by Laura Moore
Her eyes instinctively sought out Caleb, standing to the side, a smile lighting up his handsome features. How incredibly beautiful he is, she thought for the hundredth time, wanting to preserve the memory of his smile forever in her heart.
Caleb stepped toward her and lifted her chin with his finger, a smile still curving his lips. Lowering his head, his eyes, dark and compelling locked with hers, now shaded to a deep blue underneath the brim of her hard hat. “Not too shabby, Slim,” he murmured before his lips claimed hers.
The kiss was brief, both of them too aware of their surroundings. Cassie could just imagine what might happen if Pamela were still lurking around, like some dreaded ghoul. Nevertheless, Cassie’s pulse was racing as she stepped back, a hint of breathlessness in her voice.
“Orion was the one who did all the work. Speaking of which, I’ve got to get him so we can collect our ribbon.” She paused as a thought occurred to her. “You know I think we may have even won some prize money so I’m buying lunch.”
“Hear that, Caleb? Got ourselves a sweet deal. A great rider and a big spender, too.”
“Who could resist? How many burgers are you worth, Slim?”
She laughed, scanning the crowd for a glimpse of Raffael and Orion. Spotting them at last, she moved off in their direction, calling over her shoulder as she went. “Just let me grab our earnings, first. Then we’ll eat ’til you’re crying for mercy.”
A blue ribbon would have been infinitely more becoming on Orion, Cassie decided, and the four hundred and forty dollars they won didn’t even begin to cover the expenses involved in bringing him to the show in the first place, but, hey, it was a start.
Leading Orion back to the spot where she’d left Caleb and Hank, she found them in conversation with another man. Moving nearer, she recognized him as the winning rider of the jumper class.
The conversation broke off as the men became aware of Cassie and the stallion’s approach. Caleb stepped forward to hold Orion’s bridle as Cassie dismounted, while Hank and the rider stood back a bit, their eyes traveling over the dark bay.
Hank spoke first. “Rob, I’d like you to meet Five Oaks’s new rider and trainer, Cassie Miller. Cassie, this is Rob Buchanan. Rob has a farm south of here. Sold him a few horses over the years.”
Rob Buchanan stepped forward as Cassie extended her hand. He smiled and shook it. Cassie placed him at about forty. Tanned face, hazel eyes, and dark blond hair that curled under the rim of his hat. He had the wiry build of an equestrian.
Cassie smiled back politely. “Hello. That was a nice ride you had. Your horse made some impressive distances on those jumps.”
“Thanks. Otto’s a real trooper. I was just telling Hank and Caleb how much I liked Orion here. That was some show he put on for the crowd. Really dramatic.”
“Yeah, well this is his first show of the season. We’re just getting some mileage under our belts.”
Buchanan nodded. His smile went up a notch. “Now tell me about a bit about yourself. Why is it that this is the first time I’ve seen your face? Where have they been hiding you?”
“Oh, I’ve been up north mostly. Except for Florida, I’ve never made it this far south before.”
“It’s a real treat to have a new face to look at. The old crowd’s getting pretty dull around here. I hope we’ll be seeing a lot of you.”
“Thanks,” Cassie replied, before turning to Caleb. “Caleb, I’m starving. Do you mind heading over to the concession stand now?” She gave a friendly nod to Rob Buchanan. “Good to meet you, Rob. Hank, come find us when you’re ready. Remember, I’m buying.”
Caleb was sure he used to like Rob Buchanan. Good horseman and honest, to boot, which was fairly rare in the horse world. Now after having seen the way he tried to ooze charm all over Cassie he wouldn’t be terribly sorry if the guy came down with a sudden attack of flesh-eating disease.
He wondered whether Cassie had even noticed.
He gave her a quick sideways glance. They were walking side by side, heading in the direction of the trailer. She was leading Orion by the reins, her face calm and composed. She had such unbelievable cheekbones. The faint freckles on the bridge of her nose were pretty irresistible, too. He cleared his throat. “So, what do you think of Rob Buchanan?”
“Seems nice. Had a good ride, that’s for sure.”
