Foolish Gamble

by Lita Lawson

  They lay there like that for a long time, listening to the gentle rain and distant thunder, neither saying a word. Cassi knew she should go to the house, and that Austin needed to go home, but she remained snuggled in his embrace, refusing to move, afraid to break their newfound connection.

  CHAPTER TEN

  The morning light brought Austin a fresh start to redeem his soul. He contacted the jockey and told him to race to win. The jockey seemed confused, but readily agreed to do whatever Austin wanted. Setting the phone back on its holder, Austin closed his eyes and relief washed over him. He didn’t have to lie anymore. His partnership with Cassi was above-board, freeing him to explore his feelings toward her.

  Their lovemaking last night hadn’t been like any he’d experienced before. It left him feeling fulfilled and satisfied. Complete. This was new territory for him. Normally women chased him, but now, he was chasing Cassi. He was chomping at the bit to see her, to be with her again.

  During the following days, they worked side by side training Foolish Gamble. He was frustrated by their limited time spent alone. Only once did they find time to slip away to a far corner of the farms, secluded from the hired hands that worked there. Under the shade of trees, they were able to explore, taste and devour the newness of each other and the feelings between them

  In addition to fully arousing and satisfying Cassi, Austin wanted to do his best to ensure that Foolish Gamble would win the next race in Indiana. He didn’t want to see Cassi upset again at her horse’s loss. Austin wanted to share her pride and excitement when her first horse won a race. He would be right at her side, savoring the win with her.

  It didn’t matter that he may not get possession of her property anymore. Austin wanted Cassi to experience the thrill of racing and winning. If that meant he didn’t get what he originally set out to obtain, so be it. All that mattered now was Cassi.

  The weekend arrived quickly. On their drive to Indiana, Austin and Cassi rode together again, trailering Foolish Gamble. This time the ride was more fun than their last one. Cassi had opened up to him and she no longer held herself back from him, like he’d noticed in the past. Halfway through the drive, she folded the armrest into the seat and scooted beside him. Austin drove the rest of the way with his arm draped around her slender shoulders, a smile upon his face. He never imagined such a simple thing as driving to a race together could bring him so much happiness.

  Austin stood beside Cassi at the fence in front of the track. She had insisted they watch it from the standing room area, with all the other spectators, and Austin had managed to squeeze them into a spot at the fence where she could have a good view.

  Her hand squeezed his while they waited together for the race to begin. Foolish Gamble had pulled a good position, second from the inside. Austin was sure he could win.

  The bell sounded and the gates flew open. Foolish Gamble shot to the front, but as they neared the backstretch, he lagged to fourth place.

  “He’s using too much stick,” Cassi yelled beside Austin. “He doesn’t need it!”

  Austin watched and as the horses came down the final stretch, hooves pounding, he could hear the whip when Garrison applied it liberally to Foolish Gamble.

  Damn it, Austin cursed silently. Hadn’t the man heard a word he said? He wanted Foolish Gamble to win, not lose. As they crossed the finish line, Foolish Gamble came in fourth after having had a lead most of the race. Austin couldn’t look into Cassi’s eyes. He didn’t think he could bear to see her disappointment again.

  “I’ll meet you back at the truck. I want to talk to Garrison.” Austin stormed off to find the jockey. His angry strides found him quickly at the stables.

  He found Garrison leading Foolish Gamble around the track, walking the race off.

  “Damn it, Garrison,” Austin growled at the man, “didn’t you hear a word I said to you last week?”

  “I sure did,” Garrison replied. “The horse didn’t have the endurance in him to finish.”

  “I told you I wanted him to win.” Austin tried to keep his voice down so no one would hear.

  “And I heard what you said,” Garrison replied haughtily. “And I’m letting you know the horse faded in the end.”

  Austin stood, frustrated, knowing Cassi believed she could ride Foolish Gamble better than Garrison could. It was crazy, but he decided then and there, he’d let Cassi ride.

