Backstretch Baby (23 page)

And Miguel wasn’t even paid to massage. He did it because he used to be Tizzy’s groom and still loved the horse. But Victoria would have no reason to stop him, especially since she considered the man insignificant.

“I don’t think Victoria would care about Miguel’s massage,” Eve said, almost to herself. “Even if you did tell her.”

“Well, of course, I never told her anything.” Ashley’s head jerked back and forth, her cheeks flagged with pink. “I can’t believe you’d think that.”

“But someone is feeding her information. When did you last talk to her?”

“That’s a crazy question. After all you’ve done for me—teaching me to ride, helping me get my first job. You’re my best friend. You’d think I’d want to hurt you?”

“But when did you last talk to her?”

“I’m not dignifying that with an answer.” Ashley’s mouth flattened in a mutinous line.

“She has to ask.” Rick’s voice came from behind Eve. “And you have to answer,” he said.

Eve turned. Rick stood behind her. His powerful arms were crossed, his blue-gray eyes cold and menacing. He said nothing else, just stared.

Ashley wilted.

“I haven’t spoken to Victoria since she called about Tizzy’s jockey,” Ashley said. “And I’m truly sorry about Miguel. I would never give him alcohol.” She forced a meek smile. “Heck, I couldn’t even afford it.”

“Do you know a guy called Marcus?” Eve asked. “Shaved head, scar on his jaw?”

Ashley gave a reluctant nod. “But I never said anything to him about Miguel or our horses. He told me about an alcohol-free beer that pregnant people could drink. And he promised to find me some cheap vitamins. That’s all. You have to believe me.”

Eve glanced at Rick. “Did Miguel recognize the person who gave him the alcohol?”

“No,” Rick said, his expression still grim. “He never saw anyone. The bottle was left in front of Tizzy’s stall.”

Hair rose on the back of Eve’s neck. “So someone not only knows everything about our staff, they also know our horses?”

“Afraid so,” Rick said.

Rick tightened his hold on Tizzy’s lead shank, even though the horse was totally relaxed, resting a hind leg as he stood in the saddling enclosure. A maintenance worker emptied a metal garbage can, but Tizzy barely flicked an ear at the ensuing clang.

He forced his hand to loosen. The area was empty, except for the lone worker. And Tizzy wasn’t the type to spook. But the horse carried precious cargo.

He glanced up at Eve, intensely aware of her every movement. She seemed warm, fiddling with the snap on her protective vest. Beneath the vest she wore a thin blue T-shirt and probably the pink sports bra, the one she’d washed that had been drying in the bathroom. He wasn’t sure of the color of her panties, only that they covered her firm ass. And that he worried about it every time she climbed on a horse.

She was pushing herself too hard, and her wrist still wasn’t fully healed. She’d never admit it, never complain, but she always rode Stinger home one-handed, the injured wrist resting on her thigh…the same sculpted thighs that had wrapped around his hips two nights ago in a way that made him want to crawl back into her bed, and never leave.

He felt himself growing hard and forced his attention off the rider and back to Tizzy. But the horse wasn’t near as exciting. And it was impossible not to think and hope and wonder about the next time he and Eve might have sex. Or even if they ever would.

“Guess it’ll be more hectic here tomorrow,” he said, staring fixedly at Tizzy’s chest, and not at her leg, with the black boot that covered her tiny toes, along with the dainty arch he knew for a fact was one of her significant erogenous zones.

She leaned forward and gave Tizzy an affectionate pat, her hand almost brushing Rick’s shoulder. He shifted back, away from the smell of her skin and the urge to pull her off the horse and do her against the wall of the outrider’s stall. But the maintenance worker was only a hundred feet away. Besides, Tizzy would probably trot back to the barn and that would draw all sorts of attention.

“Tizzy won’t be much different in front of a crowd,” she said. “Not much bothers him. He’s a real gentleman. It’s just too bad he didn’t get that massage.”

Massage
. Rick forced a nod. Eve gave a great massage too, and he was stiffening just thinking about her hands between his legs, but he was quite sure they were talking about the horse now. Of course they were. He slapped down his thoughts, deciding his intense longing, the total awareness, was because this relationship was so damn fragile.

