by Lita Lawson
“Yeah.” Cassi let Austin’s hand drop away from her. “I was getting ready to come back in.” Liar. “I’m starting to get chilly.” Far from it. She was hotter now than when she had first come outside.
“All right, then. Sorry to interrupt. Again.” Billy Joe tilted his head in their direction and went back inside.
Austin grinned at her. “He sure keeps turning up at the worst times.”
“He’s just being nice,” Cassi replied and confided, “I think he thinks I need protecting.”
Austin smiled seductively at her. “From me?”
“Well, you do have a bit of a reputation.”
If Cassi knew what he had planned for her—he refused to think about that right now. “Come on, let’s get you inside.” Austin placed his hand at the small of her back and led her through the packed bar to her table.
After walking Cassi to her table, he stomped back to Don at their table. Signaling a waitress as she walked past, he ordered, “Get me a double shot of bourbon.”
“I take it I’ve been voted the designated driver,” Don said beside him.
Austin glared at his friend. “I guess so.”
“Maybe this was a bad idea coming here.” Don ventured.
Austin watched as Billy Joe led Cassi to the dance floor. He didn’t like Billy Joe touching her. They were dancing to a slower song, doing a simple two-step that kept their bodies next to each other. His gut tightened watching them. He didn’t like it at all.
The waitress arrived with the shot and Austin belted it back in one short swig.
Don looked at his friend, concern on his face. “What’s eating you?”
“Not a damn thing, Don.” Austin glowered at Cassi and Billy Joe on the dance floor. “Maybe you were right,” Austin said to his friend. “It was a bad idea coming here. Let’s get the hell out of here.”
“Sure thing.”
Throwing several bills down on the table for the waitress, Austin stomped out of the bar, with Don trailing behind him.
He didn’t need her. He intercepted all the provocative glances women telegraphed him as he walked through the bar.
No, he didn’t need Cassi at all.
CHAPTER SIX
Austin’s mind was in a fog when he awoke the next morning. His indulgence in drinks the night before contributed to his lack of mental focus, but it was his conscience that was bothering him.
What kind of deal had he made? He felt like he had been dealing with the devil, but knew it was himself. Was he willing to order his jockey to rig it so that Foolish Gamble wouldn’t win any races in order to create his own dynasty?
Jabbing his fingers through his hair, he decided he was treading on territory he normally associated with his stepfather. The man would use anyone to get what he wanted, including wooing and marrying his mother so he could run Keller Farm. Apparently, Austin had sunk that low since he was attempting to steal Cassi’s farm out from under her. Yet last night he danced with her, kissed her. What kind of game was he playing?
He reminded himself that Cassi had come to him with the partnership idea, freely willing to risk everything to try to save her farm. Initially he thought her totally innocent and trusting, but, he reminded himself, she apparently didn’t have any qualms about using him and his money to get what she wanted. Cassi was as desperate as he was and would do anything to get what she wanted.
Come to think of it, she certainly had used all her womanly ammunition on him the evening they had dinner in his barn. Her kisses had been hot enough to peak his interest in her, assuring the deal would be cemented. And that interest led to their partnership arrangement.
He would keep reminding himself that she was like Annie Mae and the others who had dated him—they all had ulterior motives. None had truly cared to get to know the real him, the man eclipsed by his family name and horse racing legacy. None had wanted to be with him, they only wanted the heir to the oldest horse farm in Lexington. Rationalizing, he conceded to himself that the playboy reputation he’d acquired might intrigue them. But what about him as a person? Did they really want to get to know him? He didn’t think so. After dating so many women, Austin surmised he’d never find anyone who was honestly interested in him.
And apparently Cassi was no different. During their earlier dinner in the barn, she was so responsive to his touches—almost too responsive for a supposed innocent. He knew she would have slept with him had he pressed the issue. The next time she offered herself to him, he would take her then and there with no qualms about it. He’d use her like she was using him. He wouldn’t give it a second thought, wouldn’t give a damn!
