by James, Sandy
Besides, how could a simple kiss be against the rules?
Seth leaned in the truck, placing the most gentle of kisses on Katie’s lips.
He pulled away to gaze into her eyes, and he saw her confusion. He understood what she felt because he had the same problem. How could such a simple kiss feel so... wonderful?
For a moment, their eyes locked, their lips only inches apart. How easy it would be to drown in those gorgeous eyes of hers. She would be a woman worth knowing well, a woman who would bring passion to everything she did. Katie Murphy wasn’t just another woman.
Suddenly, he wanted her. His body was already responding to the mere thought. Tightening, throbbing, demanding. He wanted to know every inch of her, wanted to taste her skin, wanted to feel her beneath him as he eased himself into her soft body. The hunger overwhelmed Seth as it stole his breath away.
He had to stop this. Stop it quickly. Stop it now.
With tremendous effort, Seth eased away from Katie. “Good night,” he whispered. He closed the truck’s door, pleased he had found the strength to do so, and stepped back into the darkness.
All Katie could do was stare at her hands gripping the steering wheel and wonder what had just happened. The instant Seth’s lips touched hers the world had vanished, and for that brief moment, there had been a void. Nothing.
Nothing but Seth.
Every part of her had taken flight, circled the sky, and then landed without grace or style. She had plummeted back from the void, slammed to the ground the moment he’d pulled away.
Over a kiss? A harmless little kiss? What in the hell was wrong with her?
Katie jumped when someone knocked on her window. Seeing Sam standing with her hands on her hips and throwing one of her patented stern frowns, Katie knew she was about to get an earful. She rolled down her window. “God, Sam, you scared the life out of me. What’s up?”
“Just wanted to find out if you think he kisses as good as he looks.”
“You saw that?” Katie tried to dismiss Sam’s concern with a wave of her hand. “It was nothing. Honest. The guy works for me. That’s all.” Katie couldn’t look her friend in the eye. If she did, Sam would instantly recognize her fib.
“Yeah, I believe that one,” Sam said, rolling her eyes. “It looked pretty... intense to me. What’s his story?”
“It’s complicated, Sam. I can’t tell you more than I already have. He’s only here for the season.”
Sam leaned in and put her hands on the truck. “Katie, he’ll break your heart if you let him. I know guys like him. When they look like that, they don’t stick around long. He’s just like Mike. I’d think you’d have learned your lesson.”
Katie nodded. “I know. Too good looking for someone like me.”
Sam shot her an unyielding glare. “That’s not what I meant, and you damn well know it. The season’s a long time, and there are no secrets—”
“In the barn. I know. I know. I’ll be careful. Go on, Sam. I’m heading home.” Katie started the engine.
Sam backed away from the truck and waved as Katie drove away.
Chapter 9
Seth looked up from where he crouched next to Miss Daisy. He’d been wrapping her front legs to prepare for trailering her to the track when a black sport-utility vehicle pulled up to the sliding door. A tall russet-haired man walked around to hold the passenger door open for an attractive forty-something woman. They casually strolled hand in hand into the barn.
“Can I help you?” Seth asked.
“No, thanks. We’re fine,” the man replied as he and the woman walked over to Monterey Jack’s stall. They started talking to the animal as the woman stroked the horse’s nose and neck.
Seth had a hard time holding his temper when his favorite horse was being fondled by total strangers. He stood up and leaned over the mare’s back. “Hey! Leave my horse alone!”
Katie must have heard him from her office because she poked her head out into the hall. Her face suddenly broke out in an enormous smile, and she hollered a greeting. “Susan! James! It’s so nice to see you. I’d hoped you’d come tonight.” She jogged the length of the barn to meet them.
“You know these people?” Seth asked Katie as he pointed at them with the roll of green elastic wrap he still held in his hand. “They’re bugging Jack.”
