Secretariat Reborn (18 page)

Christian began to spend more nights with Allie than at his mother’s. In his spare time at the farm, he mended the fences, fixed broken water lines, mowed, graded the small exercise track with her tractor, and helped feed and care for the horses. Having grown up in Ocala, he did not see those chores as work, but part of country living.

After a few weeks, Allie asked him to move in. Although he had never roomed with anyone before, he willingly agreed. It made sense. He did not have the money to purchase another boat or the thousands required up front to get an apartment. Splitting the cost of utilities and mortgage payment helped both of them out financially.

The daily thirty-mile drive to his sailboat business was a drag, but living among the horses, wildlife, and this woman far exceeded the time spent on the road. He also fell in love with the Myakka area and its country folks who were a totally different breed compared to the Sarasota population that mainly consisted of northern transplants.

Most Myakka residents spoke with a slow southern drawl and a polite “yes, ma’am; no, sir.” Their lives were focused on livestock, weather, and religion. Myakka City did not have a supermarket or any fast-food chains, but it had eight churches. The people were a rugged bunch, accustomed to hardships. They wore cowboy hats and drove pickups, but their true charm lay in looking out for one another.

Christian also discovered that he and Allie had a lot in common. Both were born and raised in Florida and shared the same interest
in animals, nature, and the outdoors. Besides beautiful, she was smart and laughed easily. She did have a temper, but he rarely saw it. He realized he also was guilty of getting hot under the collar if shoved the wrong way.

As weeks turned to months, he started believing Allie might be his soul mate. The feeling seemed mutual. She let go of her hurtful past and suspicion of men and embraced him with fondness and respect.

Born and raised in Arcadia, Allie had not spent much time on the coast, so Christian introduced her to his interests. She took to the sea with zeal. He launched the McGregor, and they sailed up the bay with Allie eager to learn about the boat. In no time, she steered and tacked as well as hoisted the main, ran out the jib, and even launched the big spinnaker sail. They stayed several nights aboard, anchored off a deserted mangrove beach, and swam, crabbed, and fished. On the deck under the stars, they cracked open boiled blue crabs they had caught, and dunked the delicate white meat in melted butter, and dined on a few speckled trout that Christian had cleaned and cooked.

Allie leaned back on the open deck with the night breeze blowing across the bay and lifting her golden hair from her shoulders. “I love the country and my horses, but I could grow used to this lifestyle.”

Back at the farm, Christian revived an old obsession, lost when he was ten years old. He started riding again. Weather permitting, he saddled up old Chris before sundown, and he and Allie hit the trails on horseback. When they saw deer, wild turkeys, gators, and wading birds, they shared the same enthusiasm. Christian had never been in such a compatible relationship. He and Allie were so similar.

The colt that had been registered as Clever Chris ended up with the nickname Mystery. The farm already held too many beings named Chris. Allie had placed him in a big pasture with a gentle older gelding, and he was growing faster than summer grass. Christian
and Allie leaned on the fence one day, watching him charge in a wide circle around the pasture as the gelding grazed.

Christian laughed. “Mystery’s created his own racetrack.”

“He does this every afternoon, all by himself,” said Allie. “It’s like he’s practicing.”

A plane flew overhead, and the colt stopped and looked up. He watched the plane until it was out of sight.

“I’ve never seen that,” Allie said, amazed.

“What?”

“A horse watching an airplane,” she said. “God, he’s intelligent. You can see it in his eyes. He doesn’t think like a normal horse.”

“Maybe he’s not.”

Everything seemed ideal in Christian’s life. He was living in a great place, doing the things he enjoyed with the perfect girl. But his happiness was hampered with worries. Could he get away with racing the illegal colt? Could he pay off the loan sharks in time? Would Kate cause him more grief? He continued to get anonymous phone calls to his cell every few weeks.

One night at the farm, Christian sat on the couch next to Allie, watching TV. His cell rang, and he answered it. “Hello? Hello?” With no response, he closed the phone. “Damn it,” he grumbled and tossed the cell on the coffee table. “I get these calls all the time at work. I think it’s Kate.”

“Kate?” Allie huffed. “Next time I’ll answer your phone and give her a piece of my mind.”

