by T. J. Kline
He walked to the stall door and looked inside, exhaling slowly as if he’d been as nervous about this negotiation as she had.
“He can’t go back to your training facility. He needs somewhere private, away from everything he’s used to, someplace he’s never been.”
“How am I supposed to manage that?”
He turned back toward her and tipped his chin down, his expression dubious. “You’re a Radcliffe. I’m sure you can figure out a way.” His voice didn’t brook any room for argument. “Someplace quiet.”
Fallon bit her lip, trying to figure out where to take Dreamer. Pulling out her phone, she sent her brother a quick text. He owned a biodynamic vineyard in Sonoma. It was the only place she could think of that would be available immediately and might fit Travis’s demands. Gabe immediately responded that she was welcome to the house since he and Anna were heading to Italy the next morning, traveling for business for the next few months. He promised to tell his vineyard livestock manager, Marco, she’d be arriving and ask him to open the house for her.
“Done. We can take him up to Sonoma as soon as he’s ready to travel.”
Travis shot her a sardonic look. “Must be nice to get anything you want with nothing more than a text. Give me directions. I’ll drive him up myself as soon as the sedative wears off. We’ll be there by tomorrow night.”
“You sure?”
“Nope,” he admitted. “But waiting isn’t going to make me any more certain.”
She wondered why he sounded like he had more doubts about their arrangement than she did. She was the one taking all the risk.
Chapter 5
This is a big mistake.
Travis fought the conflicting emotions roiling in his gut as he slowed the truck and trailer in the massive driveway of the vineyard. On one hand, he’d followed Dreamer leading up to this race and recognized his potential to be a champion. He knew that Dreamer could be the one to bring him back from the brink and boost him back into his career. But, on the other hand, he’d be faced with Fallon Radcliffe.
And he didn’t like her.
Okay, that wasn’t exactly true. He did like her, and too much. But he didn’t want to. Especially not if he was going to be working for her.
He wanted to feel contempt for her. To see her as the woman he’d expected her to be. The spoiled rich girl, playing at becoming a famous racehorse owner. He’d seen plenty of them rise and fall, but there was something different about Fallon, and he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. But that wasn’t really what was giving him pause about accepting this job.
It was what had happened whenever they touched. When she’d reached for his arm. It was what had happened when their eyes met. The heated attraction seemed to sizzle between them like an open current of electricity.
It was dangerous. He didn’t want to be drawn to her, but he couldn’t fight the magnetic pull between them. He’d given in to it when he said yes.
As much as Travis wanted to believe his motive was to help bring the colt to greatness, he couldn’t deny the idea of spending more time near Fallon was tempting, though she was out of his league. Hell, he still wasn’t sure how he’d even managed to get into the ballpark. Besides, he knew to keep business separate from pleasure and, as enticing as Fallon was, this was nothing but business.
She was, without a doubt, in over her head and needed someone to keep an eye out for her. She had no clue how men like Casper would talk about her, and he doubted her delicate sensibilities were prepared for the ugly reality she’d be forced to face in this boys’ club. She seemed so naive and trusting. And he wanted to protect her from it if he could.
Travis parked the truck as Fallon came out of the house, looking concerned. She hurried toward him as he jumped out and went to the back of the trailer to unload the horse.
“You finally made it.” She looked more casual today. Her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail, and she was wearing a flannel shirt and jeans. Casual and, unfortunately for him, sexy as hell.
Travis untied Dreamer and led him out. He could have put the horse on a flight since driving took longer, but Travis wanted to lower the colt’s stress level. Surprisingly, Dreamer remained remarkably calm the entire ride, which made Travis wonder what could have sparked the episode at the track.
Two horses whinnied from somewhere near the barn as Dreamer backed down the ramp, and his head instantly shot up, but without agitation. At the sharp bray of a donkey, Travis gave Fallon a curious look.
