too mushy about leaving. We’ve had some good times here, Bear. But we’ll have even better times where we’re going.”

  Taking a last look around, Daisy fought back tears again. But she had to get back. She stepped into the entryway and opened the door. Her jaw dropped and her heart beat rapidly.

  “Hi baby,” Maxine cooed. “You are here. We were just going to ring the buzzer. Were you going somewhere?”

  Daisy set down her suitcase and Bear. She nodded. She couldn’t help but gawk at Reggie standing by her sister dressed in a dark suit, gray shirt, and gray tie.

  Moving up in the world? He dressed like he’d already arrived.

  Both Maxine and Reggie crossed the threshold and Daisy led them into the living room. Her mind raced. Where the hell were the guys who were supposed to be following Reggie and her? Of course, Reggie hadn’t done anything wrong. And she’d refused to get a restraining order on him. Now what? She’d bluff her way.

  “You just caught me in, actually. I’m going to be away for a few days—at a horse auction, in New York.”

  Maxine took a seat on the couch. Reggie remained standing. Daisy stood her ground and wet her lips.

  “Come on, baby,” Maxine said. “You never could lie to your sister. What’s up? There’s more to the suitcase than that. Are you moving in with him?”

  Maxine’s hand flew to her mouth. “Look at that rock on your hand. Good God, Daisy! He asked you to marry him?”

  Daisy didn’t know if she should be more angry at her sister’s disbelief or frightened that she’d been found out.

  “Come here and show it to me, baby.”

  Daisy stepped toward her sister and held out her hand, but her concentration was focused on Reggie, whose eyes glassed over. He was high on something.

  “God, that must be worth a small fortune!” Maxine shrieked. “You sure are the lucky one; you always have been. But I am happy for you, Daisy. You’ve really made something of yourself.”

  “Bullshit. She just must’ve screwed the guy blind,” Reggie declared, taking a step closer. His eyes narrowed, his chin jutted out and his hand shook.

  Daisy shrank from his outstretched hand until the gas fireplace prevented her from moving further back.

  “I should never have let him get to you,” he mumbled. “He took what was mine all along.”

  Daisy had a hard time understanding his slurred speech. It wasn’t the first time he’d referred to her as his. Her skin crawled at the thought. She took a step to the side; her right hand grazed the diamond willow stick she’d carved and she grasped it firmly.

  A crooked smile swept across Reggie’s face. It was as if he’d received an electric jolt. He moved with new energy.

  “You did real fine, darling. You’ve got a helluva lot more brains than your sister. Sometimes I forget.” Reggie reached for Daisy’s hand. “Let me look at that rock.”

  Caught between wanting to flee and not wanting to cause a fight, she let him lift her hand. His eyes shone with unvarnished greed.

  “A small fortune, all right. I could take it now,” he sneered. “But there’s a lot more where that came from. You got the right idea, darling. You marry the rich son of a bitch. As soon as his insurance is changed to name you as the one to collect, I’ll see that he meets with an accident.”

  “No!” Daisy screamed. “I won’t marry him.”

  “Oh, yes you will, bitch.” Reggie shoved her hard against the fireplace. “In the meantime, I’ll take care of your druggie sister. With both of them out of the way, we can get married. It will be great. Just you and me. Me with a gorgeous broad and tons of money.”

  Daisy glanced quickly at Maxine, who had turned chalk white. Her mouth was ajar and her eyes had widened into raw terror.

  “Until death us do part, bitch. Give me a little something to seal our vow.” Reggie leaned into Daisy, crushing her legs against the fireplace. His lips came down hard on hers. She jerked her head to the side. He swung it back with one hand and crushed her breasts with the other. Her eyes squeezed tight. She had to do something; she had to get out of there.

  Reggie dropped a hand to her crotch. When he pulled on her jeans zipper, Daisy’s brain surged into overdrive. She focused her energy on that willow stick. Reggie had the zipper down and was totally absorbed with clawing at her panties.

  With all the might she could muster, Daisy crashed the willow stick onto Reggie’s head and brought her knee up sharply between his legs. He stumbled backward and fell to the floor with one hand reaching for his bleeding temple and the other for his crotch.