  “I’ll send you your check in the mail for the full amount we agreed to, but I will no longer need your services.”

  Garrison looked stunned. “Who are you going to get to race him for the rest of the season?”

  “Cassi,” Austin stated simply.

  Garrison laughed out loud. “Man, this one’s really gone to your head. I mean, I know you like the ladies and all, but she must be a real piece—”

  Austin grabbed the man by the shoulders, cutting off his words. “Don’t talk about her that way. She’s a good woman.”

  “Whatever,” the jockey held his hands in the air.

  “Remember,” Austin demanded, “You’ll never breathe a word about our earlier agreement to anyone.”

  The jockey handed the reins to him and walked away. Austin led the horse back to the stall where Cassi sat.

  “Did you talk to Garrison? What did he say?” Cassi asked.

  “He said he faded in the end. But I believe you. He’s using the whip too much.” Placing a hand around her shoulders, he simply stated, “I fired him.”

  “Who are we going to get to race him on such short notice?”

  Austin heard the concern in Cassi’s voice and saw her eyes widen with fear. “You.”

  “Me? You’re going to let me ride him?”

  “You told me you could ride him better than anyone, didn’t you?”

  “I did.” Cassi tilted her chin in the air. “I can.”

  “You’re going to race Foolish Gamble in the next race and every one from here on out.” Austin prayed she was right about her abilities. He soon wouldn’t have a farm to call his own and would need every penny of the winnings to buy himself one since he was no longer trying to get possession of Cassi’s.

  Austin had worked with Cassi all week as they prepared for the next race in Virginia. This would be the first competitive race she would ride as jockey, and he wanted to be sure she was as well prepared as she could possibly be. He only wanted success for her.

  They had driven about four hours to get there and that meant they would need to stay overnight. Austin had booked only one room for the two of them. Since the first time they had made love, they’d had little chance to be alone again. With her brother Mikey living with her and him living in the big house, it had been near impossible.

  Austin carried their bags into the hotel room as Cassi followed him. Depositing them on one of the beds, he stretched out on the other one, weary from the drive. From beneath heavy lids, he watched as Cassi eyed him quizzically.

  “Just one room?” she asked as she looked nonchalantly at the restaurant guide on the table.

  “I felt it was my duty, as the money-man, to pinch pennies where I could.” He liked the sound of her laugh.

  “First, the lady needs fed,” Cassi grabbed him and pulled him up from the bed.

  “All right, where do you want to go?”

  “It looks like there’s a good restaurant down the road from here. It’s got ribs and barbecued chicken and dancing.”

  “But we’re going there for eating, right?” Austin wasn’t much of a dancer, but enjoyed dancing with her.

  “Maybe,” she teased.

  He followed her as she led him back through the lobby to the truck. The lot was already filling up with horse trailers as Austin maneuvered to park their rig.

  Austin watched in amazement as Cassi ate heartily. Apparently, she didn’t seem to be having any pangs of nerves—yet. He knew they’d come. But he’d do his best to distract her.

  When they were done, he watched as she observed the other people dancing. “I suppose y
ou’d like to dance?”

  “Love to!” Cassi replied eagerly.

  Austin held her hand as he led her through the maze of tables to the dance floor. They danced a two-step together and then a fast line dance. Another slow dance came on, his favorite dance of all because he could hold her close to him.

  They danced closely together. He slid his hands down to the swell of her hips, holding her there as they rocked slowly back and forth to the rhythm of the song. Her fingers rubbed his neck muscles, and he enjoyed her touch. But he was impatient to be alone with her again.

  Peering down at her, he asked, “Are you ready to go back to the room?”

  “Yes,” she replied huskily, her shining eyes looking up at him.

  Placing his hand on her lower back, he guided her to their table and paid the bill. Austin drove quickly back to the hotel while the desire mounted between them.

