AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jo smiled. For the past two days, ever since Earl had first managed to roll his wheelchair out onto the newly built deck, her grandfather had risen early, eaten breakfast, and joined Frankie on the deck to watch Jo lead Cheyenne through the steps to groom Another Round. And when their routine had to be adjusted to make time for Jo to drag Lee out of bed and push him through his workouts in the backyard, Cheyenne had taken to joining Earl and Frankie on the deck to watch Another Round graze in the pasture.
Cheyenne had begun asking questions about Another Round and thoroughbreds overall—some of which Frankie didn’t have the answers to—and gradually, Earl had taken over, explaining with focused effort. At first, he’d struggled to speak for any period of time, but after two days’ worth of morning and afternoon visits on the deck with Cheyenne, his stamina had improved slightly and it had become obvious that their new racing venture had sparked Earl’s interest, giving him extra motivation to work hard at physical therapy, leave the house, and make his way out to the deck every day to watch Another Round and witness Lee’s progress.
It was amazing, really, how fast Earl and Cheyenne, two stubborn souls, had begun to bond during those daily conversations about horses. Earl enjoyed sharing his knowledge and expertise and Cheyenne reveled in his rapt attention.
“Lee is on our team now,” Jo reminded Cheyenne. “And as Another Round’s caretaker, you should be the first and foremost teammate to welcome Lee and help him improve. After all,” she said, looking down at Cheyenne, “your most important responsibility is to ensure Another Round is taken care of, and helping Lee be the best he can be means Another Round will have a better rider.”
Oh, boy, that was a stretch. But she needed Cheyenne’s help—everyone’s really, if they were going to pull off a win at the Derby. Or any racetrack, for that matter.
It’d be all too easy to find another jockey and start training right away. But Jo didn’t want a decent shot for Brooks or Another Round—she wanted the best shot for them both—and that meant pushing Lee to give it his all, to succeed in recapturing the phenomenal skills he’d displayed years ago on the track. It might be a long shot, but they were already making progress. Lee hadn’t consumed a drop of alcohol in forty-eight hours and had managed to drag his fatigued body around the course she’d marked out for him.
“Whatever,” Cheyenne said. “I guess I could help him out.”
Jo glanced at Frankie and sighed. Good grief, it took a lot to impress the kid and motivate her to action.
Cheyenne shoved to her feet and rubbed her hands together. “What do you want him to do?”
“He needs to run that half-mile track that I plotted out for him around the pasture again,” Jo said. “Then he needs to complete three rounds of ten sets of squats, burpees, and bear crawls before he can take a short break.”
Cheyenne nodded in what seemed to be nonchalant agreement, but the mischievous gleam in her eyes was disturbing as she began walking down the ramp toward the backyard. “No problem.”
“Cheyenne?” Jo called.
She kept walking. “Yeah?”
“Just . . . go easy on him,” Jo said. “All he really needs is a pep talk, you know?”
Cheyenne waved a careless hand over her head and kept walking, joining Lee, who had sat down on the grass, in the backyard.
“Mercy,” Frankie repeated, sitting in the chair Cheyenne had vacated and sipping her coffee. “This should be entertaining.”
Just then, the growl of an engine rumbled in the distance.
“Great,” Jo whispered, glancing over her shoulder. “Just great.”
Brooks was here. Just in time to witness Cheyenne dragging Lee through his workout.
“Oh, boy.” Frankie chuckled, pointing down at Cheyenne, who’d joined Lee in the backyard and had begun tugging at his arms, trying to pull him to his feet. “Look at ’em. They’re like two moody kids tussling out there.”
Jo groaned and rubbed her temples.
“Morning, everyone.”
Jo looked at the bottom of the wheelchair ramp at the sound of Brooks’s deep, soothing voice and forced a bright smile to her face. “Morning, Brooks.”
He strolled up the ramp toward her, Frankie, and Earl, then turned and focused on the two figures arguing in the backyard. Cheyenne had Lee by one wrist, pulling as he yanked back from his seated position, grinning up at her.
“This kid of yours is rude!” Lee shouted. “And weak! Ain’t you, kid?” He laughed, clearly enjoying Cheyenne’s stubborn struggle.
Despite the situation, the delighted sound was a welcome relief to Jo’s ears as it echoed across the grounds. She smiled. It seemed Lee still had some life left in him yet.
“You ain’t getting me on my feet no matter how hard you pull,” Lee shouted at Cheyenne.
“What’s going on down there?” Brooks asked.
Frankie laughed. “Two of your employees are fighting it out, that’s what.” She glanced at Earl. “Whatcha say, babe? I bet you two bucks Cheyenne will have Lee on his feet within the next ninety seconds.”
Earl chuckled and stuck out his hand, shaking Frankie’s hand on the bet. “Thirty seconds.”