She was obviously clueless. A hint of asperity entered his voice. “He seemed to like you an awful lot.”
Cassie shrugged her shoulders, the dark blue fabric suddenly hot in the midday sun. She hadn’t realized how warm it had become. She’d take it off when they got to the trailer.
“Sorry, what’d you say Caleb? I was thinking of something.”
He blew out a loud breath, exasperated with the way the conversation was going. He stopped abruptly so he’d have her full attention. “I said, he certainly seemed to like you.” He enunciated his words carefully, as if he were speaking to a not terribly bright child.
Cassie giggled. “Oh, that. Funny isn’t it? Well, to tell you the truth, most of the guys on the circuit talk to me that way. That is, until I start beating them consistently. That usually does the trick in stopping the ‘Me, macho rider you, show bunny’ routine.” She started walking again, her mouth watering in anticipation of those hot dogs. “Just wait and see how much he likes me when Orion and I beat him in the Grand Prix class this afternoon.”
Relief flooded Caleb. Thank God, was all he could think.
“Damn, Slim, you’re a regular Amazon.”
“You betcha. Hey, you think you could walk a little faster?”
20
T hompson and the twins arrived in time to watch Cassie compete in the Grand Prix. To Caleb’s relief, he found that this time around he wasn’t nearly as nervous for her, probably because he was too busy answering the thousand-and-one questions Sophie and Jamie were peppering him with.
When Cassie’s number was called, Caleb hoisted Jamie up onto his shoulders so that he was high enough to see his mother ride, Hank good naturedly doing the same for Sophie. The two men had both promised that if there was a jump-off, the twins could switch shoulders.
Grand Prix classes were designed to up the ante in terms of challenging horse and rider. The courses consisted of two parts, the first part emphasizing puissance, or strength, and the second half testing the horses’ speed. In addition, the time limit set for finishing the course was often shorter than the times for jumping classes, so that the pace for the course had to be ridden much faster. What it boiled down to was: higher, harder, faster.
Caleb knew that Cassie and Orion could handle the difficult twists and turns that the course designer had created for this class. He and Hank had both walked the course with her this time; although there were definitely some tricky spots, no one had stopped and uttered the big “uhoh.” The only jump Caleb remained concerned about was that double-oxer. It had been raised about a foot higher. That much more sheer ugliness for Orion to get worked up about.
His eyes were glued to her as she trotted into the ring. Above him, Jamie squeezed his legs together in excitement and Caleb raised his hands to the little boy’s knees to keep from being strangled.
Cassie and Orion looked as fresh as they had this morning. Caleb still had trouble believing that all the ketchup and relish she’d slathered on her three hot dogs hadn’t ended up on the snow-white breeches she wore, but miraculously they’d escaped a single drop of condiment. Almost as amazing a feat as watching her eat three hot dogs in a stunningly short period of time.
He hoped she wasn’t feeling the effects of her lunch out there.
Cassie’s world had narrowed to three things: her horse, the course, and the clock. She’d drawn second in the jumping order, so she knew she was setting a ride for everyone to chase down and beat. The first rider had blown it from the start. She’d watched him sawing away at his horse’s mouth, jerking his poor mount’s head so high there was no physical way it could have jumped the fence cleanly. It hadn’t. R
attled, the horse had had a devil of a time just finishing the course. Cassie hadn’t even wanted to watch.
Earlier on, when they’d been walking the course, Hank had suggested a strategy. Go for the shortest distances she dared on the first six jumps, the big nasty fences that would suck the energy out of most of the other horses’ legs, and then put on the gas for the final six, relying on Orion’s incredible stamina to bring them home faster than anyone else.
Cassie knew a second’s panic as the first fence, a huge brightly striped vertical, loomed up at her. It looked enormous, even from her vantage point astride Orion. But then she felt the stallion go into gear, his galloping legs pumping underneath her, and she knew he had the heart to take on anything if she just played it right.
Cassie rode him brilliantly.
From the side of the show ring, it seemed as though Orion didn’t even bat an eye this time at the double-oxer simply sailed over it, his knees tucked tightly under him. The spectators became increasingly enthusiastic with each fence they cleared. When Cassie landed the final jump, her torso bent low over Orion’s neck racing to cross the line and stop the electronic timer, the small crowd applauded loudly at the first clean round.
