Madison's Choice

by Skye Michaels

  “This is where the sportsmanship comes in, Nickie. You have to be a gracious winner as well as a good loser.” Maddie privately thought there probably wouldn’t be too many opportunities to be a good loser if this first show and Nickie’s innate abilities were any indication. She would definitely have to work on that, or her son might become a little obnoxious, and she couldn’t have that. This was supposed to be a character building activity, not an opportunity to become a Grade A brat as did so many horse show kids. She had known a lot of them in her own horse show days. She had to work as a groom braiding manes and tacking up horses to help pay her show expenses, and some of the privileged girls had made her life hell. She wouldn’t allow her kid to become a brat. Her parents could well afford for her to show, but they had wanted to impress on her a sense of responsibility and teach her she had to work for what she wanted, and they had succeeded.

  Nickie’s classes were done by noon, and they packed up the trailer and returned to the farm to drop off Meatball before taking Nickie out to lunch. “Why can’t Meatball come, too? He won the ribbons with me.” Nickie was good at sharing the credit.

  “You’re too silly, Nickie. Meatball can’t come to a restaurant. But we can give him tons of carrots when we get back for being such a good pony,” Maddie promised.

  When they were in the truck heading to the restaurant, Maddie said, “The change of name at the horse show did not slip past my radar, Ross. I heard them announce the winner as ‘Nicholas Ross Snow-Hamilton.’ You must have registered him that way.”

  “I did. We need to talk about this later. I talked to Jason last weekend, and he suggested that we might want to do a change of name for Nickie in the future. He said it wouldn’t be any problem. I know you’ve been on this path by yourself for nine years, but you are not on it alone any more. I want my son to have my name.”

  “I thought this might be coming, and frankly, I don’t object. I think Nickie should have your name. ‘Snow-Hamilton’ is a mouthful, but it can be that way on the legal papers. He can just be Hamilton for general use.” She smiled at him. She could see he had been expecting an objection from her, and she had thrown a monkey wrench into his arguments. Sometimes it’s good to surprise them. “We can talk to Jason about the change of name proceedings, and maybe it can be done as soon as possible to avoid confusion later.”

  * * * *

  Ross was delighted. Now if only he could get Madison to change her name so easily. He’d have to work on that, he thought. One step at a time. First my son, and then my wife.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The following Friday morning, Ross had a few errands to run in town, and then he met with Jason Steele at his office. They discussed a number of legal matters—first, a change of name for Nickie, then a change to Ross’s Last Will and Testament, and finally a Living Trust for Nickie and future unborn children. Ross knew he needed to think ahead. Ross knew Maddie and her family had made provisions for Nickie’s education, and that was great. He just needed to make sure that everything on his side was in order as well.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to wait to execute the will until after you’re married?” Jason asked. Ross had confided that he fully intended to have Madison Snow as his wife. He wasn’t planning to let her slip away a second time.

  “No. I’m working on it, Jason. It may take a little time to convince her, but I know what I have to do. I want provisions made for Nickie and Maddie now. But this is strictly between us.”

  “Of course. Lawyer-client confidentiality applies.”

  * * * *

  Madison smiled as she answered her cell and found Ross on the line.

  “How about dinner at my house tonight? I can throw on a couple of steaks. You’ve been doing all the cooking,” he said.

  “That sounds good. Do you want Nickie to spend the night?” she asked. She didn’t like to take anything for granted.

  “Actually, I want both of you to spend the night. What do you say?”

  Ross…I don’t know… It might be confusing for Nickie.” She was hesitant to put their relationship to the test and risk disappointing Nickie if things did not work out.

  “I think what’s confusing for Nickie is why his parents don’t live together. I realize we have to talk this out, but I would like you both to spend the night so we can do that.”

  “All right. In for a penny, in for a pound, I guess. I’ll bring PJs and stuff for Nickie when we come out to ride this afternoon.”

