Piper laughed and shoved the ticket down. "It's already at my ankle."
"Good luck then, chère. See you in the winner's circle." Ace went to find a place halfway up the stands, close to the finish line, where he could see the race unfold.
He'd just taken his place in the stand when he spotted his grandfather not far from where he sat. Raising his fingers to his lips, he whistled to get his attention, and Henri saw him and headed his way.
It wasn't long before the horses left the saddling paddock for the parade to post, each being led by a pony horse. Ace spotted Shuggy on Cricket, who was leading Rags along the outside rail near the onlookers, and as it was before, Rags was more interested in the crowd than the other horses, but when Piper leaned down and said something to her, Rags lifted her head and started trotting toward the starting gate, like she knew what was coming and was excited. But once at the starting gate, while the horses were being loaded in the order of their draw, the horse in gate five began acting up, causing Rags to prance and move away from the fray.
"Uh oh," Ace said. "Looks like trouble."
"She'll load," Henri replied with confidence.
Piper bent over and said something to Rags, who settled down, and as soon as the unruly horse finally loaded into gate five, Rags marched into gate six like a pro. Seconds after the seventh horse loaded, a loud clang rang out and the horses shot from the gates.
"And they're off!" the announcer's voice blared over the PA system, but already Ace saw that Rags had made a bad start, having been bumped by the horse in gate five.
"Triple Trouble goes for the front," the announcer continued, "Last Chance is set for the inside, Run Amok just ran up into third place, Outrageous Fortune, forth, Raw Recruit fifth, Lucky Catch sixth, and Ragamuffin is at the back of the pack, about eight lengths behind."
"She better be settin' up as a come-from-behind runner," Ace mumbled under his breath. It was almost a repeat of the last race she'd run, when she came in dead last.
The announcer cut his grim thoughts short. "Dueling front runners Triple Trouble and Last Chance setting a good solid pace. Run Amok with Outrageous Fortune tugging at their heels as they head for the first turn, three-and-a-half lengths in front of Raw Recruit who's fifth, Lucky Catch sixth, and Ragamuffin still at the back of the pack with ten lengths to make up if she wants to stay in this race."
"She's droppin' back," Ace grumbled. "What happened to all that rarin'-to-go steam Piper was talkin' about?"
"The filly'll close the gap," Henri said. "Those horses'll start to tire in the backstretch."
"They better. I've got a hundred bucks ridin' on Rags to win."
"You're new to this game. You win some and lose some, but when you got the right horse, you win more than you lose, and this filly's got what it takes."
"Let's hope." But already Rags had dropped further back.
"And they're moving into the first turn," the announcer called out, "with Triple Trouble still showing the way, Run Amok keeping him company on the outside, four lengths in front of Last Chance. Outrageous Fortune now forth, Raw Recruit fifth at the rail, Lucky Catch sixth, and Ragamuffin is still dead last, with nine lengths now to make up"
Ace raised his field glasses to his eyes. Okay, it seemed Rags wasn't destined to be a stakes horse. So he had a filly worth $5500 because that's what he paid, but if Piper wanted to buy her back for half, he'd sell and cut his losses, and Piper might get it in her head to make a barrel horse out of her. Mary mentioned that Piper asked a lot of questions, like she was interested. And that door to Piper's dream would open to a different dream, one that included living with him in his Hobbit house in the woods. He couldn't help the grin that came with that thought…
"As they move up the backstretch it's still Triple Trouble with Run Amok holding steady. They have not yet begun their late runs as they head toward the top of the stretch. Run Amok now moving up to first place by a half-length with Triple Trouble in second, Last Chance third at the three-quarter pole, Outrageous Fortune forth and holding hard on the outside of Lucky Catch, who's fifth and moving up on Outrageous Fortune. Raw Recruit, sixth. And let's see… Looks like Ragamuffin is beginning to close the gap..."
Ace sat straight up, the field glasses hard against his face as he followed the horses, now on the opposite side of the infield while charging up the backstretch. "Good Lord," he murmured as Rags lengthened her strides, her body flattening down and her speed building.