Dragging himself from his bed and his thoughts, Austin got up and stretched. As he stepped into the shower, he let the hot steam of the sluicing water ease his muscles and his mind. He had lots to do. One was meeting with Cassi and discussing their strategy for Foolish Gamble. Austin needed to prepare himself for being around her…he wouldn’t let her womanliness distract him from his real purpose. Possessing her farm.
Toweling himself off, Austin put thoughts of Cassi out of his mind. He’d be seeing her soon enough. Right now, he had other matters to settle before he met with her this afternoon.
Cassi stood in the bright yellow kitchen frying bacon when she heard her brother, Mikey, bounding down the stairs. Stepping away from the popping grease, she poured a cup of coffee for him. She knew he hadn’t gotten in until about four in the morning because she had been tossing and turning all night thinking about Austin. The way he touched her, the way she reacted, so eager to have him kiss her. It was so unlike her. She was troubled by her attraction. He seemed to have cast his magical spell over her, like he had on all the debs in Lexington. Apparently she was no different from them in that regard.
Handing the mug of steaming coffee to her brother as he set up his laptop at the table. He accepted it with a simple grunt.
“How was the meet last night?” Cassi asked as she turned the bacon over.
“We won.”
Mikey had never been a morning person and she liked to try to get him to talk to her, just to irritate him, like any big sister would. “How about yourself? Did you win all your races?”
“Tied one and took first in the relay.”
“Great.” It was also good news, because Mikey had a small scholarship based on his athletic abilities. Cassi always breathed a sigh of relief when he won. That funding meant less money she had to come up with.
“What’d you do last night?” Mikey mumbled from behind his laptop.
“Nothing much.” Cassi replied. She popped two slices of bread in the toaster and then took the bacon out of the pan. Placing it on a dish, she pressed paper-towels on top to blot the grease. “Danced last night at the Roadhouse.” She poured two glasses of orange juice and placed them on the table.
“So you went dancing last night, huh?” Mikey asked as he took a sip of the orange juice.
“Yeah. It was fun.”
He continued to quiz her. “Who’d you dance with?”
Cassi leaned over to look at his laptop and recognized the Lexington After Dark society blog. A picture of Austin and herself dancing at the Roadhouse, looked back at her. When had someone taken their picture? By the look of her laughing up at Austin, it was apparent she wouldn’t have paid any notice to anything but him.
“Ohmigosh,” was all she could say.
She read the by-line and her stomach sank. Playboy plays on other side of town. The meaning of that statement wasn’t lost on her. Apparently, the bloggers didn’t think her side of town was good enough for their Austin Keller. And that meant she, in turn, wasn’t good enough for him. Her face flushed with anger.
“What’s with all the questions? Usually you could care less what I do.”
“Since your picture is 0n the Internet, I felt it was my brotherly duty.”
Reading on, the caption stated, “Austin Keller, heir to family fortune and Keller Farms, was seen line dancing at a local watering hole with an
unknown lady last night. Could this be the reason Annie Mae Ashworth has been seen out on the town alone?”
“Ohmigosh,” Cassi repeated. Her mind swirled in so many different directions, she didn’t know which thought to follow. The one where Annie Mae was going to come hunt her down and kill her? Or the one where Austin would refuse to recognize her publicly, yet be, oh, so happy to kiss her passionately without anyone knowing? She was ridiculous to think she could date someone of Austin’s stature.
“Sis?”
She heard Mikey calling her, as if from a distance.
“Yo, sis, are you in there?”
She looked at him blankly.
“You got to dance with Austin Keller?”
Cassi heard the surprised awe in her brother’s tone. “Yeah, sure did.”
“Did you know who he was when he asked you to dance?”
“Look, Mikey. There are things I should tell you.” Cassi hadn’t yet gotten a chance to talk to him about her arrangement with Austin. She didn’t know where to begin. Certainly not the hot kisses she shared with Austin or her risky arrangement to try to save the farm. “You know we’ve got serious debts on our farm, right?”
Mikey nodded in agreement.
