by Stacy Hoff
Ryder bit back a burst of laughter. Sure, Mindy was funny but laughing like a lunatic would not portray her as a professional when Jake arrived.
“Better yet,” Mindy continued with a wicked grin, “forget you, I’m willing to take Jake Carter for a ride.”
“Mindy, cut it out, will you? This is business.” Ryder frowned. “And that was way too much information anyway.”
Mindy laughed harder. “Hey, you asked.”
“I didn’t ask,” Ryder shot back, crossing her arms over her chest. “Are you going to act crazy around him or will you pretend to be a normal person?”
Lenny suddenly appeared from a stall so quietly Ryder jumped in surprise. “Act normal around who?”
“Lenny! Stop popping up like that,” Ryder protested. “Why don’t you ever say when you’re in the stall next to us?”
Mindy squinted at him. “How is it you don’t make any noise?” she accused. “I swear, you’re more ghost than guy.”
Lenny grew taller and puffed out his chest like a rooster. “I don’t need to explain myself to you, missy. I’m old enough to be your father.”
“And you’re short and sneak up on people.” Mindy put her hands on her hips. “You’re a leprechaun. Admit it.”
Red smoke was going to come out of his ears. Just as soon as his face finished morphing into a tomato.
“She’s only kidding,” Ryder hastily said, putting a hand on him. “Mindy’s a real joker today.”
She could see Lenny taking a deep breath in an obvious attempt to calm down. “You ladies didn’t answer my question. I asked who you’re supposed to act normal around.”
Mindy gestured to the fast-approaching Jake Carter. “Him,” she answered, not waiting for Ryder to respond.
“That’s Mr. Carter all right,” Lenny said. “A man with a whole lot of horses and a lot of influence on racing. Get lost, Mindy, will you? Ryder and I have some business to do.”
Mindy laughed, waved, then disappeared somewhere down the long line of stalls. “We’ll talk later, Ryder. See ya tomorrow. And you’d better spill all the details.”
Jake entered, his brows furrowed. “Is now a bad time? I don’t want to stop you from your other business, and it seems like you still have lots of activity going on.”
Jake seriously hoped Ryder was free to talk. And not only about business. The way she blended in with this mostly male environment, while still retaining her femininity, was enough to intrigue him. Her body was petite yet appeared strong. Her personality seemed to match. Soft spoken, yet she could hold her own. He brushed back his too personal thoughts and demanded his brain focus on business.
“Yes, I’m free to talk now,” Ryder answered. Her words seemed to be tossed out without much thought to him, her attention focused purely on his colt. “Hi, Handsome Dancer, let me take a look at you.”
Her words sounded as soft as a summer breeze. No wonder people called her the horse whisperer.
“His name suits him well,” she commented. “He is quite handsome.” She checked him over thoroughly. Her eyes and hands gently and quickly darted over Handsome’s body. Occasionally the horse’s skin would flinch as her hands glided over him. Otherwise he stayed still.
“I’m surprised he’s letting you touch him so easily,” Jake marveled. “To be honest, he isn’t nearly so docile for anyone else.”
“He walked nice enough with you,” she countered.
“Yeah,” Jake said, scratching his head and letting out a laugh. “I think he likes me. But I can’t ride him or train him, so it doesn’t solve my problem.”
“Horses are very sensitive to people. They either like someone or they don’t.” She used a higher-pitch murmur to address the horse. “Isn’t that right, babycakes?”
After the horse stilled for a moment, it turned its head to nuzzle her shoulder. Its broad, open forehead had a snip of white on its nose. Jake watched Ryder’s left hand immediately rise to stroke the long nose. With her other hand she continued to feel around the animal. What she was gauging, Jake wasn’t sure. Whatever it was, Handsome was happy to have her check. The horse closed his large, clear brown eyes in apparent bliss and nuzzled her harder. In response, Ryder gave him more soft coos.