He flexed his fingers, fiddling with the lead line. Right now, he could almost forget about Eve’s son. Pretend it was a minor inconvenience, and he could man up. He didn’t want to lose her. Wanted to stick close, day and night.

But when her kid arrived...

A chill swept him, and he stopped wondering if Tizzy would ground tie and if there was a possibility of grabbing some high-noon sex. Because this was going to be tough. And the way she looked at him made him feel like a fraud. She didn’t understand he was broken. And that maybe he’d already given everything he could.

“Let’s walk him around the paddock one more time,” she said, loosening the buckle on her helmet.

“Keep that tight,” he said. “You never know when a horse will jump. Even one as quiet as Tizzy.”

“Hey, I’m the trainer.” She smiled, all teasing and light. “You’re supposed to listen to me.”

“And I’m supposed to keep you safe.” His voice was unexpectedly rough.

“Right.” Her smile turned sad. “I keep forgetting. I’m your job.”

He swallowed, knew that was exactly what he’d been trying to remind them both. But he didn’t want it that way. And he hated to see the sadness in her face, and know that he’d put it there. “You’re much more than that,” he muttered.

She looked at him for a long moment, as if sensing his turmoil. “And Joey?” she asked, with her typical openness.

“I plan to work on that.” He took a ragged breath, knowing she had no idea how the prospect filled him with terror. And because she was looking at him with those beautiful eyes, and he really wanted to please her, he added, “I’m looking forward to meeting him.”

He basked in her relieved smile before stepping forward and leading Tizzy around the paddock. And he told himself it would be okay. He could handle one little boy.

But dread pitted his stomach and his sweaty hands stuck to the leather lead shank. And while he was quite certain she didn’t pick up on his fear, Tizzy certainly did. The horse jammed his head in the air and skittered around the enclosure, acting far different from the confident Thoroughbred Rick had led into the paddock.

In fact, Tizzy shivered with such nervous energy that sweat darkened his neck, matching the perspiration soaking Rick’s forehead. And no matter how Rick tried to control his reaction, it was impossible to stop his hands from shaking.

*

Eve closed the RV door, sank down at the kitchen table and stared glumly at her phone. Jackson didn’t want her dealing with owners, but Dex and Dani were friends. And they’d always promised they’d take Tizzy back to the ranch if their horse wasn’t happy at the track.

She’d lose her job if she didn’t follow orders. No trainer wanted their staff calling owners and possibly creating problems. That would only give Victoria more ammunition to fire Eve. But every owner deserved honest feedback. And so did Tizzy.

She picked up her phone and resolutely pressed Dani’s number.

“Double D Ranch.” Dex answered with a hint of impatience. Judging from the clink of tools, it sounded like he was in the process of shoeing a horse.

She pulled in a fortifying breath, wishing it had been Dani who’d taken the call. Dex didn’t say much and certainly wasn’t one for coddling.

“It’s Eve,” she said. “You know I have Tizzy at Riverview and he’s entered for tomorrow?”

“Know he’s at Riverview,” Dex said. “Didn’t know he was running tomorrow.”

She winced. Despite Jackson’s assurances, Victoria hadn’t even bothered to call the owners and tell them Tizzy was racing. Dex and Dani always enjoyed the thrill of watching their horse run. And Eve liked seeing them. They were good people.

“I should have called,” she said. “He’s in the seventh, an allowance race, mile and a quarter.”

“We can’t make it anyway. Dani’s brother is coming home. Tomorrow is the family dinner. How are Tizzy’s feet?”

“Good,” Eve said. “The farrier you recommended came last week. And Tizzy’s in great shape, moving well, looks sharp.”

“But?”

“But lately he’s been acting different,” she admitted. “And during paddock training today, he was unsettled. As if he didn’t want to be there. You always said if he wasn’t happy you’d take him home. Turn him out in the pasture. It might be time…”

Her voice trailed off in misery. She didn’t want to lose Tizzy. Hadn’t even been sure what she was going to say. But he’d run well in five races and been a flop the last three. And his agitation today was uncharacteristic. Like he was an unhappy horse. He was too talented to run that badly, so like Miguel said, it must be in his mind. Obviously he no longer wanted to be a racehorse.

“The last six months,” Dex said, “he lost you as his jockey and Miguel as his groom.”

