Willow Smoke by Adriana Kraft Read Free Book Online Page B

Nick asked, without taking his eyes off the batter. “He faked the bunt. Now the third baseman and first baseman are edging in toward home plate. The infield is getting smaller, making it easier for him to hit away.”
    Daisy wasn’t certain she understood everything Nick was telling her, but she enjoyed watching the tension rise. They sat in the third row between home plate and first base. She could see the batter trying not to give away what he was going to do.
    On the next pitch he swung and lined a ball over the third baseman’s head. Nick stood and cheered wildly. For a man who was reasonably quiet at the race track, he sure made a lot of noise at a ballgame. As if sensing her question, he sat back down. “Hope I’m not embarrassing you. This is different. Money is involved with the horses. This is pure and simple recreation. Nothing is on the line for me.”
    “I didn’t realize there was so much strategy involved in baseball. Games were on the TV at the group home, but I never bothered to watch. Looked too boring.”
    “Boring! There’s as much
strategy in baseball as in horse racing. Hell, there’s strategy in anything worth pursuing.”
    Daisy grinned broadly, reached over and squeezed his thigh, then placed her other hand on his neck and her lips close to his ear. “Old man, you overwhelm me with wisdom far beyond my years. I’ll bet there’s a lot more you could share, if you wanted to.”
    Covering her hand with his, Nick lifted it and returned it to her lap. His fingers brushed her inner thigh; he jerked away as if he’d been singed by a blazing fire.
    He awkwardly rose from his seat. “I’ve got to make a call. You want anything more to eat?”
    “No, I’m fine. You’re not going to leave me here alone for long are you?”
    Nick sighed; his shoulders slouched. “Kid, I don’t have the faintest idea what I’m going to do with you.”
     
    - o -
     
    Stomping up the stairs toward the restrooms, Nick hoped his erection wasn’t too damned obvious. What the hell had gotten into Willow today? There was no question what she was after. At least he didn’t think there was. Though the only truth about women he’d learned was that not one of them was predictable.
    She was too young. But dammit, he was a man. Why would she want to risk their partnership with romance? The only place romance ended up was broken hearts or strained goodbyes.
    It wasn’t that he didn’t find her attractive. She was damn sexy. There was no difficulty imagining her body entangled with his. Earlier, at
her apartment, he’d wanted to run his tongue over her lips and explore the
interior of her mouth. That slight overbite intrigued him. It had possibilities that only made him grow harder.
    So what was holding him back? Age. Pure and simple. But if it didn’t matter to her, why should it matter to him? He had no answer. When he looked at her, he only saw Willow: vibrant, bright, captivating. What did she see when she looked at him?
    Maybe it hadn’t been a good idea to drop by her apartment. He’d wanted to see her laugh. He chewed a fingernail. Damn, the track was a safer place.
     
    - o -
     
    “You better stand aside unless you want to get soaked.” Daisy, up to her armpits in soap suds, sprayed water over the bay gelding’s back and down his flanks. He’d just run second in a claiming race for horses who had not won three races in their lifetime.
    Nick moved away from the splattering water. “So should we try to claim a horse like him?”
    Daisy straightened and assessed the horse as if for the first time. Without glancing at Nick, she returned to her task of bathing the animal. “Depends on how much you want to spend and at what level you want to compete. This guy is a
twenty thousand dollar claimer who is earning his keep, barely.”
    “What if I wanted to buy
four more horses to go along with Blaze? Using her as the foundation, let’s think of two horses better than she is and two maybe not as good.