Happy Saturday, folks. Hope everyone's having a great weekend. Let me know if you're reading!

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It was early when Brian and Alec loaded up the two colts and their equipment and hit the road en route to Belmont. Spring had finally come into full bloom, and Alec cracked the windows of the truck, letting in a little bit of a breeze as the sun came up. Henry had called Alec with great excitement after Pam's Song's performance in a mile-long allowance race, and had bragged about how well Sarah had ridden her. Alec wasn't surprised, though he was amused at how Henry acted as if he had discovered Sarah. The old man had come a long way since he used to grumble about Becky's presence at the track. Henry had finally more or less settled on entering the filly in the Kentucky Derby, but wanted to put her through one more tune-up race before they headed down to Kentucky. The Peter Pan Stakes this weekend would be their chance.

Alec and Henry had agreed on a maiden special weight race, 5 ½ furlongs, to test Night Sky's mettle. Training side-by-side with Storm Front had given him a chance to get used to running with other horses, but running with one horse was very different from running with 8 or 10. Storm Front would enter an optional claiming race, six furlongs. It would give him a chance to put what he had learned to work without being outclassed. If he did well enough, they could move him up the claiming ranks quickly enough. Alec even entertained the thought of a win. That would be something to see.

After a few hours drive, Alec pulled the truck into Belmont and crept along until he arrived at the Hopeful Farm barn. Henry spotted him immediately, waving his arms as they pulled up.

The routine was familiar and comforting, and it occurred to Alec how much he missed being around the track. It was mid-morning, so there was a lull in the action, but Alec knew before too long the afternoon's races would begin. Being the middle of the week, it was mostly claiming races with some allowance races. The higher profile races would take place over the weekend.

"Why don't we get these guys settled, and then go watch some races." Henry suggested. "I know it's a long damned drive."

"Sounds like a plan."

Henry clipped a lead to Night Sky's halter and led him down the ramp. The colt only put up a bit of a fuss, being restless after the long trip. Henry rubbed him affectionately on his snout. "Excited, huh? It's good to see you."

Alec followed with Storm Front, the colt walking calmly down the ramp. Henry looked incredulous. "Is he okay?"

"He's fine." Alec laughed.

Henry shook his head. "He's like a whole new colt. Can't wait to see what he does on the track."

"Don't get your hopes up too high."

Henry waved off Alec's words. "You've got to give him a chance. Get him in the right race and he'll do just fine."

Alec wanted to share Henry's confidence. Hell, the old man probably knew better than he did. They would get Storm Front out on the track in the morning and get a better idea of his fitness.

By the time the colts were settled in their stalls, the first race of the afternoon was just going to the post. The two men headed to the grandstand, picking up a pair of programs and settling in behind a couple of old men.

"You see they've got two girls riding here now?" One man was talking to his friend. "Damnedest thing I've ever seen."

"Imagine them racing against each other." the other man chuckled. "They'll probably have a catfight in the locker room."

"Be a hell of a thing to watch."

Alec caught Henry smirking out of the corner of his eye, and the older man's expression quickly turned more serious.

"Don't know why the hell a girl would want to ride racehorses anyway." the first man complained. "Too easy to get hurt."

"My granddaughter keeps talking about wanting to ride." the other man shook his head. "I keep telling her to stick to horse shows, but she doesn't want to. Says it's boring."

"This women's lib crap has ruined everything." the first man grumbled. "None of these girls want to keep house and raise kids anymore. Girls want to be boys and boys want to be girls."

"Crazy."

Alec knew that Henry generally agreed with that assessment. The world had changed, for sure, mostly for the better. Alec, for his part, didn't see what the big deal was. There were still plenty of women out there who wanted a more traditional life. Let people do what they wanted to do, he figured. Why get upset about it?

He heard the familiar bugle calling riders to the post, and he took a glance at the program to see if he recognized anyone.

"Sarah's got four mounts today." Henry commented. "Glad to see her picking up a couple more. Not too many wanted to take a chance on her at first. I guess they figured one girl was plenty."

"She must be doing well if she's picking up mounts."

Henry nodded. "She's been in the money more often than not."

Alec nodded. He knew he had been fortunate to be able to ride for Hopeful Farm, not hustle for mounts like other jockeys. He could imagine it was even harder for Becky and Sarah. "The more experience she gets, the better."

