Bullet Work (8 page)

“Yeah, well, I know what I know.” The man
eyed Beth, then shifted to catch Jake before he went by. “If she’s
going to be the best, you need to match her with the best. You
know, guarantee that you get the maximum from her.”

“I got a rider,” Jake said.

“Jake, we’ll give you first call on any three
horses in the barn—give us a shot with the filly. You won’t be
disappointed. There’s a reason Dagens has been the leading rider
here for the past two years.”

“Thanks, John. I’ll give you a call if I need
a rider,” Jake said as he continued walking away.

“You name it, Jake—first call on any three
horses.” John skipped forward to catch Jake. “Hey, while I’m here,
I wanted to invite you to a steak fry tomorrow night. My place.
Tidewater Court, you know it?”

“Yeah, I know it.”

“Stop by if you can.” John turned to Beth.
“You’re invited too. You’re
always
invited, honey.”

Beth shot him a deadly stare.

Jake stopped and turned back. “All right, you
said your piece. Now move along.”

“Call me Jake. Seriously,” John said as he
walked out of the shedrow toward the road.

Dan jogged the few steps to catch Jake and
fell in alongside. “That was awkward,” Dan said.

“Some guys have no class,” Jake said.

“Jock agents by nature generally have no
class,” Dan said. Jake harrumphed.

“But Jake,” said Dan. “Why wouldn’t we put
Dagens up on Aly Dancer? Guy’s right; there’s a reason why Dagens
wins.”

“Hands are too hard,” Jake said.

Dan stopped; a puzzled look ran across his
face. Jake continued around the corner of the shedrow.

Chapter 13

After ensuring that all was in
order, Dan left the barn and sauntered down the road to Crok’s for
a cup of coffee. Beth came scampering up behind him.

“Mind if I walk along? I’m just going to
Crok’s,” she said.

“Not a problem.”

“Thanks,” she said, jogging up alongside. Her
blonde hair bobbed in time with her steps.

“Want a cup of coffee? I’m buying.” He
turned, looking over and smiling.

“Nah, just gonna grab a soda. I need to get
back to do some wraps. Another time maybe.”

Another time? he thought. That’s
interesting.

“That filly’s a good one,” she said.

“Aly Dancer?”

“Yep. She’s got black type all over her.”

Black type referred to the pedigree book,
where past accomplishments of mares and stallions were listed to
show the progeny’s family. Black type meant winning graded or
restricted races. Beth meant that the filly had the ability to win
those kinds of races. It was a high compliment. Owners of untested
two-year-olds were told that, mostly by the stable hands and
trainers who were paid to maintain the animals. Beth’s remark
seemed more sincere than most.

Dan knew better than to put faith in the
opinion of backside help. But he couldn’t help himself. He liked
this girl. He didn’t know why.

“Hope you’re right about her. Hey, I asked
Jake about putting Dagens up on Aly Dancer,” he said.

“You don’t want him,” she said, her disgust
apparent.

“Why not? His record speaks for itself.”

“He’s a good enough rider. I just think he’s
a weirdo.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Oh, he hangs around the backside when he
don’t need to. Nights sometimes. Guy’s a little freaky.”

“Jake said something about Dagens’ hands
being too hard. Thought I’d heard it all. What’s that?” Dan
said.

“He’s very rough with horses, not abusive,
but aggressive right to the line,” Beth said. “With a filly like
Aly Dancer, you want a rider who can get the best from her but also
be conscious of her experiences and development. Soft hands if you
will.” They walked a few steps in silence, then Beth turned to him.
“These are highly strung, temperamental animals. Good riders will
keep the horse happy and give them confidence. That’s how you build
a champion.”

“So who’s he going to ride?” Dan asked.

“Don’t know. He’s had a few guys over to
exercise her. I don’t think he’s decided,” she said. “As you’ve
seen, word’s getting out on her. But you know Jake—never one to
rush a decision.”

Dan turned to her and in a hushed tone asked,
“Jake okay?”

“Yeah, I s’pose. Why?”

“He just seems off somehow.” They moved
slowly on the side of the asphalt roadway. “Never in my life would
I question how he manages and develops horses, but I can’t
understand why he won’t pay the fee to protect the stable.”