Moments later, she straightened and walked away for a moment, only to return with a carrot. “May I?” she asked Jake.
Handsome’s ears perked up. Jake could swear the horse smiled. “Fine, go ahead. If I said no, Handsome would hate me, too.”
She laughed softly. “He’s a lover, not a fighter. He’s got a bad rap.”
If he wasn’t careful, Ryder would be hypnotizing him with the same effortless moves as she was now using to control Handsome.
But then he watched her pat Handsome’s head as he ate the carrot, her strokes long, circular, and obviously soothing. Damn, if she keeps doing that with her hands I’ll want to be a lover and not a fighter too. He shook his head against the erotic thoughts, belatedly hoping she didn’t notice.
Whatever emotions he was feeling, or fighting, were ones not shared by Ryder. She was doing a much better job staying on task. The questions she asked him and the comments she made were clearly geared toward work.
“He’s in excellent shape,” she remarked.
“I know. With what I pay for his upkeep, he should be.”
“Mmmm, okay, but I didn’t mean that. I mean his body. He’s shaped perfectly. Even his chestnut color is right. The only quirk in his coloring are his white lower legs.”
“I know. Is it true that a thoroughbred having white legs is an indicator the horse is no good? It was one of the many reasons the prior owner didn’t want him anymore. And I’ve had plenty of people tell that to me, too.”
“I personally don’t believe it, no. I think it’s a silly superstition. Horses with white patches on their heads aren’t written off as failures. Plenty of thoroughbreds have snips or star patterns on their heads and nobody complains about that. So why the legs?”
She circled Handsome who was dutifully chewing the last of the carrot. “Finished so soon,” she teased. She looked up at Jake. “Mind if I give him a candy? It’ll keep him in a good mood while I continue.”
“Do what you need to do.”
She nodded and withdrew a striped peppermint candy from her jeans. When she unwrapped it she placed the hard candy on the flat of her hand. Handsome’s lips descended, apparently eager to try it. While the horse was busy enjoying his sugar high, Ryder went about her inspection.
“His withers are perfectly formed.” She picked up his back left hoof, which the horse easily gave her. “His feet are in great condition, too. They point straight ahead.”
Jake observed her examining the hoof prints Handsome had made walking in, and then watched her move a few paces down to follow them. “Yep. He’s not pigeon-toed, or pointed out. His tracks are dead parallel. And the hoofs are well sized for his body. If anything, they’re a little bit wide, which is good. Narrow footed hooves can make a horse lame from having to bear too much load on these fast, hard tracks.” She checked each hoof and then stood in front of the animal. “No sign of fractures in any of the hooves, either.”
“I don’t know whether to be impressed or wonder if you have a foot fetish.” He almost laughed at her gaping expression.
After a moment, she smiled. “That’s a bit personal, don’t you think?”
Though her response was meant in the same jest as his question, it had the unexpected effect of a tightening in his pants. No, it wasn’t too personal at all. He straightened up. “Only kidding, of course. What’s up though with you and Handsome’s hooves?”
She bit her lip, obviously thinking how best to respond. When she made that adorable face, it made his body respond as well.
“I’m going to try an analogy here. Are you into car ra
cing?” she asked.
“No, I stick with horses. But since I drive a Ferrari you can try me anyway.”
He lost his smile as she bit her lip again. Hopefully she was impressed and not put off. Otherwise, the Ferrari was going back to the dealer.
“Well, think of a horse’s hooves like the tires on your Ferrari. No matter how awesome the vehicle itself is, it can’t perform well on bad tires.” She ran a hand down Handsome’s front legs. “The rest of the animal’s legs are important, too. For example, this joint, right above the hoof. He’s got a nice short pastern on his two front legs so he won’t exert as much strain on his tendons as long pasterns would. His hind leg pasterns are normal length, so there’s no problem there.”