  Daisy saw him writhing on the floor and spun toward the entryway where she grabbed Bear to her chest and ran. She hit the sidewalk in a full run and swerved left heading for the El station a block and a half away.

  She neared the corner and heard what sounded like firecrackers coming from behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Reggie firing a gun toward something across the street from her apartment.

  It must be Clint’s people. She didn’t slow her stride. She couldn’t count on them stopping Reggie. The man was a crazed animal. She wasn’t even sure a bullet would stop him. He wanted her, and if he couldn’t have her, he’d kill her. Life had become that simple.

  The entrance to the train station loomed ahead. Should she risk it? If there wasn’t a train soon, she might be trapped on the platform. Mercifully, she heard the screeching of the train and ducked under the turn-style hoping no one would notice her.

  Gasping for air, she stepped into the open door of the train just before it closed. The warmth of the car hit her full force. She stumbled into a seat and trembled, clutching Bear to her throat.

  The lights in the car went off momentarily. Why wasn’t it moving? Was something wrong? Not now! She stared out the window. Who had fired the gunshots? Was it Reggie? Or Clint’s detectives? Where was Maxine? What must she be thinking? If she was even alive.

  Daisy shook the tears away. She had to think. She had to maintain some cool. She had to think through her escape.

  Where would she go? Paddle Dreams Unlimited? No. Reggie would expect that. She had to warn Nick. Why hadn’t she put the cell phone on her belt rather than leaving it loose in the pickup?

  She wanted to crawl into a hole. No, she’d be safer in a crowd. No way would she let Reggie find her alone in an alley. She’d go downtown. Where hundreds of people would witness his rage. And maybe if she were lucky, she’d find a cop.

  She pressed her nose against the dirty window and her eyes rounded in horror. There was the stumbling figure of Reggie Lassiter making his way up the sidewalk toward the platform stairs. Clearly, he was in pain. He appeared to be dragging his right leg. She couldn’t have caused that much damage with the willow stick. He must have been shot by Clint’s men. But where were they now?

  The train lurched suddenly, throwing Daisy forward in her seat. She laughed hysterically and rubbed her forehead. Better to get a bump from the train that was finally moving than from whatever Reggie had in mind to do to her.

  She leaned back and breathed. She was free, at least for a while. She had a plan. “Bear,” she whispered, “I’ll protect you, and you can protect me. It’s Christmastime. There will be lots of people downtown. And Reggie has no idea where we’re headed.”

  - o -

  “She did what?” Nick stared at the phone in disbelief. “Why
the hell didn’t they stop him first?”

  Nick pinched his nose. “Yeah, I know they’re not superheroes.

  “How’s your man doing? Good. Then what happened?” Nick listened closely to Clint Travers. “Son of a bitch. Well, that’s that.

  “How about Maxine? Good, I think. So no one knows where Daisy fled to.

  “You’ve got your people combing the streets. That’s great. Just great. It’s Christmastime. She’ll be hard to find in the crowds.

  “No, she won’t come here. She’d think she’d be putting me in danger. No, she’ll run the other direction. Downtown.”

  Nick leaned back in his chair and tried to breathe normally. “I’ve got a hunch where I’ll find her. Yeah, I’ll let you know if I do. And my cell is on if you come across her first. Yeah, let’s check back in two hours no matter what.”

  Nick grabbed a jacket and raced out into the reception area. Tom turned away from the receptionist to stare at Nick. “You going to a fire or something?”

  “It’s Daisy. She’s had a fight with Lassiter and ran. I’ve got an idea where she might be heading.”

  “I’ll come along. Let me get my coat.”

  “No!” Nick grabbed Tom by the arm. “Stay here just in case she comes here. I doubt she will. But if she does, I need someone I can trust who can handle trauma.”

  Tom pressed his lips together and nodded in agreement. “Suppose you’re right. You call if you find her. I’ll let you know if she shows up here. But I don’t figure she’d want to lead Lassiter here.”

  “Exactly. I’ll be in touch.”

  Nick turned the key in the ignition of his Triumph. A light drizzle continued to fall. The windshield wipers whisked away the water. Was he right? It was Christmastime; that was the key. Would the child inside Daisy flee to that place of her Christmas childhood dreams? He sure hoped so. Macy’s would be crowded.