“No, you’d only make matters worse. You don’t know her, Allie.” He figured it was time Allie knew the whole truth about Kate. He explained that Kate had threatened him when they broke up and soon after his sloop was burned. Kate had also said her parents died in a car crash, but he later learned from a detective that she lied and her parents really died in a house fire.

“Jesus, Christian, she’s deranged and dangerous. What are you going to do?”

“Ignore her,” he said. “She’ll eventually get tired of bugging me and go away.”

“She’s not going away.”

He puckered his brow. “Why not?”

Allie cupped his jaw and kissed his cheek. “Because I’ve sampled the goods, and you’d be impossible to replace.”

Summer quietly ended with no devastating hurricanes hitting the Sunshine State, much to Christian’s and Allie’s relief. Like most Floridians, they had followed the track of each storm that came off the African coast and traveled west across the Atlantic. It then became a guessing game if the storm would land on your doorstep in the form of a hurricane.

“I used to love hurricanes, the wind, rain, and the excitement,” Allie said one night, “but, after the Summer of Storms when Charley, Ivan, Frances, and Jeanne, almost all category fours and all hitting Florida within six weeks, I had had my fill.”

She explained that Frances and Jeanne had damaging winds and left Myakka flooded, but they were minor compared to Charley. “That hurricane was like a giant buzz saw when it traveled up the center of the state. It missed my farm, but I still lost the barn roof, back porch, fencing, and tons of trees, and then I was without power and water for ten days. I’ll never get over the sound, like a freight train going past the house. The whole place shook and things fell off the walls.”

“Allie, why didn’t you evacuate?” Christian asked.

Allie frowned. “And leave my horses? Out of the question. After it was over, I drove to Arcadia to check on my parents. The road was covered with downed trees and electric poles. My parents were okay, but the poor little town suffered a direct hit. It was unbelievable; ninety-five percent of all the buildings were damaged or destroyed, huge semi trucks lying on their sides, and the trees sheered off or toppled over and stripped of every leaf. The worst were the cattle, dead and twisted in the barbed wire. It was god-awful.”

“I remember that summer,” Christian said. “It was great if you were a surfer.”

She scowled and gave him a friendly shove.

With the cooler mornings in October, Allie began to train Mystery, who was eight months old. For twenty minutes a day, she put him in the round pen and taught him to walk, trot, and lope on command. She continued to comment on his mature look and stunning conformation, but never again questioned Christian about the colt’s origin.

After work, Christian couldn’t wait to get home and see Allie and the colt. He was ridiculously happy and prayed it would last.

On a Sunday evening, he and Allie had cleaned up and driven to his mother’s for dinner. Being an old rodeo gal, his mother adored Allie. They had become so close that Christian thought it was a conspiracy.

When dinner was over, Christian asked Allie if she would like to stop in the village on Siesta Key and have a nightcap at the local beach bar before driving home. She agreed.

Christian was about to commit a blunder for men: never revisit old haunts with the new girlfriend when the old one might be waiting inside. As soon as he and Allie walked into the dark bar, he realized his mistake. Kate sat at the bar, surrounded by three men.

“Oh, shit,” he mumbled and motioned with his head. “That’s Kate on the end. I think we should go before she sees us.”

Allie’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t think so. I’ll not be run out of a bar by her.” She slid onto an empty stool at the other end of the bar from Kate.

Christian took the seat next to Allie and kept his eyes down, pretending he had not seen Kate. He uncomfortably ordered their drinks and hoped for a lack of fireworks. Although Allie and Kate were vastly different in their looks, thinking, and nature, they did share a common trait—they were fearless.

Keeping his focus on his drink, he swirled the ice in his glass.
“Please, let’s just drink up and go,” he whispered. “I don’t want trouble.”

“Too late,” Allie said, glancing past his shoulder.

Christian felt a hand on the back of his neck. “Chris, baby, it’s so great to see you,” Kate said. She leaned over and planted a wet kiss on his cheek.

He jerked back. “Kate,” he said, acting surprised. “Hi … ah, how are you?”

Still holding his neck, Kate ran her fingers through his hair. “I think you know, baby,” she said seductively. “I’ve missed you and all those nights in my bed.” Her other hand moved to his leg and inner thigh.