“I can’t believe it! I can’t believe it!” Her first Grand Prix with Orion and they’d gone clear! Cassie was ecstatic, grinning from ear to ear as she patted Orion’s lathered neck.
“Mommy, Mommy, you were going so fast.”
“I sure hope so, Jamie. It certainly felt that way to me.” “And nothing fell down!”
“I know. Maybe Orion was satisfied he’d had his revenge on that oxer ” Cassie offered, still marveling. She dismounted, her legs more than a little wobbly as she hit the ground. “I think you and Jamie should cross your fingers and hope very hard that Orion’s the only one to pull off a clear round.”
Raffael stepped up with the cooler in his hands. “Nice ride, Cassie. You two looked real tough to beat out there.”
“Thanks.” Gratefully, she handed over the reins for him to walk Orion in the shade of some trees.
Jamie scrambled down from Caleb’s shoulders with the agility of a baby chimpanzee and sped to his mother’s outstretched arms. Sophie took her cue from Jamie and in a moment she, too, was being embraced.
“Thank you, Pumpkin. Yes, Orion is a really good horse. Why don’t we watch the others now and see whether they can do as well. By the way what have you two rascals done with Thompson?”
“Uh, Slim, Thompson had to take a walk. I think she needed some air expand her lungs a bit.” A euphemism if there ever was one. When Bessie had seen the size of the first fence, she’d almost started hyperventilating.
“Oh, right. Air. I’d forgotten.” Thompson wasn’t a big fan of horses in the first place, always fretting that Cassie was going to break her neck. Cassie considered it a true sign of loyalty that Thompson willingly accompanied the twins to see her compete.
The fates must have been smiling down on Cassie that day, or maybe it was the twins’ fingers crossed tightly together that did the trick. In any case, none of the other riders got a clean round. Although a few came agonizingly close, Rob Buchanan among them.
Caleb almost laughed out loud when he saw the look Buchanan shot Cassie as she accepted the winner’s trophy and prize money and then led Orion away, with the long blue ribbon fluttering against the cheek piece of his bridle.
The twins insisted on driving back with Cassie and Caleb in the Jeep, even though Cassie explained to them that they wouldn’t be driving home directly. First, they had to stop off at Five Oaks and poultice Orion’s legs. And Hot Lips had to be hand walked before they could head on home. The twins had promised to be on their best behavior as they were unloading the stallion. Even those stringent conditions didn’t dampen their five-year-old enthusiasm. Thompson said the twins’ abandonment was fine with her, she’d be able to get dinner ready in peace. She called out to Caleb as she was driving off that she’d be expecting him, too. Caleb accepted the invitation gratefully. He was almost positive that once there’d been a can of tuna fish in the back of the refrigerator, but he couldn’t remember whether he’d eaten it or not. Truth be told, he’d gotten so used to the bounty of Thompson’s cooking that his grocery shopping skills, shaky at best, had fallen by the wayside.
Cassie dropped her car keys into his outstretched palm and opened the rear door for the twins to climb in. She fastened their seat belts, giving them each a kiss before shutting the door. Caleb waited until she pulled off her field boots and socks, tossed them in her bag in exchange for a pair of beat up tennis shoes, and settled herself in the passenger seat before turning the key in the ignition.
The twins amused themselves for the first few minutes by groaning loudly extravagantly as the Jeep heaved and rolled over the rutted field and then onto the potholeriddled dirt drive.
After an especially loud groan from the back seat, Cassie observed, “Good thing you told me to park close to the exit, Caleb.”
“Yeah,” he replied dryly.
Once they’d reached the tarmacadam, the shrill groans and moans died down. There were a few moments of animated whispers. Then, “Mommy, are we there yet?”
“No, Sophie, honey. We’ve got a long way to go. Why don’t you look out the window?”
About a minute and a half of silence. “Mommy, tell Jamie to quit it. He’s bothering me.”
“I am not,” Jamie’s voice erupted, indignant at the accusation.
