“You should never try to be something you aren't. I had a good time this evening. I really did. You're good company. I'll have to bone up on horses so we have more to talk about the next time. I have horses at my ranch. Cutting horses. I ride Western, not English.”
There was going to be a next time. “I can ride Western and I can ride bareback.”
“Show-off!”
Nealy laughed. “Does that mean I have to study up on the law?” she asked, staring out into the velvety night.
“I could give you a couple of crash courses. I'd like to come back here if you're agreeable. I could talk to you about my love for the law, the old days, these days, and what the future holds. Hell, there's a lot of things I'd love to talk to you about. I want to know everything about you. I hope that doesn't scare you. Sometimes I talk too much. Guess it's the lawyer in me.”
“You can come back anytime you want. I'd like to hear about all those things you just mentioned. I really would. It's going to be light soon,” she said, changing the subject.
Hatch looked down at the glowing numerals on his Tag watch. “I'd say in about twenty minutes. Are you going to work Shufly today. If so, do you mind if I hang around to watch? I don't have to leave till four this afternoon.”
“By all means, stay. Yes, Shufly works today. That means headache or not, I work, too. Training has to be consistent. That horse knows when something is out of whack. Today he'll let me know I wasn't here yesterday to work him. He'll pitch a fit right off the bat. Then he'll refuse the mint and his apple. When he sees that it isn't bothering me he'll try to make it up to me by nuzzling my neck, snorting, pawing the ground. He does everything but talk. He's just like Flyby but better. Maybe three times better. I never thought I'd ever say that, but I'm saying it.”
“Will you have any competition like Shufly when you run the Derby?”
“Two or three. That's according to Smitty, who's on top of all this. There's a horse called Navigator that looks to be pretty good. Fast Track is supposed to be a real runner, and then there's Jake's Thunder. According to Smitty, Jake's Thunder is the one that will probably go the distance. It's a crapshoot. You never know till you run it. I've seen horses come from behind and win a race, horses with crazy thirty-to-one odds. It happens.”
“Don't you get nervous?”
Nealy laughed. “You mean like tonight? No. When I'm on that horse I'm as calm as I can be. I don't know why that is. I wish I did.”
“Was it me that made you nervous or just going away from here into town and eating in a public place?”
“It was you. I'm sober now, so you're talking to the real Nealy here. I wanted you to like me. I didn't want you to think I was . . . God, I don't know what you thought I was. Some hateful woman who was unkind to Hunt, to my children. I don't want anyone to think that of me. I only know how to be me. All I've ever done is work. It's all I know. If I slack, then I feel guilty and feel like I'm not worthy of what Maud and Jess did for me. Maybe that's wrong. Even if it is, I can't change.
“Everything I have, everything I own is because of Maud and Jess. When my . . . Josh Coleman booted me and Emmie out, I stole his truck with my brothers' help and it got me this far. I was sick, Emmie was sick, and they found me lying in the dirt. They took me in, got a doctor for both of us, and took care of us. They loved me and Emmie. Back then I didn't know what love was. I breathed it in like it was oxygen. They fed us, put a roof over our heads, bought us clothes, and paid me to work. More than a fair wage. I don't know what would have happened to us if Jess hadn't found me that day.
“I lived in fear those first few years, afraid they wouldn't need me anymore. I saved every penny thinking I might have to go it alone. I think I worked harder than I had back at SunStar just so that wouldn't happen. It never did. Every night when I say my prayers, I thank God for letting me find this place. A few years later, they legally adopted me. When they died, they left everything to me and Emmie. I've been putting Emmie's share of the profits in an account I set up. Now do you understand why I do what I do, why I act like I act? I'll probably still be trying to prove my worth until the day I die. Does that make sense in some cockamamie way? I went off on a tangent there. What I was saying was, I wanted you to like me.”