“Remember when I worked last weekend at Keeneland cleaning out stalls? Well, I was in the bathroom and this lady was crying. She was furious with her boyfriend because he hadn’t given her a diamond engagement ring that she wanted. Instead, he had given her a horse and she wasn’t pleased with that. So she wrote on a piece of paper and handed it to me. When I read it, she had signed over her boyfriend’s, Austin Keller’s, horse to me.”
“No way!”
“I tried to run after her and return it, but I couldn’t find her in the crowd. Then I went to where the Keller horses were stabled and tried to give it back to Austin.” Cassi revisited that day. How arrogant Austin had been and how angry he had made her. “But he made me mad, so I left without giving it to him.”
“So we’ve got a racehorse?” A big grin spread across his face, only to be quickly replaced by a sheepish look as he continued, “Sorry I haven’t had much time to spend helping out with the farm. I would have noticed if we had a new horse in the barn.”
“We don’t. I couldn’t accept that horse.”
“It sure would have helped with the bills.”
“But that wouldn’t be right,” Cassi admonished her brother.
“Anyway,” she continued, “I went over to the party that night at Keller Farms to give it back to him.”
“Man, that must have been cool.”
“I was so nervous I couldn’t enjoy it,” Cassi admitted. Except his kiss in the barn, she remembered she enjoyed that. “Anyway, I found Austin and signed his horse back over to him. He was very grateful.”
“So he took you out dancing to celebrate?”
“Well, we had a previous dinner together so he could thank me.”
“Man, have you been holding out on me!” Mikey exclaimed. “So, you’ve got a boyfriend,” he added teasingly.
“No, I don’t. I have a business partner.”
“A what?”
“Well, Austin kept going on and on about how he wanted to thank me for giving him his horse back. Earlier in the day, before I had dinner with him, I received a call from the bank. Foreclosure proceedings would be starting soon. So, in desperation, I asked Austin if he’d want to partner with me to race Foolish Gamble.”
“And he agreed?”
“He did. So, he’ll be putting up the money for the races and we’ll split the winnings, minus what he spends up front on the entry fees.”
“Wow, that’s great. So all our problems are solved!”
“Only if Foolish Gamble wins. If he should lose, Austin will get the farm and Foolish Gamble. Everything.”
“And you agreed to that?” His eyes widened and his voice went up an octave.
“If I didn’t take this chance, we’d be losing the farm anyway. At least this way we have a shot, a hope of keeping the farm.”
“Well, that’s how Dad got Foolish Gamble in the first place. He won that racehorse sperm in the poker game. Maybe you’ll be lucky like that.” He relaxed back into the kitchen chair.
Cassi didn’t consider herself a gambler like her father and she definitely wasn’t a drunk like him. And she wouldn’t abandon responsibilities like he had.
“Let’s hope so,” she replied thoughtfully.
Mikey continued his teasing. “So you’ve got a boyfriend.”
“No. I have a partner.”
“Then why did you go out dancing unless he’s your boyfriend?”
“We were celebrating our partnership deal.”
“Yeah, right.” Mikey grinned and gave her a thumbs up signal. “You’ve got a boyfriend. It’s about time!”
“You’re impossible! Be quiet and eat your breakfast.” Cassi couldn’t resist indulging herself for a few moments thinking of Austin as her boyfriend. The way he looked at her and touched her last night was the behavior of a boyfriend. But she was afraid to hope…afraid her Cinderella fairytale would come crashing down around her and break her glass slipper.
Don Ashworth watched his sister from across the breakfast table as smoke practically came out her ears.
“How dare he!” Annie Mae fumed. “I can’t believe he’s going out with her.” She shoved her cell phone at Don.
Curiously, he looked at the picture and recognized Cassi dancing with Austin. He had to stifle his smile so Annie Mae wouldn’t get any angrier. He wasn’t ready for one of her tantrums so early in the morning and tried to soothe his sister. “How do you know he’s going out with her? Maybe they were just dancing.”
“What do you mean, they were just dancing?”
Glancing up from his coffee, he witnessed Annie Mae’s eyes narrow, signaling danger.
“You were there, weren’t you?” she hissed.