“They own Jack. This is James Williams and his wife, Susan. They own some restaurants in Illinois,” Katie explained. “James, Susan, this is Crash Rem... um... Reynolds—my new groom. We were just getting ready to head to the track.”
Susan turned her attention to Seth, studying his face for a moment. “Nice to meet you, Crash.” Her eyes seemed to sparkle with amusement, but Seth had no idea what she found so funny. “Interesting nickname. How did you earn it?”
Seth winced remembering how reckless he’d been. God, that seemed like a lifetime ago. “Let’s just say I had a few... mishaps with some cars.”
Katie threw him a smile and a conspiratorial wink.
James took a few strides toward Seth and offered his hand. Seth stood up, wiped his own hand on his work pants, and shook the man’s hand. Then Seth went back to squatting next to Daisy to finish getting the shipping wraps on the mare. “Which horses belong to you?” he asked Susan as she watched him work.
“Besides Jack, we’ve got Postage Stamp and Kitty Kat.”
Katie came to Seth, put her hand on his shoulder, and gave him a light squeeze. “Seth is paddocking Jack tonight, but I’ll be close by.” Seth couldn’t tell if she was reassuring the owners or him. He was still a little nervous at the notion he would be paddocking for the first time by himself.
“Good,” James said. “Hopefully, we’ll see you both in the winner’s circle. I think Jack has a good chance tonight, I just worry about claims.”
“Claims?” Seth glanced up at Katie for an answer. He wondered if he would ever understand everything said around the barn and the track. While he had caught on to a great deal of the racing business, he still sometimes felt like an outsider looking in.
The sudden tightening in Katie’s face bothered him. She looked too much like a person about to deliver some really bad news. “Uh oh. Forgot to explain claims to you, didn’t I?” Katie’s tone reminded Seth of a parent talking to a child. Had they been alone, he would never have allowed it to go unchecked. “I’ll tell you about it on the way to the track. Is Daisy ready to go?”
“Yeah. I’ll get her in the trailer,” Seth replied as he grabbed a lead rope.
After he walked the horse out of the barn, Katie turned to Susan and James. “He’s new, but he learns real quick. I wouldn’t let him paddock if I didn’t have faith in him.” James and Susan might be some of the easiest owners she’d ever worked with, but she also knew owners generally needed constant reassurance their trainer stayed on top of every situation.
Susan crooked her finger at her husband, and he bent to listen to her whisper in his ear. A huge smile spread across his face, and he nodded at his wife before turning back to Katie. She felt like she’d missed something important.
“We trust you, Katie,” James said as he reached out to pat her on the shoulder. “If Jack gets claimed, we’ll be looking for a new horse right away, so keep your eyes open. Or we can go back and reclaim Jack if they leave him in at eight-thousand.”
“We’ll talk after the race,” Katie said to James as she opened Jack’s stall and led him to the cross-ties.
* * * *
“What’s this claim stuff about?” Seth asked as he buckled his seatbelt.
“It’s a way to handicap races, and it’s going to piss you off when I explain it, so be prepared,” Katie warned. “When I decide an animal’s ability, I pretty much put a price tag on the horse. I decide what it’s worth, then I put it in a claiming race that meets that price.” She put the truck in gear and started for the track as she waited a moment for the information to sink in. He wouldn’t like the rest of the story. “Once the horse is entered in a claiming race, a
nyone with an owner’s license can go to the claiming office half an hour before the start of the race and put cash down to buy the horse.”
Seth rubbed his fingertips across his forehead, his frustration and confusion obvious. “Buy him? You mean you sell the horse before the race? How can you make any money doing that?”
“It’s after the race. The horse races for the current owner, and once it crosses the finish line, it belongs to the new guy.”
She could tell Seth was still confused. He squirmed around on the seat like an antsy two-year-old. “Why would anyone want to put a horse into a race where any bozo can buy it?”