“Of course it makes sense. And for the record, I wanted you to like me, too. Hunt said you hated me and the guys. Some small part of me always wondered how that could be since you didn't know us. I know you thought the duck egg was silly business, and you're right, it was. However, it got the four of us through some bad times. Laughter is the best remedy. I don't think there's been much laughter in your life, Nealy Clay.”
“You're right about that.”
“Then it's time we did something about it.”
Nealy smiled. She was aware suddenly that it was now light out, and the stars were disappearing. “Yes, let's do something about that.”
10
Nealy and Hatch were halfway to the barn when Nealy noticed the head groom leading Shufly out of the breezeway. The colt was wound up about something and required a second groom on his right shank to keep him under control.
“That's some horse!” Hatch exclaimed. He'd grown up around horses, mostly mustangs, who were small and wiry compared to the tall, sleek colt who stood before him.
Nealy laughed at Shufly's antics. She knew he was upset with her because she'd broken her routine and hadn't visited him in his stall last night.
Pride marched through her. “He's magnificent, isn't he?”
Hatch nodded, his gaze never leaving the colt. “I have to say, Nealy, he's the finest piece of horseflesh I've ever seen.”
Shufly whinnied and would have broken away if the grooms hadn't been prepared for his antics and kept a tight hold.
“Careful, Nealy,” Hatch warned. “Something's got him spooked.” He reached for her arm to pull her toward him.
Nealy smiled. “It's okay. He's just a little annoyed with me because of last night.” With a confidence born of having raised Shufly from birth, Nealy sprinted toward the colt, leaving Hatch a safe distance away. She reached for his halter, brought his head down to hers, and whispered in his ear. He immediately calmed down and became a docile pet, nuzzling his massive head against Nealy's arm.
Hatch thought his eyes were going to pop right out of his head. If he hadn't seen what he just witnessed, he never would have believed it. Nick had told him about his mother's uncanny way with horses. Years ago Hunt had told him the same thing, but he never fully appreciated what it was they were saying. Later, when he thought about it, he decided Nealy had cast a magic spell over Shufly.
Awed at what he had just seen, Hatch walked over to the now-calm Shufly and rubbed his muzzle. “Just out of curiosity, what did you whisper in his ear to calm him down?”
Nealy tilted her head to the side. “I simply told him if he didn't behave himself I wouldn't take him out to the track. I told him he had to behave like a gentleman.”
Hatch grimaced. “And you're telling me he understood what you said?”
Nealy laughed. “He calmed down, didn't he?”
Hatch's eyes narrowed with disbelief. Was she putting him on? She looked serious and was watching him carefully for his reaction.
Something in him clicked. Suddenly he had the overwhelming desire to know everything there was to know about Nealy Clay. He wanted to know her strengths, her weaknesses, her likes and dislikes. He smiled. Nealy smiled back.
“He's rarin' to go, Miz Nealy,” the groom said.
“Give me a leg up, will you, Hatch?”
Hatch bent down and cupped his hands together. She was light as a feather. Of course she would be. She was a jockey, and jockeys had weight limitations. He watched her wiggle her rear end into the slip of leather that passed for a saddle. She probably weighed around 110 pounds, less than half his weight and about a tenth of what Shufly weighed.
Hatch watched as she secured her booted feet in the irons. She reached down for the hat the groom held out to her. With one deft movement she had her hair piled on top of her head and the hat in place. She wasn't classically pretty, but there was a certain look about her, something that set her apart from the other women he'd known over the years.
“Hatch, stand over there by that platform and watch us,” Nealy said, pointing to her left.
Hatch nodded. “You take care of yourself out there, okay?”
He wasn't afraid for her, was he? “Don't worry, we'll be fine,” she said as she reined Shufly around.
Hatch headed for the platform, where he took a seat on the wooden bench. A groom handed him a pair of binoculars so he could watch Nealy walk Shufly on to the track, where they would be joined by two other jockeys and horses. He could see an ear-to-ear grin on Nealy's face as she joked with the riders.
