Free Pole Position by Sofia Grey

to ring her.
    “He hasn’t come home yet either,” Colette cried. “Clare hasn’t seen him, and you haven’t. Where is he?”
    I felt like repeatedly banging my head against the steering wheel. Who cared where he’d gone? I was sure Anita would come and ask for my help, but to my utter relief she came back to the car and kissed me again, then told me to go home. Thank God. Coping with any more domestic drama was beyond me right then.
    She waved at me as I drove off, and I feasted my eyes on her. She looked tall and serene, and strangely composed. I’d be seeing her again in just a few hours, so why did it feel as though she was saying goodbye?

Chapter 7

7.1 Anita
    It was hard to explain how confident I felt as I waved Jon off. We’d spent the night together, and I was convinced he could be trusted. He’d soothed me, talked to me, let me sob all over him, and encouraged me to open up and tell him everything.
    A sanity check prickled at the back of my mind. Rob had told me to trust him, and I had. So why would this be different? The simple answer was that Jon was different. I loved the feeling of his skin against mine. Holding his hand felt completely natural, and when we kissed, I never wanted to let him go.
    We had chemistry. That hard to define zing that drew me to him like iron filings to a magnet. I’d never felt that with Rob, nor even come close. Maybe that had been the root of our issues in bed? I wasn’t turned on. Rob wasn’t the right guy for me.
    Colette buzzed round me, asking about my night with Jon. I didn’t tell her any more, other than it had been incredible. What happened between us was private. And I knew when I finally plucked up the courage, it would be incredible. Already I was thinking in terms of when , rather than if .
    It was odd Danny had also been out all night, but he was a law unto himself. He was no concern of mine. I had a ton of jobs to do at the stables this morning, and my boyfriend would be racing this afternoon. I paused and savored the moment. I had a boyfriend.
     
    ****
     
    My class was scheduled for ten o’clock. In theory, I should have had plenty of time to exercise Sam and do all my jobs beforehand, and have a shower before I left for the race. Danny was nowhere to be seen, and a message from Clare said she’d be out until lunchtime, but even that didn’t put a dent my mood.
    I sang as I worked. The radio played all my favorite songs as I mucked out and replenished Sam’s stable, and doled out the day’s jobs to the juniors. Clare had a number of liveries, privately owned horses that lived at our stables and paid Clare to look after them. It was a sunny day and most of them would be needed for riding later. They had to be groomed and tidied before their owners arrived, and I asked Shelley, as the most experienced junior, to bring the livery horses up from the field.
    My class had almost finished when Bev, another one of the juniors, burst into the arena and ran straight to my side. Her hair was wild, her face flushed, and she looked petrified.
    She clutched her side as though she had a stitch from running. “ Anita . It’s Topaz. You need to come. Now . Shelley was leading him from the field and he was spooked by a pheasant. He galloped up the track but then he stumbled.” Bev dragged in a shaky breath and moved closer. “He’s lame.”
    Shit .
    My heart plummeted to my boots. I hoped it wasn’t serious, but we needed a vet right away. I’d teased Clare about marrying the local vet, but it made it easier to get hold of him in an emergency.
    I sent Bev to phone Clare, her husband Mark, and Danny. Anyone she could raise. We also needed to phone the owner, and I wasn’t looking forward to that.
    I quickly dismissed the class, and left another of the juniors to take the repeat bookings and payments, and sort out the ponies, while I ran down the track. There was no time to stop and panic, I had to act fast.
    Poor Topaz. He was a handsome and sweet-natured