  The moment he unlocked and opened the hotel room door, he began taking Cassi’s clothes off. He gently pushed her back onto the bed free of luggage. He was so hot for her, he had to rein himself in. Pulling the boots from her feet, he then unzipped her jeans, tugging them free from her legs. She had on a short-sleeve white turtleneck that accentuated her full breasts, the dip and curve of them. Pulling the turtleneck above her head, he inhaled sharply. She wore a white teddy underneath that uplifted her creamy breasts into abundant swells. One look at her and he was erect immediately. He found his jeans on the floor and dug into his pocket. Unwrapping the rubber, he quickly sheathed himself.

  “This time, I’m protecting us.” Pulling her close to him, he kissed her, long, hard, and deep. His hand tugged at the ponytail, freeing her long, wavy hair.

  Diving his fingers through her hair, Austin’s mouth caught hers briefly, then his tongue traveled down her belly until the trail ended at the apex of her soul. Kissing her until she writhed beneath him, he could feel her begin to shudder around him.

  Without giving her pause to catch her breath, he stood and leaned over her, sliding his manhood into her silken folds. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he pumped his desire into her. She surrounded him as they neared the precipice of release. His mouth covered hers and swallowed her moans. His orgasm came as she convulsed around him. Slow and wonderfully endless, she rendered him motionless. She relaxed beneath him, and he rested himself on top of her.

  Kissing her gently, he whispered, “Sorry I was so quick. I hope I didn’t disappoint you.”

  Her hand brushed his face, “You could never disappoint me.”

  He rolled off her, her words reminding him that, yes, he could definitely disappoint her. He needed to come clean and when he did, she would surely be furious. The question was, how furious?

  After disposing of the condom, he stepped into the shower. Moments later, Cassi joined him. Washing each other, he was again easily aroused.

  “I hope you brought more protection,” she murmured while she washed his back as warm rivulets of water sluiced around them.

  “Am I ever glad I did,” he growled, biting her playfully on the shoulder. “If we keep this up all night, you might fall asleep racing tomorrow.

  She had rocked his world. He’d never experienced such intimacy before. She turned her face toward him under the shower spray and murmured, “I love you, Austin.”

  He closed his eyes, not wanting to hear those words. He didn’t deserve her love, didn’t deserve to have had the pleasure of making love with her. He was a rotten scoundrel and she loved him.

  “Shh,” he whispered into her ear. Guilt tore at him and he wanted to confess what he had planned when they went into their partnership agreement. Austin could no longer lie to her. He didn’t want to risk upsetting her before her first official race, but he vowed to tell her once back in Lexington.

  A crack in the hotel room curtains allowed a shaft of morning light to penetrate, waking Cassi. She wondered what time it was and rolled over to the nightstand. Seven-thirty in the morning. Rolling to the other side, Cassi found the bed empty, but still warm from where Austin had slept with her all night long. That was a new sensation, lying wrapped in his arms as she fell to sleep.

  Hearing a key in the door, she sat up, clutching the sheets around her. Pulling the top sheet free, she wrapped it around her, toga style and tottered to the door to meet him.

  Austin’s hands were loaded with plastic containers and coffee cups. “Breakfast in bed,” Cassi asked. “You’re a man after my heart!”

  Eyeing her, Austin asked, “Is there a toga party you didn’t invite me to?” His expression feigned hurt.

  Cassi giggled and moved closer to him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she stood on tiptoe and kissed him. The only thing keeping the sheet from falling was the pressure of her body against his. “I was hoping you were coming back.” She giggled as Austin tried to balance all the packages still in his hands.

  He set the food on the counter. “I think we should eat before the food gets cold.” Austin said. Cassi let the sheet fall to the floor in white pools of fabric. His gaze slid down the length of her body.

  “On second thought, we can eat later. That’s what microwaves are for,” Austin said as he wrapped his arms around her.

  Austin paced nervously back and forth as Cassi rode Foolish Gamble to the starting gate. Could he be more nervous than Cassi? She certainly wasn’t acting like a novice jockey heading to her maiden race. That could be good, he reasoned. That way she would be loose and go with the flow. Foolish Gamble would sense that as well.

