Free Kentucky Heat by Fern Michaels Page A

The bunch of them are mega, mega, mega millionaires. They work for all the casinos in Vegas, Atlantic City, and all those Indian casinos, then give most of the money away. Hunt was in awe of that. I guess I was jealous of their lives, how successful they all became and how they kept after Hunt to join them. They stayed friends all these years. After Hunt’s death, Hatch called Nick at least once a month. The year Hunt died, Hatch’s wife was killed in a car accident. Nick went to Santa Fe and stayed for six weeks. When he got back, he called Hatch two or three times a day. That’s the kind of friendship they all had. There was no room in that world for me, and I guess I resented it. What I didn’t count on was Willow leaving Nick because of me. I’ll have to make that right somehow.”
    â€œYou’re okay with all of this then?”
    â€œNo, not really, but I can live with it. Keep your eye on the foal. I’m going to take Flyby out to the stallion cemetery. I need some Nealy time with Maud and Jess. By the way, what do you think it would take to get you and Metaxas to sign on with me for a while? We’re going to need all the help we can get with Nick and Emmie gone. I was even thinking of asking Ken to join up.”
    Metaxas and Ruby had introduced Nealy to Kendrick Bell the day she won the last leg of the Triple Crown, hoping she’d fall in love with him. It hadn’t happened. Ken was a friend, nothing more. She’d gone to his home in the Watchung Mountains in New Jersey for the holidays trying to see if there was a possibility of a relationship developing. Recovering from a triple bypass, Ken sat glued to his chair, afraid to move, afraid to do anything but vegetate. She’d tried and done everything she could think of to shake him out of his fear, a fear his doctors were concerned about. Nothing worked. Simply put, Ken was afraid to live. She’d returned home, disappointed and saddened that a man like Ken would sit around doing nothing for the rest of his life.
    â€œDover Wilkie is a really good guy and a great farm manager,” Nealy went on, as if talking to herself. “We were lucky to find him after Nick’s grandfather retired. Nick taught him everything. He’s so good with the horses I rest easy when he’s around them. Dover is the main reason I agreed to the Christmas vacation. Still, he’s just one person.”
    â€œA kiss on the cheek will probably do it for Metaxas, and off the top of my head, I’d say a full-blown kiss on the lips for Ken would seal the deal. That’s only if you’re interested. Go on, I’ll keep my eye on this baby. It’s okay for me to tie a red ribbon around his neck, isn’t it? Metaxas likes his gifts wrapped. I cannot wait to see his face.”
    â€œI can’t wait to see his face, too, and no, you cannot tie a red ribbon around his neck,” Nealy said, leading Flyby out of his stall. “Misty Blue would eat it. I won’t be long.”
    â€œTake all the time you need,” Ruby said. “I’m just going to sit here and look at this beautiful baby.”
    Nealy led Flyby outside to the mounting block. With the ease of an experienced horsewoman, she mounted his bare back and, using only his mane to guide him, trotted him out to the stallion cemetery and the little cemetery next to it. Instinctively, the big horse came to a halt in front of Maud’s and Jess’s graves. As always, Nealy could only shake her head and marvel at his intelligence and intuitiveness.
    The minute Nealy slid from his back he turned around and headed toward his sire’s grave. Nealy watched as he pawed the ground and reared back, snorting and puffing loudly. His duty done, he waited patiently for his owner.
    Nealy shivered inside her warm jacket as she hunched her shoulders for added warmth. “This is rough, Maud,” she said, her eyes on Hunt’s gravestone. “I feel