Willow Smoke (70 page)

Daisy
scowled.
“Maybe.
But
I
can’t
hide
out
here
any
longer.”

“Do
you
love
him?”

“Who?”

“Now I
am
gonna get mad. I’m not stupid. Do you love Mr. Nick?”

Daisy
sank
onto
the
bed.
“I
wish
I
knew.”
She
glanced
up
at
Mrs.
Brown.
“I
don’t
even
know
what
love
is.”

“Now
that’s
a
crock
of
spoiled
milk,
if
you ask me. Your momma loved you. I know
she
didn’t
do
great
by
you,
but
maybe
she
did
her
best.
Your
grandma
loved
you.
You
know
that
now,
don’t
you?”

Daisy
nodded.

“And
them
people
at
the
group
home
you
told
me
about.
And
them
who
took
you
home
to
live
with—they
loved
you,
right?”

Again
Daisy
nodded.

“Then
don’t
tell
me
you
don’t
know
what
love
is.
You’ve
felt
it.
It’s
touched
your
heart
and your soul. Do you feel it from Mr.
Nick?
And do you feel it for him?” Mrs.
Brown
shrugged
her
shoulders.
“I
suspect
you
know
the
answers
to
them
questions, but you’re too afraid to see them. But, that’s okay.
No matter. When
you’re
ready,
then
you’ll
see.
In
the
meantime,
I
wish
you
well,
girl.
You’ve
been
good
for
Mr.
Nick.
Though
his
bounce
has
been
sagging
a
little
of
late.”

Without
waiting
for
an
answer,
Mrs.
Brown
headed
for
the
doorway.
Before
stepping
out
into
the
hall,
she
turned
and
announced,
“I’ll
cook
up
a
good
meal
for
you
when
you’re
ready
to
come
back.
You
can
count
on
that.”

Daisy
threw
herself
on
the
bed.
She
hadn’t
even
thanked
the
woman.
They
both
knew
she’d
be
gone
before
breakfast.

- o -

“You
don’t
look
so
good,”
Tom
Harrison
said,
glancing
up
from
polishing
a
section
of
cedar
on
the
bow
of
a
canoe.
It
was
early
evening
and
the
rest
of
the
employees
had
gone
home.
Tom
was
doing
his
typical
touchups.
“If
those
circles
around
your
eyes get any darker, the
authorities
will
accuse
Daisy
of
abuse.”

“Wouldn’t
be
too
far
off,”
Nick
responded
flatly.
“I’m
losing
too
much
sleep.”
Nick
scowled
at
Tom’s
raised
eyebrow.
“From
worry.”

“Oh. Is that asshole
brother-in-law
still
bothering
her?”

“He
hasn’t
shown
his
face
since
the
incident
at the hospital. And that
bothers me.
I’d
like
him
to
be
out
in
the
open
where
I
can
keep
track
of
him.”

“I
can
understand
that.
You
think
he’s
dangerous.”

“Anyone
who
carries
a
blade
in
his
boot
is
potentially
dangerous.”
Nick
ran
his
fingers
through
his
hair.
“Clint
Travers
has
his
people
at
the
agency
checking
Lassiter
out.
So
far
he
shows
up
with
loose
connections
to
the
mob.
He
seems
to
have
fallen
out
of
grace.
I
wouldn’t
be
surprised
if he
didn’t try to scam them, or
maybe
he’s
just
too
much
into
drugs.
He’s
a
dealer
and
a
user.

“The
cops
want
to
nail
the
guy
for
selling
around
the
area
schools,
but
every
time
they
think
they’ve
got
him,
a
witness
decides
they
didn’t
see
anything
after
all.
He’s
had
a
small
string
of
women
working
for
him,
but their number is decreasing.
I’d
say
the
guy’s
sources
of
income
are
drying
up
and
that
makes
him
even
more
dangerous.
And
makes
Daisy
more
of
a
target.”

“And
you,”
Tom
pointed
out,
putting
down
his
sandpaper,
moving
to
straddle
a
sawhorse.

“Yeah,
probably.
I’m
going
to
talk
with
the
people
who
installed
our
security
system
in
the
morning.
Want
to
make
sure
we’re
as
well
equipped
as
reasonable.
Maybe
I’ll
check
into
a
private
night
watchman,
too.
It certainly wouldn’t surprise me if
our
macho
man
might
try
to
attack
me
through
the
business.”
Nick
squared
his
shoulders
and
crossed
his
arms.
“If
he
tries
anything
here,
his
ass
will
be
flayed.”

“That’s
more
like
it.”
Tom
grinned.
“Maybe
we
should
stand
guard,
for
old
time
sakes. It’d sure surprise the bastard to
be
looking
down
the
barrels
of
two
Uzis
if
he
shows
up
with
a
torch
in
his
hand.”

Nick
shook
his
head.
“I’m
not
ready
to
go
there
yet.
Maybe
he
won’t
even
try
anything.”
Nick
rubbed
the
bridge
of
his
nose
and
straightened
his
glasses.
He
took
two
steps
back
toward
his
office,
hesitated
and
turned
back
to
his
friend.
“You
know
she’s
going
to
leave
me.”

“Ah,
damn.”
Tom
brushed
fine
sawdust
from
his jeans. “I’m sorry, man. When?”

Shrugging
his
shoulders,
Nick
said,
“Don’t know.
She
hasn’t
said
anything
yet.
I
just
know.
Soon,
I
expect.
Something
is
wrong
between
us
and
I
can’t
figure
out
what it is. If I could, I’d fix
it.”