  Standing at the fence, Austin stood rigid as the horses took off in a blaze of hoof beats and snorts, a cloud of dust settling over the spectators in their wake.

  Coming around the backstretch, Foolish Gamble was in third place. She was doing just fine and hadn’t used the stick at all. He started cheering with the rest of the crowd as the horses rounded the bend into the final stretch.

  He saw her make her move. Hunched as low as possible, she and the horse were one. She had him up to first place but just as the horses crossed the finish line, Foolish Gamble fell to second place by a nose.

  Austin caught himself screaming with the rest of the crowd and began sprinting to the stables to congratulate Cassi.

  It took forever for her to return to the stable area after she paced Foolish Gamble around the track once more, cooling him down. Austin waited, restlessly. He was so keyed up with excitement that he couldn’t wait to hug her, share it with her.

  Finally, she approached him. Helping her disembark, he slid her down slowly across his body. He hugged her and twirled her around in a big circle. She was as ecstatic as he was.

  “Did you see? Did you see? I didn’t even have to use the stick on him but one time during the whole race.” Her smile dazzled him with its pure joy. “I knew Garrison wasn’t right for him. I knew it!” She threw her arms around Austin and he hugged her tightly.

  It would be a good trip home.

  As they unloaded Foolish Gamble at Keller Farms, Austin knew the time had come to tell Cassi the truth about his initial plan for their partnership together. He knew there’d never be a ‘right’ time to admit such things to her, but he had to come clean. His feelings for her were intensifying, and he couldn’t go further with her until she knew the truth about him.

  “Cassi, how about I follow you back to your place—we need to talk.”

  “Can’t it wait? I’m exhausted, and not just from the race,” she grinned at him. It reminded him of their non-stop lovemaking marathon of last night and this morning.

  “It’s important.”

  “All right. I’ll see you in a bit.” She walked out of the barn to her truck and Austin followed.

  No matter how much he dreaded this moment, he had to deal with this past in order for them to go forward. He was still adjusting to the fact that he wanted a future together with her. He’d finally found the one. But once he told her everything, would she want a future with him?

  Cassi was brewing a pot of coffee when she he
ard Austin’s tires on the gravel drive. A romantic love song played on the radio, and she hummed along, deliriously happy. Austin had made love to her repeatedly until she knew he cared for her. He hadn’t said “I love you” back after she had said it, but he had kissed her deeply, and for her, that was answer enough. Actions spoke louder than words.

  And she was just as deliriously happy over racing Foolish Gamble, placing second, and losing first place by only a nose!

  Hearing Austin’s knock on the door, she called out, “Come on in.” She turned around to face him, and again, her breath caught in her throat at the sight of him. Somehow, he always managed to look better than a man ought to. His dark hair was tousled from their long drive home, his jeans clung to his well-muscled thighs, and his top shirt button was open, revealing a scattering of dark hair. Even looking tired, the man looked good.

  “I just brewed some coffee. You look like you could use some,” Cassi offered. He merely nodded his head yes and she poured a cup for each of them. Carrying them to the table, she sat down at the seat across from him.

  “Is your brother home?” Austin asked as he sipped the hot coffee.

  “He’s upstairs studying. He was quite pleased when I told him about my win.”

  “He ought to be, you did a fantastic job out there today. You know, you were right all along, that you knew better than anyone how to handle Foolish Gamble.”

  “Now you believe me!” Cassi frowned, thinking about Garrison. “You know, Garrison never meshed with Foolish Gamble at all.”

  “There’s something I need to tell you, Cassi.”

  The serious tone of his voice sent a shiver of foreboding through her. “What’s wrong?” She watched as the most sought after man in Lexington struggled to tell her something.

  “There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll start at the beginning.” Running his hand through his hair, he simply stated, “We’re going to lose Keller Farms.”