Jake wondered if she would notice if he skimmed over her with the same detail she was observing Handsome. Hopefully not. It was too hard not to check out Ryder. The way she evaluated the horse was more than as an intelligent, interested, knowledgeable professional. She seemed to be so caught up it was as if she was in love. Whether her love affair was with her career in general or Handsome Dancer in particular he didn’t know. He was starting to wish this captivating woman would look at him the same way.
Her hand ran up to the knees. “Normal forelegs, not tied-in or calf-kneed. Maybe a bit over at the knee, but this shouldn’t be a problem at all.” She switched her attention to the hind legs. “Hocks are good, too. His legs drop straight down from them, which is ideal. The back hooves aren’t forward of the hocks, so we don’t have a sickle or cow hock problem.”
Jake liked how Ryder used the term “we.” The woman had clearly said the inclusive term without giving it a second thought. Maybe she really did think they were a team. Hiring her seemed more like a sure bet with every minute he knew her.
“And how about these shoulders,” Ryder marveled. “They’re long and sloping. Pared with short cannons and long forearms, Handsome must have a very long stride. Powerful, too.” She straightened and smiled at him, giving Jake a warm feeling. “Height and weight?”
Jake felt the warm feeling slip away and frowned. “Fifteen hands. Nine hundred and seventy-five pounds. Too small?”
“No. He’s not that big, but a smaller horse like him can be more nimble. They can pick their ways through the narrow holes in the traffic jam on the way to the home stretch. Large horses can’t slip through so easily. And Handsome’s more lithe and lanky than blocky and big, which means he’ll have more staying power even if it does mean less sprinting ability.”
Handsome gently bumped his head against Ryder’s shoulder in an obvious attempt to get her attention. She laughed and once again ran her hands up the horse’s face. “The position of his ears is forward facing and alert. No nervous twitching or lying flat back like he’s an angry guy.” She gave a scratch behind an ear and cooed, “You’re not angry, are you, babycakes?”
“So you think the problem with him so far has been personality conflict?”
“I don’t want to be rash or too harsh in my assessment, but I think it’s a real possibility.”
“As far as I know, no one’s mistreated him.”
“I’m sure they didn’t. But again, horses are like people. Haven’t you ever met anybody you just didn’t like? For whatever reason? The minute you saw that person you instinctively wanted to turn around and leave?”
Jake did his best to mask his expression. If she only knew the half of it. “I might know what you’re talking about.”
“If you want me for the job I’m up to it. Handsome Dancer and I are sure to have more than a working relationship. We’ll have a real relationship.”
As if on cue, Handsome snorted and took a step closer to her. Ryder lifted a hand and stroked his face.
Jake had to admit he was a bit envious. “You’re hired,” he said, words flying out without thought or hesitation.
She put her hand on her chest as if surprised. “Glad to hear it,” she said after a moment, then smiled. “Let’s go back to my office to complete some paperwork.” She called out Lenny’s name.
Lenny appeared with his usual soundless pop-up aplomb. “What?”
Jake scrutinized the older man’s expression, gratified when recognition took hold.
“Mr. Carter,” the older man said in gruff acknowledgment before glancing back at Ryder. “He hiring you?”
“Yes, he is. Handsome Dancer is going to stay with us for a while.”
Lenny nodded and directed himself to Jake. “If anybody can train ’em, my girl Ryder can.” Taking Handsome Dancer gently by the reins, the man left without a further ado. “I’m going to walk him around. See how he takes to me.”
Ryder apologized as soon as the old man was out of earshot. “That’s Lenny Godfried. He’s been in this business for forty years. He’s like a father to me, although I’m sorry he was a little gruff.” Despite the light chastisement, her affection for him seemed as deep as it was sincere. “He’s a wonderful person, although he does seem tough. He’s like your horse. People mistake him for being difficult when he’s really a softy down inside.”