“He’s got one of us on the grounds around the
clock, since this all happened,” she said. “We’ll be okay.”

“I don’t want to be okay. I want to be safe.
I want to be sure. He’s taking a risk he doesn’t need to take,” Dan
said. “Won’t even talk about it with me.”

“He can be hard-headed. I guess, all good
trainers are a little hard-headed.” She chuckled; Dan didn’t.

“I can’t be the only owner who’s upset about
this,” he said.

She shuffled along a few steps. “Nope. He’s
gotten a few calls. But he says we can handle it. If you feed the
bears, they keep coming back. He’s not going to get started. I
admire him for that.”

“I think it’s unnecessary,” he said. “Why
take a risk you can easily avoid? Better hope they catch this guy
before something happens.”

They walked along in silence several
strides.

“So how long were you married?” Beth
asked.

Dan looked at her with stunned surprise.

“Jake told me.”

Of course he did.
Probably shouldn’t bother me that much, he thought. It just seemed
odd to be hearing it out loud for the first time.

“Eight years.”

“What was her name?” she asked.

“What difference does it make?”

“Just curious, you know,” she said.

“Vickie.”

“You don’t look like someone married to a
Vickie.”

“Where the hell were you eight years ago?
Could have saved me a lot of trouble. What are you, a fortune
teller or something?”

She chuckled and looked down.

“Actually, I really loved Vickie,” Dan said.
“At least at the start. Not so much that we fell out of love as I
guess we just moved apart.” He couldn’t bring himself to say that
maybe he resented her success. He certainly couldn’t admit it to
himself.

“Kids?”

“Well, aren’t you the forward one.”

“Just wondering. Don’t mean no harm.”

They stopped as a rider on a lead pony tugged
on the bridle of a racehorse pounding reluctantly toward the track.
The jockey in tow gave Beth a long look-see as he passed by. Beth’s
attention was drawn to the back legs of the animal as it crossed in
front of them.

“Nope. No kids,” Dan said. “That was part of
the problem. She was so committed to advancing through her law firm
that—”

“She’s a lawyer, too?”

“Yep. Met in law school. She went for the big
firm life. Now she’s managing partner of their M&A
practice.”

“What’s that?”

“M&A? Mergers and acquisitions. They help
companies buy up other companies,” he said.

They stepped off the gravel road to allow a
pickup to roll slowly by.

“Sounds like she makes a lot of money,” she
said.

Great, thought Dan. You, like everybody else,
think we got divorced because I couldn’t handle the fact that she
made more money. Why does everyone go there?

“You do that too?” She noted Dan’s stunned
look. “M&A, I mean,” she said.

“No, I was in the litigation group of a large
firm. Couldn’t stand it. I’d just sit in a room for fourteen hours
a day looking at paper. After a year of that, I said ‘bullshit.’
Quit the firm and became a prosecutor. Tried a bunch of cases,
which is what I wanted in the first place. Then three years ago I
started my own practice.”

“How many lawyers in your firm?”

“You’re looking at the whole firm.” He
expanded his arms and chuckled. “So what’s the deal? You torture
everyone with questions like this or just me?”

“Oh, probably everyone,” she said. “I just
kinda like to know about people. You know, where they’re from, what
they’ve done.”

“Names of their ex-wives,” he said
deadpanning.

She cocked her head upward and smiled,
sparkling eyes peaking past her blonde hair.

“So, what’s your story?” Dan asked.

“Not much to tell.” She gave him a sheepish
smile, tucked her hair behind her right ear, then began
laughing.

Dan was game for the challenge. “Gonna make
me drag it out of you, huh? You know that’s what I do for a living.
Okay. Where’s home?”

She raised her palms, shrugged, and looked
around. “Here.”

“Fairfax Park?”

“No. The backside. All up and down the East
Coast. Monmouth, Delaware Park, Pimlico. This is the only place I
know. Daddy’s a trainer, so we moved around a bunch.”

“And mommy?”

“Mommy ran out on us. Not even sure I could
recognize her if she walked by me. She left when I was ten. That
was that.”

“Sorry to hear it.”

“No worries. Used to bother me. Kinda tough
being a girl growing up on the backside, changing schools every
four months, living in hotel rooms. In hindsight, would’ve been
nice to have a woman’s perspective growing up. Might’ve made fewer
mistakes, but what are you gonna do?”