She's in her element,
he thought.
This is her life, her love.
He was beginning to understand why Hunt had been so in love with her and why her children were so in awe of her. She was special, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. It was going to take a team of wild horses to keep him away from her.
“Okay, baby, let's show off a little bit for Mr. Littletree.” She forgot everything and anything then as she waited for the gate to clang open.
Shufly ripped through the gate and thundered down the track, his running mates four lengths behind as Nealy urged him on. “You can do it, you can do it! Keep it up. You're doing good, baby! Come on, stretch those legs. Let's see you cross that line six lengths ahead of those slugs behind you. Good boy, good boy,” Nealy said, leaning as low as she could get and still not be over his head. Dirt flew up in her face, blinding her, but still she screamed, “Go! Go! Go!”
And he did!
“Oh, baby, I'm so proud of you I could just bust. You've got it! Just like your daddy had it. Your day is coming, and you're going to run that track just like your daddy did and by God, you're going to win,” Nealy said, wiping the dirt from her eyes and face.
She risked a glance at the platform, where Hatch was standing. She waved. The woman in her preened, knowing he was watching her.
As far as Hatch could tell, there had been no contest between Shufly and his running mates. He ran the mile with energy to spare. His time, according to the groom's stopwatch, was 1.34, which was close to a track record.
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“It was a nice visit, Nealy. Perhaps a little too short to my way of thinking. I'd like to do it again sometime. However, my calendar's pretty full right now, and I know yours is, too. My head is still reeling with all you cram into one day. I can see why you love your life. It's beautiful here with all the bluegrass, the board fencing, the stone house that's a home and not just stone and mortar. There's something so graceful, almost ethereal about seeing the horses in the pasture. I think that's probably the Indian coming through in me. I love the land,” Hatch said, shading his eyes from the late-afternoon sun. “I've never seen greener pastures or bigger trees.”
“If you could have just one wish or if you could have anything in the world, what would you wish for?” Nealy asked softly.
Hatch frowned and then smiled. “Is that one of those trick questions that will allow you to take my measure?”
“No, it's just a question.”
“No one ever asked me a question like that. Do you need the answer right now?”
“No. Take all the time you need.” Nealy laughed. “Listen, I apologize for last night. I was just . . .”
“Nervous! It was an interesting evening, and I enjoyed it. I almost forgot, Emmie called me last evening on my cell phone.”
Nealy's hand clutched at Hatch's arm. “Is she all right?”
“Yes, she's fine. She was just feeling a little down.”
“About what?” Nealy whispered.
Hatch shrugged. “She gets that way sometimes. She misses you, Nealy. Nick does, too.”
“Has either one of them said that to you?” Nealy asked, her eyes locking with his.
“No.”
“Then you don't really know, Hatch,” she said, waving her hand in dismissal.
Hatch grabbed her hand in midair. “Yes, Nealy, I do know. Just like I know that you miss them, that in spite of what happened, there isn't a day that goes by that you don't think of them and that you don't long to see them and to know Gabby. A person doesn't have to say the words aloud, Nealy. You should know that.” His expression softened. “Tell me something. Are you going to contact Nick and Emmie before you ride in the Derby next year?”
Taken off guard, Nealy could only stammer. “I . . . I haven't given the matter much thought.” She took a deep breath. “The Derby is a long way off. Almost a whole year. But it is something I will think about. Did you tell Nick or Emmie that you were coming here?”
“No. I didn't think it was any of their business, to be honest with you. My personal life is my own. I really enjoyed my visit, and I can't wait to come back again. Well, I better get going.”
“Perhaps we can do it again when I'm not so . . .”
“Nervous?”
“Yeah, when I'm not so nervous.”
“How about this weekend?”
Nealy burst out laughing. “Okay.”
“Saturday morning. I should set down around midmorning. Is that okay with you? I'll pick up a rental car at the airport.”
“Of course it's okay. But Saturday is just like any other day around here. Weekends are not days of rest or for play.”