Henry chuckled. "She wasn't exactly an apprentice when I asked her to ride Pam's Song."

Alec cringed inwardly. Of course Henry wouldn't have let just anyone ride the filly. "I just mean it's good for her to get to work at other tracks, be around different riders."

"Sure, sure."

The bell rang and the gate sprang open. Alec raised his binoculars in hopes of following Sarah around the track. Her horse had broken late, and was bringing up the rear of the field. It was only a 6 furlong race, so Alec hoped she could catch up.

Thanks to a combination of a late surge and the leaders fading, she managed a strong third behind Becky's mount.

"You see that?" Henry's words broke into his thoughts. "She barely touched that horse. She's damn good."

"That she is."

Alec could hear the two men grumbling again. "See, that's what happens when you let these girls ride. They take money from men who really need it."

Alec could only roll his eyes. More likely they had lost money on the race and just needed something to be upset about.

Henry chuckled after they left. "Better luck next time."

He and Henry spent the afternoon watching races and chatting idly. Alec had always enjoyed these kinds of afternoons, watching from the sidelines instead of always being involved. He could understand why people enjoyed this sport so much. He had never been a betting man, he had always simply enjoyed the races on their own merits. He cheered when Sarah notched a win in her last race of the day, and through his binoculars he could see her wide smile as she entered the winner's circle.

Henry nudged him. "You should go congratulate her."

"Later." Alec felt his face go hot.

"Come on, now." Henry scolded him. "Go see her."

Alec let out an annoyed huff. "I'm sure she'll want to clean up after a day of riding."

"Don't wait too long." Henry was already rising from the bleacher. "I'll see you later."

Alec sat alone for a few minutes before following suit. He wasn't even sure what he would say when he saw Sarah. Should he ask her to dinner? Surely she would be hungry after a long day of riding.

He knew he was overanalyzing things, and chided himself for being so silly.

He found his way to the jockey's locker room, nodding as he saw a few men that he knew. They seemed surprised to see him, if pleasantly so. The door swung open again and both Becky and Sarah exited, chatting among themselves.

Becky spotted him first before he could say anything, and a quick smile crossed her face. "It's good to see you, Alec."

"Good to see you too."

Becky turned toward Sarah, who was already moving to give Alec a quick hug.

"I see you two already know each other."

"We've been working together up at the farm for a while." Sarah explained.

Alec thought that was stretching things a bit, but let it go.

Becky nodded, an amused smile twitching at her lips. "I'll leave you to it. Nice to see you again, Alec."

Alec nodded and glanced down at Sarah. "I saw you ride today. Nice work."

Sarah pulled away and shrugged. "I didn't do as well as I wanted. Had a couple of tough trips there. But I stayed in the money for the most part, that's all that matters."

Alec hated hearing the sport he loved being reduced to mere money, but he understood. Everyone had to make a living. "Those bad trips are hard to deal with."

Sarah scoffed. "As if you'd know."

"I've had my share of bad trips." Alec argued. "Good horses do dumb things sometimes. I've been thrown, been knocked around, gotten stuck in traffic. It's no easy thing."

"Sure isn't." Sarah still looked a bit skeptical.

"Anyway, you want to get something to eat?"

"Sure, but I'll pay for my own."

The idea seemed odd to Alec, but it wasn't worth arguing about. "If you say so."

"I prefer to pay my own way." Sarah explained. "That way no man can say I owe him anything."

Alec hadn't thought of it that way. It would never occur to him to expect anything but a nice meal and some conversation. "There's a few places close by. We can walk unless you'd rather I drive."

"It's a nice night for a walk. Let's go."

They walked to a nearby diner and slid into a booth. It was busy, but not so much that they couldn't have a conversation.

"You're staring at me." Sarah noted as she glanced up from her menu.

"Sorry." Alec was a little embarrassed. "It's just nice to see you, that's all."

Sarah smiled warmly. "It's nice to see you, too. I guess I wasn't really expecting you here just yet. Henry thought you might come along a little later on."

"Night Sky and Storm Front are pretty close to being ready to race. Figured it would do more good to bring them here to fine tune them."

"You're not gonna drop Storm Front in for a tag, are you?"