  “Not necessary. Just bring clean clothes for tomorrow. I have everything else. You don’t need any PJs either.” She could hear the devilish grin in his voice.

  “Is that so?” The man is incorrigible. “Okay, just clothes for tomorrow then.” Maddie was surprised. She had known Ross had outfitted a bedroom for Nickie in his house, but she had not known he had all the other amenities right down to pajamas and toothbrush as well. Hmmm…this was serious. What’s he up to? Maddie had felt that Ross’s patience was starting to fray a bit in recent weeks, but she had thought that once they resumed their physical relationship he would settle down. Apparently not. It seemed he wasn’t satisfied with half a loaf…

  That afternoon, Nickie had a great riding lesson. Ross had raised the poles to eighteen inches, and he and Meatball cleared them as easily as the little X jumps. They all enjoyed their trail ride and swim in the pond. Nickie was excited to know both he and his mother were spending the night at the farm. She knew that although he loved sleeping over at his dad’s house, he also wanted her near. It had been just the two of them for eight years. She also knew he was ever hopeful for another “midnight episode” since he had missed the excitement the last time. Maddie hoped he would be disappointed in that regard at least.

  Back at the barn, Nickie had completed his chores and lavished Meatball with enough carrots to change his coat color to orange. They had all gone back to Ross’s house, and Maddie threw a salad together and put potatoes in the microwave while Ross fired up the grill and started the steaks. Nickie moved from the patio to the kitchen and back again, keeping an eye on both his parents, while he played Angry Birds on the ever present iPad.

  “Mom? I really like it when you are here with me and Dad. I don’t like to leave you at home.” He looked up at her with the desire for a family life naked in his eyes.

  “I know, sweetie. We’ll just have to see how things work out. You can’t rush some things. They just have to happen in their own time. It’s sort of like waiting for Christmas morning!” She would have to be careful not to let her desire to give Nickie what he so clearly wanted unduly influence her actions. She had to be the responsible adult here.

  Dinner on the patio was great, and Nickie was clearly in his element. They settled in on Ross’s huge leather couch with a big bowl of popcorn and watched the movie Cars on Ross’s plasma television. Maddie just grinned and accepted the annoying loud car sounds that so thrilled Nickie. They had only watched the movie a few hundred times, or so it seemed to her. She raised her eyebrow at Ross and said, “So…this is in your movie collection?”

  He laughed and replied, “Well, I did pick up a few DVDs for Nickie. I knew you wouldn’t want him watching Transformers flicks!”

  “Good thinking, Dad!” She grinned and tucked her toes under his leg on the couch while Nickie planted himself squarely between the two of them. He was thrilled, and Maddie could see the hope in his eyes. It was hard to resist.

  When the movie was over, Ross said, “Nickie, it’s time for bed, but first I want to tell you and your mom something. I went to see our lawyer today. He’s going to file papers at court next week to change your name to Nicholas Ross Snow-Hamilton. From now on you’ll be Nickie Hamilton. What do you think about that?”

  “At school and all?” Nickie asked, seeming somewhat confused.

  “Yes. Your legal name will be Snow-Hamilton because both your mom and I want you to have our names. But you can just be Nickie Hamilton for short. That will be your name for everyday use. You see,
I’m very proud to be your dad, and I want you to have my name like other kids have their dad’s name.”

  “Okay. Do I have to tell everybody at school?” Nickie just seemed to take it all in stride.

  “No. Your mom and I will take care of that. Just start using Hamilton on your papers and things. Before you know it, no one will even remember that it was ever different.”

  Ross and Maddie kissed Nickie good night and tucked him into his bed. Maddie looked around the room and smiled at the collection of Angry Birds and Transformers lined up on the shelf above the bed. Ross had gone the extra mile to make Nickie comfortable in this house, and she was grateful.