She nodded, even though Dex couldn’t see her. Jackson had insisted Victoria be assigned to groom the barn’s top horses. At the time, they included Tizzy. But after three poor races, Victoria had dumped the horse, choosing to send him to Riverview. ‘He doesn’t even try,’ she’d complained. ‘He’s good for nothing but dog food. I’m not wasting my time on a crap animal like that.’

“So you’re saying…” Eve paused, not sure what Dex meant, only that anything he said was always valuable. His message seemed to be that Tizzy had run well with Miguel as his groom and her as his jockey.

Miguel was here at Riverview, but he only bandaged Tizzy’s legs. Since Ashley was limited to handling the easy horses, she’d taken over as Tizzy’s groom. The horse was easy to handle and therefore the first to be shortchanged.

“I thought it was Miguel’s massage that made him feel better.” She pressed the phone tighter against her ear. “But you’re saying it’s really Miguel’s attention?”

“A horse gives back what he gets,” Dex said cryptically. “Just like people.”

She rose and peered out the window, studying the grass around the barn. Miguel was in no shape to give Tizzy a massage but he could hang out with the horse all afternoon. Let him munch some grass, make Tizzy feel special.

And while Rick was great with Stinger and the rambunctious three-year-olds, his handling of the horses was more clinical. She’d noticed his agitation when they discussed Joey, and that tension had definitely transferred to Tizzy—a horse who’d spent the first four years of his life on a quiet ranch, eating grass and being cared for by the same well-grounded people. No wonder Tizzy’s performance had been erratic.

“Thank you, Dex.” She squeezed her eyes with relief. “Guess I should have done a few things differently.”

“Nothing that can’t be changed,” he said laconically. “Appreciate your call.”

He hung up before she could ask him not to tell Jackson about their conversation, then realized that was a non-issue. Dex was a man who knew how to keep secrets.

She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and hurried from the RV into the barn.

Miguel was raking the aisle. He looked up, his eyes shadowed with embarrassment, and defeat.

She gently took the rake from his hands and replaced it with the bottle of cold water. “You don’t need to do anything else today,” she said, “except drink water and look after Tizzy. And if you’re up for it, I’d like your help with saddling tomorrow.”

“You want me?” Miguel’s eyes widened. “In the paddock for the race?”

She nodded. Victoria had banned the groom from the public eye, saying he was too frail to control an excited horse before a race. And that it didn’t look professional. But that was where Tizzy needed the person he trusted most. And there was no doubt that man was Miguel.

“I’m getting my horse back?” Miguel’s eyes turned watery. “Even after last night?”

She nodded, moved by his unusual show of emotion. She hadn’t realized how hurt Miguel had been to lose Tizzy, how many people Victoria had flattened with her scorched earth policy.

“Don’t worry about last night,” she said. “It was just a little slip. We all make them. Rick set up an appointment with the chaplain. Things will work out. Just make Tizzy feel special again, okay?”

“
Si
, boss.” Miguel’s head pumped “Me and that horse, we like each other.”

He turned and limped toward Tizzy’s stall. The horse poked his head over the door, his eyes hopeful. Miguel picked up a lead line, then stopped to scratch Tizzy beneath his jaw, over his cheek and even his ears, touching him like he had all the time in the world.

Eve heard his soft crooning, saw how Tizzy pressed his head against the man’s chest, utterly trusting in the groom’s gentle hands.

Rick stepped out from Stinger’s stall. “Looks like a good move,” he said, his voice quiet. “Some things are stronger when they’re together.”

She glanced up. He wasn’t looking at Miguel and Tizzy. He was staring at her. In the paddock this morning, he’d claimed he was looking forward to meeting Joey. But his voice had been strained. There’d even been a sheen of perspiration on his forehead. Tizzy definitely had picked up on the tension.

“Yes,” she said. “But sometimes it’s a leap of faith. We never know what will make us stronger. Or weaker.” She squeezed the rake, praying Rick would reassure her that everything would be okay. That he really did like kids.

But his expression remained inscrutable. “That’s right,” he said. “It’s impossible to know.”

Eve spread the new tack on the kitchen table, stroking the bridle with a reverent finger. “Thanks for winning this, Rick,” she said.

While the mismatched equipment was suitable for morning exercise, and she’d be forever grateful to the ladies, it was a relief that Tizzy could appear in public tomorrow with a traditional bridle.