At a loss for words, Dan gazed at her. She
smiled in return.

“Tough place to grow up,” he said
finally.

“Especially tough for girls.”

“Where’s dad now?” Dan said, altering the
conversation.

“Fingerlakes.”

“And?” Dan said.

“And what?”

“Why are you here with Jake’s barn?”

“Little disagreement about business
practices.”

Dan stared, demanding more.

“Oh, nothing big,” she said, flashing a smile
that lit Dan’s insides. “Kinda hard to be a daughter and a business
partner. I want to train someday, and I knew I needed to see some
other operations. To learn more. I learned everything my dad could
teach me.”

“So you’re going to be a trainer. Got any
owners?”

She smiled, cocked her head slightly, and
batted her eyes. “Not yet. I’m a ways off. I’ve got a lot to learn.
I just love this business, and the way I can control things is to
run my own business. I don’t want to be dependent upon anyone else.
Jake’s a good horseman. Fair. Really cares about the horses. Some,
they don’t. Anyway, I need to keep learning, then get my license.
Probably take a few years. But I’m gonna do it.”

Dan stepped up onto the landing to enter
Crok’s. Beth turned left toward the vending machines, fishing
change out of her jeans pocket.

“Okay, last chance.” He motioned toward
Crok’s front door.

“See ya,” she said, smiling.

Got that right, he thought.

Chapter 14

Dan eased open the screen door and
noticed AJ sitting at his usual table. Across the room Dan eyed two
of the three men who had badgered AJ just days before. They were
headed toward AJ’s table. Dan quickly moved in that direction,
pulled out one of the chairs, and plopped down in it. He crossed
his arms and glared at the men as they moved toward the table.

“Retard,” the shorter of the two mumbled as
he moved past.

“What’s your problem?” Dan asked.

“What’s it to ya?”

“This guy is my friend.” Dan gestured toward
AJ and stood. “I want you to knock it off. Leave the boy
alone.”

“What are you gonna do? Beat us up?” The men
looked at one another and laughed.

“Well, Romeo,” Dan said, staring at the
taller of the two. “Here’s what I’m going to do. You see, anything
happens to this boy, and I’m coming after you.” Dan pointed at him.
“Not your pal or the other guy. I’m coming after
you
. Don’t matter who does it—where or when. That’s
how it’s going down. Something happens to him, you get a visitor.
So you might want to watch your back from now on. Either that or
change your tune and get your Neanderthal pals to follow suit.”

Dan took a half-step toward him, and the two
backed away. “Your call,” Dan said. “But you sure as hell better
hope nothing happens to this boy. That’s our deal. Got it? Just
makes life easier for all of us. Don’t you agree?”

“You’re nuts, man,” said the one Dan called
Romeo.

“Try me,” said Dan.

The shorter one turned away from the table
and said, “Come on, Paul. Let’s get outta here.”

“I’ll be seeing you,” Dan called out after
them.

Crok came scurrying over with a steaming cup
of coffee. “On the house, mister,” she said. “Been waiting for
someone to set them boys straight.” She gave AJ a little pat on the
head and walked away.

They sat in silence for several moments. “You
didn’t need to do that,” AJ said while looking down at his plate of
food.

Dan leaned in toward him and said quietly,
“You’re my friend, AJ. Friends take care of each other.
Understand?”

Dan was hoping that he wouldn’t have to make
good on the promise. He regretted having to resort to their level
of discourse, but sometimes the only message that worked was the
one the audience feared.

Dan sipped coffee, and AJ chomped away at his
breakfast. Dan sat, wondering whether he was still able to fight a
twenty-year-old. He put his coffee cup down and watched AJ.

The boy’s eyes were always down and away,
either focused on his plate of food or looking to the left at the
floor. Somehow it just made Dan feel better, sitting there with
him, even though they weren’t talking.

“Hey, AJ, thanks for the tip the other day.
Hollerin’ Hal really came through.” AJ just nodded as if he’d just
told him the current weather report in Alaska. No excitement, no
emotion. He had to loosen this kid up. “So, AJ, you like anyone
today?” The boy shifted in his seat, still looking at his plate,
and began swinging one leg back and forth under his chair.