The announcer's excited voice revved up a couple of decibels, crying, "As the field turns for home past the quarter pole it's Triple Trouble in the lead with Run Amok dropping back. Last Chance moving into second place and running neck and neck with Run Amok, with Lucky Catch moving into forth, Outrageous Fortune fifth, Raw Recruit, sixth. And here comes Ragamuffin, tearing up the track on the extreme outside. She's still got seven lengths to make up but she's doing it under a full head of steam … now six lengths as she moves past Raw Recruit… five lengths and she's moving past Outrageous Fortune and Lucky Catch, four lengths, three lengths… now heading for Run Amok and Triple Trouble who are jockeying for first…"
Ace was almost too stunned to take it all in while watching Piper crouched high in her stirrups and bending close to Rag's ear, like she was talking to her, and Rags moving up to challenge the two frontrunners. But he could tell she was after Triple Trouble. Even through his field glasses he knew Rags was in full intimidation mode, ears flat back, head angled toward Triple Trouble like she was eyeing him in defiance…
Yelling over the roar of the crowd, the announcer cried, "Three across the track and it's Ragamuffin on the outside with Triple Trouble, but Run Amok can't keep up. It's now Ragamuffin and Triple Trouble as they drive for the wire, with Ragamuffin, under Piper Harrison, taking the lead. Coming into the sixteenth pole Ragamuffin's running all out. Triple Trouble tries to keep up but Ragamuffin's pulling ahead, one length… two lengths… three lengths… This filly's running away from the pack and still going at it as she heads under the wire a full four lengths in the lead for an amazing maiden victory, a spectacular 44-1 upset as she jogs down the track by herself!"
Ace hadn't been aware when he'd jumped to his feet, yelling at the top of his lungs, but what he saw through the maze and haze of horses running by was Piper standing in her stirrups, arm raised in victory, and Rags with her head up, ears pricked forward, tail raised high, looking like she too was announcing her victory.
"The filly has grit," Henri said. "We've got us a stakes winner, and a jockey."
Henri's words pulled Ace down off his euphoric high, reality filling its place. And the reality was, he'd just won $14,000, and his $5500 filly proved to him and all the naysayers that she was a horse with class and heart. And this was the beginning of the end of a relationship with Piper. He had a horse that after a few more races like this would be worth too much money to hold onto, and the filly had a jockey he now knew was the key to her success.
Shoving his way down the stands, he intercepted Piper as she returned to the grandstand area on her way to the winner's circle after cooling down, and found her grinning from ear to ear. Seeing her joy, he couldn't help grinning too. Then her grin faded, and she said, "Rags needs her chicken."
"Right." Ace retrieved the toy from its bag and handed it to Rags, who promptly started shaking it up and down, bringing laughter from a crowd still pumped up after the unexpected win.
"Good girl," Piper said, while patting Rags on the neck.
Ace looked in amusement at his filly, who continued to entertain a crowd that was quickly being taken in by a homely conformation reject, who seemed to be building a fan base as people walked along the railing and on the track while laughing at her squeaky toy antics.
"That filly isn't even breathing hard," a woman commented to the man walking beside her. "Too bad she's so ugly."
"Looks aren't everything," the man said. "Seabiscuit was the butt of stable jokes for his looks, and like this filly, he also started out a loser." The ma
n raised his racing form and made a notation.
Once in the winner's circle, with Henri, Ace and the crew standing around Piper and Rags, who was still shaking her rubber chicken, Ace took the toy and replaced it with a mint.
At that moment a track reporter stepped forward, and when Rags saw him raise his camera, she lifted her head, her big ears shot straight up, and she stopped chewing the mint, as if posing. After taking a few shots, the reporter said to Ace, "What's with the squeaky thing?"
Ace motioned to Piper. "You'll have to ask her. Old muffinhead here's her baby."
"Muffinhead?" The reporter eyed Ace with curiosity.
"Muffinhead, dingbat, Sleeping Beauty. This crazy little filly's collectin' names. She also plays ball with her stable companions, but her rubber chicken's her favorite toy."