“Not buy it; claim it. It’s the only way most of the middle to lower priced horses can race. If we didn’t classify the horses by their value, then anyone with a really good horse could sweep in and steal every purse. This way you never race your horse any lower than the animal is worth just to win. You have to risk losing it for that price and hope you make some purse money while you own it.”
“I don’t like it, Boss. You mean I could lose Jack tonight?” Seth asked with clear dread in his voice.
Katie understood exactly how he felt and wanted to console him, but claiming was simply a universally accepted part of horseracing. Seth would understand in time, but she remembered the anguish the first time one of her favorites had been claimed. She simply couldn’t make the situation any easier on him. A horseman’s first claim was baptism by fire. She did take close notice of Seth starting to form attachments to many of the animals, and that pleased her immensely.
“He’s in for eight-thousand, and he could very well get claimed if someone thinks he’s worth that much,” Katie replied.
“When... when will we know?”
“They announce the claims right after the race.”
Katie tried to watch his face while keeping her eye on traffic. “Don’t worry so much. Most people who work with horses are good people, Seth. They take care of their animals.”
“And you can make money this way?”
She nodded. “You look for good horses to claim and improve, and you hope people leave your good ones alone. Look, you can’t choose who claims a horse, but if they want to race it, they have to stay at the track for thirty days. Jack won’t go far.”
“They can’t leave and race somewhere else? Head to Illinois or something?”
“Nope. They’ve got to stay in Indiana if they want to race, and why claim if you’re not going to race for purse money? The thirty-day rule helps keep horses here. Otherwise people might cherry-pick the best and leave for tracks with higher purses.”
“I hope they don’t claim Jack,” he grumbled.
“If they do, we’ll watch him.”
She saw the understanding suddenly dawn on him. “We can claim him back? You mean we could play the claim game too?”
He was catching on. “If James wants to. Depends on what tag Jack is put in for. Lots of times people move a horse up to a higher price off of a claim so you don’t claim him right back the next week.”
“I get it. If you want him back, you’ll wait ‘til Jack is in for the price we lost him at.”
“Bingo,” Katie replied.
* * * *
Seth worked mechanically as he readied Jack for the race. Claiming a horse still sounded utterly absurd. What if the new people didn’t know Jack liked to have his hay sprayed with water or he wouldn’t eat it? What someone didn’t pack his hooves right? How could anyone take away his horse?
He scowled at horsemen who appeared to be eyeballing the big brown gelding too closely. The whole notion of claiming seemed cruel, and he knew he would worry about losing Jack until the animal was safely back at the farm. How could he face this every week?
Katie leaned against the wall several stalls away from where Seth labored, watching him move around Jack. She tried to give Seth enough freedom to work while also assuring herself he’d secured every piece of tack. The apprehension was written plainly on his face, and she couldn’t remember ever seeing Seth so open about his feelings. Maybe the guy had a heart after all.
As the time to warm up the animal for the race approached, she slipped into the women’s locker room to put on her colors.
She loved driving onto the Dan Patch oval for the first time each year, and she was more than ready to go to work. Just before she stepped out of the changing area, the full-length mirror’s reflection of her green and white jumpsuit caught her eye. Katie uncharacteristically looked herself over to check for any noticeable flaws.
Wondering where the vanity came from, she nervously pushed her fingers through the disobedient curls in her ponytail before sternly reminding herself she would be wearing a helmet that would cover most of her hair. Glancing at her colors, she realized they had faded over the years. And there was that small tear on the right hip. Perhaps she’d have to order a new jumpsuit soon. After all, she wanted to look her best for...
“Go ahead, Katie,” she scolded herself. “Just admit it.” Who did she want impress? The spectators, the owners or drivers? “No,” her whispered words affirmed, “not them. Him.”
With an exasperated groan, Katie grabbed her helmet, glasses, and gloves and headed back to the paddock.