Jake’s mouth hung open at her words. Maybe Ryder was capable of reading more than horses. Maybe she could read people, too. If so, she would be a rare find. Someone willing to pierce the depths instead of staying superficially at the surface. If he knew more people like her, maybe he would be more accepted himself. Accepted for who he was instead of what he had. He was so much more than merely a man with money. “All right, we’ll do the paperwork, and then I’ll leave Handsome here. That is assuming you have a stall ready for him.”
“I don’t, but I can probably have one ready for him in a few days, if that’s acceptable. I’ll have to speak to the track.”
He noted her pallor seemed ashen. He knew stalls were at a premium. Getting an extra one was no easy task. “If I get you a stall by tomorrow, can you start with Handsome then?”
She audibly gasped. “Well, sure. But . . .”
“No buts. If you’re willing to do it, the problem of getting space is mine.”
He almost laughed at her wide, open-mouthed expression. “Let’s get on with the paperwork, shall we?”
“Why, yes. Of course. Thank you for entrusting Handsome Dancer to me.”
He nodded. Heck, at this pace, he was tempted to trust himself to her, too.
Chapter 3
The next morning, Ryder had put Golden Child back in his stall when an even more impressive stallion appeared. The sight almost took her breath away. She unconsciously lifted a hand to smooth down her blond bob and ran her tongue quickly over her teeth. Finally she cleared her throat to get out words without gasping. “Good morning, Jake.”
For some reason he kept shifting around. Odd, since his casual slacks and collared tee shirt should be comfortable. And expensive. The polo pony on his chest fit right in with the horse motif.
“Anything wrong?” she inquired.
“No. Do I seem antsy? I’m waiting on Emanuel Velazquez to get here. He’s due in a few minutes.”
Ryder went through a mental roster of names but came up blank on this one. “Who’s Emanuel Velazquez?”
“The jockey I want for Handsome Dancer. He rides mostly out in the California tracks. Spent last year at Santa Anita. He’ll be a good bet for Handsome. He’s known to have a calm, sure way with skittish horses. Gets them to focus and do their best. I want to see how he and Handsome interact. If I’m going to make a go of this, I’ve got to see that all my players are in place.”
I feel like a chess piece. Ryder nodded but said nothing. The jockeys around here wouldn’t be thrilled to have an outsider riding a good horse, especially for a wealthy, well-connected horse owner. The better the horse, the better their own potential purse since a jockey would claim ten percent of a race’s prize money for placing first. Since trainers picked the jockeys, Ryder r
easonably guessed she’d become unpopular fast. Sure, she could blame Jake for the selection, but that would mean throwing him under the bus. The idea didn’t sound appealing either on a personal or a professional level.
“I’ll be happy to meet him,” she answered with a smile she hoped wasn’t too unsure.
“Good. I’m pleased to tell you I got you your stall. Handsome Dancer should be arriving here around three o’clock.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “He is? You did?” She felt herself wince and immediately shut up. I must sound like a moron.
Instead of treating at her with derision for her childlike outburst, he gave a large grin. “You’re impressed, huh?”
“Quite frankly, yes. You can pull off the impossible. It must be good to be king.”
He roared with laughter. “Quite.” He composed himself after a minute and gave her a look that seemed rich with meaning. “No queen though. Yet.”
Ryder felt her face flush. Not knowing how to respond, she chose the business route. “I’ll be here at three o’clock sharp to get Handsome set up. And please tell Emanuel to find me when he gets the chance.”
“Will do.” Jake walked away before she had a chance to babble on, which was good. Unfortunately, his fast departure left her feeling surprisingly empty.
“Will do what?”
Ryder was startled at the sudden question and whirled around to find Mindy standing there. “Can you stop doing that?” Ryder demanded.
“Doing what?” Mindy blinked innocently.
“Popping up out of nowhere.”
Mindy shook her head. “You’re mistaking me for Lenny. He’s the one who pops up out of nowhere. Me, on the other hand, I walk over to you in these big ol’ boots, noisy as all get-out. You’re just too caught up in Mr. Gorgeous to have heard me.”