  * * * *

  Ross poured two glasses of wine and joined Maddie on the couch. “How do you feel about this? We did discuss it the other day. I had some other business with Jason, and I didn’t want to wait to take care of this. It’s very important to me.”

  “I’m okay with it. I told you I didn’t mind. Actually, you can tell Jason to drop the ‘Snow’ part. I think it’s too confusing. Nickie will get used to being ‘Hamilton’ quickly enough, and I don’t think we need to cloud the issue.”

  “And what about you?” Ross put his glass down on the table and moved to pull her up against his chest. “Would you consider dropping the ‘Snow’ part and being just Madison Hamilton?” He held his breath as he waited for her to realize he had just asked her to marry him.

  She looked up, surprise written on her face. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that I love you, and I want us to get married and be a family. I want you and Nickie here with me. I want any more children we might have together, and I want to be there for the entire process the next time around—and not just come in after the fact.”

  “Are you sure? Are you sure you’ve forgiven me for Flashfire’s accident and for leaving town without telling you I was pregnant? I wouldn’t want to carry any of that old guilt into a new relationship. Can we start fresh?”

  “Absolutely. I’m sorry I was so hard on you at the time of the accident. It was not your fault, and I would have told you so at Christmas that year if I could have found you. As for leaving town without telling me you were pregnant, I can understand how that happened, although I wish it hadn’t. We both missed out on a lot. I didn’t get to hold your hand while you had morning sickness. I didn’t get to see you with my child in your belly or to catch him when he slid out into the big, bright world. You didn’t have my support and love during a scary part of your life, and Nickie didn’t get to have a dad for the first eight years of his life. I think we need to change all of that now. I want us to get married as soon as possible and start living our lives together. What do you think about a Christmas wedding? Or New Year’s at the latest.”

  “In that case, I would love to change my name to Madison Hamilton. And a Christmas wedding would be fabulous.”

  “Then will you wear this?” he asked as he slipped an emerald cut, two-carat white diamond engagement ring with a yellow diamond halo setting onto her finger. The emerald cut diamond had been Grammy Barb’s, and she had suggested that he have it reset for Madison. He had picked it up at the jeweler’s on the Square that morning. He’d been pleased with the way it turned out.

  She gasped. It was stunningly simple and elegant with just enough glitz to catch the eye and shoot sparkles around the room. Ross could see that Madison was clearly thrilled. She threw her arms around Ross’s neck and kissed him deeply to seal the bargain.

  When they came up for air, he said, “I just wish I could have given you this ring nine years ago.”

  She smiled and said, “As you said before, who knows how we would have handled it all back then. I think we’re ready to move ahead and be the family Nickie deserves. I can’t wait to tell everyone, but first I have something for you as well.” She got up and went to her purse on the table and took out a small black box. “I picked this up from the designer today. I was planning to save it for Christmas, but I want you to have it now. I’ve had the raw material since the day of the accident. It’s made from Flashfire’s tail hair.”

  Ross opened the box and found a thick, black, braided horse hair bracelet with a heavy gold lobster claw clasp and end caps. It was masculine and beautiful, but the most important part was the love and understanding that had gone into the gift. Ross was thrilled.

  He grinned and said, “You could not have given me anything that would have meant more to me. We’ll tell the family and Nickie in the morning. Right now, I have some other plans for you.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky—First Thursday in May, 2013—Churchill Downs Stables

  The shed rows at Churchill Downs were still dark just after three o’clock on Thursday morning. Soon the grooms for the various racing stables currently occupying the barns would begin to arrive and start readying the horses for morning workouts on the last day before Derby weekend.

  Grady Jenkins, one of the Eden Creek grooms, rolled over in his sleep trying to get comfortable on the cot covered with a sleeping bag that was positioned directly in front of the gate to Rockstar’s stall. Rockstar’s stallmate and companion, Buttercup, the pygmy goat, was awake and prowling the stall floor for dropped bits of hay. His ears pricked forward, and he was suddenly alert to the slight noise outside the stall as two men wearing dark pants and sweatshirts with hoods pulled low skulked along the wall toward Rockstar’s stall. Buttercup bleeted in protest at the sound. One carried a rag soaked in chloroform as he approached the sleeping man. The other carried a night stick on a leather cord wrapped around his hand.