Alec shook his head, surprised at the question. "That's not how we operate. When we take on a horse, we fully commit to that horse. And anyway, he's come a long way in a short time. He might not be world class, but we can find a good level for him."

"That's good." Sarah nodded. "I know he was giving you some grief at first."

A silence stretched out between them until Sarah spoke again. "What about you? You doing alright?"

Alec was uncomfortable with the personal nature of the question. "I guess I am. The farm's keeping me plenty busy. And you?"

"Oh, not bad." Sarah shrugged. "It was kind of rough at first, just like anywhere. Guys don't like girls muscling in on their territory. But it's alright now. I know how to handle them."

Alec didn't doubt it. Sarah was tough, no question. She had to be. He knew how some of the male jockeys had acted toward Becky when she had first started riding. It irritated him that things hadn't gotten any better since then.

Their meals arrived before the conversation could go much further, and they mostly fell into silence as they ate, with occasional idle chatter. Before long Alec felt himself relaxing, and by the time the bill came, Alec put down enough to cover both their meals without thinking about it.

"Hold on." Sarah pulled out her wallet and put her own money on the table. "You take some of that back."

"Right, I forgot." Alec felt his face heat up a little as he exchanged the bills. "I'll leave the tip, though."

Sarah nodded, seemingly satisfied with the arrangement. Alec had to admit that he felt a little more at ease at the idea. It felt more like two friends sharing a meal rather than a date.

Even after they paid, they stayed and continued to chat about anything and everything that came up. Alec felt even more relaxed, genuinely enjoying Sarah's company. He had missed her more than he had realized. From the way Sarah was acting, she seemed to feel the same.

Eventually, Sarah glanced down at her watch, a flash of surprise crossing her face. "Holy cow, I guess we'd better get going. Didn't realize how late it was getting."

"I assume you're staying near the track."

Sarah nodded. "Henry's got us a couple of rooms."

"I'll walk you back."

They left the diner and started heading back toward the motel where he and Henry had stayed for nearly every Belmont meet. The evening had turned cooler, and Alec shivered slightly as they walked. Sarah laughed a little. "Cold?"

"Just a little."

Sarah slipped her hand into his. "The quicker we walk, the quicker we'll warm up."

The simple gesture took Alec by surprise, and he quickly squeezed her hand in response. "I feel warmer already."

"Me too."

After a short and mostly silent walk, they soon arrived at the motel. Alec followed Sarah up to her room, unsure of how to handle their parting. Sarah took out her room key and turned to face Alec.

"Thanks for dinner."

"Of course." Alec answered. "I enjoyed it. Maybe we should make it a regular thing."

Sarah smiled broadly. "Alec Ramsey, are you trying to ask me out?"

Alec felt his face heat up. He had been as surprised as Sarah at the words tumbling out of his mouth. "I mean, we don't have to if you don't want to."

Sarah reached up and laid a hand on Alec's cheek. "I do want to. I like you a lot, Alec."

Alec covered her hand with his, avoiding Sarah's gaze. "I like you too." he replied softly.

"It doesn't have to mean anything." Sarah responded quietly. "We can just enjoy each other's company for as long as it lasts."

"Right. As long as it lasts." Alec's heart sank a little. As if he needed the reminder that Sarah had no intention of sticking around.

Sarah let out a little sigh. "Look, I'm not trying to hurt your feelings. I'm just being realistic."

"I know, I know." Alec was furious with himself. Finally he managed a brief smile. "Anyway, I should go. It's late."

Sarah nodded and let her hand drop. "Good night, Alec."

"Good night."

After Sarah unlocked her room door and went inside, he returned to the room he was sharing with Henry. The door was unlocked, and Alec let himself in as quietly as he could.

Henry stirred when Alec entered, but didn't wake up. Alec was glad for that. He wasn't up for a bunch of questions about how he had spent his evening. Even if nothing had happened between he and Sarah, he still didn't want the old man poking his nose into his personal business.

As he lay in bed, he reflected on the evening. Sarah was lovely, no doubt, and he had enjoyed nearly every minute with her, even with the occasional awkward silence. Even holding hands as they had walked back to the motel had stirred something in him. Now he wished he had acted on that feeling.

But with any luck there would be time enough for that. For now he had races to plan for and horses to train. Anything else would have to wait.