Free Jockeying for You by Stacy Hoff Page A

pronounced.
    She put a hand on her forehead to soothe her throbbing skull. “I’m telling you that you cannot win with Handsome Dancer in his current state. It doesn’t matter how good of a jockey you are. The horse is not ready yet.”
    Emanuel started to speak, but she put up a hand to stop him. “I’m not doubting your abilities. I hope you’re not doubting mine.”
    He hesitated before grumbling, “This is costing me money.”
    “You’ll need to work that out with Jake.”
    Once he left she leaned against a cool wood wall. The temperature soothed both her body and temperament.
    She closed her eyes and wondered how the morning got so bizarre. Before she met Jake Carter she had a nice steady daily routine. No temperamental jockeys. No gifts from Mindy tossed at her. Even Lenny had been less grouchy. And of course there was now the issue of getting Handsome Dancer up and ready in a reasonable amount of time. He’d need to not only be able to race, but be able to get enough races under his belt before the really big races could be tried.
    She felt her eyelids twitch, a supplement to her throbbing temple. Darn all this stress. Think calming thoughts, Ry. Only calming thoughts.
    At least meeting Jake had brought her a horse that she adored working with, and one that could potentially change her career. Her life, really, if Handsome Dancer won something huge like the Belmont Stakes. Imagine what she could do with her share of the winning purse. She’d get more stalls, train more horses, and really start to make an impact in the racing community. Respect. Prestige. Everything she could never get as a jockey herself, she could get as a trainer.
    She closed her eyes. A vision of Handsome Dancer on the racetrack appeared before her. She was no longer in the stalls but in the viewing stands surrounded by thousands of fans. People in the crowd periodically screamed or went silent depending on how their horse was doing.
    An excited vibe filled the air as the horses neared the turn for the last stretch. A collective hush swept over the crowd. The spectators grabbed their racing forms, sweaty and wrinkled so the print could no longer be read. Thousands of human heads turned in sync as they tracked the horses racing neck-and-neck toward the finish line. Thousands of spectators’ hands went above their eyes to block the sun’s rays from the spectacular view. The jockeys’ colorful silks reflected rays of light.
    In her mind, Ryder squinted to make out which horse was Handsome Dancer. Finally, Jake’s horse made its way through the throngs of charging thoroughbreds. Handsome wove in-between bigger horses on the inside, and several stocky contenders on the outside. Yes, it was Handsome Dancer coming around, in clear view for all the world to see. He was going for it, his neck stretched out as his jockey hand-rode him, as they drove themselves forward as if swept by a hurricane. They charged forward like a wind gust and passed the finish line. A full length ahead of the pack.
    Moments later, Handsome took his place in the winner’s circle in front of an adoring, screaming crowd. Ryder rushed forward to see him, to touch the horse that changed her world.
    And when her eyes looked up at the jockey who won it all, familiar eyes stared back at her. Her own. What the f—
    Ryder, startled by her own daydream, knocked over some tack hung up on a peg next to her on the stable wall. Oh my God, I still want to ride.
    Hastily she picked up the fallen tack and hustled out of the stable to get some coffee and fresh air. And then she did her best to push that daydream out of her mind. Never to be thought of again.

Chapter 7
    Ryder tucked a wayward strand of her blond bob behind an ear with more force than necessary. Standing around by herself in a restaurant lobby, no matter how exquisite the restaurant, was awkward to say the least. It never paid to be early. It gave too much time for doubt to creep up. Was she going to be stood up? Even