Don knew he couldn’t deny it. “Yes, I was there.”
“You guys never go there. Why did you go last night?”
“I don’t know, Annie Mae. All the other places were so crowded and we didn’t feel like fighting all the people.” Don continued, trying to deflect her anger from him. “How can you tell from a picture that they’re dating?”
“See the way he’s looking at her? I can tell.” Annie Mae’s bottom lip jutted out and a pout began. “He used to look at me that way.”
“Could be they’re friends,” he offered, trying to reason with her. “Cassi seems like a nice girl.” Don knew the minute those words left his mouth he had said the wrong thing.
“Are you implying I’m not?” Annie Mae’s voice raised an octave.
How could he answer that diplomatically? “You’re the one who gave his horse away…”
“He deserved it, the wretch.” Annie Mae interrupted him. “I have horses by the dozens.”
“But you didn’t have one of his horses, did you?” Don couldn’t keep the reproach from his voice. She was his sister, but she was exasperating at times.
“No,” Annie Mae demurred. “You could be right. I behaved rashly.” Her lower lip quivered again. “He hasn’t called me since then.”
Sighing, Don said, “Did it ever occur to you that you should be the one calling him and apologizing?” He looked at his sister, all sophistication and glamour. He wondered if her thoughts ever ran deeper than planning the next outfit she would wear. “You hurt him. Terribly. Do you, for one second, think he’s going to come running back after you?”
“No, I guess you’re right. But I might be able to persuade him to forgive me.”
“Well, you won’t know unless you talk to the man.” Don tried to keep his patience with her. He did love his sister as any brother would, but sometimes he wondered what Austin had seen in her. Now Cassi, she seemed like a genuine person. Not like the regular socialites Austin dated. Secretly, he hoped that Austin was dating Cassi and his friend might have a chance at finally finding true happiness.
�
��I’ll do like you suggested and apologize.” Annie Mae stood. “Thanks, Donnie, you’re the best brother a girl could have.”
Annie Mae placed a big kiss on his cheek, and he knew he had a scarlet tattoo there. “Anytime, Annie Mae,” he replied, promptly wiping his napkin across his cheek to remove the lipstick.
“Glad you could make it on such short notice.” Austin greeted his early morning appointment. He shook hands with Garrison Sutton, the man who had once been the best jockey in the field. He’d won many races for the Keller Farm horses in the past, and Austin wanted to use him on Foolish Gamble. Recently, Garrison had experienced troubling times due to investigations into alleged gambling on horse races he had run as a jockey. No formal charges had been pressed against Garrison, but the rumors had made jockey assignments with prestigious stables hard to come by. Austin believed he could persuade Garrison to ride Foolish Gamble, and at the same time, agree to prevent the horse from winning.
“Good to see you again.” The short man shook hands with Austin.
“I’ll get right to the point, Garrison. I’ve got a job in mind. A special job that I think you’d be the right person for.”
The jockey raised his eyebrows. “Fill me in,” Garrison urged. “It’s been a long time since I’ve heard from your farm about any jobs.”
Looking down at the papers on his desk, Austin questioned his own motivations. Hiring Garrison was like sleeping with the devil, but what other good jockey would willingly fix the race that he normally desired to win? The only answer was a man like Garrison.
Austin took a deep breath and reminded himself that if he couldn’t get Cassi’s land or come up with money from the stock market or a gambling bet, he would never make his own mark. He would forever remain the supposed heir of a farm that, by the time he inherited it, his stepfather would have run into the ground. He knew he would never be able to come up with the money needed to save Keller Farm.
Talking to his mother about it was like talking to an ostrich with its head in the sand. She was so smitten with her husband that she couldn’t see how he was mishandling things. In addition, anytime Austin tried to talk with her about it, she became defensive and claimed Austin was jealous, unwilling to wait in line like the rest of the Keller heirs had done over the generations. Not wanting to completely ruin his relationship with her, Austin had no choice but to try to find his own way in the business of horse racing. And right now, the only direction available to him was Cassi’s farm. God help him.
