By the time they’d passed the stands for the first time, Alter Ego’s speed equaled the track record for a quarter mile. He couldn’t keep up this pace, but he was probably wearing the horses out so his stablemate, Brown Eyes, might stand a chance in the end.
Sid pulled even with the leader as they neared the first turn. He ran tirelessly, with reckless abandon. Only Kate knew better. There wasn’t a horse she’d ever seen who could keep up this pace and still have something left for the finish. As they entered the backstretch, Sid pulled ahead by a few lengths, not showing any signs of slowing down yet.
But he was a mere horse; he wasn’t a mythical creature who could run forever. Sid’s lungs had to be screaming for air. His heart pumping wildly. His legs aching as they pounded the turf.
They rounded the far turn in world record time. Alter Ego dropped back to fourth, and the other horses began to move up.
Still, Sid ran without any visible signs of fatigue.
He pulled wide on the far turn, which caused him to run several precious extra yards compared to the tightly bunched pack on the rail. He straightened coming into the homestretch, but he’d lost valuable ground.
Only then did Kate realize she’d been so focused on Sid, she’d forgotten to watch her own horse. Jet had moved up between horses. He sped past the second and third horses and pulled even with Sid’s hindquarters.
Sweat flecked the area on both horses’ necks where the reins touched their coats. Jose glanced over his shoulder to see Jet bearing down on them with lots of gas in reserve.
He crouched down low over his horse’s neck. She could see Jose’s mouth move and knew he was talking to Sid. Jet edged closer, his nose at Sid’s girth, then his shoulders, then his neck. Kate was on her feet screaming for both horses, wanting them both to win equally. All around her, the SeattleStrong team had risen as one, their shouts of encouragement deafening to the ears.
Jet’s nose moved even with Sid’s, less than a football field’s length from the finish. Sid wasn’t having it. With a super-horse burst of speed, he dug in and leaped ahead by one length, two lengths, three lengths, and they were under the wire.
Hunter grabbed Kate and hugged her tight. All around, his teammates, their women, and his family were hugging, crying, and laughing.
Sid had won the Kentucky Derby in world record time.
And Kate couldn’t be happier.
* * * *
Hunter grabbed Kate’s hand. “Let’s go.” He grinned at her, unable to contain his joy over Sid’s win. She grinned back. He searched her face for regret and only saw a flash of disappointment in those beautiful eyes of hers.
“We finished first and second.”
“That we did.” She gazed up at him with tears in her eyes.
“Oh, baby, I’m sorry, really, really sorry,” he said.
She laughed. “I’m happy, you goofball. Happy tears. Not sad. Jet’ll win the Preakness.”
“Like hell. It’s Sid’s, all the way to the Triple Crown.” He grinned at her. “Let’s get down to the winner’s circle.”
Kate hesitated, and her gaze swept the large crowd of his investors and their families spilling out of the boxes and heading for the winner’s circle.
“I want you down there with me. You’re my partner in life, which means Sid is ours.”
“And about twenty other peoples’,” she pointed out.
He laughed. “There is that, but we have majority interest.”
She kissed his lips. “I’d be honored to stand with you and hold the trophy.”
A few minutes later, the huge group of Seattle sports who’s whos crowded into the winner’s circle and passed the trophy around for pictures. Sid stood in front of them, blanketed in roses. He turned his head and began to pluck the roses from the blanket, drawing a roar of laughter from his entourage.
Lilli beamed with her hand in Cameron’s. Mitch held Sid’s bridle while Jose sat on his back, his grin wider than the Columbia River.
Hunter puffed up with pride; he couldn’t help it. SeaStrong, aka Sid, would go down in history as a Kentucky Derby winner, and he’d done it running wire to wire and in record time. No small feat.
An announcer he’d never seen shoved a microphone in his face as he stood proudly next to Sid. “How does wining the Derby compare to winning the Super Bowl?”
“I’ll let you know when I win the Super Bowl.”
The man’s face turned bright red right up to his ears. Hunter paid no mind. He should’ve done his research.
“So, uh, are you looking forward to the Triple Crown?”
Hunter narrowed his eyes at the guy’s inane questions, but he was feeling magnanimous so he decided to cut him some slack. “Absolutely. All of us are.”
“What do you think SeaStrong’s chances are for a Triple Crown?”
“You’d have to ask Sid.”
Laughter erupted around him, while Sid, ever the attention slut, grabbed Hunter’s shirtsleeve and pulled on it. Hunter extricated himself from Sid’s jaws before the animal latched on to something other than fabric. Hunter needed that arm.
The announcer, not thrilled with Hunter’s answers, turned to Lilli. “Did you know your horse was going to win?”
Lilli smiled as she leaned into Cameron. “Yes, he told me he was going to win.”
The announcer seemed at a loss for words, while the rest of the group erupted in another bout of laughter. The man zeroed in on Kate, and she prepared herself.
“Kate Vanderhof-Carrigan, your family has owned Oak Brook for one hundred years, and you have another horse in this race. Many race-goers are wondering how you’re associated with the SeaStrong ownership.”
Kate opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. Hunter took care of it for her. He knew exactly how to answer that question.
“We’re engaged.”
Kate gaped at him, dumbstruck. “We are?”
“I hope so.” He dropped to one knee. “Will you marry me, Kate?”
