AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jo held his gaze. “None. Sweet Dash was the first.”
“And he hasn’t ridden in competition at all since then?”
“No,” she confirmed quietly. “He started interning young—around thirteen, I think—with his uncle. Then at sixteen, he started homeschooling like me and took jockeying up pretty much full-time, training on a regular schedule. He had an innate talent for riding that you just can’t teach someone. Everyone noticed it. I haven’t seen or heard from him in years though. The old cell number I had for him didn’t work, so I called a few more of my connections to track him down. From what I’ve been told, he took what happened to Sweet Dash pretty hard. He walked away from racing like I did and has been traveling and taking up odd jobs since then.”
Brooks leaned his head back against his headrest and rolled his eyes toward the ceiling of the truck. “And you really think he will give us the best shot at winning the Derby? Someone who hasn’t raced or trained in years?”
“I’m telling you he’s the best. He had an awful experience—just like I did—and it devastated him. But he’s a natural rider who truly cares about his horses, and he deserves another shot at his dream.” Jo reached over, placed her hand on his knee, and squeezed. “I wouldn’t steer you wrong, Brooks. When I say he’s the best, I mean it. I don’t know what shape he’s in so, yeah, it may take some extra effort to get him back in shape and acquainted with Another Round, but I believe he’s the right choice.”
Raising his head upright again, he looked down at her hand on his knee and covered it with his own, squeezing gently. “Okay. I trust you.”
“And I trust him,” Jo said softly. “Trust is the most important thing between a trainer, a jockey, and a horse. Lee knows what he’s doing, and despite what happened to Sweet Dash, I trust Another Round with him.”
Sighing, Brooks removed his hand from hers and cupped her cheek. “I trust your judgment, Jo. But Lee has already had a bad ride with Sweet Dash. What makes you think things will turn out any better with Another Round?”
“Nothing,” she said. “Except hope and the fact that I’m willing to take a chance on him. Lee’s a great rider and deserves another opportunity to make his dream come true. That’s all any of us can do when it comes to racing—take a chance, right?”
Brooks was silent for a moment, then nodded. “All right. But if we’re taking back roads to this place, you’ll need to give me directions along the way.”
Brooks took a left and they drove on. The journey to Anderson Stables, the farm where Lee was currently working, took almost as long as Jo had estimated, their travel time clocking in around one hour and thirty minutes. Because it was early on a weekday morning, traffic was light, but once they drove up the long winding entrance to Anderson Stables, it was clear everyone at the working farm had woken early and hit the ground running.
“This is a nice spread,” Brooks said as he drove along the dirt road toward the main stable. “Do they breed or board?”
“Board,” Jo said, craning her neck for a better view as they approached the main stable.
It was, as Brooks had put it, a nice spread. The large, main stable was white with stonework and housed multiple stalls. Two other stables and one barn were stationed on opposite sides of the grounds along with several paddocks and pastures enclosed with black fencing.
“Max Anderson, the owner, told me on the phone that they do a pretty good business even though they’re a small operation compared to the larger farms in this area,” Jo said. “He says he’s short on help though, which is why he hired Lee.”
She bit her tongue as soon as the last comment left her lips, wishing she’d thought better of it before speaking aloud.
“So, the only reason the owner of this stable hired Lee,” Brooks repeated slowly, “is because he’s short on help? Is that what you’re telling me?”
Jo winced. “Um . . . yeah. That’s the way he put it.”
Brooks glanced at her as he parked the truck near the main stable and cut the engine. “And what else did he say about this Lee of yours?”
Jo shrugged, ducking her head and evading his dark, probing gaze. “Not much.”
Just that Lee was on the verge of being fired. Apparently, Lee liked to sleep late, drink copious amounts of alcohol, and chase women. All of which had become an impediment to his job performance at Anderson Stables . . . and the dozens of other jobs he’d lost as a stable hand over the past few years.
Jo forced a bright smile, opened her door, and hopped out. “Come on. Let’s see if we can find him, shall we?”
Finding Lee turned out to be a bit harder than Jo had imagined. After leaving the truck, she and Brooks walked to the stables, introduced themselves to a tall stable hand named Zeb who, despite being shorthanded and obviously overworked, took the time to stop mucking a stall, set aside his shovel, and smile widely while introducing himself. His smile, however, vanished as soon as Jo asked about Lee.
“That sumbitch?” Zeb spat on the ground. “What you want with him?”
Brooks shot a look at Jo, the uneasy expression on his face intensifying.
“He’s an old friend of mine,” Jo said, shifting nervously from one boot to the other. “I’d just like to see him. Maybe catch up with him a bit. Max told me he was working here and said I could stop by and talk with him.”
Zeb laughed. “Well, good luck with that. We’ve been looking for that loser all morning and still haven’t set eyes on him yet. If you do manage to find him, tell him I’m looking for him and that if he doesn’t show at his post, drunk or not, within the next ten minutes, I’ve a good mind to tell Max he ain’t cutting it and give him the heave-ho. Matter of fact, I might just put my boot in his ass and kick him to the curb without even telling the boss. Considering the scant amount of work that boy’s done, no one would miss him around here anyway.”
With that, Zeb walked away and joined the other hands who were already busy mucking the stalls.
“Great,” Brooks said, dragging a hand through his hair. “Just great. This jockey of yours can’t even manage to show up for a stable hand position sober and from Zeb’s reaction, seems to be more trouble than he’s worth.” He scowled. “Not to mention the fact that they can’t even find him. So, what do you propose we do now?”
Jo put on a brave face despite her misgivings. “We take a look around.”
