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“If push comes to shove, I’ll sponsor one of the horses.”
“What do you mean you’ll sponsor one of the horses?”
“I will give you the money for the rest of the bid. For Prince Waterman. If you don’t have enough by the time the auction comes, I will make up the difference. I’ll be an official sponsor. And when he enters races and he wins, you can pay me back out of that.”
“I don’t know about that, Sadie. I don’t want to use your—”
“Sh. I’m a businesswoman too, you know. And you’re not the only one with an inheritance.”
“Yeah, I mean, I can invest my own money—”
“No,” she said. “You don’t have access to it yet. I know the terms of your trust. But I have access to my money. And I can afford to put in any amount that you might need. And we’ll sign a contract and it will be a business deal if you don’t feel comfortable just taking it from me. I believe in you, Wyatt. I believe in your vision and I think you’ll make an awesome damn trainer. And if you’re not doing a good job, I’ll come over and train the horses, too. So with two awesome trainers, well hey, how can we lose?”
“Are you serious, Sadie?”
She looked me straight in the eyes. “Dead serious.”
“And this isn’t about last night or the kiss or—”
She shook her head. “I don’t know what last night was, and I don’t know where we’re going or what you think or feel for me. And that is a conversation we’ll have another time. But,” she stared at me with love and pride in her eyes. “This is about business, and this is about my faith in you. I’ve got you, okay?”
“Thank you, Sadie. You’re the best best friend a guy could have.”
“I know,” she said with a grin.
I realized then just how much I loved her. She was the sort of woman that a man should have by his side for a lifetime. She was the sort of woman that a man would die for. I would die for her. And I would do anything to be with her. I didn’t want Sadie just as my best friend. I wanted her as my lover, I wanted her as my life partner. I finally understood what Beau and Austin felt for Olivia and Lucy. I finally understood what my mom and dad felt for each other. I finally understood how all-consuming love was. And it scared me.
But it didn’t scare me so much that it made me want to run. It scared me so much because I was scared that I would lose her. I was scared that some other guy would come along and snatch her away from me. And I realized that that had been my fear all along. I’d been jealous. I’d been jealous of the men she was meeting in Idaho. I’d been jealous when Shane Wakefield showed interest in her, and I’d been jealous when I’d seen her with the Olivio brothers, scared that they would sweep her off her feet and whisper sweet nothings into her ear because I didn’t want her to be with anyone else.
And I realized that my family had known that all along. All along, the whispers and the murmurs had been true. I was in love with Sadie Johnson and I wanted her more than words could say and as soon as the auction was over I was going to tell her.
“Are you sure about this, Sadie?” I said as I raised my paddle. The bid was now at two hundred thousand. I hadn’t bid on any of the other horses yet.
“I’m sure,” she nodded quickly.
Two hundred thousand to number 0148,” the auctioneer said. I watched as my competitor put up his paddle. “And what do we have here? Two-twenty-fice to number 01132.” I looked back at Sadie.
“Go up,” she said. “Go to $250,000.”
“That’s a lot of money, Sadie. That would be $100,000 you’re putting in.”
“I’ve got it,” she said, “I’ll put it in.”
I lifted up my paddle again. “$250,000,” I said. The auctioneer looked at me and then looked around the room and everything seemed to go in slow motion as he raised his gavel and slammed it back down again.
“Sold!” He pointed to me and a man rushed up to me to grab my information.
“I just bought a horse.” I stared at Sadie in shock. “I just bought a horse. Prince Waterman is mine!” I shouted. Sadie reached and grabbed me and pulled me into a hug. We were jumping up and down with happiness and I couldn’t believe it. “Oh my God, Sadie, what did I just do? I just bought a horse but I only bought one horse. What am I going to tell everyone?”
“All you need is one,” she said softly. “All you need is one winner.”
“Yeah, but I wanted more than one just in—”
“Don’t doubt yourself. You knew as soon as you saw him that he was the one for you, right?”
“Yes,” I nodded.
“So then he’s the one. I have faith. This is your winner.”