She blinked several times, then started laughing as if she’d lost her mind. Hunter gritted his teeth and waited not-so-patiently. She let him sweat it out a few more seconds.
“Yes,” she said.
Someone shoved the Derby Cup in Hunter’s hands. He held it out to her. “This’ll have to do until I can get a ring.”
“It’ll do nicely.” She took the cup from him as he rose to his feet.
Hunter hugged her tightly, the cup wedged between them, and kissed her until he heard the jeers of his teammates, family, and friends.
Those pictures would find a place on his mantel for generations of McCoys to gaze upon and hear the story of Sid and the Kentucky Derby.
Chapter 26—Winner’s Circle
The day after the Kentucky Derby, Kate and Hunter drove out to Oak Brook. Hunter’s nana insisted on going with them to meet Kate’s mother, Mary, claiming to have some concoction that would help. Lilli and Cameron also tagged along. Kate didn’t argue. They’d tried everything else. The family had nothing to lose. If Nana or Lilli could help in some manner, she was all for it.
Jet and Sid were shipped to Pimlico for the next leg of the Triple Crown.
Mary, looking tired and worn out, was still happy for Kate. She didn’t seem to mind that the farm would be sold as long as her daughter had found the happiness that had eluded her all her life. Kate knew they should leave, but Nana wanted a few minutes with Mary.
Kate and Hunter took a walk around the farm, leaving the two women alone.
“What is she going to do?”
“Give her some remedies and healing methods that have been passed down through the generations. I can’t guarantee any of them will work, but my nana has some amazing powers I’ve never been able to explain.”
Kate nodded. “Your nana is a force of nature.”
“That she is.” Hunter chuckled. “This place is amazing,” Hunter said as he gazed out over the white rail fences, green grass, and white barns dotting the rolling hills.
“It
is.” Pride swelled within Kate, followed by a lump in her throat. She swallowed and wiped away tears with the back of her hand.
“We could find a way to save it. I know we could.”
She shook her head. “The money it would take to buy out my family and then maintain this place would take a billionaire to invest in it.”
“We could approach Ethan Parker, the owner of the Sockeyes. He appears to enjoy racing. He even mentioned he might want another horse.”
“Not trying to be negative, but owning a second racehorse is a far cry from owning an operation like this.”
Hunter shrugged, not entirely convinced. Hunter saw everything in its simplest pieces and refused to get bogged down in the details.
“Hunter, I appreciate your wanting to help, but I’ve let go. It’s time to move on and let fate deal the cards. Maybe someone will buy Oak Brook and return it to its former glory. Maybe someone will rip everything down and build mega-mansions five feet from each other. It’s out of my hands. I did the best I could, and my life has taken a different direction. I have other priorities and obligations now.”
He nodded, appearing to mull over her words.
“I want to learn all I can about your heritage, and I want to work side by side with you to make a better life for those lives we can touch.”
Hunter turned her toward him and kissed her deeply, promising love and stability in a world that was constantly changing. She smiled at the love of her life and couldn’t wait to start their future together as husband and wife.
But first, they had a Triple Crown to win.
~ THE END ~
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COMPLETE BOOKLIST
The following Jami Davenport titles are available in digital and many are available as trade paperbacks.
Madrona Island Series
Madrona Sunset
Evergreen Dynasty Series
Save the Last Dance
Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed?
The Gift Horse
Game On in Seattle
Skating on Thin Ice (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)
Crashing the Net (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)
Love at First Snow (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)
Melting Ice (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)
Blindsided (Seattle Steelheads Football)
Hearts on Ice (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)
Bodychecking (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)
Bottom of the Ninth (Seattle Skookums Baseball)
Game Changer (Seattle Steelheads Football)
Goaltending (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)—May 2017
Men of Tyee
Sacked in Seattle—August 2017
Seattle Lumberjacks Football Series
Fourth and Goal
Forward Passes
Down by Contact
Backfield in Motion
Time of Possession
Roughing the Passer
Standalone Books
Christmas Break
Daring to Win (Carly Phillips’ Dare to Love Kindle World)
Game for You (Bella Andre’s Game for Love Kindle World)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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USA Today bestselling author Jami Davenport writes sexy contemporary and sports romances, including her two new indie endeavors: the Game On in Seattle Series and the Madrona Island Series. Jami's new releases consistently rank in the top fifty on the sports romance and sports genre lists on Amazon, and she has hit the Amazon top hundred authors list in both contemporary romance and genre fiction multiple times. Jami ranked Number Seven on Kobo's Top Ten Most Completed Authors, an honor bestowed on the year's "most engaging" authors based on an average page completion rate by their readers.
Jami lives on a small farm near Puget Sound with her Green Beret-turned-plumber husband, a Newfoundland cross with a tennis ball fetish, a prince disguised as an orange tabby cat, and an opinionated Hanoverian mare.
Jami works in IT for her day job and is a former high school business teacher. She's a lifetime Seahawks and Mariners fan, is waiting for the day professional hockey comes to Seattle, and still misses her SuperSonics. An avid boater, Jami has spent countless hours in the San Juan Islands, a common setting in her books. In her opinion, it's the most beautiful place on earth.
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Game Changer: Seattle Steelheads Football (Game On in Seattle Book 7) Page 23