* * * *
Seth led Jack from his stall, and Katie attached it firmly to the harness. She sat on the cart and tucked the excess reins under her. Feeling like an authentic groom, he proudly escorted his horse to the chute and adjusted the proper equipment before watching Katie prod Jack into his natural pace.
Chris tapped Seth’s shoulder. “Will you bring the jog cart over after she’s done?”
“Yeah, sure.” As Chris turned to walk away, Seth called after him. “Hey, Chris!”
“What?”
“You don’t think Jack will get claimed, do you?” Seth asked, hoping he didn’t sound too awfully pathetic.
“Doubt it,” Chris replied with a shake of his head. “People don’t claim off Katie much.”
“Why not? She’s got great horses.”
“Most people who claim want to improve the horse. Who’d be able to improve on Katie?” Chris explained. “But, all it takes is one person and some cash.” He shrugged. “Some people have more dollars than sense.”
Seth nodded his understanding, and Chris returned to the paddock.
Walking over to the fence, Seth saw Katie pass by after her first lap. He leaned against the top rail, resting his elbows against the whitewashed wood. His eyes tracked her kelly green colors around the enormous oval. It came as a surprise he felt so content watching her ease Jack around the traffic of tractors and horses.
“Most people don’t claim off of Katie,” he reassured himself before he glanced around, wondering if anyone standing nearby had heard him. Feeling a bit foolish, he kicked the bottom rail of the fence before hurrying to help Katie when she drove Jack to the exit chute.
* * * *
Katie never took her eyes off Brian’s bright maroon and gold colors. Throughout the race, she chattered in Seth’s ear, explaining the strategies involved.
The ten-horse field pushed into a single line by the first turn. Brian guided Jack into the fourth position and seemed to bide his time. The animals raced through the first turn to charge the long back stretch where their drivers began to maneuver for the second half of the mile.
Brian eased Jack into the outer flow, the driver behind him following suit. As two even lines of five horses made the last turn, they passed the paddock and headed for home.
“Look! He’s moving up!” Seth yelled like a spectator in the grandstand.
Katie wanted to caution him to cool a little of his enthusiasm around the other horsemen, but it was damned entertaining to watch Seth’s emotions getting the better of him.
“Shit! I can’t see!” Seth shouted as the horses moved up the stretch. Katie grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the television. She knew that in his excitement he’d already forgotten she’d told him about it during the qualifiers.
“He did it! We won! Did you see it, Boss? We won!” Seth exploded in an excited cheer. He picked her up and spun in a circle. “Wahoo!”
“C’mon,” Katie said when he finally put her back on her feet. She tugged on his arm. “We need to get in the van.”
Katie, Seth and Chris piled into the white van that made constant trips between the paddock and grandstand. The driver zipped them to the winner’s circle to meet Brian and Jack.
James and Susan greeted them all with smiles and pats on the back. As Brian slowed the horse to a walk, Katie watched Seth grab Jack’s bridle and led him triumphantly to pose for the winning photo. They all quickly smiled for the photographer, and then Seth led Jack back out to the track.
Katie had to laugh when she saw Seth kissing Jack’s nose and giving the horse words of praise before allowing Brian to drive away. She always did the same thing with all of her winning horses. Maybe she would be able to turn a spoiled rich guy into a useful man.
In the van on the ride back to the paddock, Katie explained to Seth what came next. “He’ll have to go to the test barn. Let Brian unhook his race bike, then lead Jack over there.” She pointed at a fence-enclosed green barn situated a short distance from the paddock. “I’ll bring the wash bucket and a blanket.”
“Got it, Boss.”
“I’ll be there as quick as I can. Chris can warm up Daisy.”
“What do I do?” Seth asked.
“The same things you do after a qualifier or training. Put him in a wash stall, strip his equipment, bathe him, but then take him to a pee stall.”
Seth laughed and shook his head. “Shit towel. Pee stall. What’s next? Copulation corral?” His face grew serious, but his tone didn’t. “Please tell me I don’t have to hold the damn specimen cup.”