Piper laughed. "He's right. Rags knows if she wins the race she gets to play with it, so when I told her it was time for her squeaky toy she took off like a rocket. She'll run her heart out for it, and for me." She patted Rags on the neck and Rags bobbed her head in acknowledgment.
After the reporter finished asking Henri, Piper and Ace questions and left, and Henri went to collect his winnings, Piper pulled the ticket out of her boot and waved it at Ace. "I just got a pretty substantial bonus. I'll pay back your $100 out of my winnings."
Ace waved her off. "Keep it. Besides, I just won $14,000."
"But this ticket's worth $4400."
"I know. It'll buy a lot of horse toys."
"Lordy, lordy, I'm rich!" Piper dismounted, and while walking with Ace back to the stall where a vet would check Rags for drugs, she said in an excited voice, "If Rags turns out to be the winner she has the potential of being, one racing season could bring you well over a hundred-thousand dollars."
Ace pondered that. The reality of what just happened was still settling in. "Chasin' around the country after races isn't an option. My brothers and I have a cattle operation to run."
"Couldn't you let your brothers run the ranch for a couple of years while you go around the country with Rags and me, if I'm to be her jockey?"
Ace looked askance at her. "This was just a claimin' race. She hasn't been up against any real competition yet."
"But you know her capability. She broke a track record during a workout, and she wasn't anywhere near her racing speed today. I could tell she still had a lot left in her."
"Yeah, I know her capability, and yours. Edgar summed it up. You're competitive, you're a cutthroat killer on the track, and you've got what it takes to make it to the big stakes races. And I'm not up to knocking my head again."
Piper said nothing, but Ace knew she understood.
CHAPTER 16
Piper was in the process of turning Rags into her pasture after her morning workout when she caught sight of Ace's truck heading up the ranch road toward his place, something big and cumbersome in the truck bed, so she assumed he was going to work on his house. It had been several days since the race, and Ace had been keeping his distance. He watched the morning workouts with Henri each day, but instead of following her into the shed row to help wash Rags, he'd been leaving right afterwards, presumably to do ranch work, when in the past he'd always jumped at the chance to spend a little time with her.
It went against her nature to chase after a man, but Ace wasn't just any man. He was smart, and fun, and witty, and talented, and he had the potential of being a dedicated family man and her perfect mate, in spite of the ludicrous feud between their families, the basis of which lay in the distant past with their ancestors. Yet the older generation seemed intent on keeping it going, the bad blood between them perpetuated by her family's bias against Cajuns, and the Broussard's aversion to flaunting wealth, of which her family was guilty.
Deciding to go over to Ace's place under the pretense of finding out if he wanted any help moving cattle, since he'd gone to the trouble of buying her a pair of chaps she'd only worn once, she took off walking in that direction.
Ten minutes later she found Ace in the process of maneuvering a large piece of furniture up the front steps with the aid of a hand truck. He glanced at her, said nothing, and continued up the stairs. Seeing the thing wobbling with each step, she moved around what looked to be an antique cabinet that was finished only on the front and one side, and helped stabilize it as it bumped its way upward. On reaching the porch, Ace said, "Thanks, I can manage now."
Piper realized he was sending her on her way, but she wasn't ready to go. Things needed to be said and she intended to say them. "I came to see the inside of your house."
Ace looked at her, dubiously. "Like I said, it's just a shell."
"Then I'll take a look at the shell."
"Suit yourself." He maneuvered the load through the door, which was propped open, then set the cabinet upright.
Piper eyed the odd piece of furniture. "What is this thing anyway?'
"A corner cabinet that was in an old house bein' torn down. It'll be a storage cabinet in the bathroom."
Piper couldn't help admiring the old piece. Although unfinished on the back and one side, the front and adjacent side were beautifully crafted, with decorative molding around the top, and a long narrow mirror inset in the door. "Can I see the rest of the house now?" she asked.