  “Damn that goat! He’s gonna wake him up,” one of the men hissed.

  “Well get it done, dumb ass. What are you waiting for?” the other hissed back.

  * * * *

  For some reason, Matt Jackson had been unable to sleep, and had found himself wide awake in his hotel suite near the racetrack at two thirty in the morning. Giving up, he had pulled on his jeans, a sweatshirt and boots and gone out for a walk, intending to get coffee and a donut at the all night coffee shop near the track. After two cups of coffee and two donuts, he knew for sure he wouldn’t be going back to sleep. Thoughts of that little redheaded jockey of Hamilton’s didn’t help either. He shook his head regretfully. What the hell is that all about? Might as well wander over to the track and watch Perfidy’s morning workout. He enjoyed the atmosphere of the track in the early morning. The mist hung in the air, and it was peaceful and quiet with no suggestion of the morning hustle and bustle to come.

  As he turned the corner and started down the row toward the Jackson Stud stalls, he heard the rustle of fabric against wood. The sound was out of place. He was used the sounds and smells of a horse barn, but this just sent prickles down his spine. He stopped and backed up against the wall. He reached his arm along the stall wall and came in contact with a pitchfork. He wrapped his hand around the stout wooden handle and continued quietly down the row. He turned another corner and saw the two men stealthily approaching the Eden Creek stalls. Something’s not right here.

  He slowly and quietly approached the man with the night stick in his hand, judging him to be the more dangerous of the two. When he was right behind him, he shoved the tines of the pitchfork into the back of the man’s neck, penetrating the skin a good quarter of an inch at least. “What the hell do you think you’re doing here, man? I wouldn’t move if I were you, unless you want me to put this fork the rest of the way through your throat.”

  The commotion roused the sleeping groom who stumbled off the cot and onto his feet. He picked up the large flashlight from the ground next to his cot and shined it on the intruders. He quickly got the picture and smacked the rag carrier across his face with the flashlight. He went down, dropping the rag. Between Grady and Matt, the excitement was over quickly.

  “Do you have a cell phone? I left mine back at the hotel.”

  “Yeah, I got a phone.”

  “Tie this one’s hands a
nd feet with a hay string and then call track security and the Hamiltons while I make sure these guys stay down.”

  * * * *

  The Track Security team hustled the two men off to the security office while they waited for the police to arrive. Mike and Ross joined the party within minutes.

  As soon as they saw the two miscreants, they realized that they were the men who owned Achilles Racing Stables, the outfit that had tried to hijack the semen sample from Midnight Passion last year. While the Hamiltons had not pressed charges against the two, the damage done to their reputations by Mike’s dissemination of the story throughout the thoroughbred racing community had been substantial. That, combined with the two’s unhealthy jealousy of the Hamilton operation and their own shady inclinations, seemed to be the cause of the current situation. They weren’t talking, but their intentions were obvious. It was just lucky that they had not been able to do any damage, either to Rockstar or Grady. They would definitely be facing criminal charges this time.

  “What were you doing here, Matt?” Mike asked. He was shaken by what could have happened to not only their Derby runner, but to their groom as well.

  “Couldn’t sleep. I went out for a cup of coffee and a donut and ended up walking over here to watch the morning workouts. When I came around the corner, I saw these two skulking around. It looked like they were up to no good.”

  “Well, it seems we have your insomnia to thank for averting a disaster.” Ross held his hand out to shake Matt’s hand. “I don’t think we’re destined to be best friends, but I have to say a sincere and heartfelt thank you for what you did for us today. If we can ever return the favor, let us know. And I have to say, you have a hell of a left hook.”