Elizabeth Harbison - Taming of the Two

Saving the farm won, of course. “Look, I understand you have the capability of siring a mare by Fireflight.” It was awkward but he couldn’t think of another way to word it. Word underground was that the Gregorys had somehow acquired frozen genetic material from one of the finest racehorses ever to hit the turf and if there was one thing that could save his farm, it was a foal or two by Fireflight.

Dawning understanding came into Bianca’s pale blue eyes. “Oo-oh, I see. You’re here to make a purchase.”

“Depending on the cost, yes.” That was where this conversation was going to get really sticky. His finances were limited and he could only bluff so far before they, potentially, made him look like the desperate man he was. “So what’s your price?”

Bianca looked at him, raising her finger to her mouth and looking him over as she considered. “From what I hear, the Devere Ranch doesn’t have a whole lot of money, Ben.”

“Don’t listen to everything you hear.”

“Fireflight’s worth a whole lot.”

“Potentially.” He tried to look casual. “You never know what you’re gonna end up with. Artificial insemination of a mare…well, it’s a hell of a gamble. You know that.”

She gave a nonconcessionary nod. “It’s a gamble a lot of people are willing to pay a hell of a lot of money for.” She eyed him. “Victor’s working a colt out at the track every morning, and he says the times are absolutely amazing. He may even beat his sire. So I’m thinking it’s a pretty safe bet anyone who sires a mare by Fireflight will end up with a profit in the end. That is, if they can pay up front.”

“What are we talking about?”

“Half a million.”

He couldn’t shell out more than a quarter million. Not for such a risky chance as this. After all, the money was going to be coming out of his pocket, not the ranch’s. “Well, Bianca, this business being what it is, I think I’d rather just take a chance with what I’ve got.” He gave a short nod and started back toward his truck.

“I think I might know a way you can take it for free, though,” Bianca called behind him in a singsong voice.

This was no time to stand on pride. He stopped and turned back to her, cautiously keeping his face impassive. “Who do I have to kill?”

She laughed. “You only have to date my sister.”

She hadn’t said what he thought she’d said. Surely she wasn’t suggesting it was worth five hundred grand to Kate to have a date. “What are you talking about?”

Bianca gave a slow smile and sauntered over toward him. “I need a little favor. If you succeed, you get Fireflight and my sister, and you have a chance at real happiness. If you don’t succeed—” she shrugged “—well, you’re no worse off than you are now. What do you say, are you a betting man, Ben Devere?”

It was a chilly, misty morning and Kate could hear the thundering hoofbeats on the turf long before the horse actually appeared from the mist, running all-out, white puffs of steam coming from his nose.

He was beautiful.

Her father had named the horse Kate’s Flight, in honor of her and in reference to his sire, so she felt a special affinity for the chestnut stallion. As much as she hated the gamble of this lifestyle, she loved the majesty of the animals and the heart they showed every time they hit the track.

The story of Black Gold—crossing the finish line with a shattered leg, to complete his final win—was never completely out of her mind. The horses loved to run and, more than that, they loved to win, there was no doubt about it.

So she smiled as she watched Kate’s Flight barrel past in the predawn light.

“Quite a horse,” a voice behind her said.

She turned to see a man walking toward her through the mist. He was tall and dark-haired, with piercing dark eyes and the sort of chiseled jawline usually reserved for the cover of a romance novel. He looked familiar, but it took her a moment to realize why.

When she did, it was with a start. “So it’s not a rumor. The prodigal son has returned.”

He smiled, that movie star smile she remembered better than she ought to. “I’m as surprised as anyone.”

She’d heard rumors that the Devere Ranch was in trouble. “Here on family business?”

He nodded.

She looked at him for a moment, then said, “Look, I’m sorry things aren’t going well over there. I was sorry to hear about your dad’s death last year. Your mom must really miss him a lot.”

He shrugged, noncommittal.

“I really hope you can help her get it all straightened out,” Kate offered.

He looked at her with surprise in his eyes. “I appreciate that.”

“So what brings you here this morning? I haven’t seen any of your trainers around.”

“Actually, I’m here to see your trainer.” He nodded toward Victor and Kate’s Flight. “Or, more specifically, your horse.”

“Really? Why’s that?”

He kept his eyes fastened on the horse’s workout. “I’ve got a colt I think I can run against him. I just wanted to check him out first and talk to Victor about it.”

“Oh.” She thought about that for a moment. It made sense. If he could run a colt against the son of Fireflight and win, it would do wonders for the credibility of Devere’s breeding. “I see.”

“Does that worry you?”

Everything that had anything to do with failing on the track and losing financial security worried her. “Not at all.”

He nodded, his tightened jaw betraying an attempt not to smile. “Good.”

“I mean it.”

“I’m sure you do.”

She frowned and turned back to the track, where Victor was walking toward them. He was small but powerfully built. Every time Kate saw him, the thought came to her that he was shaped like a shoe horn.