“Are so. You kicked my leg!”
Cassie shot Caleb a look of apology. “They’re wiped out.” Turning around to address her children, she spoke firmly. “Kids, there’s plenty of room back there. Please don’t fight. No, Sophie, don’t stick your tongue out at Jamie. It’s not nice and you know you’ll get upset when he does it back at you. Look,” she said a bit desperately seeing the mutinous set to their faces, “would you like to listen to a tape? Let me see what’s in the glove compartment.” She reached forward and fumbled inside, drawing out three cassettes.
“Okay, we’ve got Winnie the Pooh; Peter, Paul, and Mary singing ‘Puff, the Magic Dragon,’ . . . remember how you love that song? And there’s Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs & Ham and The Cat in the Hat.”
“I want to hear Where the Wild Things Are!”
“Sorry, Jamie. That tape must be in Thompson’s car. We only have these three.”
Jamie and Sophie spent the next five minutes arguing fiercely over what tape they wanted. Cassie’s head began to pound, exhaustion after the long day fraying what patience remained.
She sighed wearily. She supposed it was time to read them the riot act.
“You know Cassie,” Caleb speaking loudly enough to be heard over the din. “I’m not sure I remember how The Cat in the Hat goes. Is that the one where the Christmas presents get taken?”
Sophie and Jamie giggled. “No, Caleb. That’s the one with the Grinch.”
“You sure about that? I remember that story pretty well. My mom read it to me about twenty-five years ago, so I guess I’d remember a thing like that.”
“Mommy, let’s listen to that one. Caleb’s forgotten the whole thing!”
Cassie shoved the cassette inside the tape player. She mouthed the word thanks to Caleb and he shrugged his shoulders, grinning. She simply hadn’t had the energy to figure out how to distract them out of their quarrelsome mood.
Blessed peace was restored to the back seat as the zany magical words of Dr. Seuss filled the air. Caleb turned his attention back to the road, negotiating the weekend traffic, and Cassie slowly allowed herself to relax.
“Cassie, I, uh, just wanted to tell you what a fantastic job you did today. Don’t worry about Pamela. The way you rode Orion was awesome, you two are a dynamite team.”
Silence.
Caleb glanced over, chagrined to find Cassie fast asleep, her hands fisted under her chin, her head pressed against the car window. At this moment, she looked barely older than Sophie. Well, hell, he thought, shaking his head. G
uess I’ll be taking that refresher course on Dr. Seuss after all.
21
“ Alex? Hi, it’s me.”
“Cass! How’d it go today?” Cassie could tell from her brother’s voice that she hadn’t awakened him. No surprise: Alex rarely bothered to sleep.
Cassie curled her legs under the smooth cotton sheets of her bed. It was almost midnight, and she’d finally gotten to take her bath and turn in, so tired she’d almost crawled into her bed. But before switching off the light, she’d reached for the phone. She’d wanted to call Alex and share her success. Cassie couldn’t explain it clearly, but a gnawing fear was growing inside her that she was losing him. His voice had sounded so far away the last few times they’d talked. Already, Cassie had invited him to come for a visit, but hadn’t succeeded in pinning him down to a date. He kept rattling off one excuse after another.
“Alex, he was fantastic! We had a wee bit of trouble in the first class. We’re still getting used to each other, after all . . . But Alex, guess what? We won the Grand Prix. We had the only clean round!”
“Cass, that’s great. I knew you could do it.”
“It was only a small show, you know a Saturday event. Still, there were some decent riders there. Pamela, Caleb’s ex, showed up, too, but I didn’t let that spoil it.”
“She did? How’d she react to finding out you’re riding her horse?”
“He’s practically Caleb’s . . . I’m sure you can imagine her reaction. Snide, rude, threatening. Started going on about her ‘investment’ and ‘property’ and contacting her lawyer. How could someone think of a horse like Orion as an investment?”
She got no response from her brother to her question. Nothing but the background clicks of the long-distance call, until at last Alex remarked, “Sounds like typical ex-wife stuff to me. Don’t worry about it Cass, just go out and do what you do best. I know you’re going to cream them at the bigger shows, too.”