"Go ahead." Ace stood watching as she roamed around what was to be a living, dining and kitchen, the expression on his face one of guarded bewilderment.
After checking out a large master bedroom off a hallway that ended with what looked to be the framing for a door leading outside, Ace said, to answer Piper's unasked question, "That's where I'll add on as the family grows."
"Yes well that's a good idea since it's at the end of a hallway and seems pointless to just go outside. I suppose a back door is a good idea too." Piper knew she was rambling, but the thought of Ace with a growing family that didn't include her was unsettling. Turning abruptly, she found herself staring into a large bathroom. "Oh! You have an old footed tub, and with a window over it so whoever's soaking in it can watch the bayou drift by."
Ace walked up behind her, standing so close his chest brushed her back and his breath wafted against her head as he said, "The cabinet will go in the corner at the foot of the tub." Taking her by the shoulders, he turned her around to face him. "What's this all about?"
Her thoughts shifting between the dark eyes peering down at her and her lame excuse for being there, she said in an uncertain voice, "What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean."
"Well, I… um… was wondering if you'd be moving cattle today. I thought you might need some help."
"Do I look like I'm about to move cattle?"
"Well, no."
"Then what's this really about?"
"Okay, I want to know what's happening with us. I thought we were beginning to have something special, then all of a sudden you got cold. Do we have something or don't we?"
Ace shrugged. "I don't know what we have. It's on and off."
"What's on and off? Your feelings for me? That is if you have feelings for me."
"More than you know, but we have different goals and I can't see them coming together."
"I admit our short-term goals are at odds, but long-term they could come together."
"In what way?"
"Goals can change," she said.
"Whose goals? Yours or mine?"
Piper came close to telling him she'd give up jockeying after a couple of years, at which time they could marry, but the only time marriage had come up was at the bayou after her long-winded diatribe about going to his house for dinner and he reminded her he wasn't asking her to marry him. Yet, marriage was on his mind because he was building a house he'd be expanding as the family grows. At once her mind jumped back to words he'd uttered moments before.
"You said, more than you know?"
Ace looked at her perplexed.
Piper fixed her gaze on a pair of masculine lips she was struggling to avoid kissing. "I asked if you had feelings for me and yo
u said, more than you know. I want to know what that means."
Ace drew in a long breath. "It means I love you, but—"
His words were cut off when Piper threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, an extended kiss that filled her with the musky male taste of him, and when his arms closed around her, and his tongue began dueling with hers, she tangled her fingers in his hair and pressed her body to his and kissed him deeper, until her breath became trapped in her throat and she had to break for air, which she sucked in quickly, releasing with the words, "I love you too," before capturing his lips again.
Ace was the one to break the heated kiss, pulling Piper off her lofty high. His chest heaving, his nostrils flaring, he said in a sober voice, "Love isn't enough for the long-term."
She clasped her hands behind his neck to keep him close. "But we are talking long-term."
"No, we're talkin' goals, and we need to put some brakes on this because my brain's gettin' fogged and I've been here before. And you have a race to run next week."
It took a moment for that to sink in. "Wait! You said next week. What race?"
"Evangeline Downs. Six-furlong Princess race for two-year-old fillies."
"That's a stakes race!" Piper exclaimed.
Ace nodded. "30,000 bucks if she wins."
"Oh, my gosh!" Piper felt a rush of adrenaline as her long-time goal kicked in, the gotta-show-the-boys goal, not only as the new girl on the block, but with Rags, the come-from-behind cast-off, soaring to glory. Tears of excitement filled her eyes.
And with those tears, Ace's face grew serious. "This is what I mean about long-term goals."
"What, that I'm excited about the race? Aren't you excited? Don't you want Rags to win?"
"Sure, but whether she wins or loses my goals won't change. I'm a cattleman and I have responsibilities here with my brothers, and this is where I plan to stay."
"And if I quit racing, would that change things?"
"Sure, I'd have a frustrated, dissatisfied woman on my hands and that doesn't work for me. You need to do what you've set out to do."
The Final Turn (Cajun Cowboys Book 2) Page 18