“Hey, Kate.” He waved a meaty arm at her. “You take that dog to the vet yet?”

Victor had been telling her Sierra was getting too thin, so, even though she thought it was old age, she’d finally given in and made an appointment. “We’re going this afternoon.”

“Good girl. Better to check it out.”

“I agree.”

He nodded and turned to Ben. “Hey, Ben.” He smiled and put a hand out. “Good to see you again.”

Ben shook his hand. “Thanks. Looks like you’ve got a winner on your hands out there.”

“You know it.”

“How would you feel about running him up against one of mine?”

Victor laughed and ran a hand through his sandy-blond hair. “Bring it on.” He looked behind him and signaled to the jockey on Kate’s Flight. “You talking about that colt from Sunuawa?”

Ben smiled and nodded. “You’ve heard.”

“Hey, word travels. But I’d love to see what your boy can do. You know where to find us.” He turned to Kate and said, “I don’t want to interrupt you two, so I’ll see you later.”

“You’re not interrupting us!” she said quickly, but he was already leaving. Obviously, Bianca had shared her harebrained plan about Kate and Ben with him.

She watched him go, wondering what on earth to say to Ben, who was still standing beside her.

“So I hear you’ve got the technology for Fireflight to sire more,” Ben said, looking sideways at her.

“It’s not for sale,” she said quickly.

“No?” He looked surprised. “I was misinformed, then.”

“It was for sale. My father sold some, but there’s very little left now. As I’m sure you can imagine, offering Fireflight’s bloodlines is our ace in the hole.” She thought about that for a moment. “So to speak.”

“Hmm.” He nodded, keeping his eyes on the track and the horses that were running against each other. Kate’s Flight was leading the competition by a considerable margin. “Not at any price, huh?”

“Nope.” Then, as an afterthought, she added, “Sorry.”

“No problem.” His words were casual, but when Kate glanced at him she thought he looked grave.

“Hey!” a voice barked behind them.

Kate turned to face a squat, wizened old woman she’d noticed several times running the betting windows.

“One of you Katherine Gregory?”

Kate had to work to keep from laughing. “That would be me,” she said, adding the obvious, “Not him.”

The woman didn’t so much as crack a smile. “There’s a phone call for you up in the shop.”

Kate frowned. “That’s weird. Did they say who it was?”

“Think it’s your father or something.” The woman gave an exaggeratedly disinterested shrug. “He said he couldn’t get through on your cell phone.”

“That’s crazy. I don’t need to go all the way to the track shop to get a call.” She patted her pocket, looking for the phone she was sure had been there earlier. But it was gone. “Hmm. Okay, I guess I do need to go all the way up to the shop.” She started toward the main building, tossing over her shoulder, “Nice talking to you, Ben.”

He raised a hand in response.

The woman asked, “Ben Devere?”

“That’s right,” he said slowly.

“There’s a telephone message for you there, as well.”

Kate paused. “We both got phone calls up there?”

“Guess so,” the woman said.

Ben looked at Kate with a frown. “You don’t suppose that fence is down between the properties again, do you?”

She groaned. “I hope not. That was a mess.”

“We’d better go see what’s going on.”

They hurried to the building, up the stairs and into the darkened shop. “You’d think she could have left the lights on, at least,” Kate commented, feeling her way to the counter, where she remembered having seen a phone before.

“There’s something strange about this,” Ben said.

The door closed behind them and they both looked back at it for a moment. Then Ben found the light switch and the room was flooded with fluorescent glow.

Kate found the phone and picked it up, looking to see which line was on hold.

None of them were.

“For Pete’s sake.” She pressed line one and dialed her father’s number.

As soon as he answered, she asked, “Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine, Katherine,” he said. “Why?”

She frowned. “They said you were trying to get hold of me and couldn’t get through on my cell phone.”

“That’s nonsense,” her father said to her. “I didn’t try to call you.”

She was somewhat relieved, even while she was flummoxed. “What about Bianca? Where is she?”

“She’s at the track with Victor. With you, too, I guess, if you’re there.”

She watched as Ben poked around, looking for the message that had supposedly been left for him. An uneasy feeling snaked into Kate’s stomach.

“I gotta go, Dad. I’ll talk to you later.” She hung up the phone and rushed to the door.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Ben asked. “What’s the emergency?”

She got to the door and tried it.

It was locked.

Exactly as she’d suspected.

“I don’t think there is an emergency,” she said, not adding that there was going to be one just as soon as she got out of here and wrapped her hands around Bianca’s neck. “There’s been some sort of…mistake.” She jiggled the doorknob, hoping to throw the lock.

“Is that locked?”

Kate turned around and leaned her back against the cool door. “Yes, it is.”

“So we’re locked in here?”

“Yes, we are.”

He heaved a sigh and went over to the phone, muttering something about idiots in charge. He lifted the receiver and pushed a button. Then another. And another.