Not when the taste of Steven's wife was still in his mouth.
Since she'd, been back, he'd wondered if being with Daisy would be as good as he remembered. The answerwas that it was better. Better in some way he didn't even try to define. He just knew that being with her wasdifferent. It was more than just sex. More than the pleasure he usually found being with a woman. More than aquickie on the trunk of a car.
It wasn't love. He knew for a fad that he wasn't in love with Daisy Lee. He might talk slow, but he wasn't stupid.
And loving Daisy was just plain stupid. He didn't know why being with her felt different, but he didn't want toknow either. He wasn't the kind of guy who dissected his life and looked for hidden meaning. No, he was thekind of guy who pushed it down deep until it went away. All he knew for certain was that sex with her wasbetter than any he'd had in a long time, and it was a good thing that she was leaving so he could return to hislife. His life before she'd blown into town and reminded him of things that were better left forgotten.
She was gone now, and there was no reason why he should think of her again.
No reason at all.
A black-and-white tow truck pulled up to Ronnie's house as Daisy and Louella drove past on their way to thehospital. It was only a few blocks out of their way on Locust Grove, and they had to see the destruction forthemselves.
Ronnie's little house was beige stucco and someone had nailed a longhorn skull over the front door. His yardconsisted of stubby brown weeds, and it would have been a drab scene if not for Lily's Red Ford Taurus stickinghalf out the front room.
"Was Ronnie home?" Daisy asked as she floored the Caddy and sped on. She figured all the cops standingaround were too busy gawking at Lily's Taurus to take notice of a speeder.
"I don't think so, but we won't know for sure until we get to the hospital."
Daisy hated hospitals. No matter the city or state, they all smelled and felt the same. Sterile and cold. She'dspent enough time in them with Steven to know that they dispensed a lot of medication and advice, but rarelygood news.
She and her mother walked through the small hospital's emergency room doors and, after a few moments, weretaken to Lily. Pippen was at home with Louella's next-door neighbor, and it was a good thing he wasn't withthem. The second the nurse pushed back the green-and-blue striped curtain separating the beds, Louella burstinto tears.
"It's okay, Mom," Daisy said, suddenly feeling like the only sane person in a family that had lost its collectivemind. She took her mother's hand and held tight. "Lily's going to be okay."
But Lily didn't look okay. The left side of her face was swelling and there was a gash on her forehead. Bloodcaked her blond hair and the corners of her closed eyes. Some sort of bandaging immobilized her left arm, thickand very white, except where bright red blood seeped through. There was an Win her right forearm, whichwasn't bandaged, and her clothes had been cut off. A young male doctor in green scrubs lifted the sheet to listento her heart and lungs. He looked up at them through wire-framed glasses.
Louella moved to the head of the bed and Daisy went with her. "Lily Belle. Momma's here. Daisy too."
Lily didn't respond and Daisy reached out to touch the side of her face that wasn't swollen. Her sister lookeddeadly pale, and if it weren't for the steady rise and fall of her chest, Daisy would have thought she really wasdead. It was too much in an already emotionally charged day, and like the flip of a switch, Daisy's autopilotkicked in, and she felt herself go numb inside.
"What's the matter with her?" Louella asked.
"All we know so far," the young doctor answered, "is she has lacerations to her left arm and forehead and herankle looks to be fractured. We won't know anything more until we get her CT scans."
"Why isn't she awake?"
"She took a pretty nasty hit to her forehead. I don't believe her skull is fractured and her pupils are responsive.
We'll know more after we get a look at her X-rays."
"Was there anyone else hurt in the accident?" Daisy asked, praying Lily hadn't mowed down Ronnie and Kelly.
"She was the only one transported from the scene."
Which told Daisy nothing. Ronnie and Kelly could have been treated at the scene or, God forbid, dead. Shehadn't seen Ronnie, but she hadn't been looking.
They were only permitted a few moments with Lily before she was wheeled away. They were told a doctorwould talk to them shortly, but Daisy knew "shortly" could take hours.
She and her mother were shown to a small waiting room, and it looked and felt like every other waiting roomshe'd ever been in. She figured that all hospitals must choose colors from the same palate. Blues, greens, and adash of maroon.
They sat together on a small blue sofa, and on the table next to Daisy sat a fake fern, a copy of Reader's Digest,Newsweek, and the Gideon Bible. She'd read a lot of Reader's Digest over of the last two and a half years, andshe didn't even have a subscription.
A man and a woman stood near the door talking in hushed tones as if they raised their voice they'd scream.
Daisy knew how they felt. She'd been here before, so many times. Finding distractions so she wouldn't screamand fall apart, concentrating on nice, even breaths so she could pretend her husband hadn't been dying. And nowthat her sister wasn't lying on a hospital gurney with blood crusted in her beautiful blond hair.
She picked up the Reader's Digest and flipped to "Humor in Uniform."
"She looked so white," Louella said, a tremble in her voice. "And there was so much blood."
"Scalps bleed a lot, Mom." She sounded so cool. As if she wasn't trembling inside, in the place where sheshoved it all away. Down deep where she could control it. She'd gotten really good at sucking up her emotionsand going numb inside. Never letting things get too close to the surface, because if she jet that happen, she'dlose it for sure.
Like with Jack today.
"How do you know?"
"Steven," she answered, and concentrated even harder on her magazine. She didn't want to think about Jackright now. She'd have to deal with him, and the repercussions of what she'd done, but not today. For now shepushed that problem down to the number two spot on her to-do list. Lily and the potential of murder chargesmoved to number one. She wondered how much a really good psychiatrist cost these days.
"Why wouldn't they tell us anything?"
"They don't know anything right now."
A police officer walked into the room and asked if they were related to Lily. He had a crewcut and wore a blueuniform and looked as if he could bench three hundred. He identified himself as Officer Neal Flegel. "Igraduated high school with Lily and Ronnie," he said.
"You're Matt's little brother." Daisy shook his hand. "I went to a high school dance with Matt our sophomoreyear. Does he still live in Lovett?" she asked, because after all, this was Texas and manners came beforeemergencies.
"He just moved back from San Antone. I'll tell him you asked about him." He pulled out his notebook and gotdown to business. "I surely hated to see Lily in that car." He told them that the Taurus had come to a stop fivefeet inside Ronnie's living room. And as Daisy tried to figure out a subtle way of inquiring if Lily had killedRonnie, Neal Flegel asked, "Do either of you have any reason to think she might have done this on purpose?"
That had actually been Daisy's first and only thought. "No." She shook her head and tried to look perplexed. "Itmust have been an accident."
"Her foot must have slipped," Louella said, and Daisy wondered if her mother actually believed it any morethan she did. "And," Louella continued as if just struck by a thought, "she's been getting those blindingmigraines lately."
"We spoke to Ronnie and he told us they'd been fighting a lot lately"
"You spoke to Ronnie today?" Daisy almost laughed with relief. "After the accident?"