“It’s my brother’s place,” she explained. “He’s big on biodynamic farming so he has all sorts of animals and habitats here.”
“Including a donkey?” Travis patted Dreamer on the neck and said, “Well, boy, you’re going to have some fun here the next few weeks.”
“This is what you wanted, right?” Fallon glanced toward the barn raucous with a variety of animal noises.
Travis nodded. “It’s exactly what he needs.” They walked him toward the barn.
“I prepared this stall for him,” Fallon said, pointing at an enclosed space at the end of the short row barn, away from the other animals.
“No, let’s do the one with the run.” He gestured toward an empty stall, situated between two goats and what appeared to be some sort of curly-coated, long-haired steer. Dreamer snorted as Travis turned him into the stall.
“Are you sure he’s going to be okay? He won’t hurt himself?”
Travis shrugged. It wasn’t an impossibility, but at least Dreamer was already settling, sniffing at the goats who had come out to greet him. “I think he’ll be okay.” Right then, the steer bawled loudly and, startled, Dreamer jumped to the side. He circled his run, kicking up his heels playfully before returning to inspect his other neighbor. Travis laughed. “He’ll be just fine.”
“Okay, if you’re sure.” Fallon shrugged slightly as she walked back toward the front of the barn.
He followed down the aisle, peering into the stalls along the way. Most were empty but one held several sheep. The first one housed the donkey he’d heard upon his arrival. “Well, aren’t you cute?”
“That’s Bubba. He’s sort of the guard dog of the barn, alerting us whenever someone is around,” Fallon explained. “Bo and Sadie are the quarter horses in the pasture. They’ll come in at night.” She started to leave the barn, but Travis held his ground. “Aren’t you coming?”
“Where?”
She frowned at him and said, “To your room, in the house.”
“I can’t stay in the house.”
“Of course you can. Where else would you stay?”
She gave him a breezy laugh, and it reminded him of the way the wind chimes on his grandmother’s porch tinkled in the summer evenings. It was the only time in his life he’d been happy or felt loved. Longing constricted his chest as he realized how tempting Fallon really was. She could give him all the things he’d rarely had in his past.
But Travis couldn’t go down that slippery road. He steeled his resolve and said, “I’m staying in the barn, where I belong.”
Chapter 6
Fallon tipped her head to one side, her blond hair falling over her shoulder as she stared at Travis incredulously. He didn’t have to explain to her that this was the way of the world. He was the hired help. Hired hands didn’t cross certain boundaries, and living in the house with her would be leaping over them.
Not to mention, it’d make it too easy for him to forget that this was purely a business arrangement.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Travis. You can’t stay out here.”
“Why not? I’ll be near Dreamer so I can monitor him more closely.”
It wasn’t untrue. She didn’t have to know the real reason he didn’t want to share close quarters with her, day in and day out. He was good at resisting temptation but even he didn’t have that much willpower. No man did.
“I’ll be fine on a cot out here.”
“You can’t sleep on a cot!”
Her outrage made him laugh.
“Why not? I’ve slept in worse places.” Inside his truck, in stalls, on a folding chair. It was better than a doorway. And hell, he’d done that, too.
“Take the office. I don’t use it,” a short Hispanic man offered, entering the barn with a large, yellow Labrador at his heels. He thrust his hand out to Travis. “Marco Delgado,” he said. “I’m the livestock manager. This is Maggie.” He patted the dog on the head and she sat at his feet.
Travis shook Marco’s hand before reaching out to pet the dog. “Looks like you’ve got a little of everything here.”
“Yep,” Marco said with a laugh. “Everything from dogs and cats to alpacas and a few beefalo. Once that horse lives here for a bit, he’ll be used to just about anything.” He waved a hand at the office door. “Go on and take over in there and move whatever you don’t need into the storage shed out back. Flag me down if you need me. I’ll be around. Mi establo es su establo.”
My barn is your barn.
“Gracias,” Travis called after him.