“I'll dress appropriately. I like picnics. Do you think we could squeeze one in?”
Nealy laughed again as she pushed the Stetson farther back on her head. “I can almost guarantee it. You do mean the kind of picnic where you have a basket of food and a blanket and sit under the tree, right? Yes, I'd like that, Hatch.” She couldn't remember the last time she'd been on a picnic. The yearly barbecue was a far cry from a picnic.
Hatch leaned out the window of the car. “Being able to walk around with my hands in my pockets whistling without a worry in the world. You know like Opie and his dad in that Mayberry show.”
“Gotcha,” Nealy said, grinning from ear to ear. “I'll see you Saturday.” She shoved her hands into her pockets.
“You can give me
your
answer on the weekend,” Hatch shouted as he swerved the car around to head out to the road. Nealy waved till he was out of sight.
She watched the car until it turned onto the main highway at the end of her drive. For long minutes she stood there, looking at the empty driveway, thinking about her empty life. When had she ever felt this alone? The answer was immediate. When she'd taken Emmie and left SunStar Farms.
She closed her eyes for a moment and remembered the stormy night when her father had threatened to take her baby to an orphanage. With her brothers' help, she'd packed up her belongings and left SunStar, in the middle of the night, with a sick baby while she herself was on the verge of pneumonia. It was all so long ago. A lifetime, actually.
Smitty appeared at the top of the steps with two bottles of beer and a pack of cigarettes. “You get one cigarette and one beer. That's it.”
Nealy sat down on the steps. She stretched her neck and shoulders before she reached out for the beer and cigarette. “He's coming back again this weekend, and we're going on a picnic.”
“You don't say! For a big guy, he moves fast. Do you like him, Nealy?”
“I do, Smitty. I really do. He's easy to be around. He doesn't talk bullshit. Everyone down at the barn hit it off with him right away. Shufly even liked him. Flyby now, that's a different story. I think he was jealous. He'd take that big head of his and push Hatch backward, away from me. Hatch just laughed. He has a gentle touch with the horses, and they responded. He told me about Nick and Emmie. I didn't ask, Smitty. I swear to God I didn't. He volunteered everything. I thought my heart was going to leap right out of my chest when he started talking about the kids.”
“That's wonderful, Nealy.”
“Yes, it is wonderful. When Hatch and I were sitting on the front porch last night he told me Emmie is writing a book on the history of horse racing. He told me she has the cover all mapped out. She showed him a picture someone took of me when we crossed the finish line at the Derby. Hatch said I was full of mud and was so far over Flyby's head I looked like I had wings. My daughter wants to put me on the cover of her book! I almost lost it right then, Smitty. He said Emmie does her writing when Gabby is napping. She has a computer and everything. That computer you have scares the hell out of me.”
“You know, Nealy, when you've been around as long as I have you develop instincts where people are concerned. Everything with your kids is going to work out just fine. In the last few days I think your destiny caught up with you. You always said you were waiting for your white knight to show up. He showed up, girl!”
“I was thinking the same thing. I really was.” She thought about the conversations they'd had, the looks, the little touches that had made her tingle with awareness. She wouldn't be fooling anyone but herself if she tried to deny the attraction she felt for Hatch Littletree. She wondered if he was as attracted to her.
She turned her gaze to the stallion barn, her mind in turmoil. Realistically, Hatch's first and second visits had probably stemmed from a sense of duty to Hunt. But what had prompted his request to visit her again, if not attraction? “Time will tell,” she muttered.
“How about one more cigarette, Smitty?”
“No more, Nealy. Matilda has your dinner ready. Salad and chicken. Why don't you take a nice hot bath and relax a little? Dover and I are going to some mud-wrestling thing in town tonight. I can't believe I agreed to go, but I'm going. Everything is caught up in the office; all the bills are paid. Things are so normal it's scary. I'd almost relish a little excitement around here.”