Christian seized her hand. “Kate, this is Allie, my—”

“His girlfriend.” Allie gritted her teeth. “Would you mind getting your hands off him?”

Kate took her hand off his leg while giving Allie the once-over. Still holding his shoulder, she threw back her head and laughed. “Chris, you’re shitting me. You’re dating this pathetic little tramp? You could do so much better, baby.”

Allie lashed out, “At least he’s no longer with a psycho bitch.”

Christian hopped off his bar stool and stood between them. “That’s it!” He threw a twenty on the bar and grabbed Allie’s hand. “We’re out of here.”

As he dragged Allie toward the door, he heard Kate call, “Chris, when you get tired of the little slut, give me a call.”

Outside, Allie ripped free of his hold. “That fucking bitch,” she said and stomped toward his SUV.

He sighed and followed her. “I’m sorry, Allie. I didn’t think she’d be there.” They got into the SUV.

“Christian, how many times did you take Kate to that bar after dinner with your mother?”

“Pretty often, I guess.”

She pursed her lips. “Well, I guarantee you every Sunday night that viper has been sitting in that bar, waiting for you to show up.”

“You’re probably right. Guess I wasn’t thinking.” He started the engine and pulled out on the road.

The following Monday morning, Christian’s business was slow, and by the afternoon, dead. He let Jake go home early and packed up the sailboats and gear. On the grass, he squatted and rolled up a sunfish sail around the mast and boom. As he tied the sheets in a neat package, he heard over his shoulder a woman’s voice. “Hi, baby.”

Startled, he jumped up and blurted out, “What do you want, Kate?”

She sashayed closer, staring at his shirtless body. “God, you always look good. After seeing you last night, I realized how much I’ve missed you. I was hoping to get a sailing lesson.” She was dressed in beach attire, a skimpy red bikini top with a matching wraparound skirt.

“That ploy is old. You hate sailing. Now, I think you should go.” He walked to a nearby tree and grabbed his t-shirt from a branch.

She followed him. “Don’t be so hostile, Chris. I just want to be friends and talk. We didn’t get a chance last night.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.” As he pulled the t-shirt on, he felt Kate’s hand on his crotch.

“I think there is.” She pressed her firm breasts against him, pinning him against the tree as her hand quickly slipped down his pants, seizing and fondling him.

“Stop it, Kate,” he said. By the time he untangled his raised arm and ripped off the shirt, he was aroused. He feebly tried to remove her hand. His mind said no, but his sexual urges screamed yes.

“Just one last blowjob, please, baby.” She knelt in front of him and exposed his penis. “Then I promise I’ll leave you alone.”

“I don’t want … I don’t want to do this.” He panted, unable to think or muscle any willpower to stop her. For a minute he leaned against the tree and let her have her way as she stimulated every sexual facet of his body. He moaned softly, feeling his building climax.

The cell phone in his pocket chimed. For Christian, it sounded like a fire alarm, snapping him back to reality. His thoughts flashed
to Allie and his commitment. He looked down at Kate. “What the fuck am I doing?” Miffed, he shoved her off.

She landed on her butt and glared up. “Yes, what the fuck are you doing, Chris!”

“I told you it’s over.” He fastened his pants and flipped open the cell, seeing a voice mail left by Jake.

Kate stood and composed herself. “I don’t believe you, and your hard-on proves it.” Her devilish green eyes narrowed in on him, and she slinked closer like a cat stalking a canary. “Face it, baby, you can’t resist me.”

“I can. Look, I’m very happy with Allie.”

“That little slut? I can’t believe you dumped me for her.”

“Allie is no slut,” he growled. “And for the record, I wasn’t with anyone when we split up. Now we’re done. I think you better go.”

Her eyes began to water. “Chris, I never realized how much I loved you until you were gone. My life has become a living hell.” She swept back her long brown hair as tears streamed down her cheeks. “Please, Chris, please take me back. I’m begging you,” she wailed. “I’ll do anything you ask, buy you a huge boat. We’ll sail around the world. I can’t live—I don’t want to live without you.”

“Jesus, Kate.” He rubbed the back of his neck and watched her tremble and weep. For the first time in a long time he felt sorry for her. She was messed up, but she did truly love him. He walked over and embraced her. “Kate, I never wanted to hurt you. Get some help. In time you’ll find someone else.”