“De nada,” Marco answered with a wave, heading back outside.
“You know Spanish?” Fallon asked.
Travis laughed. “You don’t work around the track, or horses, in California and not learn Spanish. You’d be at a disadvantage without it.”
He crossed the aisle to the office. It looked almost identical to the other horse stalls from the outside, but inside, it was twice as large and had electricity. An overhead fan circled slowly in the breeze. Instead of the bars across the front windows, the rectangular spaces in the dividing walls were filled with Plexiglas.
Most of the barn offices Travis had seen were filled with ratty, second-hand furniture, but not this one. Plush leather couches and chairs were arranged comfortably in front of a large, walnut desk. Matching filing cabinets were nestled against the wall on the left. An oil painting of the Sonoma landscape hung behind the leather desk chair.
Travis ran a hand over the overstuffed, buttery soft cushions, trying not to look too impressed. “Forget the cot, this couch will be like sleeping on a cloud,” he muttered.
“My brother loves this vineyard more than life itself so he’s gone all out on every aspect of it,” Fallon explained. “Including this office that he never uses.”
Travis didn’t miss the adoration in her voice when she spoke about her brother.
“Be sure to thank him for me.” He turned back to face her. “I should grab my gear from the truck. We’ll give Dreamer a day or two to settle in and then I’ll get started.”
“Doing what?” She tucked her hands into her pockets and shrugged slightly. “What exactly is the plan?”
Well, it hadn’t taken long for her to start questioning him.
He almost reminded her of the fact but she’d already turned away from the office and headed back to Dreamer’s stall, watching the colt intently, looking genuinely concerned. Maybe he’d judged her too quickly.
Travis leaned over the door. “I’m taking Dreamer back to basics to see where he went off the rails and give him something to feel confident about. Then we’ll throw a few new things at him and see how he reacts.”
“You really think you can fix him?”
“Yes.”
“I mean, in time to race again?”
Irritation swelled in his chest. Like every other owner he’d worked with, Fallon only cared about losing her investment. He should have known better.
Dreamer came back inside and walked toward them. Reaching for a handful of grain from a tub beside her, she held out her hand for the colt. “I just want to see him happy again,” she said. “Even if it means retiring him or finding him a new job.” She ran her hand over the horse’s neck affectionately, something he rarely saw in owners. “You know what I mean?”
That wasn’t what he’d expected to hear from her. “What’s your end game with him, Fallon?”
She brushed her hands over the colt’s cheeks and he nickered softly, nuzzling at her face. She giggled quietly, rubbing under his chin as he stretched out his neck, enjoying the attention.
“He used to enjoy running and everything leading up to a race. Now, even I can see he’s spooked. He’s too sweet a colt for that to happen to him. If he’s better suited to be a jumper or a show horse, then so be it. I want him to enjoy his life again.”
He eyed her carefully, trying to judge the truth of her words. If he were to take her at her word, she cared about this animal more than the profit he could bring her.
“Right, big boy?” She moved her hand to rub at his neck again, laughing as he bobbed his head playfully, relishing the rubdown. She patted his shoulder and glanced at the watch on her wrist, the diamonds gleaming in the sunlight. “I’m hungry. Why don’t we go out and I’ll buy you dinner?”
Travis’s gaze crashed into hers, trying to ignore the sizzle of heat churning in his gut at the thought of being in a darkened restaurant with her, as if they were a couple on a date.
Was she asking him out? He wasn’t about to let her buy him dinner. She was his employer and he couldn’t let himself forget that.
Travis took a step backward, putting some distance between them. “I don’t think so. I should stay with Dreamer, make sure he settles in okay.”
“Come on.” She laughed. “You have to eat and there’s no food in the house.” She shot him a sly grin. “I heard there’s a great place in town,” she teased. “Pizza? Thick crust. Lots of cheese.”
Her eyes practically twinkled with merriment. Away from the track, Fallon seemed younger, sweet, and flirtatious. It made him wonder what she was like before she was forced to become the mature, responsible society princess she’d been raised to be.
She’s out of your league, he reminded himself. Business, keep it business.
But seeing her with the horse, in the barn with dirt on her hands, wearing worn jeans and a flannel shirt, he found it easy to forget she was San Francisco elite. It was easy to forget she was off-limits.
“I’ll tell you what,” she offered. “Let’s have it delivered and we’ll eat it here.”
Crap! Now he had no excuse to stay away from her.
Chapter 7
“I jumped up in the middle of that mud puddle and told him I wanted a job,” he said, and Fallon’s laughter was so contagious that the walls between their worlds crumbled.
“You did not!”
Travis held up one hand. “I swear to you.”
Fallon, sitting cross-legged on the couch in the barn’s office, tipped her head backward and laid the hand that wasn’t holding her glass of wine on his forearm. Heat traveled through his veins and settled in his groin.
She’d come across as in-over-her-head at first, but as they’d talked over the thick-crust pepperoni pizza and she’d become animated, he could see her zest for life. She listened raptly, excited by his tales of growing up on the track. Her dark eyes revealed all her thoughts as she asked him questions about his experiences. But most of all, Fallon had a smart head for horse racing and what it took to succeed.
She was a beautiful, vibrant woman.
She sipped the wine, blinking slowly as her laughter eased into the enigmatic smile of a woman who might have had one drink too many. “And what did he say to that?”
“He told me I had a long way to go but that he would let me tag along after him.” Travis smiled at the memory of Buck Taylor, the man who’d taught him everything he knew about horses and training. “It was the beginning of my descent down the rabbit hole.”
She tucked a lock of honey-colored hair behind her ear and studied him closely. “How old were you?”
“Eight.”
Her eyes widened slightly in surprised fascination. “You’re lucky,” she said on a sigh, letting her head fall to the side, against her shoulder, and he caught the sweet floral scent of her shampoo.
“Depends on your perspective, I guess.” Travis shrugged, not wanting to confess the real reason he’d been at the track in the first place. His father had an insatiable gambling habi
t. It was true that Travis grew up around horses, but it wasn’t in the way most people assumed. He didn’t see the point in clarifying the assumption. The fantasy was better than the truth.
“My family hates that I’m doing this,” she revealed, taking another sip of her wine, playing with the stem of the glass. “My grandmother thinks it’s a phase that I’ll get over eventually before returning to work in the family business.”
“Is it?”
She shot him a guarded look. “I can’t imagine doing anything else. And my horse is a winner. I know Destiny’s Dreamer is going to win the Kentucky Derby in May.”
He sat up straight, shocked. “Fallon, he won’t make the Derby. He didn’t make it out the gate yesterday.”
“I know.” Travis saw the flicker of doubt cross her face. “But that’s why we are here, right? For you to fix that.”
“Getting into the Derby is a one-in-a-million shot.”
“The odds have never bothered me,” she quipped with a nonchalant shrug before she looked at him again. Her jaw set in dainty defiance. “He can win it. I know he can.”
Travis stood up from the couch and ran a hand through his dark hair. “What happened to just wanting him happy again? Do you realize what you’re asking of me? Of him?”
“But he loves to run. You didn’t see him before this.”
Stubborn silence filled the room. Fallon finished her wine, watching Travis, waiting for him to agree with her.
He couldn’t. There was a good chance Dreamer would never race again. Even if he did, he needed to earn enough points in qualifying races in the coming months to even get a shot to compete in the Kentucky Derby. He kept his mouth shut, but it seemed that Fallon was wasting her time and money on an impossible fantasy.
Travis shook his head as he moved toward the doorway. The animals had begun to settle in for the night. The goats bleated softly to one another. The two quarter horses Marco had brought in were pawing in their stalls. Dreamer hung his head over the doorway, watching the horses across from him.
